https://www.scmp.com/rss/133384/feed The latest stories on Elsie Tu, British-born Hong Kong social activist and former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. <br /> en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Amid the growing calls for women’s equality, fuelled by movements such as Time’s Up and #MeToo to combat sexual harassment, the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #PressforProgress. With gender equality still more than 200 years away, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, March 8 marks a start to the coming year’s theme. Here we highlight 10 inspirational Hong Kong women who represent progress, both past and present. Politics Elsie Tu An... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2136065/ten-hong-kong-women-who-have-made-difference-elsie-tu-gigi-chao-ann-hui?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2136065/ten-hong-kong-women-who-have-made-difference-elsie-tu-gigi-chao-ann-hui?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Mar 2018 04:34:55 +0000 Elsie Tu understood what most pan-democrats and their even more uncompromising young activists do not: Hong Kong’s destiny lies with the mainland, not with the Anglo-American democracies. Nor can Hong Kong exist on its own as an independent or autonomous city state, as some nativist scholars and their naive young followers are now aiming at. Both propositions were perfectly clear and obvious to Tu, who was laid to rest yesterday aged 102. And, indeed, they would have been obvious to anyone who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1893603/remember-former-lawmaker-elsie-tus-steadfast-commitment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1893603/remember-former-lawmaker-elsie-tus-steadfast-commitment?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Dec 2015 17:15:45 +0000 Hong Kong’s chief executive and his two predecessors were among the pallbearers at the funeral of legendary politician Elsie Tu this morning. Tu, who was a champion of the underprivileged, died at 102 earlier this month. Giving a four-minute speech, Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying praised Tu for her enthusiasm for the society. “She had been helping the poor since the 1950s ... and devoted her life for democracy. Even in the latter days of her life, as long as her health permitted, she wrote to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1893512/elsie-tu-offered-respect-all-residents-three-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1893512/elsie-tu-offered-respect-all-residents-three-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Dec 2015 05:14:09 +0000 The funeral of legendary politician and champion of the underprivileged Elsie Tu, who died at 102 earlier this month, will be held on Sunday with the current chief executive and two former leaders of the city among the eight pallbearers. Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and his successor Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will carry the casket of Tu at Sunday’s funeral at Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom at noon, along with the incumbent city chief Leung Chun-ying, according to an announcement from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1892525/elsie-tu-funeral-former-hong-kong-leaders-tung-chee-hwa-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1892525/elsie-tu-funeral-former-hong-kong-leaders-tung-chee-hwa-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Dec 2015 02:15:45 +0000 Since her death last week, community leaders and political leaders have lined up to pay tribute to Elsie Tu for her tireless efforts in standing up for the underprivileged in the colonial era. Yet the late champion of the poor, who believed colonialism was evil, knew very well that her British nationality served her noble cause. From a historical perspective, it is unfair to blame her for opposing democratic development in Hong Kong She noted that the Chinese did not dare complain about the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1891037/balance-elsie-tus-life-service-outweighs-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1891037/balance-elsie-tus-life-service-outweighs-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Dec 2015 05:23:01 +0000 We have the privilege of celebrating the life of a remarkable woman – Elsie Tu. And what a life she had, from missionary bride to the “real spirit of Hong Kong”. That spirit will live on. When we hear that middle-class parents are putting a price tag of up to HK$7 million on getting a child “ready” for the future (that future being, according to 70 per cent of 500 polled parents, landing a university degree, a high-paying job and owning a property) then, if we try hard enough, we can actually... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1889819/her-higher-and-truer-values-elsie-tus-life-truly-was-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1889819/her-higher-and-truer-values-elsie-tus-life-truly-was-one?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Dec 2015 05:01:20 +0000 The death on Tuesday of renowned social campaigner, legislator and educationalist Elsie Tu, at the age of 102, has closed a chapter in Hong Kong’s recent political history. A controversial figure for most of her 64 years in Hong Kong, Elsie – as she was popularly known – attracted both widespread criticism and enduring public respect. I want my son to be able to show his grandchildren that, once in his life, he met such a person as Mrs Tu. A passer-by in his 30s   While vocally active in Hong... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1889205/personal-tribute-magnificently-inspiring-elsie-tu-woman-no?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1889205/personal-tribute-magnificently-inspiring-elsie-tu-woman-no?