John Walden was a London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

-born member of the colonial administration in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 from 1951 until his retirement 1980. He graduated in 1950 from Merton College, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, with an Honours Degree. He also studied Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 at the School of Oriental and African Studies

School of Oriental and African Studies

The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and at the University of Hong Kong.

Political career

Walden joined the Colonial Administrative Service in 1950 and became a member of the Hong Kong government in 1951. He served in the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, in the New Territories Administration as District Office and Deputy District Commissioner for nine years, in the Urban Services Department, the Commerce Department, the Industry Department, Housing Department, and in the Colonial Secretariat. During that time he was a member of the Executive

Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)

An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...

 and Legislative Council

Legislative Council

A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...

, the Urban Council, the Housing Authority

Public housing

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...

 among many other committees.

Between 1976 and 1980, Walden was Director of Home Affairs with the goal of monitoring public opinion. He retired in 1980 to dedicate his life to studying public accountability in Hong Kong as a free-lance researcher. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre of Asian Studies of the University of Hong Kong.http://www.hku.hk/cas/fel_list.html#honrshfel