Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

bow tie in government documents, he still finds time to read, for pleasure, fascinating, well- written non-fiction. In the days when university places were so few that only a minuscule number of Hong Ko ng students could get into the one medica l school, his father pressured h i m to become a doctor. It was not to be. Instead he left school fo r the wor k force and very soon, in 1967, joined the Ho ng Ko ng Government civil service. This gave h i m the stability and the opportunitie s to discover, test, and develop his remarkable talents. It also served him well by sending h im off to Harvard, when he was in his mid-thirties, where he gained a Master's degree i n Public Adm i n i s t r a t i on. Here he had to come t o grips w i t h econometrics and mo d em managerial techniques . He still keeps i n touch w i t h some of his professors. A t Harvard h e found himself in a ver y carefully selected class of talented and hard- working young people among wh om he found many firm and faithful friends f r om a wide variety of backgrounds. He has kept up these friendships w i th now influential people in a number of different countries and cultures. They have been par t of his inspiration. Du r i ng three decades o f government service he has held many different positions in the Administration, including being District Officer for Shatin, shortly after his return from Harvard. The most significant of his jobs have been, of course, in finance, trade, and the issues arising f r om inter-governmental plans for the futur e of H o n g Kong. Between 1985 and 1989 his responsibility was implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Between 1991 and 1993 ， he became Director-General of Trade and Chief Trade Negotiator. He was thus responsible for all facets o f trade negotiation and administratio n for Ho ng Kong . Further responsibility, and promotion, arrived in Ma y 1993 when he became Secretary for the Treasury. This post gave h i m the heavy responsibility for the overall resource allocation of the Ho ng K o ng Government, its taxation system, and for the cost-effectiveness in the development an d implementation o f Government's policies and programmes. I n September 1995 he was appointed Financial Secretary, being the first non-British civi l servant to be appointed t o this post in Ho ng Kong. I n the years leading to the change of sovereignty he also tackled the issue of British passports for Hong Ko n g people. His firm, even relentless pursuit of Westminster about this met with a measure o f success. I f history always has to run its course, we must yet admire hi m for his principled stan d and what he achieved i n the face of greater powers. His gritty, sometimes unpopular determination, has paid off. As Financial Secretary he has had to contend in the market place with both bulls and bears. He has taken initiatives to build a healthier and a stronger financial system for Hong K o ng and the immediate region, doing muc h to revitalize business and help us ou t o f a recession that, according to some commentators in the alarmist press, could easily have turned into the nightmare of another great depression. It is a significant fact that he retained this position across the hand over, thus serving the outgoing colonia l government and the post-colonial SAR government. This is a remarkable testimony t o his ability and steadfastness. He is a person o n wh om many have depended, in a region of government that no w has a status somewhere above that of an ordinary province of China. Fo r his 30 years of long and very faithful service to Ho ng K o n g people under British 55th C o n g r e g a t i o n 39