Dr.
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
Harry Tong (), is an I-
Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati ''The Wor ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
with
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
heritage. He was born in
Tabuaeran
Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island, is an atoll that is part of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean and part of Kiribati. The land area is , and the population in 2015 was 2,315. The maximum elevation is about 3 m (10 f ...
,
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands (in Gilbertese, ''Aono Raina'') are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...
and is the second child of
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
immigrant Tong Ting Hai and Nei Keke Randolph, of Abaiang and Maiana. Harry Tong attended
Wanganui Collegiate School
Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and then went on to complete his medical training at the
Fiji School of Medicine
The Fiji School of Medicine is a tertiary institution based in Suva, Fiji. Originally established in 1885 as the ''Suva Medical School''. FSM became the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences as part of Fiji National University in 2010. It ...
.
He was first elected to the
House of Assembly of Kiribati
The House of Assembly (, ) is the Legislature of Kiribati. Since 2016, it has 45 members, 44 elected for a four-year term in 23 single-seat and multi-seat constituencies and 1 non-elected delegate from the Banaban community on Rabi Island in Fi ...
in 1983, representing the constituency of
South Tarawa
South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki ...
, the country's capital. He was re-elected in 1987, but resigned from Parliament in 1989, before the end of his term. He returned to Parliament in the 1998 election, and was re-elected in 2003 and in 2007, still representing South Tarawa. Again, however, he resigned before the end of the latter term.
He stood for president in the 1998 election, lost to the incumbent,
Teburoro Tito
Teburoro Tito (''modern'' spelling Tiito, pronounced Seetoh) (born 25 August 1953) is an I-Kiribati politician who served as the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from 1 October 1994 to 28 March 2003. He was elected for the first time in ...
,"Background Note: Kiribati" US Department of State, May 2009 and became
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. He was not able to take part in the February 2003 Presidential Election, as his party selected
Taberannang Timeon
Taberannang “Peter” Timeon is an I-Kiribati politician, member of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu (parliament) for Tabiteuea North (last elected 2020). Until 2013, he was member of the Cabinet of Kiribati. In mid-October 2013, he has resigned fro ...
to stand in his place. Tito was re-elected. Shortly thereafter, Tong questioned President Tito about the lease deal which enabled the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to maintain a satellite-tracking facility on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Sino-Pacific relations
Oceania is, to the People's Republic of China (PRC; "China") and the Republic of China (ROC; "Taiwan"), a stage for continuous diplomatic competition. The PRC dictates that no state can have diplomatic relations with both the PRC and the ROC. As o ...
.) Tong emphasised that Chinese ambassador Ma Shuxue had admitted having donated €2,000 to a "cooperative society linked to Tito". The resulting controversy brought down the President's newly elected government through a
vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
Protect the Maneaba
Protect the Maneaba ( gil, Maneaban te Mauri) is a political party in Kiribati created by the merger of the National Progressive Party and the Christian Democratic Party.
At the last presidential elections of July 4, 2003, its candidate Harry Tong ...
party, but came second to his younger brother
Anote Tong
Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952 in Tabuaeran, Line Islands) is an I-Kiribati politician for the Pillars of Truth party and environmental activist with half Chinese heritage, who served as President of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the elect ...
, of the
Pillars of Truth
Pillars of Truth ( gil, Boutokaan te Koaua; BK or BTK) was a political party in Kiribati, until 2020 when it merged with the Kiribati First Party to create the Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party.
The party was created through a split in the Natio ...
party. The brothers received 43.5 and 47.4% of the vote respectively - 12,457 votes to 13,556. The campaign was contentious, with Anote accusing Harry of "womanising".
The
2007 Presidential election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
was controversial. Candidates for the presidency are selected by Parliament, and Harry Tong did not receive parliamentary nomination; nor did any member of the Protect the Maneaba party, despite it being the main opposition party. Anote Tong was re-elected.
Unlike his younger brother Anote, who as president has emphasised the need to adapt to climate change, and who has warned that Kiribati may disappear beneath the seas altogether, Harry Tong has stated that the ocean will never rise to a critical level in Kiribati, citing his religious beliefs: "God promised Noah there would not be another flood after the last one".
As of June 2009, Tong was the leader of the National Progressive Party. He was a "key Opposition MP" in the Ninth Parliament."Kiribati" New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs He was resigned from parliament in January 2010 to resume his medical career.