Joseph Cheng facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joseph Cheng
鄭宇碩
Election Committee Higher Education Subsector
In office 2006–2016
Personal details
Born	1949 (age 75–76)
Citizenship	Australian
Political party	Civic Party
Other political affiliations	Pan-democratic camp Power for Democracy Alliance for True Democracy
Education	La Salle College University of Hong Kong Victoria University of Wellington Flinders University
Occupation	Professor
Known for	Universal suffrage activism

Joseph Cheng Yu-shek (born in 1949) is a political scientist and activist from Hong Kong. He is known for supporting democracy. He was a leader for groups like Power for Democracy and Alliance for True Democracy. He also helped start the Civic Party.

Education and Academic Career

Joseph Cheng went to La Salle College. He studied at the University of Hong Kong and the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He earned his first degrees in 1972 and 1973. Later, he got his doctoral degree from Flinders University of South Australia in 1979.

He taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1977 to 1989. Then he worked at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong. From 1991 to 1992, he joined the Central Policy Unit. This was a special group that helped the Hong Kong government with ideas.

In 1992, he became a professor at the City University of Hong Kong. He focused on topics like China's relationships with other countries. He also studied politics in Hong Kong and international politics. He helped start two important journals: Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences and The Journal of Comparative Asian Development. He was also the first president of the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong. He retired from teaching in 2015.

Politics and Democracy Work

Joseph Cheng often shared his thoughts on political issues. In the early 1980s, he saw the talks between China and Britain. These talks were about the future of Hong Kong.

He was a leader of Power for Democracy. This group started in 2002. Its goal was to help pro-democracy groups work together. This way, they could avoid competing against each other in elections. He also helped create the Civic Party in 2003. In 2011, he ran to be the head of the Civic Party. He did not win, but he was an important member.

He was also part of the Election Committee. This group of 1,200 people helps choose the leader of Hong Kong. He represented the Higher Education Subsector.

In 2013, he led the Alliance for True Democracy. This group wanted real democracy for Hong Kong. They suggested different ways for people to choose their leader in 2017. However, the Chinese government set limits on how the leader could be chosen.

Personal Life

Joseph Cheng is married and has a son and a daughter. He now lives in Canberra, Australia. He is an Australian citizen.