Rosanna Wong Yick-ming
Encyclopedia
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(born 15 August 1952), also known by her married name Mrs Rosanna Tam Wong Yick-ming in her former marriage from 1979 lasting until 1992, and primarily known as Dr Rosanna Wong in public occasions after 1997, is a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
social work administrator and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who has served as the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups since 1980.
Before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, she was appointed as unofficial member of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
from 1985 to 1991 and of the Executive Council
Executive Council of Hong Kong
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is a core policy-making organ in the executive branch of the government of Hong Kong.. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong serves as its President.The Executive Council normally meets once a week...
from 1988 to 1991. She briefly retired from politics in 1991 but was successful to return as unofficial Executive Councillor for a second time in 1992, and was also appointed chairperson of the Hong Kong Housing Authority
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...
in the following year. Wong was trusted by the last British colonial Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
, Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
(later Lord), who chose her to replace Baroness Dunn
Lydia Dunn, Baroness Dunn
Lydia Selina Dunn, Baroness Dunn, DBE, JP was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in Hong Kong in 1985-1988 and 1988-1995, after Rogerio Hyndman Lobo and Chung Sze Yuen respectively...
as the Convenor of the Executive Council (equivalent to the Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council) in 1995, thus rising as an influential figure in the final years of the colonial government. In 1997, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and became the second Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
, after Baroness Dunn, to be made a Dame
Dame
A Dame may be:* Dame , a female title of rank, equivalent to 'Sir' used as the title of a knight* A title of respect for certain Benedictine nuns equivalent to the male "Dom"* A pantomime dame...
in history.
After the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, Wong was one of the two colonial unofficial members who remained in the new Executive Council under the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Nevertheless, when the Housing Authority Short-piling Scandal broke out in 1999, Wong, as the chairperson of the Housing Authority, was heavily blamed by the general public of not taking any responsibility. Under public pressure, she subsequently decided to resign from the Housing Authority four days before the Legislative Council passing the motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
on her and the Director of Housing, Tony Miller in June 2000. However, her resignation did not prevent her and some other government officials from receiving censure in the short-piling scandal investigation report released by the Legislative Council later in January 2003. Following the scandal, Wong ceased to be an unofficial member of the Executive Council in 2002 but was appointed chairperson of the Education Commission
Education Commission
Since its set up in 1984 as a non-statutory body , the Education Commission of Hong Kong is to advise the HKSAR Government on the overall development of education in the light of the community's needs...
from 2001 to 2007. Since 2003, she has also been a Hong Kong member of the CPPCC National Committee of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Besides, Wong plays a role in the business sector in Hong Kong. She has been a non-executive director of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation since 1996 and has also been an independent non-executive director of Sir Ka-shing Li's Cheung Kong Holdings since 2001.
Early years
Wong was born on 15 August 1952 in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to a family descended from Anxi County
Anxi County
is a county in the municipal region of Quanzhou, Fujian Province. It lies adjacent to and directly north of Xiamen.Anxi is well-known for a number of varieties of Oolong tea, the most well-known of which is Tieguanyin ....
of Fujian Province in China. Her parents are Wong Chun Chung and Poon Chor Ying. Both of them were graduates from universities of the mainland China and were considered well-educated class at the time when Wong was born. Wong's father Wong Chun Chung was an overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Her mother had been a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
working in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
before becoming a teacher of St. Stephen's Girls' College
St. Stephen's Girls' College
St Stephen's Girls' College , known as SSGC, which is one of the grant schools under Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui , is a girls' schools in Hong Kong. Originally on Caine Road, the school moved to its current location at Lyttelton Road, Mid-Levels, in 1923. The main building is listed as one of the...
later in Hong Kong. Wong is the fourth child in the family. She has three elder sisters and two younger sister and brother. She spent her early years with her family in Shatin and later moved into Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
. After entering secondary school, Wong's family resided on Lyttelton Road, Mid-levels
Mid-levels
Mid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...
, Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
.
Wong entered St. Stephen's Girls' Primary School in 1962 and followed her sisters to enter St. Stephen's Girls' College, where their mother taught, in 1965. Besides Wong, Wong's mother had also been teacher of Regina Ip
Regina Ip
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, GBS JP is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , as well as the co-founder and current chairwoman of the New People's Party and Savantas Policy Institute....
and Rita Fan
Rita Fan
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai GBM GBS CBE JP was the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom in 1997. She was the first woman to hold that position....
