Tang Hsiang-chien, GBS,

OBE 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 ...

, JP (, 8 June 1923 – 10 March 2018) was a

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 ...

industrialist.

Personal

Tang was born in

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

in what was then the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. His grandfather Tang Xiangting () had founded a textile company, which was expanded by his father Tang Junyuan (). His son Henry Tang Ying Yen was Financial Secretary of Hong Kong and a candidate for Chief Executive in 2012.

Business career

Tang graduated from Utopia University in Shanghai in 1945, then moved on to University of Manchester in 1947 and received a master's degree from Illinois State University in 1948. He moved and relocated his business interests to Hong Kong in 1950. His businesses prospered in Hong Kong, mostly in textiles (Peninsula Knitters and Soco Textiles), but was involved in printed circuit-boards with the establishment of Meadville Holdings (sold to TTM Technologies in 2009). After 1989, he showed commitment to the emerging business environment of China, amassing an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion,Tang Hsiang-chien, Hong Kong industrialist and father to former chief secretary, dies aged 95
SCMP, 10 March 2018 and earning him membership of the Standing Committee of the 7–9th

CPPCC National Committee 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 ...

Political and non-business roles

Tang was a political insider with lead positions on a number of boards and committees. He had an important role in Hong Kong's transfer of power from the UK to China in the years leading up to 1997. His business positions included managing director of Soco Textiles, chairman of Peninsula Knitters, general manager of Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Tex Stock Company and general manager of Shanghai United Woolentex Group and Guandong Lianfa Woolen Fabric Company, with associated ownership stakes His non-business positions included chairman of the Hong Kong Textile Trade Union, member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. During the transfer of Hong Kong to China, he served on the PRC Consultative Committee on Basic Law, on the first group of Hong Kong Affairs Advisors, on the

Preparatory Committee for Hong Kong SAR 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 transition of the Hong Kong sovereignty in 1997. The Preparatory Committee was ...

and on the Selection Committee for the first Hong Kong SAR government.

Death

Tang died on 10 March 2018, aged 94 years, peacefully at his home in Hong Kong.

Family

Tang was married to Susan Tang Yew Zoe-chi, who survived him. The couple had four children, Henry, Sandys, Mai and Tom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Hsiang Chien 1923 births 2018 deaths Hong Kong chief executives Officers of the Order of the British Empire People's Republic of China politicians from Shanghai Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Businesspeople from Shanghai Illinois State University alumni Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Utopia University alumni Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom