Tributes flow in as Hong Kong mourns Tung Chee-hwa, pioneering first leader
Former business magnate faced difficult crisis during tenure, but officials and former colleagues praise his compassion and ‘brave leadership’
Hong Kong is mourning the death of Tung Chee-hwa, the city’s first leader after its return to Chinese sovereignty and a respected elder statesman, who died on Tuesday at the age of 89.
Tung was surrounded by his family when he “passed away peacefully” at 9.57pm, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Tributes and messages of grief poured in on Wednesday from across Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as from overseas, with top officials, politicians, business leaders and others praising his pioneering role as the first steward of the “one country, two systems” policy under which the city would be administered after the end of British colonial rule in 1997.
They remembered him for steering the city through its uncertain transitional years and laying the groundwork for its post-handover prosperity, and hailed his later role as an elder statesman who worked tirelessly to help improve US-China relations.
Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong issued a statement, describing Tung as a “close friend of the Communist Party of China”, an “outstanding contributor to ‘one country, two systems’” and a “renowned patriot”, while the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office sent a condolence message to his wife, Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping.
The offices said Tung had made “major historic contributions” to Hong Kong’s smooth return to China, while crediting him with tackling complex political, economic and social challenges during the formative years of the special administrative region.
They also highlighted his work after leaving office, saying he continued to support successive chief executives and governments, promote closer ties between Hong Kong and the mainland and use his extensive international connections to foster exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
