Li Mingze
Richard Charles Lee was originally from Kaiping, Guangdong Province, and was born in Hong Kong. He was the son of Lee Hysan, the eldest grandson of Lee Leung Yick, and the elder brother of Lee Hau Wah. He was a Freemason.[1] Lee served as chairman of the board of Hysan Development Company Limited, a listed company controlled by the Lee Hysan family.[2]
Life
Richard Charles Lee was originally from Kaiping, Guangdong. He went to the United Kingdom at the age of 12, where he obtained a bachelor's and a master's degree in engineering from the University of Oxford. In 1937, he served as the captain of the Chinese Red Cross unit in Hainan Island. He returned to Hong Kong in 1945 and entered the business world.[3]
Starting in 1950, he successively served as a member of the Hong Kong Taxation Review Committee, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee, among other positions. His family's investments spanned property, trade, textiles, tourism, hotels, shipping, banking, petroleum, and electronics industries.[4] In the 1960s, he served as the Senior Chinese Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. In 1969, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, Third Class by the Japanese government.[5]
In 1980, Richard Charles Lee and Liao Chengzhi jointly initiated the construction of the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. In 1983, he partnered with an American consortium to establish the Canada-China Petroleum Company to invest in oilfield development in the South China Sea. On 6 July 1983, Richard Charles Lee died of heart disease at St. Paul's Hospital in Hong Kong.[6] He was succeeded by Lee Wing Sum as chairman of the board of Hysan Development Company Limited.[7]
Namesakes
- Ming Tak House: Located at the Science Centre (nicknamed "the rice cooker") on the main campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library: Part of the University of Toronto Libraries
- Lee Ming Tak Hall: A residence hall at the University of Hong Kong
Memorial publication
- Zheng Hongtai and Wong Siu-lun, *Hong Kong Patriot: Richard Charles Lee*, published by Joint Publishing (HK), 2012.
References
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-1
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-2
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-3
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-4
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-5
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-6
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A9%E9%8A%98%E6%BE%A4#cite_ref-7
- Lee (surname)
- Lee Hysan family
- People from Kaiping, Hong Kong
- Hong Kong businesspeople
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
- Former members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
- Former members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Freemasons
- Honorary Doctors of the University of Hong Kong
- Honorary Doctors of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Directors of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation
- Hong Kong billionaires