David Chan Yuk-cheung

David Chan Yuk-cheung (陈毓祥, 14 October 1950 – September 26 1996) was born in Chaoyang, Guangdong, China. He was a leader of the Baodiao movement, an advocacy movement for Chinese sovereignty over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands, in Hong Kong as part of the Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan.

Biography
A high school graduate from the King's College, Hong Kong, David Chan Yuk-cheung obtained a bachelor degree from the University of Hong Kong and a master degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He started to participate in the Baodiao movement in 1970s. He served as the high school chair for the Movement of Defending Diaoyu Islands, an activity organization under the Hong Kong Federation of Students. After graduation, he worked in RTHK and the Cantonese broadcast group of BBC. He was the first generation of hosts for Phone-in programs and accumulated some notability. He ran for a seat in the Hong Kong legislative election, 1991 but didn't get it.

On September 26, 1996, activists on board of the ship "Baodiao" arrived in the waters around the Senkaku Islands. Chan Yuk-cheung, together with 5 fellow activists, jumped into the sea and swam to the island in lifejackets. While swimming, Chan's feet were caught by wires and his head was injured. He passed out in the water and remained upside down for several minutes. Possibly he suffered from asphyxia. A Japanese patrol boat later rescued him and sent him to Miyako-jima or Okinawa by helicopter, where he died. When his coffin arrived at the Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, it was covered with the national flag of China (i.e., the Five-Star Red Flag).

On October 6, 1996, more than 2,000 people attended a memorial service for Chan Yuk-cheung held at Hong Kong, including officials from both mainland China and Hong Kong.

On October 22, 2006, activists of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan attempted to approach the islands on board of the fishing boat "Baodiao II" to demonstrate in memory of Chan Yuk-cheung on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death. They were kept away by Japanese Coast Guard ships but paid a public tribute to Chen Yuk-cheung at a position ten nautical miles from the islands.