Her father Fang Shin-hau was a banker and textile businessman who moved his family to the British colony of Hong Kong in 1948 on the eve of the Communist victory of the Chinese Civil War.

During this period she helped set up the Association of Female Senior Government Officers to fight for better rights for women civil servants, notably pushing for wage parity with men.

Chan was lauded as the most powerful woman in Asia for her role as the deputy of British Governor Chris Patten, and later first Chief Executive of the SAR Tung Chee-hwa.

After Hong Kong's handover to China on 1 July 1997, Chan stayed on as head of the civil service under then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, a valuable sign of stability and continuity for the new administration.

A local member of the PRC's National People's Congress, Tsang Hin-chi, urged the government-owned radio station to exercise self-censorship and not to provide a platform that expressed the splitting of China; Xu Simin, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, urged RTHK to not allow Taiwan's president broadcasts.

[15] On 12 April 2000 Wang Fengchao, deputy director of Central Government's Liaison Office, delivered a speech titled "The Principle of One China and the Taiwan Issue".

[17] The constant criticism of mainland officials and policies was perceived by many to be one of the main reasons for Beijing to view Chan as a malefactor in Hong Kong politics.

In what the Hong Kong media saw as a dressing down for Chan, PRC Vice Premier Qian Qichen told her at a function in Beijing to "better support Tung", after there had been reports of disagreements between the two over the appointment of officials.

[21] In July 2006, she criticised the Commission on Strategic Development, chaired by Donald Tsang, for being "rather slow and unsatisfactory", and announced her intention to start a "Core Group" to push for taking forward the debate on Hong Kong's constitutional reforms.

[22] It was later announced that the group would consist of heavyweights including Allen Lee, Christine Loh, Elizabeth Bosher, Professor Johannes Chan, Chandran Nair and Lily Yam Kwan Pui-ying.

On 11 September 2007, Chan announced that she would run in the December 2007 by-election for the Hong Kong Island seat made vacant by the death of former DAB chairman Ma Lik.

[24][25] During the campaign, she was criticised by Alex Tsui, a former ICAC official who accused Chan of obtaining a 100% mortgage to purchase a flat in 1993 when she was Chief Secretary, suggesting an abuse of power.

Her two main donors were Sir Quo-wei Lee and his wife, and Hong Kong Democratic Foundation chairman George Cautherley, who donated HK$250,000 each.

[32] In April 2014, Anson Chan and Martin Lee, founder of Hong Kong's opposition Democratic Party, went to the United States and met U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, minority leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Lee and Chan also voiced concerns over press freedom in Hong Kong, referring to violent assaults on journalists and alleging that Beijing is pressuring advertisers to shun critical media.

Biden underscored Washington's "long-standing support for democracy in Hong Kong and for the city's high degree of autonomy under the 'one country, two systems' framework".

"[citation needed] In July 2014, Anson Chan and Martin Lee visited the United Kingdom and met with Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the coalition's junior partner the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg and raised concerns over China's jurisdiction of the region, and questioning Britain's commitment to Hong Kong's democratic development.

[33] Liu Xiaoming, PRC ambassador to Britain, described Martin Lee and Anson Chan as "bent on undermining the stability of Hong Kong".

[34] In March 2019, Anson Chan and pro-democrat legislators Charles Mok and Dennis Kwok visited the United States and met with Vice President Mike Pence to speak against Beijing's intervention in Hong Kong affairs and the proposed amendments to Hong Kong extradition law which later escalated to the massive anti-government protests.

The act stipulated that Hong Kong can enjoy a special trading status separate from that between mainland China and the U.S. because of the one country, two systems principle, under which the city has control over its own political and economic affairs.

Her statement ends with her urging the young people of Hong Kong not to lose hope for the future and to "continue to hold fast to the values that underpins our unique city but to do so in a law abiding and peaceful manner".