An engineer by day, Thomas spends most of his time inspecting construction projects on construction sites. At night, he unwinds by performing in bars and restaurants across Hong Kong.
The 35-year-old has always had a passion for singing – in particular, he enjoys performing songs by Hins Cheung, his favorite Cantopop artist.
“When I have a concert, a third or even half of my songs are Hins songs,” Thomas told HKFP. “I love the way he expresses himself through singing. He’s very creative and has a sense of humour, too.”
Last year, he even signed up for the Hins Academy musical seminarpersonally taught by Cheung. They weren’t cheap, Thomas said, costing about HK$800 or US$900 per workshop.
Cheung, 45, whose music career in Hong Kong has spanned more than two decades, was born and raised in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. He moved to Hong Kong in 2002 to follow the music.
His hits, from old-time favorites like “Tremor” to newer songs like “Imaginary Fairground,” are karaoke staples. He has also gained a lot of high profile CHARGESand his concert tickets sell out very quickly.
last month, Cheung made headlines after apologizing for his past criticism of the government. His comments were published on a full page interview with the state-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po, in which he said he had been “impulsive” and “ignorant” in his younger years.
The extraordinary remorse contrasted with the pro-democracy stance with which Cheung had been associated. While he — like most public figures in the city’s post-security law enforcement environment — has not commented on politics in recent years, his fans recall his support for social movements dating back to the anti-national education protests of 2012.
Cheung also said in the interview that he would serve as a mentor for a Security Bureau program targeting youth arrested for their involvement in protests and riots in 2019. He would lead them on trips to mainland China so they could learn more about the country, he said.
Thomas – who asked to use a pseudonym due to the sensitivity of the subject – said the recent news did not change his perception of Cheung, as he did not think the statements were made of his own free will.
“This is a 180-degree change” from what Cheung used to be, Thomas said in Cantonese. “I think there must be reasons behind the scenes.”
His reaction echoed many comments left on Cheung’s social media posts, some of which said Wen Wei Po’s interview felt “strange” and suggested something “had happened”.
Political pressure
A political scientist at a Hong Kong university, who declined to be named, said he believed the fan theories had some merit. Cheung’s dramatic turnaround showed the growing political pressure artists had to submit to in order to succeed in their field, he said.
He speculated that the government wanted a popular public figure to step forward and “admit their mistakes” to encourage others to rethink their political views. Cheung was a “suitable candidate”, the academic said.
He felt that while Cheung was believed to have a pro-democracy stance, he was not as anti-establishment as other singers who have engaged in political activism.
In fact, while the Cantopop star has expressed support for the city’s social movements, he has also threads for on Weibo celebrating China’s National Day.
“He has the brand of being anti-government in a sense, but he’s not that extreme,” the researcher said. “He’s the ideal guy for the government to work with.”
The apology and cooperation with the government are also beneficial for Cheung from a business perspective, the academic added.
In the past, artists worried that anti-establishment political statements could limit their opportunities across the border. Mainland China has been known to ban singers perceived as pro-democracy, making it difficult for them to hold concerts there.
But now that fear could also be felt at home, the academician said. In recent years, singers who openly express their pro-democracy stance faced difficulties in securing concert venues in the city.
Outside Cheung’s circle of fans, however, criticism is not hard to come by. Lester Shum, a pro-democracy activist who was released from prison in January after serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence in a landmark national security case, said in Threads that Cheung was doing it “for the money”.
He appeared to downplay concerns that Cheung was under any pressure.
“Don’t say he would be arrested if he didn’t do this lmao,” Shum wrote in Chinese. “I think the chances of that happening are close to zero.”
Another Threads user accused Cheung of “playing the victim” and trying to fish for sympathy.
‘For his music’
Such comments don’t faze longtime fan Brian, who said he’s been listening to Cheung since his late elementary school days.
The 29-year-old said he had been to Cheung’s concerts eight or nine times, a success made possible by the fact that he was able to buy inside tickets through a relative of a friend who worked at Emperor Entertainment Group, the Hong Kong talent management giant that manages the artist.
Tickets are very hard to come by during public sales, said Brian, who declined to give his full name.
“I’ve liked him for so many years for his music, not because of the things he’s said about politics in the past,” Brian told HKFP. “So I’m not going to stop liking him because of what he’s said about politics now.”
He told HKFP that he himself is not a political person and that he does not support “any party”.
“But in Hong Kong, if you say you support the government, you will have more opportunities,” he said. “If (Cheung) still wants to develop in Hong Kong, hold shows and appear in films, his attitude should be supportive of the government.”
According to local media, Cheung appeared at a Security Bureau event at the Hong Kong Museum of History in late April, where he and other speakers addressed about 300 people. The event was aimed at young people who were arrested during the 2019 protests and riots.
singer common the ups and downs of his career, including being scammed by a record company in mainland China when he was 17. In his speech, he did not mention national security.
The participants were then taken to the national security exhibit at the museum. Afterwards, there was a lucky draw, with tickets to a star-studded concert with Emperor Entertainment Group singers among the prizes, an attendee told local media.
Thomas said he did not think Cheung wanted to cooperate with the government in her event, but perhaps he should have done so as a favor to his music company, which is said to be experiencing financial difficulties. Last year, Emperor Group actress Michelle Wai also gave one TALK in a similar Security Bureau event targeting former 2019 protesters.
He also said it was “abnormal” that Cheung had not followed many Instagram accounts around the time the Wen Wei Po interview came out, including some of his closest artist friends such as Terence Lam and Tyson Yoshi.
Thomas said he believed Cheung would not do it on his own.
He added that while Cheung had not spoken about politics in recent years, his music had video for “Imaginary Fairground” – filmed in London in 2023 and depicting the struggle of Hongkongers to adapt to a new life in the UK – was interpreted by fans as a message of encouragement to those who had emigrated due to the city’s political developments.
Thomas’ friends, who are also Cheung fans, share his continued support for the artist, the hobbyist singer said, but some members of his audience seem less forgiving.
Thomas had encountered restaurant patrons at his concerts who, after hearing him perform Cheung’s songs, said they no longer listened to the Cantopop star.
“I think they’re not his real fans,” Thomas said. “All they’ve seen are the news reports.”
