Henry Tang Ying-yen | |||||||||||||
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唐英年 | |||||||||||||
.jpg) Tang in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Chief Secretary for Administration | |||||||||||||
| In office 1 July 2007 – 30 September 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Chief Executive | Donald Tsang | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Rafael Hui | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Stephen Lam | ||||||||||||
| 3rdFinancial Secretary of Hong Kong | |||||||||||||
| In office 5 August 2003 – 30 June 2007 | |||||||||||||
| Chief Executive | Tung Chee-hwa Donald Tsang | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Antony Leung | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Tsang | ||||||||||||
| Chief Executive of Hong Kong Acting | |||||||||||||
| In office 25 May 2005 – 21 June 2005 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | SirDonald Tsang (Acting) | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | SirDonald Tsang | ||||||||||||
| 1stSecretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology | |||||||||||||
| In office 1 July 2002 – 3 August 2003 | |||||||||||||
| Chief Executive | Tung Chee-hwa | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Tsang | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1952-09-06)6 September 1952 (age 72) Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital,Happy Valley,Hong Kong | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Liberal Party(1993–2002) | ||||||||||||
| Spouse | [1] | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Michigan(BA) Cranbrook School | ||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 唐英年 | ||||||||||||
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Henry Tang Ying-yenGBM GBS JP (Chinese:唐英年; born 6 September 1952) is aHong Kongpolitician who served as theChief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position ofFinancial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost theHong Kong Chief Executive Election toLeung Chun-ying.
Tang was born 6 September 1952 at early morning atHong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Happy Valley,Wan Chai inBritish Hong Kong,[2][3][4] His family operated in the textile industry and came fromWuxi, Jiangsu to Hong Kong in 1949 to escape thecommunists who were taking over theChinese mainland.[5] Henry Tang himself was born in what was thenBritish Hong Kong in 1952.[2] Tang went to Culford School in Suffolk in Britain before attending and graduating fromCranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Michigan in 1975.[6][7]
Henry Tang is commonly believed to have attended Graduate School atYale University and to have obtained a master's degree insociology.[8] These were credentials submitted to then Hong Kong governorDavid Wilson in 1991–1992. So far there is no evidence that he did obtain that degree.[8]
Tang has extensive ties with the central government of China as his fatherTang Hsiang Chien was a standing committee member of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the advisory body to theNational People's Congress.[9]
Tang was namedGlobal Leader for Tomorrow by theWorld Economic Forum in 1993 and won theYoung Industrialist of Hong Kong award in 1989.[6]
Between 1995 and 2001 he served as the Chairman of theFederation of Hong Kong Industries.[6] He was also a Committee Member of theHong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and a Steward of theHong Kong Jockey Club.[6] He was Chairman of the Provisional Construction Industry Co-ordination Board (PCICB) before joining the government.[10]
Tang was a member of theExecutive Council from thetransfer of sovereignty in 1997 to 2011.[11] He served as a member of the Legislative Council for seven years from 1991 to 1998[11] as a member of theLiberal Party, a pro-business andpro-Beijing party, prior to joining the government.
Tang has also served extensively on various government boards and public bodies, including the Trade Development Council, Town Planning Board, University Grants Committee, and Council of theCity University of Hong Kong.[11]
Tang took up his commerce post in July 2002 as part of a line-up of new secretaries aimed at improving the government's transparency. He was promoted fromSecretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology toFinancial Secretary on 4 August 2003 replacingAntony Leung. Leung resigned on 16 July 2003 due to allegations of tax evasion in regards to his new car. Tang briefly served (25 May to 21 June 2005) as acting chief executive afterTung Chee Hwa, the former chief executive who resigned citing health reasons.
On 25 May 2005,Donald Tsang, the Chief Secretary for Administration, resigned to stand in the 'by-election' for Chief Executive. Tang served as Acting Chief Executive of HKSAR soon after Tsang's resignation was announced.
Tang was involved in theHarbour Fest controversy as Chairman of the Economic Relaunch Strategy Group responsible for pushing ahead with the plan to spend $100 million to revive the economy afterSARS, and said that he should be held responsible. Tang had said that althoughMike Rowse, a senior civil servant, had actually signed the contract, Rowse as such was not required to be held politically responsible.[12] However, during a Working Group meeting on 31 October 2003 and during an independent inquiry in May 2004, Tang allegedly said Rowse had not acted improperly and that there had been no irregularity in the implementation of the event.[13] Tang had also said that all parties had underestimated the complexity of the event and may have been too ambitious in organising it in such a short timespan. He later withdrew the remark: just before a government inquiry opened in November 2004, Tang requested the ERWG minutes be deleted.[13] Internal governmental disciplinary process fined Rowse for misconduct, but aHigh Court judge quashed the government ruling on 4 July 2008. Political commentator Frank Ching pointed to the hugecredibility gap of the government. He noted that Tang's attempt to shift political responsibility from himself, as the minister responsible, to a senior civil servant, was a travesty of justice for Rowse, and went against theAccountability System.[14]
On 23 June 2007, it was announced that Tang would succeedRafael Hui as the newChief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong effective 1 July 2007.[11]
On 6 March 2010, Tang attended a Youth Summit inChai Wan organised by theHome Affairs Bureau. A 31-year-old jobless man threw a shoe at Tang and it landed on the stage metres away from him. The man was dragged away by police. The man said he was unemployed after getting fired by a computer company, and the government policies were not helping him. He said he was not a "post-80s" teen, but supported thehighspeed rail protest connecting HK to Guangdong.[15] A protester said that the topics discussed in the summit are not those that any young person would be interested in.[16]
