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SCMP Reporter

Tung Chee-hwa last night announced the creation of the territory's own honours list and one of the first recipients will be veteran politician Elsie Tu.

 Mrs Tu, a member of the provisional legislature, and 11 other leading local figures will receive the Grand Bauhinia Medal from Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen during a ceremony next week at Government House.

 They include tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung, who brokered China's bail-out of Mr Tung's shipping company in the 1980s, Lo Tak-shing, the pro-China lawyer and one-time contender for chief executive, and future executive councillor Sir Sze-yuen Chung.

 The Grand Bauhinia Medal will be the highest honour in a system still being finalised, a spokesman for Mr Tung said. It is designed to reward people who have fostered a 'love for the motherland' and made 'outstanding contributions' to Hong Kong. Recipients will carry the honorific 'GBM'.

 News of the awards comes just two weeks after Hong Kong's final Queen's Birthday Honours - and they will run along much the same lines, said a spokesman for Mr Tung.

 'Community service will be recognised and there will be awards for police and firemen and people like that. It was important to mark the establishment of the SAR government with the first medals,' he said.

 No details were yet available about the cost, size or composition of the medal itself but the spokesman said it would be 'suitably impressive'.

 The awards will be announced annually on July 1, replacing the publishing of the Queen's Birthday Honours on June 14 and at the New Year.

 Mr Tung's office said recipients must be permanent residents of Hong Kong.

 It stipulated, in the following order, that recipients must 'for a long time' have:  'Fostered among Hong Kong people a love for the motherland';  'Shown concern about and support for, and also identified with, China's accomplishments'; and  'Made an outstanding contribution to the Hong Kong community'.

 Debrett's Peerage, the definitive text on the protocol titles, recognises 12 Chinese honours, headed by the Order of the Brilliant Star and Order of the Precious Tripod.



Medals for 12 as HK gains own honours list