Hong Kong holds state funeral for 1st postcolonial leader

Hong Kong yesterday held a state funeral for its first postcolonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa (董建華), who led the territory through the initial years of its transition from British rule after it was returned to China in 1997.

Chinese officials from Beijing joined Hong Kong political leaders for the service in what was the third state funeral in the territory since the handover.

Tung, a shipping magnate handpicked by Beijing to serve as the territory’s chief executive from 1997 to 2005, died on Sept. 8 at the age of 89. The staunch conservative oversaw a rocky eight-year tenure, grappling with the Asian financial crisis and the SARS epidemic until he resigned in 2005, following widespread protests.

Andrew Tung Lieh-cheung, son of former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, carries a portrait of his father at the Hong Kong Funeral Home yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Vice Chairman Shi Taifeng (石泰峰), the former head of the Chinese United Front Work Department, referred to Tung in a eulogy as a close friend of the party and a renowned patriot, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

He said Tung was an outstanding contributor to the “one country, two systems” framework that governs Hong Kong and Macau.

Flower wreaths lined the wall outside the Hong Kong Funeral Home and Tung’s casket was draped in a Chinese flag when it was brought out after the service. The media were not allowed inside.

Other visiting officials included Chinese Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong (夏寶龍).

About 200 people were invited to the service, the South China Morning Post reported.

Members of the public paid condolences at three venues set up around Hong Kong.

Cheung Kwok-lik, an 89-year-old retired renovation worker, said he had traveled an hour by bus to pay his condolences to the former leader.

During his tenure, Tung weathered the Asian financial crisis and the SARS epidemic in 2003 that killed nearly 300 people and dealt another blow to the economy, which “was by no means easy,” Cheung said.

Tung’s leadership also coincided with record unemployment and the 1997 avian flu outbreak.

In 2003, an estimated 500,000 people took to the streets to protest the government’s plan to enact an anti-treason law that was seen as a threat to civil liberties. The government shelved the plan, and Tung resigned in 2005, citing health reasons.

That protest marked the start of years of pro-democracy protests that came to a head in 2019 and were followed by a crackdown and the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in 2020.

Tung was later elected to the post of vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He was among 42 people who received national medals and honors in 2019 for their contributions to the country.