View source for Chung To

{{Infobox bio
| native_name        = 杜聰
| native_name_lang   = ahh
| other_names        = Du Cong
| birth_place        = [[British Hong Kong]]
| citizenship        = [[Americans|American]]
| alma_mater         = [[Columbia University]] <br> [[Harvard University]]
}}
{{Short description|Hong Kong HIV/AIDS activist}}
{{Family name hatnote|To|lang=Chinese}}

'''Chung To''' ({{Lang-zh|c=杜聰}}; born 1966 or 1967) is a Chinese AIDS activist. He founded the [[Chi Heng Foundation]] (CHF) in 1998, which primarily serves [[AIDS orphan|AIDS orphans]] in Hong Kong and mainland China.<ref name="Santos">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rmaf.org.ph/enewsletter/index.php?_arrNewsid=10&currid=7 |title=CHUNG TO: A Rising Star Changes Course|first=EK |last=Santos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030145158/http://www.rmaf.org.ph/enewsletter/index.php?_arrNewsid=10&currid=7 |archive-date=2007-10-30|website=The Magsaysay Award e-newsletter|access-date=February 7, 2008}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Mark C. |date=2010-03-22 |title=Socrates in Shanghai |url=https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/socrates-shanghai |access-date=2021-07-07 |website=Commonweal Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Chung To |url=https://www.tatlerasia.com/people/chung-to |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Tatler Asia |language=en}}</ref> 

== Early life and education ==
Chung To was born in [[British Hong Kong]] .  His family was originally from [[Northern and southern China|northern China]]（ Hebei province ), with his grandfather working in the railroad industry. They fled to Hong Kong in 1937 under threat of [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|Japanese invasion]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Chase |first=Marilyn |date=2011-08-19 |title=Chung To quit Wall Street to sponsor schooling for China's AIDS orphans |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/node/32563 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Harvard Magazine |language=en}}</ref> 

As a child, his family moved to the United States, in hopes of giving To and his sister, Wing, a good education. As a result, he has dual American and Hong Kong citizenship. In the 1980s, To [[Coming out|came out]] to his friends as gay.<ref name=":1" /> He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from [[Columbia University]], and a master's degree in East Asian studies from [[Harvard University]] in 1991.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2019 |title="Red Bread" Chinese AIDS Orphans Art Exhibition |url=https://www.apda.jp/pdf/e_newsletter/enews_no78_en.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302084138/https://www.apda.jp/pdf/e_newsletter/enews_no78_en.pdf |archive-date=2020-03-02 |access-date=July 7, 2021 |website=APDA}}</ref>

After graduating, To worked as an investment banker for a decade,<ref name=":0" /> first working on [[Wall Street]] for [[Lehman Brothers]] and then in Hong Kong for firm [[UBS]] beginning in 1995.<ref name=":1" />

== Activism ==
To first became involved in AIDS activism in the 1980s, when he participated in the [[AIDS Walk New York|AIDS walk]] and campus events at Columbia. He then became introduced to [[Tongzhi (term)|''tongzhi'']] and AIDS activism in Hong Kong after beginning work there in 1995. In 1997, he decided to use his business skills to further activist work.<ref name=":1" />

To co-founded the Chi Heng Foundation (CHF; Chi Heng meaning "wisdom in action") in 1998, and had devoted himself fully to the foundation by 2001.<ref name=":1" /> In 2002, after meeting some [[AIDS orphan|AIDS orphans]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shuang |first=Feng |date=2016-03-18 |title=Du Cong: Former Wall Street banker gives heart to AIDS orphans |url=http://www.ecns.cn/cns-wire/2016/03-18/203508.shtml |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.ecns.cn}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Siling |first=Luo |date=2016-12-01 |title=Whistle-Blowing AIDS Doctor Reflects on Roots of Epidemic in China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/world/asia/world-aids-day-china-gao-yaojie.html |access-date=2024-05-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> he shifted the foundation's focus to serve AIDS orphans in China, through programs offering "tuition and school aid...psychosocial support, art therapy, summer camps, and vocational training". In 2005, CHF's Henan office was briefly shut down by local officials. To has publicly focused on child welfare and diplomatic language to avoid being targeted for his role as an AIDS activist.<ref name=":1" /> 

In 2006, To was invited to speak at the Central Chinese Communist Party School in Beijing, one of only a few NGO leaders to do so.<ref name=":1" />

By 2011, CHF had expanded to have branches in [[Beijing]], [[Guangzhou]], and [[Shanghai]], and the provinces of [[Anhui]] and [[Henan]].<ref name=":1" /> In 2015, CHF received the China Charity Award from the [[Ministry of Civil Affairs]].<ref name=":2" /> 

== Recognition ==
To was awarded the 2007 [[Ramon Magsaysay Award]] for ''Emergent Leadership'' (shared with [[Chen Guangcheng]]).<ref name="conde">{{cite news |author=Carlos Conde |date=2007-08-02 |title=Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients announced |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/02/news/phils.php |publisher=International Herald Tribune}} (Retrieved on February 7, 2008)</ref> In 2010, [[BNP Paribas]] presented him with an award for individual philanthropy.<ref name=":1" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Ramon Magsaysay Award Winners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:To, Chung}}
[[Category:1960s births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:20th-century Hong Kong businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Hong Kong LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:21st-century American people]]
[[Category:21st-century Hong Kong LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:21st-century Hong Kong people]]
[[Category:American gay men]]
[[Category:American HIV/AIDS activists]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ businesspeople]]
[[Category:Chinese HIV/AIDS activists]]
[[Category:Chinese LGBTQ businesspeople]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Gay businessmen]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Hong Kong gay men]]
[[Category:People from British Hong Kong]]
[[Category:People of Cantonese descent]]


{{China-activist-stub}}
[[Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners]]