John Tsang
Encyclopedia
John Tsang Chun-wah GBM
, JP
, is the current Financial Secretary
(FS) of Hong Kong
. His responsibility is to assist the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
in overseeing policy formulation and implementation in financial, monetary, economic, trade and employment matters. He exercises control over the Exchange Fund, with the assistance of the Monetary Authority
. He is a member of the Executive Council
. In an annual budget speech, he outlines the move to any Appropriation Bill
.
in Hong Kong and Stuyvesant High School
in New York City
. He graduated from the highschool in 1969.
After graduating from high school, he studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. He also holds a master degree in bilingual education from Boston State College
and a MPA
from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
.
. In November 1982 he returned to Hong Kong and joined the civil service, serving as Assistant District Officer for Shatin for two years. He went on to positions in the former Finance Branch, Monetary Affairs Branch and the former Trade Department. From 1987 to 1992, he was first Administrative Assistant to then Financial Secretary, Sir Piers Jacobs
.
He was Assistant Director-General of Trade from 1992 to 1995 and Private Secretary to the former Governor, Chris Patten
, from March 1995 to June 1997. In July 1997, Tsang was appointed Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London
. In 1999 he returned from London
and assumed the office of Commissioner of Customs and Excise. Before the Principal Officials Accountability System
was introduced in July 2002, Tsang was Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands from 2001 to 2002.
From August 2003 Tsang was Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
. In this role he was also Chair of the Sixth Ministerial Conference
(MC6) of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005. For his outstanding performance in the WTO, he even earned praise from Chinese president
Hu Jintao
.
Tsang then became the director of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
's Office from 2006 to June 2007. He even had to take a salary cut from HK$3.74 million down to $2.16 million. He agreed to the salary cut because he has been a friend of Donald Tsang
since the 1980s. In 2007 Tsang became the Financial Secretary of HK
.
on 27 September 2009 after returning from the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit
. He had a coronary artery blockage and went through an angioplasty operation
. He recovered and discharged from hospital on 3 October 2009. He told the media the operation will not affect his work.
, chairman of Pacific Century Group
regarding the Cyberport
construction project. On 2 March 1999 both signed a document that said PCG will occupy 20-50% of the total office space within the first 5 years of cyberport. Under a "take-up guarantee", PCG was required to pay the 50% rent if not enough tenants showed up. But in exchange PCG would be allowed to occupy as much as 50% of a government owned IT infrastructure.
In 2000 the take-up was suddenly dropped by the government. (Cyberport struggled to attract tenants, was becoming unpopular with Dot-com bubble
problem) Democratic Party
member Lee Wing-tat demanded that records of meetings between Donald Tsang and Richard Li should be revealed to show PCG was not colluded with the government. John Tsang strongly defended Donald Tsang to not reveal anything.
, citizens began complaining. About 10,000 protesters showed up at Central
to demonstrate. The mismanagement of the funds opened a number of controversies.
Jeremy Godfrey stepped down from his job for "personal reason". On 10, May 2011 in a letter to the Legislative council
, he said those personal reasons were not real. That the real reason why he quit was related to Elizabeth Tse (謝曼怡) and John Tsang. It turns out there were arguments over the implementation of the Internet Learning Support Program (ILSP). It was revealed that Tse and Tsang forced the HK$220 million contract to be awarded to a company called iProA. The company turned out to be founded by Elizabeth Quat, a member of the pro-Beijing
DAB. Tsang responded that the accusations are ridiculous and absurd. Godfrey have since come out to state that Quat herself has nothing to do with the ILSP controversy. But said the IT decision was politicised.
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 the current Financial Secretary
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...
(FS) of 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...
. His responsibility is to assist the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
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...
in overseeing policy formulation and implementation in financial, monetary, economic, trade and employment matters. He exercises control over the Exchange Fund, with the assistance of the Monetary Authority
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority or HKMA is Hong Kong's central banking institution . It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 via the consolidation of "Office of the Exchange Fund" and the "Office of the Commissioner of Banking"...
. He is a member of the Executive Council
Executive Council of Hong Kong
The Executive Council of Hong Kong is a core policy-making organ in the executive branch of the government of Hong Kong.. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong serves as its President.The Executive Council normally meets once a week...
. In an annual budget speech, he outlines the move to any Appropriation Bill
Appropriation bill
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
.
Education
As a teenager he spent his secondary school years in La Salle CollegeLa Salle College
La Salle College is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St...
in Hong Kong and Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He graduated from the highschool in 1969.
After graduating from high school, he studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT School of Architecture and Planning
The MIT School of Architecture and Planning is one of the five schools of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA...
. He also holds a master degree in bilingual education from Boston State College
Boston State College
Boston State College was a public university located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.It was located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston. Boston State College's roots begin with the Girls High School, founded in 1852. In 1872, the Boston Normal School separated from Girls High School and...
and a 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...
from the Kennedy School of Government at 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...
.
