Nellie Fong Wong Kut-man, GBS, JP, FCA, FHKICPA, (; born 1949) is a Hong Kong legislator, health care activist and chartered accountant.

Early life and education

Nellie Fong was born and raised in Hong Kong. She studied at the Belilios Public School before leaving Hong Kong for the United Kingdom in 1968 to study accountancy. She is currently a fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...

, a fellow member of the

Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA, ) is the professional accounting body of Hong Kong. Its main responsibilities are: *Registering accountants and issuing practising certificates. *Regulating the professional cond ...

, and a member of the UK's

Chartered Institute of Taxation The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is a registered charity (number 1037771) and the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT deals with all aspects of direct and indirect taxation. Activit ...

Professional career

Fong returned to Hong Kong in 1973 and worked as a professional accountant. She became a partner of Arthur Andersen & Co. in 1981. From 2002–07 she was Chairman of

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

' China Operations. She retired in July 2007.

Political career

Fong was a member of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

and

District Board The district councils, formerly district boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 districts of Hong Kong. History Before establishment An early basis for the delivery of local services were the Kaifong associations, set up i ...

from 1983–89, and a member of the Hong Kong

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

from 1988–1991. She was appointed a

Justice of Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1988. In 1992, she was the among the first batch of

Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Hong Kong Affairs Advisers () were appointed by the Chinese government after the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten carried out his electoral reform in the British Hong Kong, in the eve of the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state fr ...

to the Chinese Government. Between 1993 and 1997, Fong served as a member of the Preparatory Committee (transition team organised by the Chinese Central Government) on Hong Kong's Transfer of Sovereignty to China and Fong was the Convenor of the Economic Subgroup. In 1995, Fong organised the Better Hong Kong Foundation and was Chairman of the Executive Committee from 1995–2001. From 1977–2002, Fong was appointed by Mr

C H Tung 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 Chin ...

, the first

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of HKSAR to be a member of the HKSAR Executive Council from January 1997 – June 2002. In 1999 Fong began assisting the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

in the training of leaders of Important Key State-owned Enterprises and had helped many state-owned enterprises to get listed overseas. In 2003 and 2008, respectively, Fong became a member of the 10th and 11th

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 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 ...

(CPPCC).

Lifeline Express

In 1996, Fong founded a charity project called

Lifeline Express The Lifeline Express, or Jeevan Rekha Express, is a hospital train in India that has been running since 16 July 1991. It was a collaboration between the Impact India Foundation (IIF), Indian Railways (IR) and the Health Ministry. The train is fund ...

, a hospital eye-train which travels to remote areas of China to provide free surgical operations for cataract patients. In 2002, she organised the Chinese Foundation for Lifeline Express, a charity incorporated in China and of which she is the Executive vice-chairman. Between 1997 and 2008, over 87,000 cataract patients had received free operations. There are now four eye-trains continuously shuttling between rural areas in mainland China operating on over 14,000 cataract patients each year. She was founding Chairman of the Lifeline Express Hong Kong Foundation. In 2005 Fong saw the need for training eye-doctors in less developed areas in Mainland China. She then started building a network of Microsurgical Eye Training Centers in the less developed provinces. Continuous training is being conducted within this network through telemedicine, the use of wet laboratories and a training website, lxlearn.com. Fong convinced the

International Council of Ophthalmology The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is an international organisation that represents professional associations of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in Brussels. The Board of Trustees is the executive body and operational arm of ...

to introduce its examinations to China in Chinese as there are no common examinations for specialist doctors in China and she worked with the Chinese Medical Examination Center to hold the ICO exams in 14 locations in China in 2009. She also established an Awards System for the top three candidates in the ICO examinations and a Scholarship Fund to assist eye-doctors who have passed the ICO examinations to go overseas on a Fellowship program.

Awards and honours

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 ...

(1999). * Chinese Individual Charity Award (2005), issued by China's

Ministry of Civil Affairs The Ministry of Civil Affairs is a ministry in the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for social and administrative affairs. It was founded in May 1978, and the current Minister is Tang Dengjie. Its precedent was the Mini ...

, * 2006 Award of China's Top 10 Individuals from Industry and Commerce, issued by CPPCC's joint Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Health and Sports, * Outstanding Individual Award on Charity (November 2008), issued by China's

. * Clinton Global Initiative Award (December 2008), from US

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bill Clinton for her efforts to relieve cataract blindness in rural areas of Mainland China. * Asia Philanthropists 2014 from Forbes For Hong Kong's Nellie Fong, Charity Begins Aboard A Train
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Nellie 1949 births Living people Hong Kong accountants Hong Kong philanthropists Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong District councillors of Wong Tai Sin District Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 1988–1991 Members of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hong Kong Affairs Advisors Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 1998–2000 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2000–2005 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2012–2017 Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2017–2021 Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Women members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong 20th-century Hong Kong women politicians 21st-century Hong Kong women politicians