Born into a judicial family, my grandfather was a prosecutor, my father Hong Fuzeng was a lawyer who was examined by a military judge, the founder of Criminal Law magazine, and six other sisters. Born in Tongan County, Fujian Province (now a prefecture-level city in Xiamen), he moved to Taiwan Province with his family at the end of 1940s.
He has been married to Zeng Zhilang (former Minister of Education of Taiwan Province Province and former Vice President of Academia Sinica) for many years and has 1 children.