, who would become Secretary for Security
Secretary for Security
The Secretary for Security is the member of the Hong Kong Government in charge of the Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters....
of the Hong Kong government and the President of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
in future respectively. Wong once recalled that her mother's knowledge and attitude to life had deeply inspired her thinking that since secondary three, she had become a volunteer and once joined a gospel rehabilitation group for drug addicts to pay visit to the Kowloon Walled City
Kowloon Walled City
Kowloon Walled City was a densely populated, largely ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the Walled City became an enclave after the New Territories were leased to Britain in 1898....
.
In 1972, Wong graduated from the Girls' College. She was soon successfully enrolled by the University of Hong Kong and decided to major in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
. At first, she was not given a room in any of the residential colleges because she lived too near to the campus. Only when she became a social secretary of St John's College
St. John's College, University of Hong Kong
St. John’s College, is a co-educational residential college of the University of Hong Kong. It was founded in 1912 as the first college in the University, with the philosophy that College education “Breeds the Excellent” by nurturing students’ character and academic pursuit. In 1956, the College...
Students' Association in year three of study, she had the chance to move into St John's College. In the university, Wong actively participated in different kinds of student activism
Student activism
Student activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...
and in 1973 she joined a group of the university to visit the mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. All these experience influenced her deeply that she decided to commit herself into the field of social work after graduation.
Social work career
Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei, also known as Waterloo , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.-Name:Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese...
, Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po, or Shamshuipo, is an area of Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei. Sham Shui Po is known for its street market for electronic devices.-History:Sham Shui Po...
and Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...
. Wong later received HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
scholarship from 1974 to 1975, Rotary Foundation
Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs...
Educational Award from 1977 to 1978 and PEO
P.E.O. Sisterhood
The P.E.O. Sisterhood is an international women's organization of about 250,000 members with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is organized with chapters throughout the United States and Canada, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa....
International Peace Scholarship from 1978 to 1979. These scholarships allowed her to further study in the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from 1977 to 1979. After obtaining a master degree of social work from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Wong returned to the Federation of Youth Group and was immediately promoted as Executive Secretary (Operations). Later in 1980, she was further promoted as General Secretary (later renamed Executive Director) at the age of 28 and thus becoming the leader of the Federation. In this capacity, she has successfully expanded the Federation to be a major teenage service organization in Hong Kong with a total number of 800 employees.
Apart from the Federation, Wong had also involved deeply in a large number of social organizations including a number of local Christian church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
es. Since 1981, she had also been appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and stepped down in 2005 after more than twenty years of service. From 1984 to 1988, she was appointed to the Subventions and Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee as a member by the government as well.
In 1982, she was awarded Commonwealth Scholarship
Commonwealth Scholarship
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries.-History:...
, studying social policy
Social policy
Social policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues...
and planning in the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and obtained her master degree in science in 1983. Two years later she received a diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
of executive management in a course organized jointly by the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. In the same year, she was awarded Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons' Award.
Legislative and Executive Counsellor
Wong's brilliance as a social administrator was soon noticed by GovernorGovernor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
Sir Edward Youde
Edward Youde
Sir Edward Youde GCMG, GCVO, MBE was a British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. He served as Governor of Hong Kong between 20 May 1982 and 5 December 1986.-Early years:...
. In 1985, Sir Edward intended to reform the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
through appointing professionals from different career sectors to the Council. Under the recommendation of Legislative Councillor, Hui Yin Fat, Wong was appointed as unofficial member of the Legislative Council at a relatively young age of 33 and thus entering politics. Other unofficial legislators newly appointed in that year included barrister-at-law Maria Tam
Maria Tam
Maria Tam Wai-Chu, GBS, CBE, JP is a barrister by profession and a contributor in the public domain of Hong Kong. An alumna of St. Paul's Co-educational College, she received her legal education at the University of London and subsequently became a member of Gray’s Inn, London...
, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
Dr Henrietta Ip Man-Hing and so on.
Since joining the Legislative Council, she had hold a large number of public duties which included court member of the University of Hong Kong, Technical College
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
(later Polytechnic University), Baptist College
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...
(later Baptist University) and City Polytechnic
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...
(later City University), member of the Hong Kong committee for UNICEF, vice-patron of Mother's Choice
Mother's Choice
Mother's Choice is the fourth album for Australian proto-Heavy Metal band Buffalo, recorded during 1975 and 1976 and originally released in 1976 by Vertigo Records...
