Hong Kong to set up public ‘condolence points’ for first post-Handover leader Tung Chee-hwa

Hong Kong’s government has announced that it will set up three sites for members of the public to pay their respects to the city’s first post-Handover leader Tung Chee-hwa, who passed away last Tuesday at the age of 89.

The Home Affairs Department said on Wednesday that the “condolence points” will be opened over the weekend at Moreton Terrace Activities Centre in Causeway Bay, Kai Tak Community Hall, and Sai Lau Kok Garden in Tsuen Wan.

Visitors will be able to sign condolence books at the venues between 9am and 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and from 9am to noon on Sunday.

State funeral

A state funeral will also be held over the weekend for Tung, who served two consecutive terms as Hong Kong’s first chief executive after the former British territory’s 1997 return to China.

The Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point will host a private vigil from 3pm to 10pm on Saturday, with a public memorial and funeral service beginning the following morning at 9am in the funeral home’s Fuk Hoi Tong hall.

A funeral procession will immediately follow the farewell ceremony at 11am on Sunday.

Tung’s funeral will follow state funeral protocols, making him the third Hong Kong figure to be afforded the honour. Like Tung, the previous two – industrialist Ann Tse-kai and business tycoon Henry Fok – also served as vice-chairs of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body.

Horse races cancelled

The Hong Kong Jockey Club announced on Wednesday that it will cancel its Sha Tin race meeting scheduled for Sunday “in deference to the funeral arrangement for The Honourable Tung Chee Hwa.”

In a statement, the club said it will also close off-course betting branches on Sunday to show respect for the ceremony.

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Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing.