The Better Hong Kong Foundation (“the Foundation”) completed its annual delegation to the United States from 12 to 19 May this year. Led by the Foundation’s Executive Committee Chairman and Chairman of Hang Lung Properties Ltd Mr. Ronnie Chan, members of this year’s delegation included three Foundation’s Council Members Dr. Roy Chung, Vice Chairman & Executive Director of Techtronic Industries Co Ltd, Ms. Winnie Ng, Director of the Kowloon Motor Bus Co. Ltd and Mr. Lau Ming Wai, Director of Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd, as well as the Foundation’s Executive Director Ms. Karen Tang.
The main purpose of the delegation which was to provide an annual update about Hong Kong’s present situation, to share our perspectives on the developments in China, and to exchange views with the interlocutors in the United States and gauge the temperature in the Beltway their views on the developments in Hong Kong, the Mainland China, U.S. and the China-US relationship.
The delegation visited the Executive Branch (U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Treasury and National Security Council); the Legislative Branch (Senator Mitch McConnell (the Senate Republican Leader), Congressman and staffers); think tanks inside the Beltway (Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, CATO Institute, Heritage Foundation, Peterson Institute for International Economics and US-Asia Institute); the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington DC; financial institutions (Morgan Stanley and HSBC); rating agencies (Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s) and think tank in New York (National Committee on US-China Relations); and media (The Nelson Report, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and the columnist of Forbes).
During the mission in New York, Mr. Ronnie Chan gave a speech entitled “Is the Sky Really Falling in U.S. & China” at the luncheon hosted by the Museum of Chinese in America to share his views on the U.S.-China relation. By the invitation of the Columbia Business School, Mr. Chan gave another speech entitled “Economic Implications of the Property Market Boom in China and Hong Kong” at the Sir Gordon Wu Distinguished Speaker Forum where over hundred people attended. (To view the video of the speech, please visit http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen/events/wuspeakerseries.) A reception and dinner were hosted by the Hong Kong Association of New York where members of the delegation exchanged views with friends from the local Chinese business community.
The delegation were invited to luncheons and dinners hosted by the Permanent Mission of the PRC to the UN (Ambassador Li Baodong), the Embassy of PRC in the US (Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission Xie Fung) and the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York (Deputy Consul General Dong Xiaojun).
The Foundation would continue its dedication in enhancing greater international understanding between East and West by facilitating communications between Hong Kong, China and the international community. The Foundation would endeavour to organise this kind of visits for more exchanges and to promote better understanding to each other.
Itinerary
Washington D.C.
12 May 2010 (Wednesday)
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office
– Mr. Donald Tong, Hong Kong Commissioner, USA
– Mr. Eddie Mak, Director-General
Brookings Institution
– Dr. Richard C. Bush, Director, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies
– Mr. Kenneth Lieberthal, Director, John L Thornton China Center, Foreign Policy
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
– Mr. Douglas Paal, Vice President for Studies
– Mr. Yukon Huang, Senior Associate, Asia Program
– Mr. Nathaniel Ahrens, Visiting Scholar
– Mr. John Brandon, Director, International Relations, The Asia Foundation
– Mr. Douglas Spelman, Deputy Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican Leader
The Heritage Foundation
– Dr. Edwin Feulner, President
– Mr. Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center
U.S. Department of Treasury
– Mr. David Loevinger, Executive Secretary and Senior Coordinator for China and the U.S. – China Strategic and Economic Dialogue
– Mr. Robert Dohner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia
13 May 2010 (Thursday)
Capitol Hill Breakfast Forum with Key Congressional Advisors
– Mr. Benjamin Wu, President, US-Asia Institute
– Mrs. Esther G. Kee, Co-Founder, US-Asia Institute
– Mr. Robert Jordan, Vice President, US-Asia Institute
– Ms. Mary Sue Bissell, Vice President and Executive Director, US-Asia Institute
– The Honorable Patrick Mulloy, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
– Mr. Wayne Morrison, Specialist in Asian Trade and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service
