Wong Po-yan (, 5 May 1923 – 21 July 2019) was a Hong Kong industrialist and politician. He was the first chairman of

Airport Authority Hong Kong The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA or AAHK) is the statutory body (governed by the Airport Authority Ordinance (Cap. 483)) of the government of Hong Kong that is responsible for the operations of the Hong Kong International Airport. Histor ...

from 1995 to 1999.

Biography

Wong Po-yan was born in and brought up in Hwei-An, Fujien,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and studied Chemistry at the National University of Amoy before he moved to Hong Kong. He became a successful industrialist with his plastic material company United Oversea Enterprises, Ltd. that he founded in 1958. In 1962, he was elected to the general committee of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (CMA). As the representative of the CMA, he was appointed as the member of the

Hong Kong Trade Development Council The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includi ...

. He was appointed to the Legislative Council by Governor

Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with fou ...

in 1979 and served until 1988. After the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China agreed to hand over the sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, Wong was appointed by the PRC government to the

Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Drafting Committee (BLDC) was formed in June 1985 for the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after 1997. It was formed as a working group ...

which was responsible for drafting the Hong Kong constitution after 1997. He subsequently became the member of the Preparatory Committee in 1996 which prepared for the transition of the sovereignty. During the transition period, Wong Po-yan was appointed the chairman of the Provisional Airport Authority in 1995 to oversee the construction and opening of the

Chek Lap Kok Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...

. He was blamed for the chaotic opening of the airport in 1998. He was also the chairman of

Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial television ...

between 1998 and 2002. He was the Hong Kong deputy to the

9th National People's Congress The 9th National People's Congress () was in session from 1998 to 2003. It held five plenary sessions in this period. It followed the final session of the 8th National People's Congress. There were 2,979 deputies to this Congress. Election resul ...

from 1997 to 2002 and the deputy director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee under the National People's Congress from 1997 to 2006. He was awarded the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the ...

in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Po-yan 1923 births 2019 deaths Hong Kong Protestants Hong Kong businesspeople Hong Kong industrialists Businesspeople from Fujian People from Quanzhou Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal HK LegCo Members 1985–1988 Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong Delegates to the 9th National People's Congress from Hong Kong Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress from Hong Kong Hong Kong justices of the peace Asia Television Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee members Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee members Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Members of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong