Samuel Chu

{{Short description|Hong Kong activist (born 1978)}} {{Family name hatnote|Chu (朱)|Samuel Chu|Chu Muk-man|lang=Hong Kong}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox person | image = Chu samuel headshot2021.jpg | caption = Samuel Chu in 2022 | native_name = {{nobold|朱牧民}} | native_name_lang = zh-hk | birth_name = Samuel Chu Muk-man | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|1|3|df=y}} | birth_place = Hong Kong | father = Chu Yiu-ming | occupation = Community organizer | alma_mater = University of California, San Diego (BA)<br />Fuller Theological Seminary | module = {{infobox Chinese | child = yes | c = 朱牧民 | j = zyu1 muk6 man4 | p = Zhū Mùmín}} }} '''Samuel Chu Muk-man ''' ({{lang-zh|c=朱牧民|link=no}}; born 3 January 1978) is a Hong Kong and American activist and community organizer. Chu is the founder and President of The Campaign for Hong Kong, a US-based nonpartisan organization whose mission is to advocate for American leadership and policies that advance human rights and democracy in Hong Kong.<ref name="The Campaign for Hong Kong">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hkcampaign.org/|title=The Campaign for Hong Kong|website=The Campaign for Hong Kong}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Tattersall |first1=Amanda |last2=ChangeMakers |last3=Chu |first3=Samuel |date=2020 |title=Changemaker Chat with Samuel Chu: Community Organising in the US for Hong Kong Democracy |url=https://commonslibrary.org/changemaker-chat-with-samuel-chu-community-organising-in-the-us-for-hong-kong-democracy/ |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=Commons Social Change Library}}</ref> He is also a founding member of the advisory board of the Axel Springer SE Freedom Foundation in Berlin (Germany),<ref name="Axel Springer Freedom Foundation">{{Cite web|url=https://freedom.axelspringer.com/en/home/|title=Axel Springer Freedom Foundation|website=Axel Springer Freedom Foundation}}</ref> a senior advisor to the president and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, and a trainer for Midwest Academy, a training school for community organizers in the US.

Chu is also the founder of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), launched in 2019,<ref name="HKDC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hkdc.us/|title=The voice for Hong Kong and Hong Kongers in the US|website=HKDC}}</ref> and was its managing director until August 2021.<ref name="hkfp_20210828">{{cite web|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/08/24/hong-kong-pro-democracy-lobbying-group-in-washington-dc-sees-leadership-depart/|title=Hong Kong pro-democracy lobbying group in Washington DC sees leadership depart|first=Selina|last=Cheng|work=Hong Kong Free Press|date=24 August 2021|access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref> The success of HKDC and Chu in pushing for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, and for economic sanctions and visa bans by the US on Chinese and Hong Kong officials it deemed responsible for the erosion of Hong Kong's basic freedoms and autonomy, led Hong Kong authorities to issue arrest warrants against Chu in July 2020, making him the first foreign citizen to be targeted under the Hong Kong National Security Law.<ref name="WSJ: Hong Kong’s Exiled Dissidents Become Fugitives From China">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kongs-exiled-dissidents-become-fugitives-from-china-11596793908/|title=Hong Kong's Exiled Dissidents Become Fugitives From China|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=7 August 2020 |last1=Strumpf |first1=Dan }}</ref><ref name="The New York Times: Why Is China Coming After Americans Like Me in the U.S.?">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/opinion/china-hong-kong-arrest.html/|title=Why Is China Coming After Americans Like Me in the U.S.?|work=The New York Times |date=10 August 2020 |last1=Chu |first1=Samuel }}</ref>

Samuel is a frequent presenter and speaker at convenings, including Forum 2000,<ref name="Forum 2000">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forum2000.cz/en/forum-2000-conferences-2022-speakers-democracys-clear-and-present-danger-how-do-|title=Forum 2000|website=Forum 2000}}</ref> Oslo Freedom Forum,<ref name="Oslo Freedom Forum">{{Cite web|url=https://oslofreedomforum.com/speakers/samuel-chu-2/|title=Oslo Freedom Forum|website=Oslo Freedom Forum}}</ref> #RealCollege,<ref name="#RealCollege">{{Cite web|url=https://hope4college.com/|title=The Hope Center | For College, Community, and Justice|website=The Hope Center}}</ref> and RightsCon,<ref name="RightsCon">{{Cite web|url=https://hrf.org/key-takeaways-from-hrf-at-the-2022-rightscon/|title=RightsCon|website=RightsCon|date=24 June 2022 }}</ref> and for organizations such as Jewish World Watch, Pacific Council on International Policy, Freedom House, etc. He regularly testifies in front of the United States Congress and Parliaments across Europe.<ref name="Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: China and Human Rights in Hong Kong">{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?515322-1/china-human-rights-hong-kong|title=Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: China and Human Rights in Hong Kong}}</ref><ref name="2022 Pacific Council Annual Dinner: Freedom at Risk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pacificcouncil.org/2022AnnualDinner|title=2022 Pacific Council Annual Dinner: Freedom at Risk|date=18 March 2022 }}</ref>

From 2011 to 2021, Chu served as the national organizer for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger,<ref name="Mazon">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mazon.org/|title=Advocacy is the Cornerstone of Our Strategy|website=MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger}}</ref> leading local and regional campaigns around issues of food insecurity and access in various states. He was a fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at University of Southern California,<ref name="CRCC fellow">{{Cite web|url=https://crcc.usc.edu/people/samuel-chu/|title=Samuel Chu|website=crcc.usc.edu}}</ref> where he engages in research, writing and teaching around community organizing, public leadership, and the role of religious institutions in social change.

He served as chair and president of the board of directors of One LA<ref name="OneLA">{{Cite web|url=https://www.onela-iaf.org/|title=One LA-IAF|website=One LA-IAF}}</ref><ref name="One LA leaders show clout, by Bill Boyarsky, LA Observed">{{Cite web|url=http://www.laobserved.com/boyarsky/2009/01/one_la_activists_show_their_cl.php|title=One LA activists show their clout – Bill Boyarsky}}</ref>-Industrial Areas Foundation, one of the nation's largest community organizing networks and of 1010 Development Corporation,<ref name="One LA IAF and 1010 Development Addresses Healthcare Reform's Impact on Small Businesses in California">{{Cite web|url=http://templeemanuelbhblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/a-resounding-yes-we-will-work-with-one-la/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322072502/http://templeemanuelbhblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/a-resounding-yes-we-will-work-with-one-la/|url-status=dead|title=A Resounding "YES" we will work with ONE LA – From Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, LA County Dir. of Health Services Mitchell Katz and Assemblyman Mike Feuer|archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref> a non-profit affordable housing developer in Los Angeles rooted in the United Methodist tradition.

He also directed special projects for Consumer Watchdog as well as the social justice program, Minyan Tzedek, at IKAR,<ref name="IKAR">{{Cite web|url=https://ikar-la.org/|title=IKAR|website=IKAR LA}}</ref> a Jewish spiritual community that stands at the intersection of spirituality and social justice in Los Angeles, CA, led by Rabbi Sharon Brous.

==Early life== Chu was born on 3 January 1978 in Hong Kong. He grew up in a Southern Baptist household.<ref name="Blessed Are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy in America">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Stout|title=Blessed Are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqjjFCB4jfoC|date=11 October 2010|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-3607-9|page=207}}</ref> Chu graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2000, majoring in political science. He completed his studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2002.