Career
Through his teens and twenties, Tsang lived in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In November 1982 he returned to Hong Kong and joined the civil service, serving as Assistant District Officer for Shatin for two years. He went on to positions in the former Finance Branch, Monetary Affairs Branch and the former Trade Department. From 1987 to 1992, he was first Administrative Assistant to then Financial Secretary, Sir Piers Jacobs
Piers Jacobs
Sir Piers Jacobs KBE, JP was Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1991. He also was the Secretary for Economic Services from 1982 to 1986. He died in Hong Kong on September 23, 1999....
.
He was Assistant Director-General of Trade from 1992 to 1995 and Private Secretary to the former Governor, Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
, from March 1995 to June 1997. In July 1997, Tsang was appointed Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London is Hong Kong's representation in the United Kingdom. As a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong does not have an embassy....
. In 1999 he returned from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and assumed the office of Commissioner of Customs and Excise. Before the Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System , commonly referred to as the Ministerial system, sometimes the Accountability system, was introduced in Hong Kong by Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002...
was introduced in July 2002, Tsang was Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands from 2001 to 2002.
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology of the Hong Kong Government was responsible for promoting the manufacturing, trade, commerce and technology sectors in Hong Kong and foster relations with players in these sectors...
. In this role he was also Chair of the Sixth Ministerial Conference
WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005
The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005...
(MC6) of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO) held in Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005. For his outstanding performance in the WTO, he even earned praise from Chinese president
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
.
Tsang then became the director of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong
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...
's Office from 2006 to June 2007. He even had to take a salary cut from HK$3.74 million down to $2.16 million. He agreed to the salary cut because he has been a friend of 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....
since the 1980s. In 2007 Tsang became the Financial Secretary of HK
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...
.
Health concern
Tsang was admitted to Queen Mary HospitalQueen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong
Queen Mary Hospital , located in Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong, is the flagship teaching hospital of the Faculty of Dentistry and Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong...
on 27 September 2009 after returning from the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit
2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit
The 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy.The G-20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economiccooperation....
. He had a coronary artery blockage and went through an angioplasty operation
Percutaneous coronary intervention
Percutaneous coronary intervention , commonly known as coronary angioplasty or simply angioplasty, is one therapeutic procedure used to treat the stenotic coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease. These stenotic segments are due to the build up of cholesterol-laden plaques...
. He recovered and discharged from hospital on 3 October 2009. He told the media the operation will not affect his work.
Cyberport defence
In 1998 and 1999 Donald Tsang representing the HK government met with Richard LiRichard Li
Richard Li Tzar Kai is the younger son of successful entrepreneur Li Ka-Shing and brother of Victor Li.Li was 26th in the Forbes List of Hong Kong’s 40 Richest people for 2010...
, chairman of Pacific Century Group
Pacific Century Group
Pacific Century Group was established in 1996 by Richard Li. PCCW of the group, which is taken over from Cable and Wireless in 2001, is listed on Hang Seng Index...
regarding the Cyberport
Cyberport
Cyberport is a creative digital community with a cluster of technology and digital content tenants. It is owned and managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government...
construction project. On 2 March 1999 both signed a document that said PCG will occupy 20-50% of the total office space within the first 5 years of cyberport. Under a "take-up guarantee", PCG was required to pay the 50% rent if not enough tenants showed up. But in exchange PCG would be allowed to occupy as much as 50% of a government owned IT infrastructure.
In 2000 the take-up was suddenly dropped by the government. (Cyberport struggled to attract tenants, was becoming unpopular with Dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
problem) Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
member Lee Wing-tat demanded that records of meetings between Donald Tsang and Richard Li should be revealed to show PCG was not colluded with the government. John Tsang strongly defended Donald Tsang to not reveal anything.
2011 budget demonstration
On 23 February 2011 John Tsang delivered the annual "2011-2012 HK Budget summary". The HK government was under pressure to give some of the money back to the community. After trying to move the surplus into a Mandatory Provident FundMandatory provident fund
The Mandatory Provident Fund , often abbreviated as MPF , is a compulsory saving scheme for the retirement of residents in Hong Kong...
, citizens began complaining. About 10,000 protesters showed up at Central
Central, Hong Kong
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...
to demonstrate. The mismanagement of the funds opened a number of controversies.
ILSP controversy
In January 2011 HK government's IT chief information officerChief information officer
Chief information officer , or information technology director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals...
Jeremy Godfrey stepped down from his job for "personal reason". On 10, May 2011 in a letter to the Legislative council
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
, he said those personal reasons were not real. That the real reason why he quit was related to Elizabeth Tse (謝曼怡) and John Tsang. It turns out there were arguments over the implementation of the Internet Learning Support Program (ILSP). It was revealed that Tse and Tsang forced the HK$220 million contract to be awarded to a company called iProA. The company turned out to be founded by Elizabeth Quat, a member of the pro-Beijing
Pro-Beijing Camp
The Pro-Beijing Camp, pro-Establishment Camp, pan-Establishment Camp is a segment of Hong Kong society that supports the policies and views of the People's Republic of China before and after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.It is also nicknamed the royalists or loyalists.The term can be used to...
DAB. Tsang responded that the accusations are ridiculous and absurd. Godfrey have since come out to state that Quat herself has nothing to do with the ILSP controversy. But said the IT decision was politicised.