Chau Tin Hang Anthony

Anthony Chau Tin-hang is a Hong Kong barrister who has served as the director of public prosecutions of Hong Kong since May 2026.

Before becoming Hong Kong's chief prosecutor, Chau successively served as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions for technology crime from July 2023 to May 2026, and acting deputy director of public prosecutions (special duties) until May 2023, a role that gave him responsibility for prosecuting many protest-related cases. He also briefly served as the deputy director of public prosecutions (higher courts) from May 2023 to July 2023, between the disbandment of the Special Duties sub-division and the establishment of the Technology Crime sub-division.

Chau has been a prosecutor since at least 2008 and became a senior public prosecutor in 2010, handling magistracy appeals in the High Court. He was a solicitor before being called to the Bar in February 2026, following a shortened pupillage.

Cases

Jimmy Lai trial On Christmas Eve in December 2020, Chau filed an urgent appeal with the Court of Final Appeal and argued that Jimmy Lai should be denied bail and sent back to jail, saying that the threshold for bail in cases around the National Security Law should be high. Chau also argued that people who can commit future offenses without special conditions should not be eligible for release. In response, the judge disagreed and said that "The statements in question on their face appear to be comments and criticisms rather than requests, albeit one might find those views disagreeable or even offensive."

In November 2022, Chau filed an application to delay Lai's trial until after the NPCSC decision on blocking the hiring of foreign lawyers such as Tim Owen in national security cases. Chau claimed to the court that the NPCSC may also ban foreign lawyers from giving advice to clients.

On 13 December 2022, Chau filed another application to delay the case until 3 January 2023, until after the NPCSC was expected to rule in the matter. As Xinhua reported on 30 December 2022, the NPCSC ruled in favor of the Hong Kong government by granting the chief executive the power to bar foreign lawyers from national security cases.

In January 2025, Lai replied to Chau's accusations that Lai was anti-China, saying "Truth seems to have no bearing on you, Mr Chau... You're so free. You're creative. You're great as a prosecutor."

Apple Daily and Next Digital In November 2022, 6 senior staff members of Apple Daily and Next Digital pleaded guilty to taking part in national security offenses. Chau argued that Apple Daily was used to advocate for foreign sanctions on Hong Kong, and said "The impugned content took the form of, among others, articles purported to be news coverage of current issues, commentary articles, and appeals or propaganda directly and unlawfully advocating political agenda." In February 2021, judge Eddie Yip expressed frustration with Chau, who repeatedly complained that Chau glossed over important details, such as who started the attack; Chau eventually admitted that those in white were the ones who started the attack. In response, Yip requested that Chau directly inform him and said "because it’s an open trial, we don't pass notes." Chan is charged with having assisted Andy Li attempt to flee from Hong Kong to Taiwan by boat. On 1 July 2020, he was accused of driving his motorcycle into police while flying a flag that stated "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times". Chau also said that Lee's research was "unreliable and irrelevant". Chau called on a historian, Lau Chi-pang, who claimed to the court that the slogan meant overthrowing the regime.

In April 2021, the judges suggested that Chau's interpretation of "terrorism" was too broad, and that Tong's actions did not necessarily cause or intend harm on a broad level against society.

Koo Sze-yiu In a case against Koo Sze-yiu, Chau argued that the Chinese Communist Party is the "constitutional foundation" to the Basic Law, and also argued that freedom of speech is not absolute.

612 Humanitarian Relief Fund Chau also argued that the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, with members such as Cardinal Joseph Zen, should have registered as a society, and that doing so would not infringe on freedom of association. In addition, Chau argued that the Societies Ordinance was enacted to safeguard national security.

In May 2023, Chau revealed that the prosecution team would use a common law offence as a basis, which the judges questioned and asked Chau why it took them so long to do so, with one judge saying "You have been sitting on this case for 2.5 years."

Views

Bail In February 2021, Chau told the Court of Final Appeal that the default position the government should hold is that those suspected of breaking the national security law should not be granted bail. The prosecution team also argued that those suspected of breaking the national security law should be denied bail, similar to the way murderers are.

Minimum sentencing In October 2022, Chau asked for an additional week for the case against Lui Sai-yu to research on whether the national security law prescribes a mandatory minimum jail sentence, while Lui's lawyer argued that it was only a suggested length of time.

Sanctions In July 2022, the United States' Congressional-Executive Commission on China recommended that Chau be sanctioned by the US government for his work in prosecuting people under the national security law.

Allegations In May 2026, the social activist Frances Hui alleged that Chau had an inappropriate relationship with his subordinate, exploiting public funds to go to five-star hotels with her and give her favorable career positions. Hong Kong authorities condemned Hui, calling the allegations "unfounded" and "ill-intentioned," with the Department of Justice (DoJ) referring the defamation case to police and defending Chau.