Hu Fa-kuang (, 14 February 1924 – 4 June 2022) was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He was the unofficial member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

and was chairman of the

Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong The Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong (, abbreviated 自民聯; LDF) was a pro-Beijing pro-business and conservative political party in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990, and was composed of mainly conservative businessmen and prof ...

, a conservative pro-business party in the early 1990s.

Biography

Hu was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China on 14 February 1924. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Chiao Tung University and later moved to Hong Kong in 1952. He became the director and managing director of Ryoden (Holdings) Ltd and other companies. He was appointed to various public positions, including chairman of the Transport Tribunal, the Financial Committee of the

Hong Kong Housing Authority The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong. In the same year, the Resettlement Departm ...

and the Council for Recreation and Sport and a promoter of sport activities. He was also member of the Transport Advisory Committee. He was also member of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

and the Wan Chai District Board. Hu was first appointed unofficial member of the

in 1979. He went on to serve in the council until 1991. In 1990, Hu became the founding chairman of the

(LDF) which consisted of businesspeople to contest against the liberal

United Democrats of Hong Kong The United Democrats of Hong Kong (; UDHK) was a short-lived political party in Hong Kong founded in 1990 as the united front of the liberal democracy forces in preparation of the 1991 first ever direct election for the Legislative Council of ...

in the 1991 first direction election. The Federation won three seats in the end and was defeated by pro-democracy camp. The LDF quickly went into decline as the pro-business

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and pro-Beijing

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the l ...

(DAB) were formed in the early 1990s. In 1997, LDF was merged into another pro-business party

Hong Kong Progressive Alliance The Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) was a Pro-Beijing camp, pro-Beijing, pro-business political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1994 and was merged into the Demo ...

. During the 1990s, Hu took part in negotiation and preparatory works for the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He was a member of the

Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR The Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was a body established by the People's Republic of China government on 26 January 1996 for the Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, transition of the Hong Kong sovereignty ...

and a delegate to the Chinese

People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. Hu married Rose Young Sai-cheung and had two sons. One of his sons,

Herman Hu Herman Hu (Chinese: 胡曉明) (born February 1954) was the Chairman of the Council of City University of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2017. Hu is a Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Hong Kong deputy to the 12t ...

, was also a businessman and politician. Hu Fa-kuang died on 4 June 2022, at the age of 98.

References

1924 births 2022 deaths Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference District councillors of Wan Chai District Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong politicians Hong Kong businesspeople Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal Businesspeople from Shanghai Hong Kong engineers Hong Kong justices of the peace Hong Kong Progressive Alliance politicians Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong politicians HK LegCo Members 1985–1988 Members of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 1998–2000 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2000–2005 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2007–2012 Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni {{HongKong-politician-stub