== Arrest warrant under the National Security Law == In July 2020, Hong Kong authorities issued an arrest warrant for Samuel Chu under the newly enacted National Security Law—making him the first foreign national to be targeted by the legislation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gabbatt |first=Adam |title=Arrest warrant issued for campaigner and US citizen Samuel Chu |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 July 2020 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/china-hong-kong-security-law-american-citizen-exiles |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=US Citizen Faces Hong Kong Arrest Warrant Under New Security Law |website=Business Insider |date=2 August 2020 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/us-citizen-hong-kong-arrest-warrant-issued-new-security-law-2020-8 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> Article 38 of the law explicitly asserts extraterritorial jurisdiction, enabling authorities to prosecute individuals—including non-residents—who commit alleged violations from outside Hong Kong.

Chu strongly condemned the warrant, stating that it criminalized his constitutional right in the U.S.—specifically, advocating and lobbying on behalf of Hong Kong democracy from abroad. He described his case as serving as a "test case" for the law’s application to foreign nationals, warning of broader chilling effects on diaspora activism.<ref>{{cite web |title=US Activist Accused of Breaching HK's Security Law Says He Will Not Back Down |website=Voice of America |date=2 August 2020 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_us-activist-accused-breaching-hks-security-law-says-he-will-not-back-down/6193812.html |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

The international community responded with concern. U.S. lawmakers condemned the action as unwarranted and retaliatory, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senators such as Marco Rubio and Dick Durbin publicly supporting Chu in defending pro-democracy speech and civic activism beyond Hong Kong’s borders.<ref>{{cite web |title=Samuel Chu: Hong Kong issues warrant for an American... |website=Center for Religion and Civic Culture, USC |date=9 September 2020 |url=https://crcc.usc.edu/hong-kong-issues-warrant-for-samuel-chu-an-american-citizen-activist-and-pastors-son/ |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

Subsequently, Chu has been categorized among "fugitives wanted under the Hong Kong National Security Law, a classification that underscores both the severity of the warrant and the authorities’ intent to enforce the law extraterritorially.<ref>{{cite web |title=LA Resident Targeted by Hong Kong Government |website=Spectrum News 1 (CA) |date=19 September 2020 |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/southern-california/public-safety/2020/09/19/the-first-american-citizen-targeted-by-hong-kong-government |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

==Career== He pastored at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church USA) in Los Angeles, CA from 2002 to 2009,<ref name="Immanuel Presbyterian">{{Cite web|url=https://immanuelpres.org/|title=Home|first=Edward|last=Murray}}</ref> a multi-cultural, social justice congregation on Wilshire Boulevard.

He also served on the board of directors of various other organizations such as the California Council of Churches.

Chu was the executive director of California Faith for Equality and California Faith for Equality Action Fund from January 2009 to March 2011.<ref name="release">{{Cite web|url=https://cffenewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/samuel-m-chu-named-executive-director.html|title=California Faith for Equality News Blog: SAMUEL M. CHU NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF|first=California Faith For|last=Equality|date=7 April 2010}}</ref> Chu was appointed as interim executive director in January 2009<ref name="MLP release">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20090417195443512|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719083012/http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20090417195443512|url-status=dead|title=MLP Congratulation|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> and later appointed as CFE's first permanent executive director in April 2010 after an extensive national search. He was the first straight person to head a statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender supportive organization. Under his leadership, CFE filed one of the largest amicus briefs to the courts in support of marriage equality.<ref name="Amicus brief">{{Cite web|url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/21-s189476-amicus-curiae-brief-of-ca-faith.pdf|title=No. S189476 Amicus Curiae Brief of CA Faith for Equality}}</ref>

In 2011, Chu was recognized by the city of Los Angeles with the LGBT Pride Award for his leadership in promoting and organizing religious support for LGBT civil rights and marriage equality.<ref name="LGBT Pride Awards 2011">{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/24980254|title=Bill Rosendahl LGBT Pride Awards Samuel Chu|via=Vimeo}}</ref>

In 2008, Chu joined the effort, as a national director, to develop the national, bi-coastal network of youth development projects called WorkUp, focusing primarily on asset building, financial literacy, and social entrepreneurship.<ref name="WorkUp Website">{{Cite web|url=http://www.workup.org/|title=WorkUp|website=workup.org}}</ref>

