Sir Kenneth Fung Ping-fan,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
,
KStJ
The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...
,
LLD,
DSocSc,
JP (; 28 May 1911 – 16 May 2002) was a prominent Hong Kong politician and businessman.
Biography
Fung was born on 28 May 1911 to Fung Ping-shan, a co-founder of the
Bank of East Asia
The Bank of East Asia Limited, often abbreviated to BEA, is a Hong Kong banking and financial services company, headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. It is currently the largest independent local Hong Kong bank, and one of two remaining family ...
,
with his twin brother Fung Ping-wah. He graduated from School of Chinese Studies at the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
in 1931.
He took up his family business after his father's death in 1931, becoming the general manager and the director of his family business, the Bank of East Asia. At 28 Fung also established the Fung Ping Fan Group, which in 1975 bought a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
franchise and introduced the fast-food chain to what was then the British colony of Hong Kong.
He co-founded the
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known as Ocean Park, is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, animal theme park and amusement park situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is the second largest t ...
and was a founding chairman of the park.
From 1951 to 1960 he was the appointed unofficial member of the
Urban Council of Hong Kong
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 ...
. He was appointed to 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 ...
in 1959, in which he served until 1965. From 1962 to 1972 he was the unofficial member of the
Executive Council of Hong Kong
The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...
. For his public services in Hong Kong, Fung was knighted in 1971.
Fung was the founder and president of Hong Kong's
World Wide Fund for Nature and was district governor of
Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...
.
He was among the first members of the Photographic Society of Hong Kong when it was formed in 1937.
He was involved closely in the work of the Scout movement and of the
Y.M.C.A.
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
He is a past commissioner of the
St. John Ambulance Brigade
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by Volunteering, volunteers. The associations are overseen b ...
and was the first chairman of the
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...
Scheme in Hong Kong. He became a member of the Court of the
University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
in 1948. In 1969 he was given an honorary degree of doctor of social sciences. In 1973 he received the
American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award.
Fung died on 16 May 2002 at the
Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, aged 92.
He married Ivy Kan Shiu-han and was survived by his four sons and one daughter.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fung, Kenneth Ping-fan
1911 births
2002 deaths
Alumni of the University of Hong Kong
Alumni of St. John's Hall, University of Hong Kong
Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong
Hong Kong bankers
Hong Kong philanthropists
Bank of East Asia
Knights of the Order of St John
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Bachelor
20th-century philanthropists