Tammy Tam recalls Tung Chee-hwa’s bridge-building legacy
SCMP · 1 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
SCMP publisher Tammy Tam has written a personal reflection on the late Tung Chee-hwa, recalling her encounters with Hong Kong’s first chief executive from the final stage of the pre-1997 transition through his later public life. She revisits his dealings with reporters, his regular meetings with senior media figures and his rare appearance at an SCMP conference in 2020 to advocate dialogue between the United States and China
Key Points
- The reflection was published on September 19 as part of a special SCMP commemorative supplement featuring tributes to Tung from figures across different sectors
- Tam said she first encountered Tung in 1996, when Sino-British talks on Hong Kong’s future were in their final stage and he was emerging as the likely post-handover leader
- She wrote that reporters regularly door-stepped, hounded and grilled Tung before he became chief executive, during his seven years in office and after he stepped down
- Tam described Tung as humble and unpretentious, saying he was initially camera-shy and often passed journalists with a smile and a brief “hello, good morning”
- After leaving office, Tung continued meeting senior media representatives regularly to exchange views, and he later appeared at an SCMP conference in 2020 urging US-China dialogue
Why It Matters
Tam’s recollection adds a media insider’s perspective to public remembrance of Tung, focusing less on formal office and more on how he handled scrutiny and communication in Hong Kong’s political life. For Hong Kong readers, it also revives attention on Tung’s role in fostering dialogue, including his later advocacy of US-China engagement at a high-profile SCMP event