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Tammy Tam

South China Morning Post publisher Tammy Tam reflects on her encounters with Hong Kong’s first chief executive, the late Tung Chee-hwa, looking back on memories from her days as a frontline reporter, his regular exchanges with media representatives and Tung’s rare appearance at an SCMP conference in 2020 to advocate US-China dialogue.
Her recollections are part of a special SCMP commemorative supplement that features heavyweights from various sectors paying tribute to Tung. You can also find other tributes from the supplement here, here and here.
“Are you Ms Tam? Mr Tung wants to speak to you.”
The call from former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa’s office came shortly after I joined the South China Morning Post more than a decade ago.
It was at a time when Hong Kong’s newspaper of record was busy preparing its annual flagship China Conference event. Tung was always among those at the top of the guest list for the event since its inaugural edition in 2015.
Now that he is gone, the memories come flooding back.
As a journalist, I started to encounter Tung from 1996, when the Sino-British talks over Hong Kong’s future entered their final stage, and the then shipping tycoon emerged as the most likely candidate to lead Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.
We reporters door-stepped, hounded and grilled him regularly, both before he became chief executive and throughout his seven years in the post. We would not let him go even after he stepped down to become a state leader as a vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body.

Tung was well known for his humble and unpretentious personality, although he was understandably a bit camera-shy in the beginning and did not necessarily like answering the questions we yelled out at him. He would run the media gauntlet by simply waving with a “hello, good morning” as he walked past us, but always with a smile on his face.
Of course, he would meet senior members of the media regularly during and after his tenure as chief executive to exchange views on many pressing issues pertaining to the city and the wider world. I remember how he would always pick the same classic Shanghai restaurant, which led to some of us developing a real taste for Shanghainese cuisine.
That morning more than 10 years ago, when his office put me on the line with him, Tung’s voice was as warm and familiar as in my frontline reporting days.
“Tammy, I’m very glad that you are now with the SCMP, so I’m calling just to share with you some more background information on why the China-US relationship matters,” he said.
“I do hope the SCMP can explain the latest about China to your global audience, and break down the most important bilateral relationship in language that people can understand – I don’t mean just writing something in English, but using words that matter and make sense for everyone to grasp your meaning.”

I have never forgotten that piece of advice and encouragement from Tung. The South China Morning Post positions itself as a highly credible go-to source for comprehensive and meaningful Greater China news, starting with what happens in our home city by sticking to fair and fact-based journalism.
We unbox the complexities and bring out the nuances in our China and Hong Kong coverage, reading between the lines to glean the information that matters, and present it using the kind of language needed for better understanding. Not just in English, as Tung said.
The last time I saw him was in December 2020, when he graciously accepted our invitation to speak again at the China Conference. We were in the middle of the Covid crisis and it was risky for elderly people in particular to be out and about socialising, but Tung put on a mask to attend our event, along with his beloved wife, Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping.
While this was a virtual conference attended online by hundreds from around the world, Tung made a physical appearance in our studio to read out his keynote speech on camera, which was then broadcast live. He went off script and kept emphasising how “we can solve all the problems” if only Beijing and Washington would work together.
Looking back, I realised Tung was well aware that his health problems might soon keep him away from public activities and he felt the need to seize every opportunity to speak up while he still could. I learned later that he was already under his doctor’s advice to reduce public engagements as much as possible. But it was typical of him to keep his word and set aside inconveniences if he felt what he was doing was meaningful for everyone else.
There was another phone call from his office that is still etched in my memory – this time on a summer’s day in July 2008.
“Ms Tam, this is from Mr Tung’s office. He wants to invite you to the August 8 Beijing Olympics opening!”
It had been quite a while since I had last talked to him, and I was gobsmacked by what seemed to be an invitation from out of the blue. Then I remembered what it was all about.
Back in 2001, when I was a television journalist, my crew and I followed Tung all the way to and across the United States for his meeting with then president Bill Clinton. It was a roadshow for Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” governing formula, but Tung was also pushing for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, and was on a “secret” mission to convince Washington not to openly oppose China’s bid for the Olympics.

Come July 13, 2001, Tung was anxiously waiting for the announcement on television in his US hotel suite, where we had gathered for a live interview.
“The Games of the 29th Olympiad in 2008 are awarded to the city of Beijing,” International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced, delighting all of us glued to the screen. An excited and jubilant Tung made an announcement of his own right there and then: “I’ll invite all of you in this room to Beijing in 2008!”
And there I was, seven years later, realising that Tung had really meant what he said and remembered to save a ticket for me. I told his office that I had already secured my media credentials to cover the Games and suggested the precious ticket should go to someone more in need.
My phone rang again 10 minutes later and I was told: “Mr Tung agrees with your suggestion, but he insists on inviting you to a celebration dinner hosted by him when he arrives in Beijing ahead of the opening.” I accepted without hesitation.
Over the years, my colleagues and I at the SCMP have received groups of visiting American students and academics touring Hong Kong and the mainland, sponsored by the China-US Exchange Foundation set up by Tung using his own money.
These visits present opportunities for candid and engaging conversations on many sensitive and thorny issues – just the kind of thing we need to enhance mutual understanding on both sides of the geopolitical divide.
Tung was 89 years old when he left us, but it still feels too soon, considering how much more there is to do in the mission he dedicated the last decades of his life to.
I have never found the right moment to say this to him until now: thank you, Mr Tung, for your leadership, generosity, kindness, sincerity and genuine love for our city and nation; we will never forget you, and we will always remember the shining example you have set in building bridges over walls for everyone’s benefit.


Tung Chee-hwa’s legacy helps lay foundations for better tomorrows

‘His love for Hong Kong was profound’: Tung Chee-hwa honoured at state funeral

Hong Kong’s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa honoured with state funeral

‘Staunch patriot, close friend’: Beijing official hails Tung Chee-hwa’s legacy

Tung Chee-hwa

A man who built bridges over walls: SCMP’s Tammy Tam on Tung Chee-hwa

Tammy Tam talks to Tung Chee-hwa during the SCMP China Conference in 2020. Photo: Edmond So

The cover of the South China Morning Post’s special print supplement. Photo: SCMP

Then president Jiang Zemin (centre) stands alongside Tung Chee-hwa at a 1997 ceremony celebrating Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty. Photo: AFP

Tung Chee-hwa is remembered as an advocate of dialogue between China and the United States. Photo: Sam Tsang

Foundation collects tributes to Hong Kong’s Tung Chee-hwa for online memorial

Tung Chee-hwa (centre) founded the China-United States Exchange Foundation in 2008. Photo: Handout

Tung Chee-hwa (left) greets Goh Chok Tong, Singapore’s prime minister at the time, in Hong Kong in 2000. Photo: Handout

Tung Chee-hwa remembered for foresight in developing Hong Kong’s tech sector

Tung Chee-hwa in 2003. Photo: Robert Ng

Tung Chee-hwa (left) and Tam Yiu-chung back in 2003. Photo: Ricky Chung

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SCMP publisher recalls Tung as ‘humble and unpretentious personality’ who helped foster ties between China and the United States


SCMP publisher recalls Tung as ‘humble and unpretentious personality’ who helped foster ties between China and the United States.


A man who built bridges over walls: SCMP’s Tammy Tam on Tung Chee-hwa

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}SCMP publisher recalls Tung as ‘humble and unpretentious personality’ who helped foster ties between China and the United States

SCMP publisher recalls Tung as ‘humble and unpretentious personality’ who helped foster ties between China and the United States