Albert Chen Hung-yee

Albert Chen Hung-yee (born 1957)[3] is a Hong Kong legal scholar, specialising in constitutional law. He is the current Cheng Chan Lan Yue Professor in Constitutional Law and the Chair of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, and was the Dean of the faculty from 1996 to 2002.[1]

"Chen Hung-yee" redirects here. For the Chinese figure skater, see Chen Hongyi.
In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Chen. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Albert Chen and the Chinese-style name is Chen Hung-yee.
Albert Hung-yee Chen

JP SBS GBS[1][2]
陳弘毅
Chen in 2013
Born1957[3]
Hong Kong[1]
EducationUniversity of Hong Kong (LLB, PCLL)
Harvard University (LLM)[1]
Albert Chen Hung-yee
Academic background
ThesisThe theory of law and development: past, present and future : an essay in search of law and development, the philosophy and sociology of law and comparative law (1982)
Academic work
DisciplineConstitutional law research
InstitutionsUniversity of Hong Kong
Albert Chen Hung-yee
Traditional Chinese陳弘毅
Simplified Chinese陈弘毅

Early life and education

Chen was born in 1957. His father was a civil servant and father and his mother a teacher.[3] He graduated from the St. Paul's Co-educational College in Hong Kong in 1975,[3][4] then entered the University of Hong Kong for a LLB degree, completing in 1980.[1] Chen then went to Harvard University and obtained his LLM 2 years later, studying comparative law and theories of law and development.[1] After returning to Hong Kong, Chen worked at a solicitors' firm, and completed his Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) in 1984, qualifying him as a solicitor.

Career

Chen started his academic career in 1984, becoming a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) at the age of 27. At the time he was the only legal scholar at the university that spoke Chinese.[1][3] He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1988, and full professor in 1993.[1] Chen was the Head of the HKU Department of Law between 1993 and 1996, when he was appointed Dean of the HKU Faculty of Law until 2002. He was the first Chinese to serve in either position.[3] In 2007, Chen was endowed with the Chan Professorship in Constitutional Law,[1] which was renamed to Cheng Chan Lan Yue Professorship in Constitutional Law in 2015.[5] Chen became the Chair of Constitutional Law in 2021.[1]

In 1995, Chen was enlisted as one of the Hong Kong Affairs Advisors.[3] This position was jointly appointed by the Chinese government agency Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Hong Kong office of Xinhua News Agency.[3]

Since 1997,[3] Chen has been a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC).[6] The committee is responsible for advising the NPCSC on issues related to the Hong Kong Basic Law.[7]

Chen is an ex-officio member of the Legal subsector of the Election Committee of Hong Kong for the term between 2021 and 2026.[8]

Political position

During the 2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform, Chen advised the opposition pro-democracy camp that they should accept the government's proposal as their ideal electoral system was impossible to achieve.[9] He also proposed that "none of the above" be an additional option on the Chief Executive ballot. When "none-of-the-above" votes, or blank votes, account for over half of all ballots cast, the result would be nullified and a 1200-member nominating committee would elect a provisional Chief Executive.[10][11] However, political groups were generally not welcoming of the proposal,[12] and it was not accepted.

In 2019, the Hong Kong government proposed the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill to amend the city's extradition mechanism. Chen voiced his concerns of the bill, including the difficult position Hong Kong's courts would be in when judging the law of Mainland China. He suggested that extraditable offences be limited to the most serious crimes, extraditions be applicable only to crimes committed after the bill was passed, and that Hong Kong residents be excluded from extraditions.[13]

The National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) of China passed changes in the Hong Kong electoral system in 2021, allowing only "patriots" to serve as the Chief Executive and in the Hong Kong legislature. Chen responded that the electoral system will attract candidates deterred by the past political environment, previously with a large number of pan-democrats, who may not be suited to participate in elections but nonetheless are willing to serve Hong Kong.[14][15]

In October 2022, HKU's mandatory national security course featured Chen in the first video lecture; the video was criticized for failing to explain where the red line is drawn.[16]

Personal life

Chen is married.[17]

Honours and awards

References
  1. "Professor Albert Hung-yee Chen". Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. 23 November 2017. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  2. "Professor Albert Chen SBS, JP". Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. Chen, Albert; Shamdasani, Ravina (25 July 2003). "The man in the middle". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  4. "Professor CHEN Hung Yee, Albert, SBS, JP" (PDF). Newsletter of the St. Paul's Co-educational College Alumni Association. St. Paul’s Co-educational College Alumni Association. October 2021. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  5. "THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG COUNCIL" (PDF). University of Hong Kong. October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. "全国人民代表大会常务委员会香港特别行政区基本法委员会组成人员名单" (in Chinese). National People's Congress. 22 June 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. "委员会职责" (in Chinese). Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  8. "ELECTORAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION (ELECTORAL PROCEDURE) (ELECTION COMMITTEE) REGULATION (Chapter 541I) (Section 2D of the Regulation) NOTICE OF VALID REGISTRATION" (PDF). Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, Government of Hong Kong. 26 August 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. "陳弘毅：泛民應考慮政治現實". Now News. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  10. Lau, Stuart (13 January 2015). "Is the blank-vote option for 2017 chief executive election a realistic idea?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  11. "陳弘毅再倡「白票守尾門」選特首". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  12. "林鄭：各政團對白票守尾門方案反應冷淡". Stand News (in Chinese). 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. Chen, Albert H.Y. (3 May 2019). "Albert Chen's Commentary on Proposed Changes to Hong Kong's Extradition Law". HKU Legal Scholarship Blog. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. "Chief Executive reaffirms Professor Albert Chen's views that more patriotic talents will serve the HK govt". Dimsum Daily. 11 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  15. 曾, 平 (11 April 2021). "专访陈弘毅：完善选举制度后料香港将涌现新面孔参政" (in Chinese). China News Service. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  16. Fung, Dawna (4 October 2022). "HKU's national security course explains the law but fails to answer where the red line is drawn, students say". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  17. 李, 偉民 (15 May 2021). "陳弘毅教授午飯聊：認識民族的文、史、哲，香港人應成為現代「先行者」". Master Insight Media (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022. 他太太是我的同班同學
  18. "Persons appointed under Section 3(1)(b) of the Justices of the Peace Ordinance (Cap. 510) (commonly known as "Non-official JPs")". Government of Hong Kong. 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  19. "2010 Honours List" (Press release). Government of Hong Kong. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  20. "Over 740 people awarded in this year's Honours List". RTHK. 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
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