Tung Chee-hwa pioneered Hong Kong's tech infrastructure decades before it became crucial

Hong Kong's first chief executive has been credited with anticipating the city's technology needs decades before they became central to its economic strategy.

Tung Chee-hwa, who died last week, laid the groundwork for major innovation hubs including Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park during his time in office, former colleagues said.

Early vision for tech infrastructure

"He proposed developing Cyberport very early on, allocating land specifically to attract innovation and technology talent," Tam Yiu-chung, who served on Hong Kong's top decision-making body Executive Council during Tung's tenure, told a radio show on Sunday. "This is exactly what we are doing now," Tam added.

Political heavyweights praised the former chief executive for being able to foresee developmental trends before others could, pointing to his decisions to establish the technology parks that now anchor Hong Kong's innovation sector.

Mainland integration strategy

Tam, formerly Hong Kong's sole deputy to China's top legislature the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, also credited Tung with foreseeing the need to engage the mainland closely to support the local economy at a time when many were focusing solely on Hong Kong's own development.

The former Executive Council member cited Tung's support for the Individual Visit Scheme for mainland residents and the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the two sides as examples of this strategic approach. "Both of these were proposed by Tung," said Tam, now a consultant to the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank. "And they offered an instant relief to Hong Kong economy [after the Sars pandemic]," he added.

Source: South China Morning Post