Philip Fang
方順生 Philip Fang | |
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Born | 28 March 1941 |
Died | 3 November 2013 | (aged 72)
Occupation | Simultaneous interpreter |
Fang Shun-sang | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Fāng Shùnshēng |
Philip Fang Shun-sang (Chinese: 方順生; 28 March 1941 – 3 November 2013) was a Hong Kong simultaneous interpreter. He provided interpretation services in the United Nations (UN) from 1971 to 1999, having served as chief of its Chinese interpretation section.
Fang received his education in Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom. Before he became chief of UN Chinese interpretation section, he served in the UN as a simultaneous interpreter and was stationed in New York City and Geneva.
In his later years, Fang suffered
Life
Early years
Philip Fang was born in Hong Kong on 28 March 1941. With ancestors from
Overseas career
Fang moved to mainland China with his family at a very young age to avoid war. They resettled in Hong Kong in 1948 due to political instability in the mainland.[1] In 1950, his father Shin-hau died of illness and his family had to be dependent on his father's mother and brother.[1] Fang received his secondary education at Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. He completed his secondary education in 1960 and went on to further his studies in the US.[4] He pursued advanced studies at the University of Surrey in 1966, majoring in language. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree.[2][5]
Upon graduation from the University of Surrey, Fang joined the UN Interpretation Department in 1971 as a British subject. In the same year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution to allow the People's Republic of China to replace the Republic of China as China's representative in the UN.[2][6][7] Fang initially served in the UN Secretariat in New York City as a simultaneous interpreter.[6] In 1979, he was promoted to senior simultaneous interpreter at the UN Office at Geneva. He later worked as chief of the UN Chinese interpretation section.[2][6] In 1999, he applied for early retirement to take care of his ageing mother Fang Zhaoling.[1] In his twenty-eight years of service in the UN, Fang had been working and living abroad, including in New York and Geneva.[2] His interpretation services primarily involved Chinese, English and Russian.[2]
Late years
After his return to Hong Kong, Fang had been taking care of his ageing mother, until she died in 2006 at the age of 92.[1] He became involved in a dispute with his siblings with regard to the allocation of some paintings and property left by his mother;[8] In 2011, Philip and Fang Lam-sang (方林生), his brother released a statement, accusing their brothers John and David of embezzling their mother's legacy. Anson Chan, their sister, tried to play the role of a mediator, but her siblings' relationships worsened.[1][3]
Furthermore, Fang was
In his late years, Fang suffered from
After his death, his brothers went to Kwai Chung Public Mortuary to identify him.[4] A low-profile Catholic funeral was conducted on 10 November 2013 at the Hong Kong Funeral Home with around seventy members of the Fang clan attending. His remains were later cremated.[10]
Personal life
Fang and his family were
See also
- Fang Zhenwu's family tree (in Chinese)
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Philip Fang commits suicide" (5 November 2013) (in Chinese)
- ^ a b c d e f g Greenfield (1992), p.182.
- ^ a b "Philip Fang's family dispute over mother's legacy" (5 November 2013) (in Chinese)
- ^ a b c "Philip Fang's medical condition similar to that of Leslie Cheung" (6 November 2013) (in Chinese)
- ^ Fang, Sir Harry (2002), p.89.
- ^ a b c "Anson Chan's brother Philip Fang falls to death" (5 November 2013) (in Chinese)
- ^ a b c Fang, Phillip (20 September 2011)
- ^ a b "Death of Philip Fang Shun-sang, brother of Anson Chan Fang On-sang" (5 November 2013)
- ^ a b "Chief Executive should be patriotic, said Philip Fang" (6 November 2013) (in Chinese)
- ^ a b c d "Remains of Philip Fang cremated on Sunday" (13 November 2013) (in Chinese)
References
Chinese-language
- "方順生跳樓亡" (Philip Fang commits suicide), Apple Daily, 5 November 2013.
- "與方曼生爆爭產糾紛" (Philip Fang's family dispute over mother's legacy), Apple Daily, 5 November 2013.
- "腎病抑鬱困擾、政見與姊分歧,陳太四弟方順生墮樓亡" (Anson Chan's brother Philip Fang falls to death), Sing Tao Daily, 5 November 2013.
- "方順生與張國榮服同款藥" (Philip Fang's medical condition similar to that of Leslie Cheung), Sing Tao Daily, 6 November 2013.
- "方順生遣教:特首須愛國" (Chief Executive should be patriotic, said Philip Fang), Wen Wei Po, 6 November 2013.
- "方順生本周日已出殯火化" (Remains of Philip Fang cremated on Sunday), Apple Daily, 13 November 2013.
English-language
- Greenfield, Stanley R., Who's who in the United Nations and related agencies. Omnigraphics, Inc., 1992.
- Fang, Sir Harry, Rehabilitation: A Life's Work. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2002.
- Fang, Philip, "Letter to the editor (SCMP)", 20 September 2011.
- "Death of Philip Fang Shun-sang, brother of Anson Chan Fang On-sang", South China Morning Post, 5 November 2013.
External links
- Eulogy by Philip Fang for his late mother Fang Zhaoling
- "方欣浩:伯父日食逾廿粒藥好辛苦" (It had been hard on Uncle to take twenty tablets per day: Arnold Fang), ontv (TV.on.cc)