Allen Lee
Allen Lee Peng-fei New Territories North-east | |
|---|---|
| In office 21 December 1996 – 30 June 1998 (Provisional Legislative Council) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 April 1940 Hong Kong Chinese |
| Political party | Liberal Party (1993–2003) |
| Spouse | Maria Choi Yuen-ha |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (BS) |
| Occupation | Company director politician |
Allen Lee Peng-fei, CBE, JP (Chinese: 李鵬飛; 24 April 1940 – 15 May 2020) was a Hong Kong industrialist, politician and political commentator. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, serving from 1978 to 1997 and was the Senior Member of the legislature from 1988 to 1991. He was also an unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1992. He was the founding chairman of the Liberal Party, a pro-business party in 1993 until he retired after he lost the 1998 election. After his retirement, he became a political commentator and hosted Legco Review, a RTHK weekly TV programme on the news about Legislative Council, among several other posts.
Early life and education
Lee was born on 24 April 1940 in Yantai, Shandong, China to a Chinese businessman. His parents had four children. He followed his family when they moved to Shanghai to evade war and spent most of his childhood there.[1] His father became a merchant in Shanghai and had represented General Motors, among other US companies in China. He later moved to the United States in 1948. Lee had led an independent life and did not know much about his absent father because they seldom stayed together. Lee knew that his father had married several times, which made him feel rather uneasy.[1]
At the age of 14, he was a leader of the
Business career
After his graduation, he worked at the
In 1970, Lee moved on to work for
He left Ampex and became Tang Hsiang Chien's business partner in 1985, establishing the Meadville Holdings Limited to produce printed circuits board (PCB). Lee and Tang were then chairman and deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries respectively. Lee also set up a copper-clad laminate factory in Dongguan for Meadville.[1]
Simultaneously, Lee and his ex-colleagues from Ampex set up a trading firm that sold copper foils to manufacturers PCBs and cooper-clad laminates. In 1991, he cooperated with a Japanese buyer and set up Jada Electronics Limited, focusing on selling cooper-clad laminates and copper foils, in which partnership had continued until today.[1]
Political career
Member of Executive and Legislative Councils
In the late 1970s,
In 1978, Lee became the youngest appointee to the
During his political career, he witnessed the Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong's future after 1997. In May 1983, Allen Lee led a delegation of young professionals to Beijing, which included legislators
During the Sino-British negotiations over the future of Hong Kong and the drafting of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in December 1984, Lee joined the delegation of Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (UMELCO) to meet with the British politicians in London and raised concerns about the Joint Declaration.[6] The UMELCO also attempted to mobilise public opinion on the terms of the Sino-British agreement and made known Hong Kong's views to both the British and Chinese governments. Legislative Council member Roger Lobo moved a motion to demand a debate in the Legislative Council on the draft of Sino-British Joint Declaration in February 1984. It was backed by Allen Lee.
Senior member and Liberal Party chairman
From 1988 to 1991, Lee was the
In the wake of the landslide victory of the liberal forces led by the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) in the first ever direct election of the Legislative Council in 1991, Lee formed the Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC), a conservative parliamentary group with other appointed and indirectly elected members from the business sectors. He subsequently resigned as Senior Member among accusation of conflict of roles. The CRC later transformed into the Liberal Party in 1993, where he was the founding chairman.
In 1992, he resigned from the Executive Council with other unofficial members after Governor
In the 1995 Legislative Council election, Lee ran in the
In 1998, Lee ran in
Media career and later life
After his retirement, he became involved in the mass media, taking up posts as TV presenter and radio host. Lee hosted Legco Review, a RTHK weekly TV programme on the news about Legislative Council from 2001 until his retirement in March 2018, among several other posts.[8] He became more open to speaking out about his support in democracy and universal suffrage and his criticism of the HKSAR and Chinese governments. He joined the democrats in the 1 July massive protest of 2003 against the legislation of the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23.[9] He quit the Liberal Party in 2003 over the party leadership's decision to drop its commitment to support universal suffrage of the Chief Executive election in 2007 in its manifesto.[10]
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In 2004, Lee temporarily replaced
In 2013, Lee joined the political group
In July 2019, Lee issued a joint statement with other Liberal Party grandees calling on Chief Executive Carrie Lam to officially withdraw the controversial extradition bill which sparked the massive anti-government protests since June, as well as set up an independent commission of inquiry and engage in meaningful dialogue with the public.[10]
Death
On 19 May 2020, his family announced that Allen Lee had died on 15 May, at the age of 80.[14]
See also
Publications
- 不准錄音 ("No Recording"). SCMP Smart Publishing. 2002. ISBN 978-9621784575
- 風雨三十年──李鵬飛回憶錄 (Memoirs by Allen Lee). Cup Magazine Publishing. 2004. ISBN 978-9889775476
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lee Peng Fei, Allen". Hong Kong Memory.
- ^ Fionnuala McHugh, The interview: Allen Lee Peng-fei Archived 22 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Standard, 20 June 1999
- ^ Chung, Sze Yuen (2001). Hong Kong's Journey to Reunification: Memoirs of Sze-yuen Chung. Chinese University Press. p. 65.
- ^ Zheng, Yushuo (2003). Hong Kong under One Country, Two Systems. Caituan Fa Ren Qu Ce Hui. p. 106.
- ^ Chung, Sze Yuen (2001). Hong Kong's Journey to Reunification: Memoirs of Sze-yuen Chung. Chinese University Press. p. 74.
- ^ Chung, Sze Yuen (2001). Hong Kong's Journey to Reunification: Memoirs of Sze-yuen Chung. Chinese University Press. pp. 123–5.
- ^ Basler, Barbara (21 December 1989). "Hong Kong to Push for Rights as Britons". The New York Times.
- ^ "Allen Lee retires as host of long-running RTHK show". Ejinsight. 17 July 2018.
- ^ Pepper, Suzanne (2008). Keeping Democracy at Bay: Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 367.
- ^ a b "Hong Kong political stalwart Allen Lee dies aged 80". South China Morning Post. 19 May 2020.
- ^ Chan, Joseph M.; Lee, Francis L.F. (2013). Media and Politics in Post-Handover Hong Kong. Routledge. p. 10.
- ^ Chan, Anson (24 April 2013). "Press Conference to Launch 'Hong Kong 2020' Opening Statement". Hong Kong 2020. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Liberal giant and voice of reason dies at 80". The Standard. 20 May 2020.
- ^ "自由黨創黨主席李鵬飛上周五逝世" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 19 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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