First Chief Executive Of Hong Kong Under Chinese Sovereignty Elected; Better Hong Kong Foundation Praises Choice

The Selection Committee, the group charged with selecting Hong Kong’s first post-colonial Chief Executive, today elected C.H. Tung, a leading Hong Kong businessman, to the post. The 400-member strong Hong Kong permanent residents committee, comprised of representatives of all segments of Hong Kong’s population, voted 320 in favor of Tung over two other candidates, Sir T. L.Yang, the colony’s first ethnic Chinese chief justice; and Peter Woo, also a leading businessman. Mr. Tung will take office on July 1, 1997, the day that Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China.

“C.H. Tung is well-respected by the Hong Kong community and well-qualified for the duties he will assume,” said Mr. Henry Cheng, chairman of the Advisory Council of The Better Hong Kong Foundation, a non-profit group that promotes business confidence in Hong Kong. “He is a leader with a strong commitment to Hong Kong and possesses the administrative experience to turn that commitment into action.”

Mr. Tung’s campaign platform focused on his vision of what Hong Kong would be like in the 21st Century. He said his policies would help Hong Kong:

• “ensure a stable, equitable, compassionate and democratic society with clarity of direction and unity of purpose and based on equal opportunities and fair competition; and a social welfare system that promotes self-reliance while protecting the aged, disadvantaged and unfortunate;

• “support an increasingly affluent and well-educated population, proud of our new identity, proud of our Chinese heritage, confident in our destiny and global in our outlook;

• “maintain an economy that is one of the most important in the world. Hong Kong will be the most important financial, trade, transportation, communication, education and entertainment center in Asia. High value-added services, including management, finance, design, marketing and technology development, will be conducted in Hong Kong as it increasingly becomes the center for industrial activities in China and Southeast Asia. International investors and multinational corporations will work closely and compete fairly with their counterparts from Hong Kong and the Mainland.

• “make significant contributions to the modernization of China, and play an important role as China emerges as a leader amongst the community of nations.”

His platform also called for policies that will keep Hong Kong “a truly international and cosmopolitan city taking advantage of its Asian location and global perspective to capitalize on a world of opportunities.” He said that he will work for “a continuously improving physical environment that ensures a higher quality of life, and a superior medical care service that further improves life expectancy.” He said that he seeks “a society that is governed by the rule of law, free of corruption and cronyism, enabling a life free from the anxiety of crime and disorder.”

Mr. Cheng said that the Foundation was particularly pleased with Mr. Tung’s commitment to govern Hong Kong according to the principles of “one country, two systems” and “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong….with a high degree of autonomy.”

“The Foundation firmly believes Mr. Tung has the vision that will ensure that Hong Kong builds on its extraordinary foundation and that vision will enable Hong Kong to capitalize on the new opportunities that will emerge as it becomes an integral part of China, one of the world’s most important countries,” Mr. Cheng added.

Mr. Tung is the former chairman and chief executive of Orient Overseas International Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. His international activities include positions as Chairman of the Hong Kong/United States Economic Cooperation Committee, member of the Hong Kong/Japan Business Cooperation Committee, International Councilor of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., member of the Advisory Council of the Institute for International Studies of Stanford University, and member of the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He has also served on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institute on War, Revolution and Peace in Stanford, California.

Mr. Tung was born in Shanghai in 1937 and was educated in China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

The Better Hong Kong Foundation is a nonprofit, privately funded and apolitical organization founded in 1995 by leading business people in Hong Kong. Through a range of programs in Hong Kong, China, and elsewhere internationally, the Foundation seeks to instill and promote confidence in Hong Kong during and after its 1997 transition to Chinese sovereignty.