Alan Keung Ka-wai, a 34-year-old Hong Kong activist and self-styled pastor, has stirred controversy after his mother publicly severed ties with him through a newspaper announcement. 

The move coincides with police questioning his biological father as part of an ongoing investigation. Keung, who leads the self-proclaimed Hong Kong Parliament in exile, responded by framing the family rift as a necessary sacrifice in his revolutionary path and affirmed his commitment to his leadership role without stepping down. 

He has continued to share provocative anti-government content online, including mock "wanted posters" targeting national leaders and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, as a retaliatory gesture.

Keung frequently presents himself as a pastor on social media, sharing Bible verses and conducting Christian communion rituals. 

However, his claim to pastoral authority and the legitimacy of his self-founded church have faced persistent skepticism. 

Raised in Tuen Mun, Keung asserted he became a pastor at age 22, a claim later challenged as potentially fabricated. 

Insiders report he was baptized at the Hong Kong Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tuen Mun but began independently organizing student groups and events without church approval. 

In 2012, he left to establish his own congregation, attracting local students as followers.

Family ties severed amid health struggles

Keung’s mother, a Tuen Mun beauty salon owner, revealed in an interview that the family had reached their limit, prompting the public disownment.

Diagnosed with blood lymphoma in 2021, she has completed chemotherapy and targeted therapy but requires ongoing medical check-ups. 

Her husband, Keung’s stepfather, manages a chronic emotional disorder with long-term medication. 

Fearing that police visits linked to her son’s wanted status could worsen her husband’s condition, she made the difficult decision to cut ties. 

Keung was born to her and his biological father, saw their divorce when he was two; she remarried in 1995, raising him with her new spouse, though their relationship was strained, leading him to move out at 20.

In 2015, despite her reservations, she and her husband funded his counseling degree, only for him to drop out and divert the funds to his church activities. 

The 2019 protests further fractured family bonds, as Keung’s political involvement led to his imprisonment despite her pleas to avoid such matters. 

After his release, he moved to Taiwan without contact until a hospital notified them in March 2024 of an assault requiring emergency surgery funds, which the family paid. 

Post-recovery, Keung ignored his family, broadcasting publicly online, and later relocated to Canada, where his ties to pro-independence groups resulted in an arrest warrant. 

His mother, exhausted after years of support without reciprocation, stated he must face the consequences of his choices.

Pastoral claims under scrutiny

Kelvin Yeung, director of the anti-cult Concern Group on Newly Emerged Religions, investigated Keung’s pastoral claims in 2020, meeting him and attending a church service. 

Yeung concluded that Keung lacks formal pastoral qualifications, running a questionable church with rituals pieced together from various sources. 

He pressed Keung to clarify his credentials publicly, receiving a draft statement where Keung described himself as a "believer-pastor" not requiring extensive theological training, citing Protestant denominational flexibility, but Keung never released it.

Yeung noted Keung's refusal to seek guidance from experienced clergy, revealing a lack of boundaries driven by a victim mentality, believing the world owes him. 

Keung shared an unhappy childhood in a single-parent home, including time spent in mainland China, which may have fostered psychological issues, antisocial tendencies, and a desire to control others, particularly youth, through his church to bolster his identity. 

His sermons blend personal narratives with news to influence young followers, raising concerns about manipulative tactics akin to cult practices and prompting warnings about his deceptive influence.