Death of Tung Chee-hwa
Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's first chief executive after the 1997 handover, who died in early September, was remembered by former colleagues for his early foresight in developing the city's technology sector -- including establishing Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park -- and for proactively deepening economic ties with mainland China. Tam Yiu-chung, a former member of Hong Kong's Executive Council under Tung and later Hong Kong's sole delegate to China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, credited Tung with proposing both the Individual Visit Scheme for mainland tourists and the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, calling them measures that provided 'instant relief to Hong Kong economy' after the SARS epidemic. Separately, the China-United States Exchange Foundation, which Tung established in 2008, launched an online memorial that had collected more than 100 tributes from figures including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and former US ambassador to China Max Baucus; foundation president James Chau said the tribute page was meant to 'inspire a new generation' to continue Tung's belief that 'dialogue can advance global peace, progress and prosperity.'
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As it ran
16 September 2026
- Top Chinese official leads 87-member committee for Tung Chee-hwa state funeral South China Morning Post
- Sunday’s Sha Tin races cancelled due to state funeral for Tung Chee-hwa South China Morning Post
14 September 2026
- Foundation collects tributes to Hong Kong’s Tung Chee-hwa for online memorial South China Morning Post
13 September 2026
- Tung Chee-hwa remembered for foresight in developing Hong Kong’s tech sector South China Morning Post