Patrick Ho | |
|---|---|
何志平 | |
 | |
| Secretary for Home Affairs | |
| In office 1 July 2002 – 30 June 2007 | |
| Chief executive | Tung Chee-hwa SirDonald Tsang |
| Preceded by | Lam Woon-kwong |
| Succeeded by | Tsang Tak-sing |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-07-24)24 July 1949 (age 75) Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Hong Kong Chinese |
| Spouse | Sibelle Hu Huizhong (m. 1997) |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
| Ho Chi-ping (Patrick) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 何志平 | ||||||||||||||
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Patrick Ho Chi-pingGBS JP (born 24 July 1949 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kongophthalmologist turned politician.
He joined theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference and thePreparatory Committee of Hong Kong SAR.[1] When thePrincipal Officials Accountability System was introduced in 2002,Chief Executive of Hong KongTung Chee-wah appointed HoSecretary for Home Affairs, a senior ministerial post.
He was convicted of bribery offences in a U.S. federal court in 2018. The Medical Council of Hong Kong ruled that his name was removed from the General Register for a period of 1 year from May 2021.[2]
Ho studied in theDiocesan Boys' School, Hong Kong. He won a scholarship and was educated in the US for 16 years. Anophthalmologist who trained in eye surgery with special expertise in retinal surgery, he was a fellow at Harvard Medical School. He returned to Hong Kong in 1984 and taught eye surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as Professor of Ophthalmology. From 1988 to 2000, he was Professor of Surgery (Ophthalmology) at theChinese University of Hong Kong.[3]
Since 1993, he has been a member of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th National Committee of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and in 1995, he was appointed as a member of thePreparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and theSelection Committee of the first SAR Government. Ho was appointed vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute in 1996.[3] In July 1997, he was appointed to theProvisional Urban Council until its disestablishment in 1999. In 2000, Ho was appointed Chairman of the Arts Development Council.[3]
In 2002, he joined theChief Executive of Hong KongTung Chee-wah'ssecond HKSAR administration as theSecretary for Home Affairs when thePrincipal Officials Accountability System was introduced. He served in this senior ministerial post for five years.[4]
In 2003, Ho was present at theChe Kung Temple in Sha Tin following tradition and drewKau Chim sticks to foretell the fortune of Hong Kong. He drew number 83 which represented bad times ahead. Hong Kong experienced a fatalSARS outbreak and an attempted imposition ofBasic Law Article 23, which led to massive protests at the1 July march. Ever since, no Hong Kong minister has represented the government to the temple.[3]
Ho was appointed chairman of the Sports Council in 2005.[5]
After leaving the government in 2007, he joined a lobbying firm established and funded byCEFC China Energy (CEFC), a Shanghai-based energy company,[4] of which he became vice-chairman and secretary-general. The organisation, under Ho, was a leading exponent of theXi Jinping'sBelt & Road Initiative.[6]
Ho and formerSenegalese foreign ministerCheikh Gadio were arrested in New York in late November 2017, charged with violating theForeign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering. The pair offered a US$2 million bribe to formerChad PresidentIdriss Déby for oil rights, and deposited a US$500,000 bribe to an account designated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda on behalf ofCEFC. The million-dollar bribes were disguised as donations.[7] The energy fund, chaired byYe Jianming, denied authorising Ho to engage in corrupt practices.[8][9]
James Biden, brother ofJoe Biden, got a call from Patrick Ho when Ho was arrested by the FBI. James Biden said he believed it had been meant forHunter Biden, the son ofJoe Biden.[10]
On 5 December 2018, Ho was convicted on seven counts of bribery and money laundering, following a federal trial in which Gadio stood as a witness for prosecutors.[11][12] He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and fined $400,000 in March 2019.[13]After being imprisoned at theMetropolitan Correctional Center, New York, as of 9 June 2020, theSouth China Morning Post reported that Ho has been released and deported to Hong Kong.[14][15]
In 2023, Ho was identified in a US federal criminal indictment ofGal Luft in a Chinese government attempt to influence the2016 United States elections.[16]
Ho has a daughter and a son from his marriage to a Chinese woman in the US. After returning to Hong Kong in 1984, he divorced his wife.[3]
Ho marriedTaiwanese actressSibelle Hu Huizhong on 5 September 1997.[17]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary for Home Affairs 2002–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Shelley Lee Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star | Hong Kong order of precedence Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star | Succeeded by Sarah Liao Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star |