A state funeral was held on Sunday for Tung Chee-hwa, the first chief executive of Hong Kong following the city’s 1997 transfer of sovereignty from Britain to China. Senior officials from Beijing and Hong Kong attended the ceremony at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point. Tung died on September 8 at the age of 89.
The funeral committee was chaired by Shi Taifeng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo and a vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). According to government-funded Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), other attendees included Xia Baolong, Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong and Macau affairs, and current Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee.
Former chief executives Leung Chun-ying, Carrie Lam, and Donald Tsang were also present. Lee and Leung were among the pallbearers who carried Tung’s coffin, draped in the national flag of China, to a hearse for transfer to the Cape Collinson Crematorium.
Tung, a former shipping executive, was selected in 1996 by a committee appointed by Beijing to lead the city after the handover. His tenure began on July 1, 1997. During his time in office, Hong Kong experienced the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak. In 2003, large-scale protests occurred in response to proposed national security legislation, which was later withdrawn.
Tung was re-elected for a second term in 2002. He resigned from his position in 2005, midway through his term, citing health reasons. After stepping down as chief executive, Tung served as a vice chairman of the CPPCC, a top political advisory body in mainland China, until 2023.
A public vigil was held on Saturday, and condolence books were made available for the public to sign at community halls until noon on Sunday.
Chinese state media described Tung as a “renowned patriot.” His successor, Donald Tsang, issued a statement calling him “an easy-going, gentle and refined man with a broad-minded outlook and far-reaching vision.”
Tung’s ceremony marks the third state funeral held in Hong Kong since 1997. The honor was previously granted to industrialist Ann Tse-kai in 2000 and business figure Henry Fok in 2006. Both also served as vice chairs of the CPPCC.
