Jeremy Tam Man-ho was a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) representing Kowloon East from 2016 to 2020. Tam was a member of the Civic Party (公民黨), and has been an outspoken advocate for civil liberties, democratic reforms, and government accountability in Hong Kong. 

 Tam graduated with honors from the University of Queensland with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Space Engineering and from the University of New South Wales with a master's degree in Transport Engineering. [1] Tam worked as a pilot for Cathay Pacific. He was the first Chinese person to serve on the executive committee of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA) and the Cathay Pacific pilots' union, where he fought for equal pay and fair treatment between Chinese and foreign pilots, and pushed for reforms to airline regulations. 

 Tam became involved in politics on July 1, 2003, when protesters became angry with then chief executive Tung ­Chee-hwa’s governance as Tung attempted to legislate the Article 23 under the Hong Kong Basic Law, which would give Beijing chances to repress free speech. [2] Since 2007, Tam had run in several District Council and Legislative Council elections. In 2014, Tam became the Vice-Chairman of the Civic Party's Kowloon East Branch. He was the convenor of the party's concern group 機場三跑關注組 on the "Hong Kong Airport Three Runway Plan," questioning the project's budgeting, technical arrangement, environmental preservation, and air traffic control. [3] In the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election, he was elected to represent the Kowloon East constituency. [4]

During the 2019-2020 pro-democracy movement, Tam was committed to walk along young protesters and was condemned by the police force for standing between officers and the protesters. [5] [6] On Aug. 20, 2019, he resigned from Cathay Pacific, intended to protect the company that was under tremendous pressure from China's Civil Aviation Administration. [7] 

In July 2020, Tam participated in the pro-democracy camp primaries where he garnered 23,244 votes — 25.2% of the Kowloon West electorate — and secured a nomination for the upcoming 2020 Legislative Elections.  

Later in November 2020, Tam joined 14 pro-democracy legislators in resigning from LegCo to protest against the decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), resulting to the disqualification of four sitting legislators. [8]

He was among the 47 former opposition lawmakers and activists arrested in January 2021 and charged for violating the National Security Law for their participation in the pro-democracy camp primaries in July 2020. During the bail hearings, Tam resigned from the Civic Party and later announced his decision to leave politics. On Nov. 19, 2024, he was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in jail. [9]

Photo: Wikipedia