Philip Wong Yu-hong, GBS (; 23 December 1938 – 6 June 2021) was a politician in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

who served as a member of the legislative council (

Functional constituencies A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China: * Functional constituency (Hong Kong) * Functional cons ...

, Commercial econd, a deputy to the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...

and vice-chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. He was also a recipient of the

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...

award.

Criticism

Academic credentials

On the Legislative council website, Wong was listed to have an

M.Sc. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

from the

California Coast University California Coast University (CCU) is a private for-profit online university based in Santa Ana, California. It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and approved by the State of California. Approximately 8,000 student ...

, and a J.D. degree from Southland University. Share market analyst and Hong Kong activist, David Webb, requested an investigation be launched to check for his possible improper academic credentials. Nothing has come from Webb's request. The University of California credentials passed muster as well as California Coast University's. California Coast University's bulletin states that it "does not require formal, on-campus residence or classroom attendance" because it is an online-only school accredited by the DEAC. Wong did receive the engineering degree from California Coast University on 27 August 1984, nearly 21 years before the CCU was accredited by the DEAC in January, 2005 (and the PhD programs were dropped as a condition of the school's accreditation); however, California Coast University had full state approval of all academic programs from the

State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

which made the degrees legal and academically legitimate nearly everywhere in the world. Southland University is no longer in existence.

Middle finger incident

During the July 2003 Article 23 march, Wong was filmed to be giving demonstrators the middle finger gesture.''The Standard'' article "Legislator escapes probes"
Retrieved on 24 December 2007.

Hong Kong Canadian Hong Kong Canadians ( zh, t=加拿大港人 or ) are Canadians who were born or raised in Hong Kong, hold permanent residency in Hong Kong, or those who may trace their ancestry back to the territory. In Canada, the majority of Hong Kong Canadia ...

politician Albert Cheng asked in a meeting in October 2004 whether his middle finger gesture has been referred to a committee for consideration.

Jasper Tsang Jasper Tsang Yok-sing ( zh, t=曾鈺成; born 17 May 1947) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the founding member of the largest pro-Beijing party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) from 1992 to 2003 and ...

, a colleague of Wong, replied that Wong had already apologised the previous day.

Death

On 6 June 2021, Wong died at the age of 82 after a six-month battle with brain cancer in a hospital in the United States. A memorial was held at AL Moore-Grimshaw Mortuaries Bethany Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona.

References

External links

Legco Philip Wong biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Philip 1938 births 2021 deaths Hong Kong businesspeople Delegates to the 9th National People's Congress from Hong Kong Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress from Hong Kong Politicians from Quanzhou University of California, Berkeley alumni California Coast University alumni Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Businesspeople from Fujian People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian New Hong Kong Alliance politicians Members of the Provisional Legislative Council Hong Kong Christians HK LegCo Members 1991–1995 HK LegCo Members 1995–1997 HK LegCo Members 1998–2000 HK LegCo Members 2000–2004 HK LegCo Members 2004–2008 HK LegCo Members 2008–2012 Members of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region American people of Chinese descent Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Deaths from brain cancer in the United States