Dr. Philip Kwok Chi-kuen, SBS, JP (; born 6 December 1938) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician.

Biography

Kwok was born on 6 December 1938 to Kwok Lam-po and Sylvia Li Yuet-sheung. His grandfather, Kwok Chuen, was the founder of the Wing On Company, one of the major Chinese department stores, while his mother, Sylvia Li, was the daughter of Li Shek-pang, the founder of the Li family, one of the

four big families of Hong Kong The four big families of Hong Kong ()Sing Tao Daily. Section C-4 HR news. 7/31/2007. is a term used to describe the four business families who historically rose to prominence and became influential in Hong Kong. In order of influence, they are ...

. Kwok was educated at the St. Paul's Co-Educational College and graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

with a bachelor's degree of science in Physics. He later obtained master and doctoral degrees in Physics in

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He worked as a researcher at the IBM after his studies. He returned to Hong Kong to help his family business at Wing On in 1970 and became the chairman of the company in 1983. During the Hong Kong dollar crisis in 1985, the

Wing On Bank The Wing On Bank (Chinese:永安銀行) was a bank in Hong Kong. It was majority owned by Wing On Holdings, a listed vehicle 68.8% controlled by the Kwok family, including Kwok Lam-po. History The bank was founded by the Kwok family, led by Kwok ...

was bailed out by

Hang Seng Bank Hang Seng Bank Limited () is a Hong Kong-based banking and financial services company with headquarters in Central, Hong Kong. It is one of Hong Kong's leading public companies in terms of market capitalisation and is part of the HSBC Group, ...

. For this reason Kwok resigned from the chairman of the company and remained as director. He was an appointed 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 was the vice-chairman of the

Progressive Hong Kong Society The Progressive Hong Kong Society (; PHKS) was a political group in Hong Kong. It was established on 14 February 1985 by the then Executive and Legislative Council member Maria Tam. The party is considered conservative and pro-Beijing, in contr ...

headed by the then member of the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

and Legislative Councils

Maria Tam Maria Tam Wai-chu (; born 2 November 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operati ...

. In 1985, he was appointed by the Beijing government to the

Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Consultative Committee (BLCC; 香港基本法諮詢委員會) was an official body established in 1985 to canvass views in Hong Kong on the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Background The f ...

and became its vice-chairman. He formed the

Group of 89 The Group of 89 or Business and Professional Group of the Basic Law Consultative Committee was a conservative political pressure group formed by the conservative business and professional elites led by tycoon Vincent Lo in the Hong Kong Basic Law ...

, a conservative faction consisting of businessmen and professionals who advocated for a slower pace of democratisation in the committee. He first joined the

New Hong Kong Alliance The New Hong Kong Alliance (, abbreviated 新港盟; NHKA) was a pro-Beijing conservative political organisation in Hong Kong in the 1990s mostly composed of businessmen and professionals. It was considered the more conservative wing of the Group ...

headed by

Lo Tak-shing Lo may refer to any of the following: Arts and entertainment * '' Lo!'', the third published nonfiction work of the author Charles Fort * L.O., a fictional character in the Playhouse Disney show Happy Monster Band * ''Lo'' (film), a 2009 indep ...

in 1989 but soon quit the party over the controversy of the political model of the SAR government after 1997. In 1990, he co-founded 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 with other Group of 89 members including

Hu Fa-kuang 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 and was chairman of the Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong, a conservativ ...

where he became the founding vice-chairman. He was appointed

Hong Kong Affairs Adviser Hong Kong Affairs Advisers () were appointed by the Chinese government after the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten carried out his electoral reform in the British Hong Kong, in the eve of the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state fr ...

in 1993. Kwok is appointed member of the Council of the

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...

in 2005. He was made

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1979. In 2003, he was awarded

Silver Bauhinia Star The Silver Bauhinia Star (, SBS) is the second Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was created in 1997 to repla ...

Personal life

He is also an honorary non-voting member of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

and chairman of the Shotokan Karate International of Hong Kong. He currently resides at the Holly Court, 1 Holly Road,

Happy Valley, Hong Kong Happy Valley () is an upper-income residential area in Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to the south, Morrison Hill to the west, and Causeway Bay to the north. Administ ...

. Kwok is married to Maxine Kwok Li Yuen-kwan, daughter of Dr. Li Shu-pui and

Ellen Li Ellen Li Shu-pui (; 22 July 1908 – 2 June 2005) was a politician in Hong Kong. She is best known as the first woman to be appointed to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Early life and education Li was born Ts'o Sau-kuan in 1908 in Saigon, V ...

. He has four children, Jason, Desmond, Renee and Edwin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwok, Philip 1938 births Living people Hong Kong bankers MIT Department of Physics alumni Harvard University alumni Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Progressive Hong Kong Society politicians New Hong Kong Alliance politicians Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong politicians District councillors of Yau Tsim District