Yasuko

Ann Tse Kai GBM CBE JP (Chinese: 安子介; born 26 June 1912 in Shanghai; died 3 June 2000 in Hong Kong) was a Zhejiang‑born industrialist, politician and philologist in Hong Kong and a senior leader of the People’s Republic of China. He served as Vice‑Chairman of the 8th and 9th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and was a director of Television Broadcasts Limited. The PRC’s official obituary lauded him as “an outstanding social activist, a renowned patriot in Hong Kong, and a distinguished industrialist.” He was also a pioneer in China’s international trade research.

Early life and education

Ann Tse Kai was born on 26 June 1912 in Shanghai. He studied economics at St. Francis Xavier’s College in Shanghai. In 1938 he moved to Hong Kong to work for an import‑export firm. After the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1941, he relocated to Chongqing and in 1942 joined the Central Trust of the National Government.

Business and public service

After the 1949 civil war, he returned to Hong Kong. In 1950, together with friends including Chow Man‑hin and Tong Cheong‑chin, he co‑founded Huanan Dyeing Factory, Zhongnan Textile and Wing Nam Textile. He chaired the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners’ Association (1965–1968) and served on the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee (1965–1975). From 1969 he was chairman of Nam Lian Industries Ltd and served on the boards of Shaw Brothers, TVB (1977–2000), Shanghai Commercial Bank, Hutchison Whampoa, Kowloon Motor Bus, Hainan Development, Hang Lung Group and OOCL.

In civic roles, he chaired the Hong Kong Industrial Council (1970–1975), was an unofficial member of the Legislative Council (1970–1974) and Executive Council (1974–1978), and led the Training Council (1973–1975) and Trade Development Council (1975–1979). He also presided over the Ningbo Association of Hong Kong for its third and fourth terms.

National and constitutional roles

Ann Tse Kai was a standing committee member of the 6th and 7th CPPCC, and Vice‑Chairman of its 8th and 9th sessions. He played key roles in Hong Kong’s transition: Vice‑Chairman of the Drafting Committee and Convenor of the Basic Law Consultative Committee, Hong Kong Affairs Adviser, and Vice‑Chairman of both the Preparatory Committees for the Hong Kong SAR.

He received an honorary LL.D. from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1976, and later served as honorary professor at the University of International Business and Economics, Tsinghua University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Jiangxi Normal University. He was honorary president of the Hong Kong Chinese Language Society and the Beijing Chinese Character Modernization Research Association, and from 1988 was Senior Advisor to the Shenzhen Municipal Government. He chaired the One Country, Two Systems Research Centre from 1990, later becoming its honorary chairman.

Death

Ann Tse Kai died on 3 June 2000 at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, aged 87. He was the first senior PRC leader to die in Hong Kong; his funeral was treated as a state funeral.

Commemoration

On 26 June 2012, a centenary symposium was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, attended by senior officials including Jia Qinglin, Wang Guangya, Tung Chee‑hwa and Leung Chun‑ying. On 12 December 2012, the University of International Business and Economics hosted his 100th anniversary celebration and awarded the 17th Ann Tse Kai International Trade Research Prize, established by him in 1991 to honour outstanding scholars in international trade.

Honours

• Honorary LL.D., The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Honorary President, Hong Kong Chinese Language Society
• Honorary Professor, University of International Business and Economics
• Honorary Professor, Tsinghua University
• Honorary Professor, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
• Honorary Professor, Jiangxi Normal University
• CBE, United Kingdom
• National Order of Merit, France
• Order of the Sacred Treasure, Japan (Third Class)
• Grand Bauhinia Medal (25 June 1997)

Awards and foundations

• Ann Tse Kai International Trade Research Prize, University of International Business and Economics

Patents and inventions

Ann Tse Kai was also a philologist. His achievements include the Ann Chinese Character Computer Index Input Method and the Ann Writing Machine, the first device to display, store, edit, transmit and print ten writing systems. It holds patents in China, UK, US, Japan and Singapore; the prototype is in the Ningbo Merchants Museum.

Selected publications

• 1937: 《Research on Indirect Cost》 (translation)
• 1938: 《Lu Chen》 (translation; reissued 1988)
• 1947: 《International Trade Practice》
• 1982: 《The Chinese Character: Unlocking the Mystery》 (English)
• 1984–1990: Series on Ann Code and six‑digit indexing tables
• 1987: 《Ann’s Insights on Healthy Living》
• 1987: 《Peng Wen Qi Zi Ji》 (simplified and traditional Chinese)
• 1991–1992: Modern Thousand‑Character Text (Enlightenment, Writing, Simplified‑Traditional)
• 1992: 《New Developments in Chinese Character Science》 (co‑authored)
• 1995: 《Easy Learning of Chinese Characters》 (English)

Biographies

• 《My View of Ann Tse Kai》, 1992, ISBN 962-7623-01-6
• 《Ann Tse Kai》, 1998, ISBN 7-5011-3700-5
• 《Shanghai‑Hong Kong Luminaries of the 1950s》, 2004, ISBN 962-928-091-7

Film production

• 1986: South‑North Shaolin

External links

• [Archived PRC CPPCC profile of Ann Tse Kai](https://web.archive.org/web/20071014063837/http://202.106.161.5:7777/was40/search?channelid=36976&searchword=%B1%EA%CC%E2=%25%B0%B2%D7%D3%BD%E9%25)
• [Xinhua introduction to Ann Tse Kai](https://web.archive.org/web/20120627204808/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2002-01/24/content_252579.htm)