Joephy Chan

In April 2020, Chan uploaded a video suggesting the first ever COVID-19 case may have emerged earlier and originated in the U.S. or Australia, not China. The video cited a coronavirus study by a research team at the University of Cambridge, which it claimed pointed to the origin of the virus as the either of these two countries. As of 28 April, the video had received over 380,000 views. However, an investigation by Hong Kong-based news agency FactWire found that the video took the study out of context and misrepresented its findings.^[9][10]

Dr. Peter Forster, the expert who led the Cambridge research team, told FactWire that the purpose of the study was not to identify the origin of the virus, but rather to analyze how it mutates over time and spreads among humans. He also noted that early data showed most patients in the initial stage of the outbreak were in East Asian, suggesting that the virus was already spreading among the area during the early phase.^[11]

In September 2020, Chan and her friend, another pro-establishment figure, Navis Ha, commented on an incident involving a pregnant woman who was pushed down by police during a demonstration marking the first anniversary of the Prince Edward station attack. Chan referred to the woman as a "criminal woman" and questioned her conduct "after being interviewed by the media."^[12]

On 29 September, The then Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang addressed the incident during a Yau Tsim Mong District Council meeting. He stated that during police operations on 31 August and 6 September at the Mong Kok site, a pregnant woman had been pushed down. Tang noted that the scene was very chaotic, and while some people shouted that a pregnant woman was present, not everyone could hear it.^[13]

In March 2023, Chan supported a ban of face masks at lawful rallies, saying "Calling for relaxations of the mask ban is to abet chaos."^[14]

In June 2023, Chan defended a change to district councils election, where fewer seats than before are democratically elected; Chan said "You shouldn't measure it by western values and how much it resembles the western system of politics to decide whether this is the right system for Hong Kong."^[15]