He has organized for OneLA<ref name="OneLA"/><ref name="OneLA Facebook">{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/OneLA.IAF/|title=OneLA|via=Facebook}}</ref> where his accomplishments included creating and implementing projects such as the largest community-led enrollment program for the Affordable Care Act in California<ref name="LA Times">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2012-nov-19-la-me-health-reform-outreach-20121114-story.html|title=California works to get word out on health insurance exchange|date=19 November 2012|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg News">{{Cite web|date=2013-11-15|title=Obamacare Deductibles 26% Higher Make Cheap Rates a Risk|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-15/obamacare-deductibles-26-higher-make-cheap-rates-a-risk.html|access-date=2020-10-10|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}}</ref> and the nation's first mortgage principle reduction plan during the foreclosure crisis<ref name="CALHFA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/about/events/board-meetings/books/2010/Book287-20100326/Book287_Handouts.pdf/ |title=Industrial Areas Foundation Foreclosure Prevention Plan |access-date=31 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195902/http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/about/events/board-meetings/books/2010/Book287-20100326/Book287_Handouts.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NLSLA">[http://www.nlsla.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Principal-Reduction-Press-Release-.pdf Neighborhood Legal Services Los Angeles County Press Release]</ref>

In his role as National Organizer for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Chu oversees engagement of over 950 synagogue partners across the country and directs a growing political constituency that has won legislative and administrative changes at the state and regional levels – including $8 million in new state funding to provide free school lunch to 62,000 additional low-income students in Minnesota, universal breakfast for over 4,000,000 students across 1,000 public school campuses in Texas, and improved access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as "food stamps") for thousands of families, veterans and homeless minors in Pennsylvania and California.

=== Advocacy against lunch shaming === While serving as National Organizer for the hunger advocacy organization MAZON, Chu launched and led the nation's first state legislative effort to expose and address "lunch shaming" in Minnesota.<ref name="Lunch-aid Bill">{{Cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/rosenblum-lunch-aid-bill-feeds-an-essential-need/191756551/|title=Lunch-aid bill feeds an essential need|website=Star Tribune}}</ref> "Lunch shaming"<ref name="Lunch Shaming">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/u-s-schools-rethink-lunch-shaming-policies-humiliate-children-meal-debts|title=U.S. schools rethink 'lunch shaming' policies that humiliate children with meal debts|date=5 July 2017|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref> is the practice by school staff and workers of denying students healthy, nutritious meals because of the inability to pay or accrued debts. When a student is unable to pay for a school meal, he or she might be given an alternative meal (like half a cheese sandwich), some are turned away, others have their food taken away and dumped. The "shaming" extends to practices such as "hand-stamping" – whereas a student's hand is stamped with the word "money" – or other forms of debt collection activities against the students and families. The campaign led to the expansion of free school meals to 62,000 additional low-income students in Minnesota and led to the first statewide ban on all shaming practices by schools.

Working in partnership with staff attorney Jessica Webster of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Chu testified at the Minnesota Legislature in 2013 in support of reforms that would ensure students were not denied meals, had trays thrown away, or were otherwise stigmatized because of unpaid lunch debt.<ref>{{cite news |last=Grow |first=Doug |title=At the Capitol, a clash over whether kids should go hungry in school |url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2013/03/capitol-clash-over-whether-kids-should-go-hungry-school/ |work=MinnPost |date=March 19, 2013}}</ref>

The resulting "School Lunch Aid Act" was signed into law in 2014 by Governor Mark Dayton, and is widely cited as the first statute in the nation to restrict lunch shaming.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dayton signs bill ensuring Minnesota students get lunch regardless of ability to pay |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/04/03/dayton-school-lunch-bill |work=MPR News |date=April 3, 2014}}</ref> MAZON later described this campaign, launched in 2012, as the "first successful campaign to expose and ban 'lunch shaming' practices."<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Lunch Shaming Persists |url=https://mazon.org/news/blog/why-lunch-shaming-persists/ |publisher=MAZON |date=June 21, 2019}}</ref>

thumb|Samuel Chu, speaking at the Concert for the Future in Prague, commemorating the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in 2022.

