Hu Xian
Hu Sian OBE, JP (English: Sally Aw Sian; born 19 May 1931) was born in Rangoon, British India (now Yangon, Myanmar), with ancestral roots in Yongding County, Fujian Province. She was a Southeast Asian entrepreneur and former member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Adopted daughter of business magnate Aw Boon‑haw, she once owned properties on Tai Hang Road in Hong Kong and the Tiger Balm Villa in Singapore, as well as seven newspapers, earning her the nickname “Queen of the Press.” She served as president of the World Chinese Press Association[1] and was, at one time, the richest woman in Asia and Hong Kong.
Biography
After the early death of her elder brother Aw Ho, Hu Sian became heir to the Aw family fortune. She was educated at St. Stephen’s Girls’ College and St. Paul’s Convent School[1]. In 1954, following her adoptive father Aw Boon‑haw’s passing, she took over Sing Tao Holdings at age 23[2] and in 1972 listed it on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At its peak she controlled seven dailies: Sing Tao Daily, Sing Tao Evening News, English Tiger Standard, Express, Tin Tin Daily News, South China Economic News, and the joint Mainland edition Shanxing Times.
In July 1972, she founded the Aw Boon‑haw Foundation as a non‑profit philanthropic trust funded entirely by her personal wealth[3]. In 1989, she received the Carr Van Anda Award from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University[1]. The 1998 Asian financial crisis dealt severe losses to her property and stock investments, and she became embroiled in a high‑profile legal case (“the Hu Sian case,” later involving the Department of Justice and Secretary for Justice Regina Ip). In 1998 she sold Tin Tin Daily News, and in 1999 Sing Tao Daily was sold to Lazard Asia, later taken over by Sing Tao News Corporation under Ho Chak‑kwok. Former Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross revealed that, despite sufficient evidence, Regina Ip chose not to prosecute Hu Sian; Ip denied any wrongdoing[4].
Beyond media, Hu Sian served as District Commissioner of the Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Brigade[1].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E4%BB%99#cite_ref-The_Asia_who's_who_1-0
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E4%BB%99#cite_ref-2
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E4%BB%99#cite_ref-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA%E5%90%8D%E9%8C%84_3-0
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%83%A1%E4%BB%99#cite_ref-4
- Fujianese entrepreneurs
- Hong Kong businesspeople
- Singaporean entrepreneurs
- Burmese people of Chinese descent
- Hong Kong media executives
- Hong Kong philanthropists
- OBE recipients
- Justice of the Peace
- Members of the 9th CPPCC
- CPPCC Hong Kong delegates
- Honorary Doctors of CUHK
- Aw family
- St. Stephen’s Girls’ College alumni
- St. Paul’s Convent School alumni