Recipient of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships for Overseas Studies in 1995/96
尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金1995/96年得獎者
The duty of a Member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in Hong Kong is to represent his/her constituents in decisions of enacting laws, approving public expenditure, and monitoring the performance of the Government. Dr. Kenneth Ka Lok Chan, a recipient of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships for Overseas Studies in 1995, was inspired by his academic training in politics and his earlier involvement in student activities to become a LegCo member. He embraced ideas to transform the society and resolve societal problems at the institutional level.
After a brief stint as a Social Work Major during his first year, Dr. Chan completed his undergraduate degree in Social Science, majoring in Government and Public Administration and minoring in Sociology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He had an affinity for macro-level questions – which, incidentally, was what made his teachers question whether training in Political Science rather than Social Work would be more suitable for his development – and an interest in fixing systemic problems. He read Politics in Oxford University as an MPhil student upon graduating from CUHK in 1990. It was during his MPhil studies that he became fascinated with Eastern European countries, specifically the process of democratization in an era of fear and uncertainty. After graduating with a thesis written on the Polish Solidarity Movement, he spent the next three years teaching political science and international relations in Poland. In 1995, with the support of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowships for Overseas Studies, he returned to the ‘City of Dreaming Spires’ to pursue his DPhil in Politics, looking into the prospects and challenges in the post-communist era across Europe.
In the same year that he graduated, Dr. Chan was appointed as a faculty member of the Department of Government and International Studies (GIS) at Hong Kong Baptist University; a position which he holds until present, albeit in a more senior post. From stimulating consultations with students, to enlightening zoom calls with people around the world, and attending drawn-out faculty meetings, each day is full of its ups-and-downs. Around a decade later, however, Dr. Chan demonstrated that being a political scientist was not enough to stop him from making a difference outside the ‘ivory tower’. In 2012, he was duly elected as a lawmaker in the Legislative Council. Over the next four years, he spent his efforts working with various communities to address the inequalities that they found inadequately addressed, for example, he worked on issues of housing, gender, and education in underprivileged communities in Hong Kong.
Predictably, it was a challenge to juggle two full-time jobs. Being a father, a political scientist, and a legislator meant that Dr. Chan had to run in three directions at all times. An additional challenge was the life he had to become accustomed to as a public figure. For example, a lack of privacy and constant scrutiny for what he said and did, inside and outside the walls of the Legislative Council. In spite of these difficulties, however, he saw the opportunity as a blessing and an endeavor that was worth striving for day-in and day-out.
Dr. Chan successfully finished his four-year term as a legislator in 2016. Although he considered himself to be far from a ‘perfect politician’, he remains resolute in his decision to run. As Dr. Chan explained, “What I always tell my students and my children as well is to expose yourself to challenges and embrace uncertainties. You may end up gaining more if you aim higher, throw yourself into it, and participate. Of course this may come with suffering, but that’s life.”
In addition, Dr. Chan recommended youngsters to be ready to un-learn and re-learn. With increasing political instability and economic uncertainties around the world, Dr. Chan advised young people today to shake off decades-old wisdom on how to achieve success. For example, keeping your head down and working hard does not guarantee you a comfortable life nowadays. So, keep pursuing self-development through studying and learning from others. Speak your mind to let people know where you stand. In this way, you will be well equipped to confront changes for better or worse.
In his interview for the Sir Edward Youde Fellowships for Overseas Studies, the panel members asked him why he would choose to continue researching Poland and Eastern European political developments for his proposed doctoral research. Instead of telling them what they might have wanted to hear, he honestly expounded his rationale to look beyond Hong Kong: At the time when the democracy movement came to a dead-end during the Tiananmen Square incident, the incumbent state in Poland was toppled by the Polish people in a partially free election. The contrast was too striking to be left unstudied. It was at this point during our interview that Dr. Chan imparted his final piece of advice over the table: “Be honest, you would not live to regret it – regardless of whether you are successful or not… Be yourself.”
立法會議員的職責，包括制定法律，批准公共開支以及監察政府。尤德爵士紀念基金海外研究生獎學金1995/96年得獎者陳家洛博士，早在求學時期參與的社會運動，及政治研究中，看到香港社會的弊端；因此他選擇參選立法會，走進建制，期望透過制度改善社會。
陳博士在中文大學社會工作學系短暫地渡過了他本科的第一年後，由於對事物的宏觀層面更感興趣，他選擇轉讀政治與行政學系，並副修了社會學。在90年代初，他到牛津大學攻讀政治學碩士，碰巧當時東歐劇變，多國陸續出現民主化浪潮，所以他的碩士論文取材於波蘭團結工會運動，並在接下來的三年裡在當地教授政治學和國際關係。1995年，他獲得尤德爵士紀念基金的海外研究生獎學金，再次重返牛津大學，修讀政治學博士。
從牛津大學畢業回港後，陳博士投身學術界，在浸會大學的政治及國際關係學系任教。十年間，他的工作圍繞着教學、研究、行政、三方面，但即使身兼數職，他仍希望能在「象牙塔」外作出改變。因此，他參選2012年立法會選舉，並成功當選地區直選議員。在四年間，除了參與了不同的立法事務，他亦透過議員身份與不同組織合作，致力於解決香港社會普遍存在的不公問題，例如弱勢群體所面對的住屋、教育及性別不公等問題。
可以想像，陳博士面對的一大挑戰是如何應付兩份全職工作，作為五個孩子的父親，政治學者及立法會議員，他需要同時兼顧三方面的發展。另一方面，他必須習慣成為公眾人物的生活。不論是在議事廳的內外，陳博士的言行舉止乃至個人私隱都受到社會大眾的注視。儘管挑戰不斷，但他亦視這些機會為恩典，以及每日工作的動力。
陳博士於2016年完成了四年任期，並卸任議員職務。縱使他認為自己的議員生涯並不完美，但他對自己的競選決定感到無悔。他一直告訴他的學生和子女，要勇於面對挑戰，以及隨之而來的不確定性。在過程中，您可能會遇到痛苦，也可能學到更多，但這就是人生必須經歷的過程。另一方面，他建議年青人需要具備忘記所學的一切及重新學習的能力。隨著世界各地政治動盪和經濟不確定性日益增加，忠於自己的年青人必須面對變化與挑戰，擺脫過去幾十年一些成功的智慧。
面對著尤德爵士紀念基金會的面試時，面試官對陳博士選擇繼續研究波蘭和東歐狀況感到好奇。即使陳博士的見解不一定是面試官想聽到的答案，他仍然誠實的指出：在1989中國發生了天安門事件的同時，波蘭的執政黨在大選中被波蘭人民拋棄，失去統治權，他無法忽視如此巨大的分野。直至今天，他一直秉持著一個理念：無論你會否成功，忠於自己，你都不會後悔。