, member of the government's Standing Committee on Young Offenders and so on. Besides, from 1987 to 1988 she was appointed honorary advisor to the Social Welfare Department, member of government's Law Reform Commission and Broadcasting Authority
Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority
The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority is an organization responsible for licensing and regulating the broadcasting industry in Hong Kong. It was formed in 1987...
from 1987 to 1990, appointed chairwoman of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee from 1988 to 1991 and appointed the first chairwoman of the government's newly-created Commission on Youth from 1990 to 1991.
Wong's work in the Legislative Council was deeply impressed by then Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council Lydia Dunn
Lydia Dunn, Baroness Dunn
Lydia Selina Dunn, Baroness Dunn, DBE, JP was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in Hong Kong in 1985-1988 and 1988-1995, after Rogerio Hyndman Lobo and Chung Sze Yuen respectively...
(later Dame and Baroness) that under her promotion, she was further appointed as unofficial member of the government decision-making body, the Executive Council
Executive Council of Hong Kong
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is a core policy-making organ in the executive branch of the government of Hong Kong.. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong serves as its President.The Executive Council normally meets once a week...
by Governor Sir David Wilson
David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, is a retired British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn was the penultimate Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong...
(later Lord) in 1988. On 16 January 1989 Wong was made an unofficial Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and later on the Queen's Birthday in 1990 she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to the general public.
However, in 1991 Wong suddenly retired from the two Councils and resigned all her public posts. She chose to further her study with her husband Dr Alfred Tam Yat-chung in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, trying to save their marriage from divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. Yet their attempt was fail and they divorced eventually in 1992. Although the divorce was a terrible blow to her, she was able to continue her study while took care of her two children alone. Finally in 1993, she obtained her master degree of arts from the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. A year before graduation, she was also awarded the prize of Global Leader of Tomorrow.
Returning to politics
In 1991, the Legislative Council introduced direct electionDirect election
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
for the first time in the history of Hong Kong
History of Hong Kong
Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located off the southern coast of China. While pockets of settlements had taken place in the region with archaeological findings dating back thousands of years, regular written records were not made...
and the election resulted in the landslide victory of the many new-born local pro-democratic political parties. In order to balance the power in the Council, to show friendliness to the mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in a region considered a "mainland". It is frequently used in the context of areas ruled by the People's Republic of China, referring to people from Mainland China as opposed to other areas controlled by the state such as Hong Kong or...
regime and to ensure that sovereignty of Hong Kong can be transferred smoothly and peacefully in 1997, many appointed or indirectly elected legislators, such as Allen Lee
Allen Lee
Allen Lee Peng Fei , CBE, JP, is a founding member of Liberal Party of Hong Kong, veteran Hong Kong politician, political programme radio host and TV host. Jonathan Dimbleby described him as a "weather vane" in his book The Last Governor.Lee was a senior member of the Legislative Council of Hong...
, Selina Chow
Selina Chow
Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, GBS OBE JP was a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. She was the former vice-chairman of the Liberal Party . She is also well-known in Hong Kong for her career in broadcasting.An alumnus of St...
and Rita Fan
Rita Fan
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai GBM GBS CBE JP was the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom in 1997. She was the first woman to hold that position....
came together and formed a more conservative political group, the Co-operative Resources Centre (later renamed Liberal Party) with the support of then Governor Sir David Wilson
David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, is a retired British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn was the penultimate Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong...
immediately after the election. Nevertheless, Sir David was soon forced to retire in 1992 and the British policy towards China changed fundamentally. Sir David's successor, Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
no longer continued his policy of gradual reform but endorsed democratic reform in full-swing. Patten believed the Co-operative Resources Centre would become a hindrance to his reform and therefore he refused to support the Centre as Sir David had done. Furthermore, he immediately reshuffled the pro-Sir David's Executive Council
Executive Council of Hong Kong
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is a core policy-making organ in the executive branch of the government of Hong Kong.. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong serves as its President.The Executive Council normally meets once a week...
after becoming Governor. Except the Senior Member Baroness Dunn
Lydia Dunn, Baroness Dunn
Lydia Selina Dunn, Baroness Dunn, DBE, JP was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in Hong Kong in 1985-1988 and 1988-1995, after Rogerio Hyndman Lobo and Chung Sze Yuen respectively...
, all other members served in Sir David's Executive Council were replaced.
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...
, overseeing the policy on the construction of public housing estate
Public housing in Hong Kong
Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the population now residing in some form of public housing...
s. In the same year, she was also appointed chairwoman of the Independent Police Complaints Council
Independent Police Complaints Council
The Independent Police Complaints Council is a civilian body of the Government of Hong Kong, part of the two-tier system in which the Hong Kong Police Force investigates complaints made by the public against its members and the IPCC monitors those investigations.The IPCC was created as an...