– Dr. Michael Martin, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service
Peterson Institute for International Economics
– Mr. Fred Bergsten, Director
– Mr. Gary Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow
– Mr. Jeffery J Schott, Senior Fellow
CATO Institute
– Dr. William A. Niskanen, Chairman Emeritus and Distinguished Senior Economist
– Mr. Ian Vasquez, Director Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity
The Nelson Report
– Mr. Christopher Nelson, Senior Vice President & Editor
National Security Council
– Mr. Jeffery Bader, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asian Affairs
U.S. Department of State
– Dr. Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs
– Mr. Joseph Donovan Jr, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
14 May 2010 (Friday)
Bryan Cave LLP
– Ms. Tovah LaDier, Counsel
– Mr. Stephen A Court, Vice President, Government Affairs, Qualcomm
Mr. Nien Su, Republican Staff Director, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Global Environment (within the office of Hon. Donald Manzullo)
McLarty Associates
– Ambassador John Negroponte, Vice Chairman (ex-Deputy Secretary of State)
– Mr. Nelson Cunningham, Managing Director
– Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, Senior Director
U.S. Department of Commerce
– Ms. Michelle O’Neill, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade
– Mr. Alain de Sarran, Deputy Regional Director, Office of International Operations-East Asia Pacific
– Mr. Steven Chan, Deputy Director, Office of the China Economic Area
– Mr. Albert Ting, International Trade Specialist, Office of the China Economic Area
The Cook Political Report
– Mr. Charles Cook, Publisher
15 May 2010 (Saturday)
Luncheon Hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.S.A
– Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission Xie Feng
– Mr. Zhang Ping, Minister Counselor (Congressional Affairs)
– Mr. Ma Xinmin, Counselor
– Mr. Wang Qing, First Secretary
– Mr. Jun Shen, First Secretary
New York
17 May 2010 (Monday)
US-Asia Institute – New York
– Mr. Marlon Young, Chairman
– Mr. Norman Lau-Kee, Chairman Emeritus
– Mr. Glenn Lau-Kee, Trustee
Moody’s
– Mr. Steven Hess, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Sovereign Risk Group
– Mr. Gabriel Torres, Vice President – Senior Analyst, Sovereign Risk Group
– Ms. Naomi Richman, Senior Vice President and Team Leader, Sovereign Risk Group
– Mr. Thomas Keller, Senior Managing Director, Global Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance
Luncheon Hosted by the Permanent Mission of P.R. China to the United Nations
– Ambassador Li Baodong, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations
– Mr. Li Kexin, Counsellor
Asia Society’s 2010 Diversity Leadership Forum
Reception and Dinner Hosted by the Hong Kong Association of New York
18 May 2010 (Tuesday)
Standard and Poor’s
– Mr. David Wyss, Chief Economist, Managing Director
– Mr. John Bilardello, Managing Director, Rating Services
The Museum of Chinese in America Speaking Luncheon: “Is the Sky Really Falling in US & China?” by Mr. Ronnie Chan
Forbes
– Mr. Robert Lenzner, Columnist
The Wall Street Journal
– Mr. Matthew Kaminski, Member, Editorial Board
– Mr. Adrian Ho, Assistant Features Editor, Leisure & Arts
Dinner Hosted by the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York
– Mr. Dong Xiaojun, Deputy Consul General
– Mr. Zhang Haitao, Consul
– Ms. Zhang Siqi
19 May 2010 (Wednesday)
National Committee on U.S. China Relations
– Mr. Stephen Orlins, President
Morgan Stanley
– Mr. Richard Berner, Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Economics and Chief U.S. Economist
– Mr. David Lew, Vice President, Morgan Stanley
– Mr. Norman Lau-Kee, Chairman Emeritus, US-Asia Institute
The Economist NY Bureau
– Mr. Matthew Bishop, NY Bureau Chief and the Business Editor
Columbia Business School – The Sir Gordon Wu Distinguished Speaker Forum: “Economic Implications of the Property Market Boom in China and Hong Kong” by Mr. Ronnie Chan
Bio of Delegates
Mr. Ronnie C. Chan
Chairman, Hang Lung Group
Executive Committee Chairman, The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Mr. Ronnie C. Chan is the Chairman of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited. Both are publicly listed companies in Hong Kong, with the latter being a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index. Founded in 1960, it has been expanding into mainland China since 1992. For the first half of 2010, Hang Lung Properties reported a net profit of US$2.35 billion. Following successes in Shanghai, from 2005 to 2009, Hang Lung has been investing US$5 billion and to build about eighteen world-class commercial complexes in several major Chinese cities, like Tianjin, Shenyang, Jinan, Wuxi and Dalian.