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2015 04:15:45 +0000 Former lawmaker, social activist and anti-corruption campaigner Elsie Tu died yesterday, prompting a flood of tributes from top government officials, community leaders and legislators across the political spectrum for a true Hong Kong legend. The woman dubbed the “real spirit of Hong Kong” for tirelessly championing the rights of the downtrodden and underprivileged, breathed her last at United Christian Hospital yesterday at the age of 102. She had been admitted on Monday night suffering from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/1889027/tributes-pour-legendary-hong-kong-activist-and-campaigner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/1889027/tributes-pour-legendary-hong-kong-activist-and-campaigner?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2015 12:05:21 +0000 Elsie Tu was guided by a simple principle: “To be good and useful in life.” She made that vow as a teenager at school in England, but it is the people of Hong Kong who benefitted. Her tireless efforts over seven decades to right the wrongs of society won her plaudits as a champion of the disadvantaged and underprivileged, perhaps more than any other person this city has known. With her passing at the age of 102, we have lost the rarest of citizens – one who genuinely loved, cared for and wanted... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1888903/elsie-tu-true-hero-common-people-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1888903/elsie-tu-true-hero-common-people-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2015 03:51:55 +0000 Elsie Tu was born and grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England on June 2, 1913 before the First World War. Her father played a major role influencing her life and passion to serve the society. After leaving the church in 1954, she founded and worked in Mu Kuang English School for poor children in the squatter area near Kai Tak. It is now situated on Kung Lok Road in Kwun Tong, serving 1,300 children of Hong Kong's low-income families. She was an elected member of the Urban Council for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1888289/elsie-tu-life-pictures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1888289/elsie-tu-life-pictures?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Dec 2015 07:30:45 +0000 Elsie Tu, a veteran politician who spent her life fighting for the underprivileged in Hong Kong, died this morning at the age of 102 from pneumonia-related complications. Tu, a former Urban Councillor and lawmaker regarded as a pro-Beijing figure, was well-known for her outspoken manner. The centenarian still actively turned in articles to newspapers to criticise government policies she deemed unfair or inadequate. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England in 1913, Tu and her then husband William... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1888255/elsie-tu-veteran-hong-kong-politician-and-champion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1888255/elsie-tu-veteran-hong-kong-politician-and-champion?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Dec 2015 03:00:45 +0000 It seems that some people, especially a few post-1980 politicians, would prefer China to remain under British, French, American or other colonial rule, as she was partially colonised before the second world war. Do they prefer to remain a colony calling themselves Hongkongers, rather than Chinese? Do they realise that they could become US-controlled, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan and other countries that received a "democratic" vote and also economic control under the name of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1331525/pursuit-western-democracy-will-lead-hong-kong-back-colonial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1331525/pursuit-western-democracy-will-lead-hong-kong-back-colonial?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Oct 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Tenders close for Kai Tak sites Bidding ends on two closely watched residential sites offered for tender by the government. The tender is the first under the "Hong Kong Property for Hong Kong people" scheme, and the sites are the first to be released for sale in the Kai Tak new development area. Developers are expected to adjust their bids downwards as they can be sold only to permanent residents, although the total price is still expected to reach up to HK$4.4 billion.   Shangri-La Dialogue... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1249981/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1249981/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Act swiftly to stop tree blight spreading Your detailed coverage of the plight of Hong Kong's urban and rural trees highlights the need for urgent action if we are to save at least some of our natural heritage ("Killer fungus threatens swathes of city's forests", April 26). Phellinus noxius (brown root rot) disease has already been identified in 11 districts of Hong Kong, including two country parks. Presumably it is only a matter of time before the disease is found throughout the SAR. This... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1230962/letters-editor-may-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1230962/letters-editor-may-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Working out regularly from a young age is the secret of longevity for former urban councillor Elsie Tu, who is allowed to take it rather more easily now as she approaches her 100th birthday. On June 2, Tu will become a centenarian and now needs a walker to move around the home and a wheelchair when she heads out. But her mind remains active and engaged - as her defence of the striking dockers demonstrates. "Exercising has kept me healthy," she said "I've been very active in my life. I was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1220095/secrets-strength-elsie-tu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1220095/secrets-strength-elsie-tu?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Political veteran Elsie Tu laments the widening income disparity in Hong Kong and has taken a shot at tycoons who have no conscience. The former lawmaker and urban councillor, who turns 100 on June 2, became emotional when expressing sympathy for striking dock workers and anger with a billionaire, whom she declined to name. "I think shame on you. Why should you have [billions of dollars] when the poor can't even buy meat for their children's food?" she said. "How could you have [billions of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1220175/hong-kong-political-veteran-elsie-tu-criticises-tycoons-no-conscience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1220175/hong-kong-political-veteran-elsie-tu-criticises-tycoons-no-conscience?