From 2016 to 2017, Chu served as the Director of the Civic Engagement Program for Murmuration – a 16-school pilot program in Los Angeles County designed to increase voter engagement and parent leadership by combining community organizing, voting data, and civic tech. The program resulted in a voting bloc of over 6,000 voters across partnering schools, registered over 2,000 new voters within the 16 school communities, and boosted voter turnout among pilot schools to consistently outpace the state, county, city, and district turnout over five consecutive elections. In his role with Murmuration Chu also organized one of the largest parent-led public actions in May 2017 to protect immigrant families with 300 parent leaders, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and Los Angeles Police Department.

Chu was the managing director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council<ref name=bbc /> until August 2021, when he stepped down together with fellow core members Victoria Hui and Annie Boyajian. Chu and Boyajian did not give reasons for their resignations; Hui hinted at difficulties within the board after efforts to recruit new leaders had failed.<ref name="hkfp_20210828"/>

=== The Campaign for Hong Kong === After stepping down from the Hong Kong Democracy Council in August 2021, Chu founded the '''Campaign for Hong Kong''', a U.S.-based nonpartisan organization advocating for American and international leadership to defend democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and to support global democratic movements.<ref name="About — Samuel Chu">{{cite web |title=About — Samuel Chu |url=https://www.samuelmchu.com/about |website=SamuelMChu.com |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

Under his leadership, the Campaign has achieved several key successes, including: * Advocating for landmark U.S. policies such as the '''Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act''', the '''Hong Kong Autonomy Act''', targeted sanctions, and protections such as '''Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED)''' for Hong Kongers in the U.S.<ref name="About — Samuel Chu"/> * Organizing a '''virtual ceremony in May 2022''' to honor winners of the Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards after the event was canceled by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, drawing international attention to press freedom under threat in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hong Kong's human rights press awards scrapped over security law fears |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/25/hong-kong-human-rights-press-awards-foreign-correspondents-club-scrapped-security-law-fears#:~:text=Hong%20Kong's%20human%20rights%20press%20awards%20scrapped,violate%20the%20city's%20wide%2Dranging%20national%20security%20law. |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 April 2022 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> * Leading a delegation to the '''Vatican''' to meet with officials from the Holy See’s foreign ministry, including those overseeing relations with China, to raise concerns about religious freedom, transnational repression, and the impact of the national security law on faith communities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hong Kong democracy activist Samuel Chu meets with Vatican officials |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251348/hong-kong-democracy-activist-samuel-chu-meets-with-vatican-officials |newspaper=Catholic News Agency |date=2 December 2022 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> * Orchestrating the installation of a full-sized replica of the '''"Pillar of Shame"''' memorial in Berlin, Germany, after the original was dismantled at the University of Hong Kong in 2021. The Berlin display has become a prominent symbol commemorating the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and a rallying point for Hong Kong pro-democracy advocacy in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |last=Davidson |first=Helen |title=Replica of Tiananmen Square 'Pillar of Shame' sculpture unveiled in Berlin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/04/replica-of-tiananmen-square-pillar-of-shame-sculpture-unveiled-in-berlin |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 June 2022 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> * Chu has discussed the concept of transnational repression in media appearances and advocacy work to describe authoritarian governments’ targeting of dissidents abroad, and advancing a holistic response that combines legislative action, international coalition-building, and community protection for exiled activists.<ref name="Freedom House">{{cite report |title=Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach: The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression |publisher=Freedom House |date=February 2021 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Case Study: Hong Kong – Transnational Repression in Practice |publisher=Freedom House |date=2022 |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/case-study/hong-kong |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> * Elevating the cases of imprisoned dissidents and pressuring for their release, including sustained international advocacy for Hong Kong media tycoon and democracy campaigner '''Jimmy Lai''', as well as contributing to the successful release of Russian opposition leader '''Vladimir Kara-Murza''' through coordinated global campaigns.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news |title=Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai faces national security charges |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55515571 |newspaper=BBC News |date=31 December 2020 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Vladimir Kara-Murza freed in Russia prisoner swap |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/world/europe/vladimir-kara-murza-prisoner-swap.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 July 2025 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> * Serving as a public voice and organizer to counter such threats, including participation in international forums and media appearances to highlight the dangers faced by dissidents worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our mission is to advocate for American and global leadership and policies that advance human rights and democracy for all Hong Kongers |url=https://hkcampaign.org/ |website=The Campaign for Hong Kong |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition == In June 2025, Chu was awarded the '''Honorary Decoration of Solidarity and Human Rights''' by the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk, Poland. The award was presented during Poland’s annual observance of Freedom and Civil Rights Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the June 4, 1989 democratic elections. The Decoration recognizes individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to defending human rights in civic, cultural, scientific, and educational fields. Chu was among the inaugural group of recipients, alongside figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Samuel Chu |url=https://www.samuelmchu.com/about |website=SamuelMChu.com |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=European Solidarity Centre – XI International Forum |url=https://polish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/xi-international-forum/ |website=Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Samuel Chu receives award in Gdańsk |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DIxlKoRRmOL/ |website=Instagram |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