Mr. Chan co-founded the Morningside group. In the past two decades, Morningside and its associates owned and managed companies focusing on manufacturing, public transport operations, outdoor advertising, media, healthcare, online game operators, high tech and biotech investments in mainland China, developmental capital investments in Southeast Asia, manufacturing and distribution in Europe, and service industries, biotech and other venture capital investments in North America.
In Hong Kong and the mainland of China, Mr. Chan is Chairman of the Executive Committees of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute and of the Better Hong Kong Foundation, Convenor of the Hong Kong Development Forum, a Vice President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong, a Governing Board member of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, and an Advisor to the China Development Research Foundation of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. He also founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund which restores cultural relics in China. He is a former government appointed Non-executive Director of The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, the founding Chairman Emeritus of the Asia Business Council, and a former Chairman of the Hong Kong-United States Business Council.
Internationally, Mr. Chan is a Vice Chairman of the Board of the Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, a founding Trustee of the African-Asian Society and a Director of the Board of the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on United States-China Relations, the Committee of 100, and the Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. Mr. Chan is a former director of Standard Chartered PLC and Motorola, Inc. He is also a former member of the governing boards of the World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, and The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
Mr. Chan is involved in many educational endeavors. He is a Court member of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a Trustee of the University of Southern California, and a Governing Board member of the Indian School of Business. He serves on the President’s Council on International Activities at Yale University, the International Advisory Council of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, the International Advisory Committee of The Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College, and the International Advisory Committee of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University. He also co-chairs the International Advisory Board of The Culture and Civilization of China, a joint project of Yale University Press and China International Publishing Group. He is a former Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Center for Real Estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former Brittingham Visiting Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mr. Chan is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has published numerous articles in International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Newsweek, Fortune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review and Japan Times. Mr. Chan holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and an honorary doctorate in social sciences from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In 2004, he received the Asia Society Leadership Award for strengthening economic, cultural and political ties between China and the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. He also received the Highest Alumni Award of the University of Southern California in 2009. He is 60 years of age and resides in Hong Kong with his wife. They have two grown sons.
Dr. Roy Chi Ping Chung JP
Group Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI)
Council Member, The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Dr Roy Chi Ping Chung JP, aged 57, is a co-founder of TTI. Dr Chung, previously the Group Managing Director since 1985, has been appointed as the Group Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Company on April 18, 2007 and he is responsible for the corporate and business management of the Group.
Dr Chung holds a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in 2006. He was further awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2007. He was also appointed as Justice of Peace by the Hong Kong SAR Government effective on July 1, 2005 and won the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Award in 1997.
Dr Chung is an active member of many social committees and associations. He is also highly dedicated to the advancement of the industry. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Chairman of Hong Kong Q-Mark Council, the member on Innovation and Technology Steering Committee of the Innovation & Technology Commission, HKSAR, the Vice-Chairman of The Hong Kong Standards & Testing Centre Limited and the Director of The Hong Kong Safety Institute Limited. He is the Court Chairman of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Council member of University of Warwick, United Kingdom, the Vice-Chairman of Vocational Training Council, the Executive Committee Chairman of the Outward Bound Trust of Hong Kong Limited, the Executive Committee Chairman of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Association of Hong Kong, and also a Member of Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Paediatric Foundation. He is the Founder of the Bright Future Charitable Foundation. Dr. Chung is also an Independent Non-executive Director of Kin Yat Holdings Limited.
Miss Winnie NG
Director, The Kowloon Motor Bus Co Ltd
Council Member, The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Ms Winnie NG is Council Member of Better Hong Kong Foundation, Founder and Deputy Chairman of RoadShow Holdings, Director of Kowloon Motor Bus (“KMB”) and Transport International Holdings. She won the Yazhou Zhoukan Young Chinese Entrepreneur Award in 2003, was named one of China’s One Hundred Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs and a Mason Fellow of Harvard University in 2006, and was the Caring Heart Award recipient in 2009.