On 15 January 2011, Tang gave a speech at the Roundtable Institute that included controversial comments about the Hong Kong post-80s generation.[17][18] He said the young generations need to take responsibilities, and he cautioned them for slamming others because of opposing views. Then he stressed the need to compromise and simplify complicated issues. He further said young people should not close the door and act like emperors.[19] That he doesn't want to see politics lead to a bloodshed, leading to a road of no return and end up like a fatal car crash.[18]
On 21 January 2011,Leung Kwok-hung led a group of protesters to a public forum with a toy model car. He then smashed the car in front of Henry Tang to represent a fatal car crash.[20] On 30 January 2011 eight youth groups includingHong Kong Federation of Students marched toNew World Development,Li Ka Shing'sCheung Kong Holdings inCentral and accused the government of colluding with businesses in maximising profits while squeezing the poor.[21] The students criticised Tang and the government for policies that benefit the upper class only like no real estate tax duty, reduction of wine and profit tax. The students said the whole HK is at the mercy of real estate developers.[21]
From 13 February 2012, Hong Kong media reported unauthorised building works of Tang's two adjoined residences atYork Road,Kowloon Tong. On 16 February 2012, an inspection by officials of theBuildings Department revealed a basement with an area of more than 2200 square feet (11 m by 19 m) that was not documented in the approved floor plan. Tang admitted at a press conference that he was aware of the construction of an illegal basement at his family house and said that it was his wife's idea. His wife agreed that the responsibility was hers[22] The admission followed several denials and provoked widespread criticism: "He has lost almost all his credibility, he lied every day," saidMa Ngok, a political sciences professor at theUniversity of Hong Kong to AFP.[23]
The scandal prompted some of Tang's potential supporters in the2012 Hong Kong Chief Executive election to review their position.[24] One former supporter said that it was 'unbearable' for Tang to throw the blame onto his wife.[citation needed]
No charges were brought against Tang though his wife was convicted of a criminal offence and fined HK$110,000, the illegal basement having been filled in.[25]
On 28 September 2011, in a widely trailed move, Tang resigned from his post, and then in late November announced his candidacy for chief executive.[26] He was widely believed to be preferred byBeijing, and hence quickly received support from many financial heavyweights, including Former Monetary Authority chiefJoseph Yam Chi-kwong,HSBC Asia-Pacific chief executivePeter Wong Tung-shun, and 'Father of Lan Kwai Fong',Allan Zeman. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, including a series of scandals and dramatically reduced levels of public support, the final vote by theElection Committee saw him lose toLeung Chun-ying.
The Financial Times reported, on 23 October 2019, that Tang was being considered as a replacement for Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong. However, the Chinese government denied such deliberations.[27]
Tang serves as the chairperson of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, which oversees the M+ museum of contemporary art.[28] In March 2021, Tang said that the Authority would "definitely uphold the law and comply with the Basic Law, local laws and thenational security law" in regards to art made byAi Weiwei.[28]
Tang is married to Lisa Kuo Yu-chin and the couple have four children: three daughters and a son.
Tang's fatherTang Hsiang Chien was a standing committee member of theCPPCC.
His brother,Tom Tang Chung-yen, is a member of the Trade Development Council, whose reappointment to the post by CY Leung, after he vanquished Tang to become chief executive in 2012, was seen as part of a reconciliation between the two camps.[29] Apple Daily found in October 2020 that Tom Tang may have illegally violated land lease terms of an industrial site in Tai Po.[30]
His niece (by marriage),Stefani Kuo, a playwright and actress, spoke out against the Hong Kong government during the2019–20 Hong Kong protests, views that Tang explicitly rejected.[31][32]
In February 2021, Tang said that he has a high tendency for allergic reactions to influenza vaccinations, and thus would not take a mainland ChineseCOVID-19 vaccine.[33]
On 4 October 2011, in the midst of rumours about his extra-marital affair with Shirley Yuen, his administrative assistant when he was finance secretary of Hong Kong, Henry Tang issued a statement, in which he admitted that he had made a mistake in his romantic life in the past and he deeply regretted it. He said that his wife had forgiven him. His wife said in the statement that there had been difficult times in their relationship and that he has faults, but that she also appreciated his strengths. She acknowledged him as her 'best partner'.[34] National People's Congress Standing Committee memberRita Fan said on 7 October 2011 that she didn't know about Tang's now widely publicised infidelity when she offered her support and she refused to rule herself out of standing in the following year's chief executive election, though she did not in fact stand.[35]
In February 2012, several Chinese newspapers reported Henry Tang might have had a relationship with Esther Lam, the daughter ofHeung Yee Kuk vice-chairmanDaniel Lam Wai-keung. Emails supposedly exchanged by the two of them and a picture showing them shoulder against shoulder have been published. Tang denied the reports claiming "we are only casual acquaintances".[36]
| Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Legislative Council Representative forImport and Export 1995–1997 | Replaced byProvisional Legislative Council |
| New parliament | Member ofProvisional Legislative Council 1997–1998 | Replaced byLegislative Council |
| Political offices | ||
| New title | Non-official Member ofExecutive Council 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasSecretary for Commerce and Industry | Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology 2002–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasSecretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting | ||
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary of Hong Kong 2003–2007 | |
| Preceded byas Acting Chief Executive | Chief Executive of Hong Kong Acting 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Administration 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Cultural offices | ||
| Preceded byasChief Secretary for Administration | Chairman of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority 2017–present | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Henry Hu Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal | Hong Kong order of precedence Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal | Succeeded by John Tsang Recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal |