Hong Kong’s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa has been honoured by the China Institute of America for his decades-long efforts to foster dialogue and understanding between the two countries.
The China Institute Centennial Award was announced and presented at an event commemorating the non-profit institution’s first centennial in New York on Thursday.
Tung, who served as Hong Kong’s first chief executive after Hong Kong returned to China’s sovereignty in 1997, was honoured alongside the families of former US presidents Richard Nixon and George H W Bush, as well as the Rockefeller family.
The 88-year-old was represented at the ceremony by his son, Andy Tung Lieh-cheung, who accepted the award on his behalf and praised his father for consistently working to forge cooperation between the two nations despite their fundamental differences.
He described his father as having “endlessly curious, always probing ideas” and a focus on long-term solutions to complex problems.
“For him, trust was never an abstract ideal, but a responsibility to listen, to understand, and to seek common ground,” Andy Tung said.
“He believes that while our two nations have fundamental differences, they also share important interests and must find ways to work together.”
After stepping down as chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa established the China-United States Exchange Foundation in 2008, a Hong Kong-based non-profit organisation aimed at helping Beijing and Washington recognise and develop areas of common interest.