She successfully revamped and rejuvenated KMB’s image, and positioned KMB as a powerful out-of-home media sales tool in Hong Kong by raising the profiles of bus body, bus shelter, and in-bus advertising. Her introduction of the brand new champagne gold bus livery revitalized and energized the more than 75 year-old brand. She founded and spearheaded listing of RoadShow (stock code: 0888), which business model has been adopted by many companies in HK, China and over the world.
Active in public service, she is Director of Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre; Director of HK Cyberport; Member of Equal Opportunities Commission; Member of Hong Kong Tourism Board; Director of HK Sports Institute; Executive Committee Member of HK Council of Social Service; Director of Agency for Volunteer Service; Hospital Governing Committee Member of Queen Mary Hospital and Tsan Yuk Hospital; Hospital Governing Committee Member of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Advisory Board Member of Habitat for Humanity China. Ms Ng is also Vice Chairman of Council of China’s Foreign Trade, China Council for Promotion of International Trade and Vice Board Chairman of Council of World Market, Shanghai Foreign Economic Relation & Trade Commission.
She holds an MBA degree from the University of Chicago and an MPA degree from Harvard University.
Mr. Lau Ming-wai
Director, Chinese Estates Holdings Limited
Council Member, The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Mr. Ming Wai Lau holds a Bachelor Degree of Laws from King’s College London, a Master Degree of Laws from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Laws from King’s College London, University of London. In 2000, he joined Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., London, as a financial analyst, responsible for analysis and evaluation of asset management and investment projects. Later, he worked in Longview Partners LP, London, as a financial analyst on hedge funds and analysis of the financial market. Mr. Lau is also a registered attorney in the State of New York since 2001 and a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder in 2004.
Mr. Ming Wai Lau is currently the Director of Chinese Estates Holdings Limited and has been with the Company since 2006. He is responsible for the daily operation of company business, planning and promotion of the Group Business Development, and overseeing the Group’s funds and investment strategies.
Besides daily business operation, Mr. Lau has also been active in public affairs and concerns about the development of China. Mr. Lau is currently a member of the Sichuan Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council. In addition, Mr. Lau strongly supports the educational development of China. He is currently the Honorary Trustee of Peking University and Board of Director of The University of International Business and Economics. Mr. Lau spares no effort in contributing to the social and economic development of both Hong Kong and China. He is a member of the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, and vice chairman of the Hong Kong United Youth Association. For the promotion of tourism development in Hong Kong, Mr. Lau is a member of the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation, and a member of Hong Kong Trade Development Council – Infrastructure Development Advisory Committee.
Miss Karen TANG
Executive Director
The Better Hong Kong Foundation
Miss Karen Tang was appointed as the Executive Director of the Better Hong Kong Foundation on June 1, 2006.
Miss Tang holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science and a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, she joined the Basic Law Consultative Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the Administration Officer responsible for the secretarial work of the Sub-group on Political Structure. After completing the consultation work, she joined the Ming Pao Group, a Hong Kong based media group. During her tenure with the Group, she was appointed to a number of posts, including the Personal Assistant to the Chairman, Administration and Personnel Manager, Business Development Manager, Deputy General Manager of Magazines Division, and General Manager of Yazhou Zhoukan (a regional Chinese Asiaweek).
Miss Tang continued to develop her career in the media and multimedia industries, and has served as Deputy General Manager of the Chinese Television Network, General Manager of the Hongkong Telecom IMS (Interactive Multimedia Services), Director of Multimedia Services and Director of E-commerce under the Hutchison Whampoa Group. She worked for the Tung Chee Hwa Election Office in 2001 as the Director of Administration Division, responsible for the coordination of the election campaign. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Director of Communications of the University of Hong Kong, and reported to the Vice-Chancellor.
Miss Tang is now Council Member of the Lingnan University, Member of the Committee on Performing Arts, Council Member of the Hong Kong Macau Research Centre of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, and Invest Guangzhou International Advisor.
The Better Hong Kong Foundation US Delegation: (L to R) Mr. Lau Ming Wai (Council Member), Ms. Jimmie Chow (Communications Manager), Ms. Winnie Ng (Council Member), Mr. Ronnie Chan (Executive Committee Chairman), Dr. Roy Chung (Council Member) and Ms. Karen Tang (Executive Director)