Hong Kong held a state funeral for Tung Chee-hwa, its first post-colonial leader, at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point on Sunday, only the third such honour granted since Britain returned the city to Chinese rule in 1997.
Tung, the city’s first chief executive, died on September 8 at the age of 89. Members of the public paid their respects by signing condolence books at three community halls until Sunday noon, a day after a public vigil that drew political and business figures.
The 87-member funeral committee was chaired by Shi Taifeng, a Politburo member and first vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), reflecting the level of backing from Beijing. Shi attended alongside Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong and Macau affairs, current chief executive John Lee, and former leaders Leung Chun-ying, Carrie Lam and Donald Tsang.
Lee and Leung were among the pallbearers who carried Tung’s coffin, draped in China’s national flag, to a hearse bound for Cape Collinson Crematorium.
In his eulogy, Shi described Tung as a pioneer of “one country, two systems”, a staunch patriot and a close friend of the Communist Party. “He always placed national interests first and throughout his life upheld the belief that patriotism is a natural conviction,” Shi said. He credited Tung with helping draft the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, and forming the local government during the 1997 handover.
A shipping tycoon with little political experience, Tung was selected in 1996 by a Beijing-appointed committee. He led Hong Kong through the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak. Shi cited the signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, a free-trade deal with the central government reached after SARS.
Tung was re-elected unopposed in 2002 but resigned in 2005, midway through his second term, citing poor health. He then served as a vice chairman of the CPPCC until 2023.
Shi recognised Tung’s founding of the China-United States Exchange Foundation in 2008, which initiated more than 1,000 people-to-people dialogues. State media described Tung as a “renowned patriot”, while Tsang called him “an easy-going, gentle and refined man with a broad-minded outlook and far-reaching vision”.
Two business leaders, industrialist Ann Tse-kai and tycoon Henry Fok, who both served as CPPCC vice chairs, were previously given state funerals, in 2000 and 2006 respectively.