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Quick Facts
![Tanya Chan](https://pplstatic.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.commedia/people/featured/T/tanya-chan/April_24,_2019_outside_Hong_Kong%27s_West_Kowloon_court_Benny_Tai_Chu_Yiu-ming_Tanya_Chan.jpg)
Biography
Tanya Chan (Chinese: 陳淑莊; born 14 September 1971 in Hong Kong) is a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island. She is a founding member of the Civic Party.
Chan is sometimes known as the "Zhou Xun of the Civic Party".
Early life and education
Chan was educated at Sacred Heart Canossian College, and received Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong where she also studied the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws.
Political career
In the 2008 LegCo elections, Chan was elected into, and became a member of, the Hong Kong Legislative Council to represent Hong Kong Island, along with Civic Party leader Audrey Eu.
In January 2010, Chan and other four lawmakers, Albert Chan, Alan Leong, Leung Kwok-hung and Wong Yuk-man resigned from LegCo, forcing a by-election, which they would treat as a "de facto referendum" to press the Chinese Government into allowing universal suffrage in Hong Kong. On 16 May 2010, she was re-elected as a lawmaker in the by-election.
Until 2011, she was a member of Central and Western District Council.
In the 2012 legislative election, she stood as the second candidate in Kenneth Chan's list in Hong Kong Island, in an attempt to boost Civic Party's votes and seats. Although Kenneth Chan was elected, she lost re-election under the party-list proportional representation system. In the 2016 legislative election, she was returned to the Legislative Council, succeeding outgoing Kenneth Chan's seat.
Trial at West Kowloon Court
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On 9 April 2019, at West Kowloon Court, she and 8 other were found guilty (public nuisance, inciting) over their role in the 2014 Hong Kong protests.
Tanya Chan wanted to check her health to say her mother that she was very well and ready to endure a jail term if this would happen. She got full body health check-up in private hospital on 4 April. Tanya Chan had the results of health check ready only on 11 April, then she got consultation in Canossa Hospital on 17 April that there was something unclear with her brain. Then, on 18 April, Dr Edmund Woo Kin-wai, a neurologist, found that Tanya Chan had a meningioma, a type of brain tumor with size 4.2 cm, larger than a ping-pong ball, and it was dangerous for her health because of pressing brain stem, nerves and blood vessels. Medics said on 23 April, that Tanya Chan needed open brain surgery to remove the tumor as soon as possible and having radiotherapy afterwards. There was no clearance on 24 April the brain tumor caused by cancer or not, she needed the open brain surgery for further details about it, said medics.
Therefore, on 24 April, the trial at West Kowloon Court adjourned her sentencing to 10 June because of the needed surgery in two weeks, while other 8 Occupy Central leaders were sentenced to different punishments from 200 hours community service to 16 months of jail.
That same day, Chan, now acting as a lawmaker from Civic Party in Legislative Council, asked Legislative Council president Andrew Leung for leave for the further treatment. Before speaking about her illness, she also asked Hongkongers to continue their fight for democracy and to believe in their faith.
On 10 June 2019, Chan was handed a sentence of eight months suspended for two years after the court was told that she would require radiotherapy treatment and will experience double vision for six months. Her brain tumour was found benign, but had not been completely removed, and needed further therapy. The court also considered her record of public service.