Ho Hung-cheung
Eric Edward Hotung CBE (Chinese transliteration: Ho Hung-chang; born 8 June 1926, died 20 September 2017) was a Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist.
Biography
Ho was born in 1926 in a Eurasian family in Hong Kong. His father was Sir Ho Tung’s second son Ho Sai-kiam, and his mother was Irishwoman Mordia O'Shea. He and his wife Patricia Annie Shea had five sons and three daughters.
He spent his youth in Shanghai and attended St. Francis Xavier’s College there. During the Second Sino-Japanese War he returned to Hong Kong to assist in the emergency wards at Tung Wah Hospital, then was deported back to Shanghai and placed under house arrest by the Japanese. In 1947 he went to the United States to study at Georgetown University. After graduating in 1951, he worked at the New York Stock Exchange and General Motors. In 1956 his grandfather died, and in 1957 his father also passed away, prompting his return to Hong Kong to manage the family interests. He founded Hong Kong Development Limited and Four Seas Securities (the predecessor of Macquarie Asia in 1991). In 1965 he established the Eric Hotung Trust Fund to support Hong Kong students studying abroad.[1]
In the 1980s he served as financial advisor on China affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and as advisor on China affairs to the Kissinger Associates. He founded the Hotung Institute of International Relations and hosted several Sino‑American dialogues. In 1982 he arranged for a Chinese delegation led by Wang Bingnan of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship to visit Washington, signing the Geneva Accord and unveiling a Sun Yat‑sen statue at Georgetown University.[2] In 1986 he co‑hosted a finance and commerce seminar in New York with Bank of China and People’s Bank of China. In 1990 the institute and the US Council for International Business held a conference on “Re‑evaluating US‑China Relations,” covering topics such as Hong Kong’s intermediary role and most‑favored‑nation status.
In 1999, when East Timor was in crisis and 250,000 refugees fled, Ho purchased the survey vessel Hong Kong Spirit to repatriate 120,000 refugees over three years. He established the East Timor Hotung Welfare Organization, funded an eye clinic, and founded the Ho Timor Institute. In 2000 he donated RMB 1.09 million to establish the Hotung Maternal and Infant Fund in Guangxi’s Longsheng region, then funded a mobile clinic in 2001. In April 2000 the International Organization for Migration presented him with a certificate of appreciation for his role in refugee transport. In 2001 he created the North Korea Ho Hotung Fund to aid children in need there.[3]
Anecdotes
In 1941 at his family’s anniversary ball, Ho met his cousin Ho Wan-kiu (known as the Tenth Lady), four years his senior, and they fell in love. She was the tenth daughter of Ho Sze-kwong, Sir Ho Tung’s nephew. Their families strongly opposed the match. In 1946 she married Mak Chi-wai; in 1953 Ho returned to Hong Kong and they reunified. In 1955 she bore him an illegitimate son Mak Shun-ming, and soon after he married Patricia Annie Shea. Three years later she bore another child Mak Wai-yuk. After inheriting his grandfather’s fortune in 1961, Ho gifted HK$2 million to her. Their affair continued until she moved to the US in 1974.[4]
References
External links
- http://www.erichotung.com Official website
- Eastweek interview: “Eric Hotung’s secret as diplomatic envoy”
- Wen Wei Po article: “Hotung gifts banner praising Beijing police for respecting human rights”
- Sing Tao archive: “Hotung changes will excluding two sons”
- Wen Wei Po: “Hotung loses suit, 3 children inherit fortune”
- Stinglife blog: “Illegitimate son sues for huge sum”
- Wen Wei Po: “Ho Yau-piu found no right to inheritance”
- Oriental Daily: “Hotung pursues Tenth Lady’s shares”
- Eastweek report: “Illegitimate son sues father Eric Hotung”