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 When Hong Kong's lawmakers finish a marathon three-day session next week it will signal more than the begining of the summer recess, it will close the doors on a slice of history. The Legislative Council building, which has played a pivotal role in the democratic process of government through two administrations for the past 26 years, will bid farewell to the shouting and jostling of spirited debate as lawmakers move to the Tamar development in Admiralty. When the building reopens in 2012, it... https://www.scmp.com/article/973059/building-without-equal-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/973059/building-without-equal-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Selling arms to regime is interference The bloody suppression of human rights in Myanmar has brought out the usual stale formula from those nations supporting the junta's style of government. Spokesmen in Beijing, Bangkok and Delhi are happy to announce that their governments 'do not interfere in the activities of a neighbouring sovereign state'. This outworn formula masks a dark reality, namely that such governments tacitly approve of the brutality and are unwilling to defend basic human... https://www.scmp.com/article/612861/letters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/612861/letters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:00:00 +0000 I found Elsie Tu's comments on the controversy generated by Ma Lik ('Political parties use Tiananmen tragedy as propaganda ', June 9) disturbing. She says: 'Ma Lik sets a good example in caring about people.' If making the suggestion of throwing a pig in front of a tank to see whether human bodies could be crushed into 'minced meat' is what she called 'caring about people', then clearly I do not understand what is meant by 'insulting', 'cold-blooded' and 'insensible'. Mrs Tu gets it all... https://www.scmp.com/article/596681/chinas-repressive-leaders-have-not-learned-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/596681/chinas-repressive-leaders-have-not-learned-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:00:00 +0000 This year's Harvard Club of Hong Kong Schools Book Prize is now open to all secondary schools in Hong Kong. Each school that applies can choose three outstanding students who will win a prize. The students will be invited to attend a special ceremony to receive their prizes. Launched in 1910, the award was established to attract talented young people to Harvard University in the US. The Book Prize now attracts about 1,700 schools from all over the world. Schools set their own criteria -... https://www.scmp.com/article/588392/harvard-university-book-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/588392/harvard-university-book-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Has it ever occurred to the advertising gurus that there is something called green marketing? When they conceive of their ingenious marketing campaigns, could they please take into consideration the wastage factor. One does not need to go as far as saving forests, but the amount of rubbish produced by complicated marketing promotions is unnecessary. During a recent stop at a Shell petrol station, I was briefed by the staff on a special promotion for V-Power fuel. They gave me a full-colour... https://www.scmp.com/article/549124/overwhelmed-mountains-marketing-junk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/549124/overwhelmed-mountains-marketing-junk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2006 16:00:00 +0000 From the South China Morning Post this week in 1966 A key witness of the Kowloon riots denied before the Commission of Inquiry that he had received a $5,000 'payoff' from Elsie Elliott (today better known as Elsie Tu) for his part in the anti-fare-rise demonstrations. Lo Kei said he had to 'admit' the 'payoff' at a police station because he had been viciously assaulted there. He said he had never mentioned to anyone the money alleged to have been paid to him. Another major witness, So... https://www.scmp.com/article/501726/slice-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/501726/slice-life?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 May 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Would the government please explain why it is apparently hounding the English Schools Foundation? If the government wants Hong Kong to be 'Asia's World City', it will have to offer Asia's world language, which is English. Hong Kong has offered that for some time and the ESF system is the major provider of English language education in Hong Kong. Jeopardise this and international people will not be able to come here and work, or stay and work. Nor will local people have the choice, which they... https://www.scmp.com/article/486145/why-hound-english-schools-foundation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/486145/why-hound-english-schools-foundation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:00:00 +0000 The former commissioner of police was permitted to draw wages from outside work while the government continued to pay his monthly salary. The government is still insisting that he is not enjoying double benefits. This is not very convincing to the public. The government is always against its staff drawing double benefits, such as housing allowances. If the money involved this time was listed as 'housing allowance', I am sure it would overturn many previous convictions. The government has... https://www.scmp.com/article/485422/dont-let-retiring-senior-civil-servants-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/485422/dont-let-retiring-senior-civil-servants-work?