Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first postcolonial leader, dies at age 89

Pro-Beijing heavyweight who failed to introduce security law also had strong ties to West Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa speaks to journalists after meeting with Chinese leaders in Beijing on Dec. 3, 2003. © AP TOKYO — Tung Chee-hwa, a businessman who emerged from the shipping industry to become the first chief executive of postcolonial Hong Kong, died on Tuesday, according to his office. He was 89. Tung, also known as C.H. Tung, became one of the city's most influential pro-Beijing political figures after the handover of sovereignty from the U.K. to China in 1997. His term, however, was marked by an ill-fated attempt to impose a national security law and by ensuing large public protests, a harbinger of the unrest and clampdown that would reshape the city years later. In recent years, a reportedly ailing Tung stayed out of the public eye. He had left various positions, including chairman of the Our Hong Kong Foundation, a pro-Beijing think tank, and independent director of Alibaba Group Holding. He stepped down as vice chairman of China's top political advisory organization, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in March 2023.

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