Tung Chee-hwa’s task as Hong Kong’s chief executive was without precedent

The farewell to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa was moving because it marked the passing of a figure who stood at the beginning of a wholly new chapter for Hong Kong, a city to which he devoted so much of himself.

For many, Tung will always be associated with the formidable demands of the early years after the return to the motherland – the Asian financial crisis, the bursting of the property bubble, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and sharp social divisions. The institutions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were new; the expectations placed upon them were immense.

The official eulogy, delivered on behalf of the central government by Shi Taifeng, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), deserves to be read in that context. It did more than honour a public servant. It offered an authoritative assessment of Tung’s place in Hong Kong and China’s history.

In describing him as an outstanding contributor to “one country, two systems”, a renowned patriot, an exceptional social activist and a close friend of the Communist Party, the eulogy recognised the breadth of his contribution. It also made clear that his role cannot be understood only through the events and controversies of a particular political moment. Tung belonged to the generation entrusted with translating a historic national policy into the everyday work of governing a complex international city.