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jan 2005 16:00:00 +0000 James Tien Pei-chun's new mantle as environmental crusader raises his Liberal Party's capacity for political opportunism to previously uncharted levels ('Clearly, we need to work together', December 24). He wants people to see him and his party as responsive and sympathetic to the public's concerns of the day. But the Liberals are still just a political wind-sock, blowing as the winds dictate. Co-operating with the mainland to improve the environment is laudable, but the party's record does not... https://www.scmp.com/article/484372/james-tiens-call-smacks-opportunism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/484372/james-tiens-call-smacks-opportunism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Shouting at the Mountain by Andrew and Elsie Tu Chameleon Press $145 Mu Kuang English School on Kung Lok Road in Kwun Tong is a sturdy structure looking much like any other edifice to education in Hong Kong. The only significant difference is that it is in no danger of collapsing or being torn down - unlike most structures from the early 1970s, which, because of endemic corruption, were built with seawater in the concrete. Serving 1,300 children of Hong Kong's often forgotten low-income... https://www.scmp.com/article/480829/shouting-mountain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/480829/shouting-mountain?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Dec 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Former legislator Elsie Tu launches the Chinese version of her book, Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu, at the Central Library. Mrs Tu said the Chinese version would help students combat 'widespread media propaganda'. She also said she hoped that Hong Kong people would be less emotional about democratic reforms. https://www.scmp.com/article/460683/new-chapter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/460683/new-chapter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong has been under Chinese sovereignty for almost seven years, and although we have experienced many unexpected misfortunes (all unfairly blamed on the chief executive), no one can honestly say that 'one country, two systems' has not been adhered to. Yet some opponents of Beijing still preach gloom and doom, just as they did before 1997. They were proved wrong then. Unfazed, these political leaders, along with a handful of radical lawyers, have tried their utmost to find fault every step... https://www.scmp.com/article/451152/no-reason-gloom-over-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/451152/no-reason-gloom-over-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Apr 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Chairman Yeung Sum of the rather undemocratic party that sports the name Democrat warned that his party would use tough (read dirty) tactics 'for the first time' in the coming elections ('Democrats take up tougher tactics', November 11). Dr Yeung is wrong: it is not the first time. Ever since that party was set up it has been using very 'tough' tactics on political issues. The senior members have been using means fair or foul to beat down opponents who do not accept their negative views on... https://www.scmp.com/article/435397/dubious-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/435397/dubious-tactics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:00:00 +0000 This extract from a letter written to me by a former, well-known magistrate now living in the United Kingdom may be of interest to readers. I withhold the name because I do not have permission to make it public. Speaking about the colonial era as described in my recent book, and referring to 'those people in Hong Kong who are trying to bring down the SAR government', the magistrate has this to say: 'These people must either have a short memory or are too young to remember what Hong Kong was... https://www.scmp.com/article/424264/misleading-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/424264/misleading-people?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Disagreements on Article 23 of the Basic Law are entirely a Chinese matter, and Hong Kong has been given the right to make its own legislation. Martin Lee Chu-ming and Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee see that they are in the minority, so they have stooped to calling on the US to support their cause, knowing it will be happy to interfere to widen its empire. Surely Article 23 is intended to prevent foreign interference in Chinese affairs, so what are we to understand from this movement among Hong Kong's... https://www.scmp.com/article/418409/political-legislation-no-role-foreign-intervention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/418409/political-legislation-no-role-foreign-intervention?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2003 16:00:00 +0000 When I returned to Hong Kong in 1974 after 14 years in the United States, first as a student and later as a journalist with The New York Times, I was looking for some extra-curricular involvement. I had been an activist in New York, both in Chinatown and in the larger Asian-American community, and wanted to do something meaningful. Before long, I became a volunteer worker for Hong Kong's greatest activist, Elsie Elliott. Mrs Elliott - that was in the days before she married Andrew Tu Hsueh-kwei... https://www.scmp.com/article/417126/happy-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/417126/happy-birthday?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 May 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Elsie Tu asks for an example of a democracy that meets her own high standards ('Hong Kong needs action, not ideology,'' South China Morning Post, March 5). Established over 400 years ago, with frequent referendums on all sorts of matters and having avoided war during that period, I would suggest Switzerland as a candidate. She points out that President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are acting against the wishes of their own plebiscites, are consequently bad choices, and... https://www.scmp.com/article/408492/switzerland-closest-elsies-ideal-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/408492/switzerland-closest-elsies-ideal-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Mar 2003 16:00:00 +0000 I must write to correct the error made by Elsie Tu (South China Morning Post, January 18) that I said in my letter on January 13 that America single-handedly defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. I had a cousin who was killed when his Lancaster was shot down over France. My mother, after being made homeless during the bombing of Plymouth, helped to organise the defence of London against the Luftwaffe and my father served in the RAF fighting against the Japanese in Malaya (as it then was).... https://www.scmp.com/article/405543/no-time-do-nothing-governments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/405543/no-time-do-nothing-governments?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2003 16:00:00 +0000 Why all this fuss about freedom of the press in relation to Article 23 of the Basic Law? What does the press do with the freedom it now has, freedom that will no doubt continue under Article 23? The media's role is supposed to be to give the truth to readers, but how many in the media do that? Some offer only the truth that they want the public to know. Some attract readers by playing on the worst instincts of human nature. Others pry into the private affairs of targeted members of society and... https://www.scmp.com/article/395380/new-law-will-not-affect-tawdry-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/395380/new-law-will-not-affect-tawdry-media?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Oct 2002 16:00:00 +0000 While I wish Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun all the best as new head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church, his accusation that Hong Kong is now a 'toadying political culture' (Sunday Morning Post, September 22) sticks in my throat. Certainly, Hong Kong was a toadying political culture in the colonial days, before this bishop spoke up on social ills. Confirmation of this comes from a report in the Sunday Morning Post, on March 10, when academic Sister Beatrice Leung was reported to have said that 'in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/393510/cordial-exchange-views-better-confrontation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/393510/cordial-exchange-views-better-confrontation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2002 16:00:00 +0000 Angelo Paratico (South China Morning Post, July 27) replying to my letters of July 5 and 22, seems not to differentiate between the PRC and the SAR. Although they comprise one country they have two different political systems, and I was referring to the SAR system. The SAR system, of around 50-50 elected seats in grassroots and functional constituencies was actually initiated under British rule. The PRC system is still at the development stage and is none of Hong Kong's business under the... https://www.scmp.com/article/387249/us-democracy-riddled-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/387249/us-democracy-riddled-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2002 16:00:00 +0000 Elsie Tu, in replying to my letter of July 9, seems to regard views critical of China to be foreign-influenced and those critics agents of foreign intervention ('Present-day democracy is definitely not the genuine article', South China Morning Post, July 22). In this era of rapid globalisation, it is unrealistic and undesirable to expect any country to maintain a sort of 'splendid isolation'. While I agree that no government should meddle in the internal affairs of another, in this age of... https://www.scmp.com/article/386647/many-mainland-cities-embracing-western-social-values?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/386647/many-mainland-cities-embracing-western-social-values?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2002 16:00:00 +0000 I have been following the debate, through these columns, between Elsie Tu and other correspondents, and I could not stop thinking about the definition of parliamentary democracy which was given by Sir Winston Churchill. He said: 'Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.' Mrs Tu seems to be saying that the PRC has now come up with a better system. With all due respect I find this view very hard... https://www.scmp.com/article/386402/reforms-needed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/386402/reforms-needed?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jul 2002 16:00:00 +0000 I refer to the letter by Elsie Tu headlined 'Whole world deceived by 'democracy and rule of law' myth' (South China Morning Post, July 5). Ms Tu's relatively simplistic attack on the US showed a failure to engage in reasoned debate about the place of the rule of law and democracy in Hong Kong. Her criticism of the US is markedly one-sided and incomplete. There is no mention of that country's significant contributions in foreign assistance, its work in promoting self-governance abroad under... https://www.scmp.com/article/385125/us-bashers-always-ignore-countrys-achievements?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/385125/us-bashers-always-ignore-countrys-achievements?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jul 2002 16:00:00 +0000 Elsie Tu completely missed the point (South China Morning Post, July 5) when she castigated Margaret Ng for ignoring the many ugly aspects of democracy and the rule of law in the West, especially in the US. The fact that there are deficiencies in the implementation of democracy and the rule of law, does not mean that we should irrationally brand these concepts as 'myths'. Instead, we in Hong Kong should learn from the experiences of other nations, avoid the mistakes they have made, but... https://www.scmp.com/article/384591/bouquets-and-brickbats-elsie-tus-views-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/384591/bouquets-and-brickbats-elsie-tus-views-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jul 2002 16:00:00 +0000 I refer to the letter by Elsie Tu headlined 'Scheme did not help low-income families' (South China Morning Post, September 15). At least there is someone in Hong Kong with compassion and a clear head to remind us - amid the muddy debate on the suspension of sales of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats and the consequent benefits to property barons - of the first priority of Hong Kong's housing policy. The overriding issue overlooked by most commentators is the insufficient amount of... https://www.scmp.com/article/359145/poor-desperately-need-shorter-waiting-lists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/359145/poor-desperately-need-shorter-waiting-lists?