PoliticsTung Chee-hwa dies: From ‘Shipping King’s’ son to Hong Kong’s first chief executive

Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s former chief executive and a former vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, died in Hong Kong on September 8 aged 89. Born into a shipping family, he became the city’s first chief executive after the 1997 handover, facing the Asian financial crisis, SARS and controversy over Article 23 legislation. After large July 1 protests in two successive years, he resigned before completing two five-year terms. He later became a CPPCC vice-chairman and backed Beijing’s decisions during the Umbrella Movement and 2019 protests, before retreating from public view during the COVID-19 pandemic.