. In 1994, she became a member of the Court of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public university located in Hong Kong. Established in 1991 under Hong Kong Law Chapter 1141 , it is one of the nine universities in Hong Kong.Professor Tony F. Chan is the president of HKUST...
and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. On the contrary, Baroness Dunn, the Senior Member of the Executive Council, was distanced by Governor Patten because she once supported the founding of the Co-operative Resources Centre, and thus her importance in the government faded gradually. Eventually in 1995, Dunn retired from the Council and chose to migrate to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Wong then was selected to replace Dunn as the last Convenor (equivalent to the post of the Senior Unofficial Member) of the colonial Executive Council by Governor Patten.
As the Convenor of the Executive Council, Wong became an influential figure in the final years of the colonial government. Apart from being appointed non-executive director of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in November 1996, she was chosen as the chairwoman of the ICAC Complaints Committee in the transitional period between 1997 and 1998. In the New Years Honours of 1997, she caught up the last chance before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong that she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and therefore became a Dame. Wong was the second Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
, after Baroness Dunn, to be made a substantive Dame in history, and was the last person to receive a damehood in the colonial Hong Kong. She received the damehood from Governor Chris Patten in the Government House
Government House, Hong Kong
Government House , located on Government Hill in the Central District of Hong Kong Island, is the official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong...
on 19 April 1997. In the same year, Wong also received her doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
from the University of California, Davis. She personally chose to call herself Dr Rosanna Wong rather than Dame Rosanna Wong after 1997 in public occasions.
Since Dame Rosanna had close and intimate ties with the colonial government, there had been rumors before the transfer of sovereignty that she would not be allowed to serve in the new Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Executive Council, or even the Housing Authority. Yet, the fact was that Wong once served in the colonial Executive Council with the future Chief Executive
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
, Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa, GBM was the first Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
and Tung was impressed by her low-pitched image. Finally in 1997, although Tung chose veteran politician Sir Sze Yuen Chung as Convenor, Wong, along with Raymond Ch'ien Kuo Fung
Raymond Ch'ien Kuo Fung
Raymond Ch'ien Kuo-fung GBS CBE JP aka Raymond Ch'ien is a Hong Kong businessman and former politician.-Career:He is director of The Wharf Ltd. and HSBC; non-executive chairman of MTR Corporation Limited and chairman of CDC Corporation. He was a director of HSBC Holdings until 2007, when he became...
, was invited to stay as unofficial member in the new Executive Council. Wong continued to remain as chairperson of the Housing Authority as well.
In the early years of the Special Administrative Region, Wong was again appointed to different public posts. She has been appointed president of the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association since 1997, appointed president of the English Speaking Union, Hong Kong from 1999 and has become a director of the board of the Dragon Foundation and the chairperson of the World Vision Hong Kong
World Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
since 2000.
Short-piling Scandal
Under the "85,000 Housing Policy" suggested by Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, the Housing Authority was demanded to build large-scale public housing estatePublic housing in Hong Kong
Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the population now residing in some form of public housing...
s and Home Ownership Scheme
Home Ownership Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme is a subsidized-sale programme of public housing in Hong Kong managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority...
estates all over Hong Kong by the government in the early years after the transfer of sovereignty. At one time the Authority was even asked to build not less than 85,000 flats a year, so that more people could enjoy public housing. Nevertheless, because of lacking of efficient monitoring and poor planning, the policy soon became a leak for jerry-building, and a series of short-piling scandals were exposed.
Tin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Wai is an area of Hong Kong, located in Yuen Long District, in the northwestern part of the New Territories. Originally a gei wai fish pond area, the ponds were reclaimed for the development of Tin Shui Wai New Town in the late 1980s...
, were discovered with serious and unusual settlement
Settlement (structural)
Settlement in a structure refers to the distortion or disruption of parts of a building due to either; unequal compression of its foundations, shrinkage such as that which occurs in timber framed buildings as the frame adjusts its moisture content, or by undue loads being applied to the building...
. Later in January 2000, a Home Ownership Scheme construction site in Yuen Chau Kok
Yuen Chau Kok
Yuen Chau Kok is an area in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Sha Tin Road and Prince of Wales Hospital. The area was an island in Tide Cove, and is within walking distance from City One Station of the MTR Ma On Shan Line....
, Sha Tin
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelled Shatin, is an area around the Shing Mun River in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District.-Geography:...
was reported to have the same problem found in Tin Chung Court, and it became known that the pilings
Deep foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
of these affected blocks were much shorter than required. The short-piling scandals were followed by a series of discoveries of jerry-building. In March and May of the same year, constructions in the shopping centre of Shek Yam Estate and in the site of Phase 3 of Tung Chung
Tung Chung
Tung Chung, meaning 'eastern stream', is an area situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Tung Chung, currently one of the latest generation of new towns, was formerly a rural village around Tung Chung Wan, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung Chung River and Ma...
Area 30 were reported extensive non-compliance respectively. The general public was deeply shocked by the series of scandals and the Independent Commission Against Corruption
Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)
The Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong was established by Governor Murray MacLehose on 15 February 1974, when Hong Kong was under British rule. Its main aim was to clean up endemic corruption in the many departments of the Hong Kong Government through law enforcement,...
soon carried out investigations into the housing scandals.
Facing the housing scandals, as the chairperson of the Housing Authority, Wong vowed to grasp the opportunity to reform the bureaucratic and corrupted Housing Department
Housing Department
Housing Department is a department of Hong Kong Government, managing public housing estates that were built by Hong Kong Housing Authority in Hong Kong. It reports to the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, which is headed by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands.-See also:* Hong Kong...
. However, she quickly became the target to be blamed by the public opinions. Many civil groups representing residents of the public housing estates reproached Wong for being incompetent to supervise the housing constructions and they demanded her and the Director of Housing, Tony Miller to step down. In June 2000, Secretary for Housing, Dominic S. W. Wong appointed Director of Intellectual Property, Stephen R. Selby as the chairman of the Investigation Panel on Staff Discipline in the Yuen Chau Kok and Tin Chung Court Incidents to see if anyone was derelict in the whole scandal. Apart from the pressure from the government, Democratic Party's
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
legislator Fred Li
Fred Li
Fred Li Wah-ming, SBS, JP is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the constituency of Kowloon East. He was a member of the Kwun Tong District Council....
moved a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
on both Rosanna Wong and Tony Miller in the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
on 9 June. Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa later paid a special visit to the Legislative Council on 23 June and addressed to the Council Meeting. He hoped the legislators to vote against the motion of no confidence, claiming that if "both of them leave one after another, an administrative and legal vacuum would be created at the top level of the Government".
Despite Tung paid effort trying to save Wong from the scandal, she declared her resignation from the Housing Authority on 24 June 2000, and became the first government official to hold accountability and resign from the government of the Special Administrative Region before the introduction of Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System , commonly referred to as the Ministerial system, sometimes the Accountability system, was introduced in Hong Kong by Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002...
. Four days later, the Legislative Council passed the motion of no confidence on her and Miller with a significant majority, however, Miller had never resigned. The post of chairperson of the Housing Authority was later filled by Dr Cheng Hon-kwan on 1 October.
The scandal did not rest with the resignation of Dame Rosanna. In February 2001, the Legislative Council set up a Select Committee in order to enquire the whole matter in-depth. On 8 May 2001, Wong was summoned to give evidences in front of the committee. In the enquiry, she admitted the risk of jerry-building had been under-estimated. Yet, she claimed that the concept of "85,000 Housing Policy" had already existed during the governorship of Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
and the Housing Authority
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...
was merely ordered to carry out the long-term housing policy which was planned by the government, not the Authority. Besides, she provided a number of letters to Governor Patten written by her between 1994 and 1996 to the enquiry. One of them, dated December 1996, stated that the Housing Authority could build only 82,000 flats a year and could not fulfill government's intention to build 106,000 flats.
However, when Secretary for Housing, Dominic Wong gave evidences to the enquiry on 12 May, he rebutted what Dame Rosanna had said. Dominic Wong explained that since 1988, it had been the Housing Authority who decided the target amount of public housing flats to be built annually. The government itself had not involved and therefore, figures forecasting the amount of new public housing flats in each year's colonial Policy Address
Policy address of Hong Kong
Policy address is the annual address by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong . It used to be addressed in October, on the opening of the Legislative Council...
had been provided by the Housing Authority instead. He further explained that the government had only started to make their own forecast since 1997, so it was not the case suggested by Rosanna Wong that the Housing Authority had to fulfill the target amount of public housing flats demanded by the government.
After two years of investigation, the Legislative Council's Select Committee released its report on the short-piling scandal in January 2003. Dame Rosanna Wong, Dominic Wong and Tony Miller received different degree of censure in the report. However, the report did not recommend any punishment to them and claimed it was up to the government to punish them or not.
