Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first leader under Chinese rule, laid to rest
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Tung Chee-hwa was laid to rest in a state funeral on Sept 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's first chief executive after the 1997 handover, was honoured in a state funeral attended by top officials, recognising his role in 'one country, two systems.'
- His leadership faced major challenges, including the Asian financial crisis, the SARS epidemic, and 2003 protests against a controversial security law, which was only adopted in 2024.
- After stepping down in 2005, Tung served as a vice-chairman of a Chinese advisory body, founded a US-China exchange foundation, and opposed the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
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BEIJING – Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive after the territory’s handover from Britain to China, was laid to rest in a state funeral on Sept 20.
Tung, who took office in 1997 as Hong Kong emerged from more than 150 years of British colonial rule, died on Sept 8 at the age of 89.
Andrew Tung Lieh-cheung, son of the late shipping magnate and heir to the Orient Overseas Container Line empire, carried a portrait of his father at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in the North Point district, where bouquets of white flowers lined the entrance.
Tung’s wife Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping was seen being supported by family members as she left the memorial, according to local media.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee was among the pallbearers carrying Tung’s casket, which was draped with a Chinese flag.
Shi Taifeng, Politburo member and head of the Communist Party’s Organisation Department, which oversees personnel decisions, delivered a eulogy, lauding Tung as an “outstanding contributor to ‘one country, two systems’” and a “close friend of the Communist Party of China”, Xinhua reported.
Tung’s successors Donald Tsang, C.Y. Leung and Carrie Lam also paid their respects.
Elected in 1996 by a Beijing-backed selection committee, Tung became Hong Kong’s first chief executive under the “one country, two systems” framework and had to steer the city through the Asian financial crisis that hit in 1997, sparking a recession.
In 2003, Tung tried to push through a security law seen as encroaching on Hong Kong’s freedoms, triggering widespread protests. Article 23 was ultimately adopted in 2024 by a pro-Beijing legislature.
Tung was also criticised for the government’s response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003.
Tung stepped down as chief executive in 2005 and that same year became vice-chairman of top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He later accompanied Xi Jinping on visits to the US in 2012 and 2015.
Tung founded the non-profit US-China Exchange Foundation, which promoted people-to-people exchanges and was later criticised for its connections to the Chinese government.
He became an outspoken critic of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests that flared up in 2019. REUTERS