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2001 16:00:00 +0000 Elsie Tu is wrong when she writes, 'Whatever happens within any country is for the people of that country to deal with themselves, without foreign interference' ('China's past an internal matter', South China Morning Post, August 27). This is, of course, the line peddled by those seeking to defend the indefensible - for example, Tiananmen Square, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. These are innocent-sounding euphemisms used to cover up the suffering, starvation and death... https://www.scmp.com/article/356577/foreign-intervention-can-help-save-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/356577/foreign-intervention-can-help-save-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Sep 2001 16:00:00 +0000 In our Today in History column on July 10, the South China Morning Post incorrectly reported that Elsie Elliott (now Mrs Elsie Tu) was three hours late for a forum and dinner held in her honour in London on July 10, 1966, because she had been given inaccurate information about the schedule. The meeting, at which Mrs Tu was to report to the United Nations Association about a trip to London, was in fact held at Hong Kong's City Hall Restaurant. The Post regrets any inconvenience this mistake may... https://www.scmp.com/article/352300/correction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/352300/correction?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jul 2001 16:00:00 +0000 I refer to the letter from Elsie Tu headlined 'Social discrimination a serious problem in education system' (South China Morning Post, June 29). I agree with her comments that the Hong Kong education system should be fairer and less elitist. But she sabotages her own argument by speculating at the possible career intentions of girls. They 'may be more intent on marriage and family-caring'. The girls' place in certain schools she says, 'may be better taken over by boys'. God forbid that they... https://www.scmp.com/article/351883/sabotaging-argument?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/351883/sabotaging-argument?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jul 2001 16:00:00 +0000 I am in full agreement with the views expressed by Elsie Tu on the US spy-plane saga (letter headlined 'Simply questioning credibility of account', South China Morning Post, April 25) and found the comments by Denis Bate in his letter headlined 'Elsie no expert' (Post, April 30) totally out of order. In the case of the US spy plane, sadly there were no experts involved. When I was in the RAF, we had Nimrod aircraft that were used on similar missions collecting information on non-allies. In... https://www.scmp.com/article/346706/americas-blunders-making-whole-world-nervous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/346706/americas-blunders-making-whole-world-nervous?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 May 2001 16:00:00 +0000 I am overwhelmed by Elsie Tu's admission that she is no expert (letter headlined 'Simply questioning credibility of account', South China Morning Post, April 25). Why did she write her original letter about the US spy-plane saga (Post, April 19), in which she categorically stated the crew of the US plane landed 'without a scratch on any of them', if she was not an expert? In her second letter, Mrs Tu mentions people not wearing seat belts in planes. Has she ever flown in a military aircraft?... https://www.scmp.com/article/345613/elsie-no-expert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/345613/elsie-no-expert?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Apr 2001 16:00:00 +0000 I refer to the letter from Elsie Tu headlined 'Amazing account' (South China Morning Post, April 19). Mrs Tu asked how the 24 crew on board the US spy plane could have escaped injury when the plane 'went out of control'. Perhaps Mrs Tu is not aware of seat belts. The next time she sees the inside of an aircraft, she might like to examine the two strips of (usually) brightly coloured nylon on her seat, each with a shiny bit at the end. These miraculously lock together, making a very effective... https://www.scmp.com/article/344855/mystery-solved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/344855/mystery-solved?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Apr 2001 16:00:00 +0000 No one knows exactly how the spy-plane incident occurred, and the only witnesses have given different versions of what happened. One thing keeps bothering me about the American version. The captain tells us the spy plane went out of control, rapidly losing altitude, plunging and almost overturning before he could make a safe landing. In that case, could any aviation expert explain how all the 24 crew on board the spy plane landed without a scratch on any of them? It appears they made aviation... https://www.scmp.com/article/344562/amazing-account?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/344562/amazing-account?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Apr 2001 16:00:00 +0000 Like T. Hodges (letter, South China Morning Post, March 15), I did not agree with Elsie Tu's comments on United States foreign policy and its connection with human rights (letter, Post, March 4). I cannot accept, though, Mr Hodges' parting shot that Mrs Tu should 'stop complaining about the US and take care of the problems of her own town'. Mrs Tu devoted decades of selfless service to taking care of the problems of Hong Kong, at a time when this sort of work was not only unfashionable but... https://www.scmp.com/article/342692/inappropriate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/342692/inappropriate?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Mar 2001 16:00:00 +0000