== Media and publications == Chu’s activism and advocacy have been widely covered by international media, including features in ''The Guardian'', ''The Washington Post'', ''BBC News'', and ''Voice of America''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arrest warrant issued for campaigner and US citizen Samuel Chu |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/china-hong-kong-security-law-american-citizen-exiles |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 July 2020 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="Pomfret">{{cite news |last=Pomfret |first=John |title=In Hong Kong, A Haven For China's Rebels |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/06/02/in-hong-kong-a-haven-for-chinas-rebels/6c27e3de-6d3b-4d45-9b1a-62f6f47b8503/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2 June 2001 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="bbc.com"/><ref>{{cite web |title=US Activist Accused of Breaching HK's Security Law Says He Will Not Back Down |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_us-activist-accused-breaching-hks-security-law-says-he-will-not-back-down/6193812.html |website=Voice of America |date=2 August 2020 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

He has been interviewed on numerous podcasts and broadcast programs, including ''Dr. Phil Primetime'', ''Changemakers Chat'', ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', and ''One Decision'', where he spoke about democracy movements, the Hong Kong diaspora, and threats of transnational repression.<ref>{{cite web |title=Changemakers Chat – Samuel Chu |url=https://www.pacificcouncil.org/newsroom/changemakers-chat-samuel-chu |website=Pacific Council on International Policy |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Megyn Kelly Show Episode featuring Samuel Chu |url=https://www.megynkelly.com/podcast |website=The Megyn Kelly Show |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=One Decision Podcast featuring Samuel Chu |url=https://onedecisionpodcast.com |website=One Decision |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

Chu has also been profiled or cited in books examining global authoritarianism and Hong Kong’s democracy movement, including ''Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy'' (2023) by Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin, and ''Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World'' (2022) by Bethany Allen.<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Mahtani | first1 = Shibani | last2 = McLaughlin | first2 = Timothy | title = Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy | publisher = Grand Central Publishing | year = 2023 | isbn = 9780306830365 }} </ref><ref> {{cite book | last = Allen | first = Bethany | title = Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World | publisher = Harper | year = 2023 | isbn = 9780063057418 }} </ref>

