Hong Kong heavyweights plan final send-off for former ATV boss Deacon Chiu
A group comprising Hong Kong’s three chief executives, members of the political elite and several tycoons has been formed to plan the funeral of media entrepreneur Deacon Chiu.
A 95-member group comprising Hong Kong's three chief executives, members of the political elite and several tycoons has been formed to plan the funeral of media entrepreneur Deacon Chiu Te-ken, who died last week aged 91.
The city's first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, will head the committee arranging Chiu's funeral. Six deputies include his successor, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen; current leader Leung Chun-ying; director of the mainland's liaison office Zhang Xiaoming; Zhang's deputy, Yin Xiaojing; the Foreign Ministry's commissioner in Hong Kong Song Zhe; and Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah.
Chiu, noted as the only owner ever to turn perennially troubled broadcaster ATV into a profitable venture, died last Tuesday at Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan after being found unconscious at his villa in Ting Kau.
The names of the funeral committee members were published in an obituary in local newspapers. The list also comprises a handful of tycoons. They include Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing; Henderson Land chairman Lee Shau-kee; former Sun Hung Kai Group chairman Walter Kwok Ping-sheung; New World Development chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun; Wharf Holdings chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching; and Shui On Group chairman Vincent Lo Hong-sui.
Political figures include health minister Dr Ko Wing-man; home affairs secretary Tsang Tak-sing; Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing; former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen; his father, Tang Hsiang-chien; Executive Council convener Lam Woon-kwong; former justice secretary Elsie Leung Oi-sie; the leader of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Tam Yiu-chung; New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee; and former leader of the Liberal Party Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee.
Also on the list are representatives of ATV and the entertainment industry. They include ATV shareholder Payson Cha Mou-sing; ATV executive director Ip Ka-po; TVB general manager Mona Fong Yat-wah; and former actors who worked for ATV in Chiu's days.
A memorial service for Chiu will be held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point on Saturday afternoon. The funeral will be held later that day.
Born in Shanghai in 1924, Chiu came to Hong Kong in 1949. Chiu became famous when he bought Rediffusion Television and renamed it Asia Television in 1982. It was a profitable company under his chairmanship, which ended in 1989 when he sold it. The station has since struggled financially and for ratings.
