Albert Cheng

Albert Cheng
Member of the Legislative Council (Kowloon East)
In office 30 September 2004 – 30 September 2008
Preceded by	Szeto Wah
Succeeded by	seat abolished
Personal details
Born	3 July 1946 Hong Kong
Spouse(s)	Irene Lo (m. 1987)

Albert Cheng
Traditional Chinese	鄭經翰
Simplified Chinese	郑经翰
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhèng Jīnghàn

Ir. Albert Cheng Jing-han GBS P.Eng FHKIE JP (born 3 July 1946), nicknamed "tai-pan", is an entrepreneur, talk show host, current affairs commentator and democratic activist. He is the founding partner of D100 Radio, after leaving his role as Chairman of Digital Broadcasting Corporation, which he also founded. He hosts the talk show Sunday Taipan on the Now TV and chairs the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting as legislator. As an activist, he was instrumental in mobilising mass opposition to the Hong Kong Government's Central and Wanchai Reclamation Project and the listing of the Link REIT on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Biographical highlights

• 1946 Cheng was born in Hong Kong
• 1968 Cheng emigrated to Canada
• 1982 Cheng returned to Hong Kong and joined Sing Tao Holdings
• 1986 Cheng founded Capital Communications Corporation Ltd
• 1991 Capital Communications was acquired by Paramount Publishing Group, a publicly listed company in Hong Kong
• 1994 Cheng became a host of ATV's talk show "News Tease" (龍門陣)
• 1995 Cheng left Paramount Publishing Group and Capital Communications and began to host Commercial Radio's talk show "Teacup in a Storm”
• 1998 Cheng was ambushed by hired thugs and sustained serious injuries while on his way to work
• 2000 Cheng established 36.com Holdings Ltd.
• 2003 Cheng was hailed as the "chief executive before 10am" because of his outspoken criticisms of government bureaucracy, public policy failures and social injustice.
• 2004 Cheng's contract with Commercial Radio was terminated unilaterally as the Station buckled under political pressure. He was then elected a Legislative Councillor later in the year, fighting, but ultimately failing to prevent the privatisation and listing as REIT (real estate investment trust), the retail assets of Government owned public housing estates.
• 2008 Wave Media Limited was awarded a licence to operate a radio station. Cheng announced that he would not stand for Legco re-election.
• 2009 Work started on Hong Kong’s first Digital Audio Broadcast service.
• 2010 Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, of which Cheng serves as Chairman, received a Digital Opportunity Award from the World Information Technology and Services Alliance(WITSA) and the United Nation’s World Summit Award Mobile 2010: m-Inclusion & Empowerment for its innovative Mobile Link Service, a 24-hour personal emergency service for senior citizens
• 2010 Cheng was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star GBS by HKSAR Government

Honors and awards

Cheng has been decorated with a range of honors and awards in recognition of his public services. The Time magazine named him as one of the "25 Most Influential People in the New Hong Kong" in June 1997, before the former British colony was transformed into a Special Administrative Region under Chinese rule.^[1] In 1998, he was selected by the Business Week as one of the 50 Stars of Asia. In 2000, he was reckoned by Asiaweek & Mingpao as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Hong Kong. He was appointed the Justice of the Peace in 2007. In 2010, Cheng was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) by the HKSAR Government. According to the government citation, Cheng "is a well-respected figure in the media sector. Mr Cheng has shown particular concern about the livelihood of the grassroot members and paid special attention to their problems. He has also founded the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association to provide elderly persons living alone with the Personal Emergency Link Service which, together with its information technology application, has won global recognitions."^[2] While he was in Canada, Cheng won the Vancouver Community Award in 1978.

References

1. http://content.time.com/time/covers/asia/0,16641,19970623,00.html
2. http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201007/01/P201006300344.htm

External links

• Official website of Hong Kong Legislative Council
• Homepage of Albert Cheng
• Homepage of D100 Hong Kong Radio
• Teacup in a Storm