He also co-authored the chapter "Policy Change: Leveraging Federal Food Benefits to Support College Completion" with Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield in the edited volume ''Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention'' (2018), published by Johns Hopkins University Press.<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Duke-Benfield | first1 = Amy Ellen | last2 = Chu | first2 = Samuel | editor1-last = Broton | editor1-first = Katharine M. | editor2-last = Cady | editor2-first = Clare L. | title = Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | year = 2020 | isbn = 9781421437729 | chapter = Policy Change: Leveraging Federal Food Benefits to Support College Completion | pages = 251–268 }} }</ref>

In August 2020, Chu published an op-ed in ''The New York Times'' titled "Why Is China Coming After Americans Like Me in the U.S.?" where he described being targeted under Hong Kong’s National Security Law and warned of its extraterritorial implications.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chu |first=Samuel |title=I'm an American Citizen. Hong Kong Wants to Arrest Me Anyway. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/opinion/china-hong-kong-arrest.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 August 2020 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

In film, Chu has appeared in or been featured in documentaries including ''The Hong Konger'' (2022), which profiles media mogul Jimmy Lai and the broader Hong Kong democracy movement,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hong Konger documentary |url=https://thehongkongermovie.com |website=Acton Institute |date=2022 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> ''Faceless'' (2021), which follows young activists involved in the Hong Kong protests,<ref>{{cite web |title=Faceless documentary |url=https://www.facelessfilm.com |website=Faceless Film |date=2021 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> and ''Hong Kong’s Final Days of Freedom'' (2021), which chronicles the city’s last period of open dissent before the imposition of the National Security Law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hong Kong's Final Days of Freedom |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/hong-kongs-final-days-of-freedom/ |website=Frontline (PBS) |date=2021 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

In addition, his advocacy has been discussed in reports such as Freedom House’s ''Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach'', which documents the global scale of transnational repression.<ref name="Freedom House"/>

==Personal life== Chu resides in Los Angeles, California while also spending significant time in Washington, DC. Chu is the son of Rev. Chu Yiu-ming, a retired minister who co-founded Occupy Central with Love and Peace<ref name="Occupy Central with Love and Peace">{{Cite web|url=http://oclp.hk/|title=讓愛與和平佔領中環|website=oclp.hk}}</ref> and one of the leaders of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.<ref name="Who guides Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' pro-democracy movement?">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/30/hong-kong-pro-democracy-protest-leaders-occupy|title=Who guides Hong Kong's 'Umbrella Revolution' pro-democracy movement?|first=Jonathan|last=Kaiman|date=30 September 2014|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref name="A Family Occupation: Samuel Chu in Hong Kong">{{Cite web|url=https://crcc.usc.edu/witness-to-a-revolution-samuel-chu-in-hong-kong/|title=A Family Occupation: Samuel Chu on the Occupy Central Movement in Hong Kong|website=crcc.usc.edu|date=30 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Escape from Tiananmen: How Secret Plan Freed Protesters">{{Cite web|date=2014-05-27|title=Escape From Tiananmen: How Secret Plan Freed Protesters|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-27/escape-from-tiananmen-how-secret-plan-freed-protesters.html|access-date=2020-10-10|publisher=Bloomberg News}}</ref> Reverend Chu was also a key figure in organizing '''Operation Yellowbird''', a clandestine network that helped smuggle Chinese student leaders and dissidents out of mainland China following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.<ref name="Pomfret"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |title=How Hong Kong rescued Tiananmen leaders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/29/tiananmen-square-protests-anniversary-hong-kong |newspaper=The Guardian |date=29 May 2009 |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

In July 2020, police in Hong Kong announced that they were seeking the arrest of six pro-democracy activists. Chu was one listed, despite being an American citizen.<ref name=bbc>{{Cite news|date=3 July 2020|title=Hong Kong 'seeking arrest' of fleeing activists|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53616583|access-date=1 August 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Samuel}} Category:University of California, San Diego alumni Category:Hong Kong emigrants to the United States Category:Living people Category:Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Category:University of Southern California fellows Category:1978 births Category:Fugitives wanted under the Hong Kong national security law Category:Human rights activists Category:Hong Kong democracy activists