Dr. Sarah Mary Liao Sau-tung, GBS,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, JP, FRSC (born 25 December 1951) was former

Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works The Secretary for Environment and Ecology () of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for environment protection policy in Hong Kong. The position was created most recently in 2007 as the Secretary for the Environment to replace portions of the ...

of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and a 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 ...

since 2002. She was appointed on 1 August 2002 and served until 2007."Dr. Sarah Liao discusses the challenges of environmental protection in HK & China"
, Harvard Club of Hong Kong, 10 March 2009 She is also a Senior Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor 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 ...

on Environmental and Sustainability Matters.

Early life and career

Education

Sarah Mary Liao graduated from the

Diocesan Girls' School Diocesan Girls' School (DGS) (), and Diocesan Girls’ Junior school, one of the oldest girls' schools in Hong Kong and a well known secondary and primary school in Kowloon, HK, was founded in 1860 by the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church (Hong K ...

and earned her bachelor's degree (

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

), master's degree (

inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

) and doctorate (environmental/occupational health) from the

. She was also awarded a master's degree (

analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

) by the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

.Sarah Liao Sau Tung profile at Forbes.com
/ref> Her brother is Dr. York Liao, a prominent Hong Kong businessman and councillor. She is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

and an Honorary Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Hong Kong. During her university years, Liao joined St. John's College as a residential member from 1970 and has served as the female sports captain from 1971–72.

Early career

Liao's career in environmental protection began in 1976 at the University of Hong Kong when she supervised the first government-funded annual air monitoring project. This program was designed to provide extensive background environmental data, which continued for five years. She then spent over seven years establishing and administering the program on Environmental Health & Safety at the University. Another area of work was the management of toxic and hazardous materials (chemical and biological) used in the University, including the procurement, storage, delivery, use, pre-disposal treatment and final disposal of these substances. At the same time she conducted large scale studies relating to workplace health and safety, hazard identification, risk assessment and environmental problems in a range of Hong Kong industries.

Professional and political career

Environmental consulting

In 1988 Liao founded EHS Consultants Limited which provided a range of environmental services requiring specialist expertise. Projects in the 1990s included a comprehensive asbestos management consultancy for the Housing Authority, producing drafting instructions for the Asbestos Regulations under the Air Pollution Control Amendment Bill, major environmental impact assessments relating to Port and Airport Developments, and a territory-wide study on Indoor Air Quality. In 1997, EHS Consultants Limited merged with CH2M HILL Ltd., a US-based environmental consultancy firm with 12,000-employee and US$1.7 billion revenue, and Liao became the managing director for Greater China. Recent projects included the study on air quality in the Pearl River Delta, Toxic Substances and pollution in HK waters.

The 2008 Beijing's Olympic Bidding and Organizing Committees

Liao was the senior environmental adviser to Beijing's Olympic Bidding and Organizing Committees from 1999–2008. She was a member of the bidding committee to represent Beijing at the 2008 Olympic Bidding conference in Moscow on 13 July 2001.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Liao was named

in August 2002 as part of

Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chine ...

Principal Officials Accountability System Principal Officials Accountability System, commonly referred to as the Ministerial system (), sometimes the Accountability System, was introduced in Hong Kong by chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal ...

. The portfolio covered environmental protection, transport services and safety management, road and rail infrastructure, water supply, slope safety and flood prevention, electrical and mechanical and architectural services, and a public works program averaging HK$27b per year. Upon her government appointment, there were concerns about her close relations with Beijing and her close links to the tobacco industry. Liao tackled air pollution head-on by the imposition of emission caps on power stations, and worked with Guangdong to successfully institutionalise emission trading and setting up the first regional air monitoring network. Liao also implemented the polluters- pay- principle in both solid waste and wastewater, produced a 10-year framework for waste management, encouraged private-public partnerships for private lands to conserve nature while greening of the urban areas was systematically carried out under a territory-wide master plan. On the transport side, Liao commissioned three new railways, initiated and completed the merger of the two railway companies in HK, and facilitated cross-boundary traffic by building the Lok Ma Chau railway and the Shenzhen Western Crossing where the first co-location of immigration facilities is implemented. She commissioned and implemented the public transportation fare adjustment scheme to help lift the objectivity and transparency of bus fare adjustments. The scheme, although heavily debated, allowed the public to have visibility to major transportation companies' fare policies in relations to micro and macro economic trends and indicators. She has consistently achieved high approval rates in public opinion polls.

Post-retirement

Liao is a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), an Environmental Adviser to the Shanghai Municipal Government on the

Shanghai World Expo Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the tr ...

2010, a Senior Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong on Environmental and Sustainability Matters, a trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and a member of the School Council of the St. Stephen's Girls' College of Hong Kong.

Professional appointments and awards

Appointments

(highlights) 1999 – 2011: Member,

Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...

1995 – 2000: Member, Building Committee,

Hong Kong Housing Authority The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong. In the same year, the Resettlement Departm ...

1994 – 1996: Member, The Pacific Business Forum (PBF) of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (

APEC The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

)
1993 – 1998: Board of Governors,

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

, Hong Kong
1993 – 1994: Deputy chairman, Urban Growth & the Environment, World Congress 1994
1990 – 1996: Chairman, Research and Testing Committee, Consumer Council, Hong Kong
1987 – 1996: Member, Consumer Council, Hong Kong

Other awards and recognitions

"Honorary University Fellows"
The University of Hong Kong 2007: Gold Bauhinia Star, Hong Kong SAR.
1997: Member in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
1994: Appointed Non-official Justice of the Peace of the Hong Kong Government

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liao, Sarah 1951 births Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Alumni of St. John's College, University of Hong Kong Government officials of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong University of Hong Kong faculty Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Hong Kong women politicians Women members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong 21st-century Hong Kong politicians