- Henry Tang
Henry Tang Ying-yen GBS JP (zh-c|c=唐英年) (born 1952) is the
Chief Secretary for Administration ofHong Kong . He is a massively wealthy free-market capitalist who believes in minimal government economic involvement.Biography
The former textile tycoon was promoted from
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology toFinance Secretary on 4 August 2003, replacingAntony Leung . Leung resigned on 16 July 2003 in the wake of his alleged avoidance of taxing his new car. Tang briefly served from 25 May to 21 June 2005 as acting Chief Executive afterTung Chee Hwa , the former Chief Executive, resigned citing health reasons, andDonald Tsang ,Chief Secretary , resigned to run in theby-election .Tang comes from a prominent family which runs a textile empire and traces his roots back to
Shanghai .He has extensive ties with PRC leaders. His father
Tang Hsiang Chien is a former standing committee member of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference , the advisory body to theNational People's Congress of thePeople's Republic of China , and was said to have personal friendship with Jiang Zemin, former PRC president and general secretary of the Communist Party.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 is a long-time friend of former
Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee Hwa .Tang cut his teeth in the private sector. He was named as
Global Leader for Tomorrow by theWorld Economic Forum in 1993 and won theYoung Industrialist of Hong Kong award in 1989.He has been part of Tung's cabinet since the former British colony was handed to the
PRC in 1997.Before that, he served as a member of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1991 to 1998, and was on various government boards and public bodies. He was a member of the Liberal Party, a pro-businessmen and pro-Beijing party, before joining the government.Married with four children (three daughters and a son), Tang holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the
University of Michigan . He is known for his largered wine collection.Tang has been a member of the Executive Council since 1997. He served as a member of the Legislative Council for seven years from 1991 to 1998. 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 the
City University of Hong Kong .Before joining the Government in 2002, Tang served as the Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries between 1995 and 2001. He was also a Committee Member of the
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and a Steward of theHong Kong Jockey Club . He was also the Chairman of the PCICB before joining the Government.Political career
Tenure as Financial Secretary
Tang was involved in the
Harbour 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. [cite web|author= Cannix Yau|url= http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=30713&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20031031&sear_year=2003|title= Leung 'not to blame for Fest contracts'| publisher=The Standard|date= 31 October 2003] However, during an 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.Nishika Patel, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=62073&sid=17761977&con_type=1&d_str=20080226&sear_year=2008 Rowse seeks to have music fest verdict quashed] , "The Standard ", 26 February 2008] Tang had also said that all parties had under-estimated the complexity of the event and may have been too ambitious in organizing it in such a short timespan. He later withdrew the remark: just before a government inquiry opened on November 2004, Tang requested the ERWG minutes be deleted. Internal governmental disciplinary process fined Rowse for misconduct, but a High Court judge quashed the government ruling on 4 July 2008. Political commentator Frank Ching pointed to the huge credibility gap of the government. He noted that the attempt of Tang 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 the Accountability System. [cite journal|author= Frank Ching|title= Credibility gap| publisher= "South China Morning Post " |date= 15 July 2008]On 25 May 2005,
Donald Tsang , The Chief Secretary for Administration, resigned because of his intention to run for the Chief Executive by-election. Tang served as Acting Chief Executive of HKSAR soon after Tsang's resignation was announced.Tenure as Chief Secretary
On 23 June 2007, it was announced that Tang would succeed
Rafael Hui as the newChief Secretary for Administration ofHong Kong effective 1 July 2007. it is rumoured that he may contest in the Chief Executive Elections in 2012.ee also
*
Antony Leung
*Politics of Hong Kong
*Executive Council of Hong Kong External links
* [http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/po/cs.htm Henry Tang's introduction at Administration's Office]
References
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