Chan was born in Chaoyang, Guangzhou, China on 22 January 1949. He moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was around 8 or 9 and lived in a squatter area in his childhood before they were assigned to a resettlement estate in Kwun Tong. He attended an English school in Kowloon City and became a sailor, a desk officer on a ship, for six years after his graduation.[2] He later attended the Hong Kong Technical College, the predecessor of today's Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and graduated in 1971.[3]
He is considered to be the hardliner in the pro-Beijing camp. In 2003, he followed the party line in support of the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 legislation, which sparked a protest of more than 500,000 people on 1 July 2003, adding to controversy by remarking that the protesters had been "misled". He was the subject of criticism in 2013 for not having asked a single question for more than four months during the 2012–13 legislative session.[4]
On 11 March 2016, as acting chairman, he presided over the meeting of the Finance Committee at which HK$19.6 billion in additional funding for the controversial Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) project was approved in a sudden vote in the face of fierce protest and filibustering attempts from democratic camp legislators. Chan had facilitated the outcome by approving only 36 of 1,262 motions filed by 19 democrats.[5]
He is married to Tsang Wai-ming, an indigenous inhabitant, and has three children. His eldest son, Chan Chun-kit is a Kwun Tong District Councillor.[3]
Public positions
Chairman of the Housing Panel of the Legislative Council (2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05)
Vice-Chairman of the Housing Panel of the Legislative Council (2001–02, 2003–04)