After-Housing Authority
After resigning from the Housing Authority, Wong started to fade out from Hong Kong politics and retired from the Executive Council in 2002. Besides, she succeeded Antony LeungAntony Leung
Antony Leung Kam-chung GBS JP was the former Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region...
as Chairperson of the Education Commission
Education Commission
Since its set up in 1984 as a non-statutory body , the Education Commission of Hong Kong is to advise the HKSAR Government on the overall development of education in the light of the community's needs...
from 2001 to 2007. In January 2001, Wong was employed as a non-executive director to the Cheung Kong Holdings by Li Ka-shing|and her employment aroused public concern. Some public opinions feared she had only stepped down from the Housing Authority for only seven months and it was inappropriate for her to be employed to a real property corporation. A few legislators also worried that Wong would no longer represent the interest of social workers by having a closer relationship with the business sector. Yet, she responded that she would only received 5,000 HKD annually as director's emoluments from the directorship and she promised to bring the voice of the social work sector into the corporation.
Since 2003, Wong has been appointed as a Hong Kong member of the CPPCC National Committee of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. There was little controversy within the pro-Beijing camp of Hong Kong over the appointment since it was the first time for Wong to be admitted to a mainland Chinese official organization. Some criticized she had had pro-British background while some said she had a close friendship with former Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
, Anson Chan
Anson Chan
Anson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang GBM GCMG CBE JP was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Hong Kong Island, succeeding the late legislator Ma Lik....
. Yet, all these criticism died out soon.。
Personal life
Dame Rosanna was married to her husband, Dr Alfred Tam Yat-chung, who was a physician specialized in pediatricsPediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
on 15 September 1979. They had two children in the marriage, namely Joyce (born 1981) and Jonathan (born 1985). The couple furthered their study in 1991 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, trying to mend their broken marriage. Yet, they ended up in divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 1992 when she found her husband having an affair with another woman. In her marriage from 1979 lasting until 1992, she styled herself as Mrs Rosanna Tam Wong Yick-ming.
| colspan="2" style="background: #CFCFCF; text-align: center" Major Experience | |
|---|---|
Conferments
- Unofficial Justice of the PeaceJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(16 January 1989) - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Queen's Birthday HonoursQueen's Birthday HonoursThe Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
, 1990) - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Queen's Birthday Honours, 1994)
- Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (New Year's Honours, 1997)
Honorary doctorates
- Doctorates of Law
- Chinese University of Hong KongChinese University of Hong KongThe Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
(1996) - University of TorontoUniversity of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(1999)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Doctorates of Social Science
- Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong Polytechnic UniversityThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
(2002) - University of Hong Kong (2003)
- Hong Kong Institute of EducationHong Kong Institute of EducationThe Hong Kong Institute of Education is one of eight subsidised tertiary institutes under the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. It is the only one dedicated to teacher education....
(2004)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Honorary memberships
- Hong Kong Institute of Housing (Honorary Fellow, 1994)
- Chartered Institute of HousingChartered Institute of HousingThe Chartered Institute of Housing is the professional body for those working in the housing profession in the UK. It has a royal charter, gained in 1984. Currently CIH has over 21,000 members, mostly in the UK but also overseas, notably in Hong Kong...
(Honorary Member, 1994)
List of publications
- 《從政路上》，香港：香港基督教服務處，1992年。
- (On the Road of Politics, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Service, 1992.)*
- 《也曾同路－給香港青年的書信》，香港：香港基督教服務處，1996年。
- (Once on the Same Road - Letters to the Teenagers of Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Service, 1996.)*
- *Please be noted that the English translations are for reference only.
See also
- Hong Kong Housing AuthorityHong Kong Housing AuthorityThe Hong Kong Housing Authority is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong...
- Baroness Dunn
- Chris PattenChris PattenChristopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
- Settlement (structural)Settlement (structural)Settlement in a structure refers to the distortion or disruption of parts of a building due to either; unequal compression of its foundations, shrinkage such as that which occurs in timber framed buildings as the frame adjusts its moisture content, or by undue loads being applied to the building...
- Vote of no confidence
External links
- Citation by the University of Hong Kong, 2003
- Citation by Hong Kong Institute of Education, 2004 (Written in Chinese)
- First Report of the Select Committee on Building Problems of Public Housing Units by the Legislative Council of Hong KongLegislative Council of Hong KongThe Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
, January 2003