Denise Yue Chung-yee GBS

Hong Kong honours system

The existing Hong Kong honours system was created after transfer of government of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China as a special administrative region in 1997...

 JP

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

is a Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 politician and Secretary for the Civil Service

Secretary for the Civil Service

The Secretary for the Civil Service is the head of the Civil Service Bureau in Hong Kong. Unlike other secretaries for bureaux, the Secretary for the Civil Service is filled by an administrative officer from the civil service, who may choose to return to the civil service when his term expires...

.

Education

Denise Yue graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1974 and she attended Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1988 obtaining an MPA

Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...

 during her civil service career.

Civil service

She joined the civil service in 1974 and has served in a number of senior positions, including:

• Deputy Director of Regional Services (1991 to 1992)
• Deputy Secretary for Trade and Industry ( 1992 to 1993)
• Director-General of Industry (1993 to 1995)
• Secretary for Trade and Industry (1995 to 1998)
• Secretary for the Treasury (1998 to 2002)
• Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Commerce and Industry) (2002 to 2006)

Yue took up the post of Secretary for the Civil Service since January 2006.

Leung Chin-man controversy

In August 2008, Yue was subject of controversy when the former Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Leung Chin-man

Leung Chin-man

Leung Chin-man JP is a retired senior civil servant in the Government of Hong Kong the former Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands.-Government career:...

 was named deputy managing director and executive director of New World China Land

New World China Land

New World China Land Limited is the Mainland China property flagship of Hong Kong's New World Development, owned by Dr. Cheng Yu-tung's family.It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability. It is engaged in property development projects in Mainland China, including property...

. Yue signed off on the approval for Leung to take up the job after it passed through the Advisory committee on post-service employment of civil servants, responsible for vetting the application.

After public outcry amidst widespread suspicion of conflict of interest, Chief Executive

Chief Executive of Hong Kong

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...

 Donald Tsang

Donald Tsang

Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, GBM, KBE is the current Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong....

 called the Secretary to account.
On 15 August, the Civil Service Bureau issued the report requested by Tsang, where they admitted that they had not considered Leung's role in the Hung Hom Peninsula affair when approving his appointment. Donald Tsang asked the SCS to reassess the approval.

New World announced in the early hours of 16 August that Leung had resigned from his post, and would not be seeking compensation from the government for its "inappropriate handling".

A SCMP

South China Morning Post

The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....

  editorial criticised the "glaring lack of political sense of some of our senior officials." Commentators noted with surprise that there were no demands for Yue's resignation.

A political scientist suggested that parties feared that such calls would alienate civil servants in the forthcoming LegCo elections

Hong Kong legislative election, 2008

The 2008 Hong Kong legislative election was held on 7 September 2008 for the 4th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There are 60 seats in the 4th Council, with 30 Members elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and...

. Donald Tsang confirmed that he was satisfied with Yue's apology and with the explanations offered by her, and would not be seeking her resignation.