Michael Suen
孫明揚
Acting
28 September 2011 – 30 September 2011
25 May 2005 – 30 May 2005
Sir Donald Tsang
4 August 1997 – 30 June 2002
1 March 1989 – 2 October 1991
7 November 1991 – 3 August 1997
Chris Patten
1 July 2007 – 30 June 2012
1 July 2002 – 30 June 2007
Sir Donald Tsang
Chongqing, China
Michael Suen | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 孫明揚 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 孙明扬 | ||||||||||||
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Michael Suen Ming-yeung GBM GBS CBE (born 7 April 1944) served as the acting Chief Secretary for Administration in 2005 and 2012 and as Secretary for Education of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Chongqing in 1944, his family fled the then provisional capital of Republic of China to Hong Kong in 1947.
Education
Suen attended Wah Yan College, a Jesuit school in Hong Kong.[1]
Career
He joined the British Hong Kong Government in 1966 as an Administrative Officer and was promoted to the rank of Director of Bureau in January 1991.[2]
During the early years of his career, he served in the former New Territories Administration, Resettlement Department and Environment Branch. He was appointed Secretary for Constitutional Affairs in March 1989 and Secretary for Home Affairs in November 1991. He continued his post as Secretary for Home Affairs on 8 July 1997 and took up the appointment as Secretary for Constitutional Affairs on 4 August 1997. Suen took up the post of Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands on 1 July 2002.[2]
Upon the resignation of Donald Tsang on 25 May 2005, he assumed the post as the acting Chief Secretary for Administration, until Rafael Hui was appointed. In July 2007, he took over the position of Secretary for Education after Arthur Li retired.[3]
Around 2007 he was known for pushing trilingual education with English, Cantonese and Putonghua to boost Hong Kong's competitiveness.[4]
Health
On 27 April 2011, Suen announced that he was suffering from renal failure.[5] Suen was also diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease on 21 December 2011. The new HK government headquarters found as many as 19 areas contaminated with legionella bacteria out of 43 water samples. Suen announced his recovery in January 2012.
Controversy
2007 protest at home
For years as a housing chief, Suen denied to meet with housing rights activists until 2007, when some 30 activists, including Longhair Leung Kwok-hung finally camped out at Suen's house in Happy Valley to protest. Public housing citizens were suffering from excessive rent increase, and the activists tried to voice the concern. The protest turned violent outside his home, with five policemen and one protester injured. Leung was also arrested.[6]
Illegal extension case
In 1994 Suen purchased a new home, the low-rise Shuk Yuen building in Green Lane Happy Valley. He then illegally extended the size of his home to make it bigger. As the former Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, his staff reportedly warned him against the illegal extension,[7][8] sending him a letter in April 2006 to remove the extension, which he reportedly ignored. In 2011, he agreed to reduce the size of the structure. Both the democratic and pro-Beijing camps criticised him.[9]
See also
References
- ^ 華仁仔再出擊 師兄拔刀相助. 文匯報 (in Chinese). 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ a b "Mr Michael Suen Ming-yeung, GBS, JP, Secretary for Education". GovHK. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Chong, Winnie (13 July 2007). "Grants Chief Opposes Creation of Body to Settle Disputes". The Standard. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ Patel, Nishika (13 November 2007). "Language Plan Gets Mixed Reviews". The Standard. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ 教育局局長與傳媒談話全文(只有中文). info.gov.hk (Transcript of Secretary for Education) (in Chinese). 27 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ Chong, Winnie (6 June 2007). "'Long Hair' Among Suen Home Protesters Held". The Standard. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Lee, Diana (25 May 2011). "OK, I'll Pull Them Down Now". The Standard. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ 承辦商準備拆卸孫明揚寓所僭建物. rthk.org.hk (in Chinese). 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Ho, Serinah (26 May 2011). "Suen Tries to Mend Fences". The Standard. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
Political offices | ||
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New creation | Secretary for Constitutional Affairs 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Secretary for Home Affairs 1991–1997 | Succeeded by David Lan |
Preceded by | Secretary for Constitutional Affairs 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
Preceded byas Secretary for Housing | Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands 2002–2007 | Succeeded byas Secretary for Transport and Housing |
Preceded byas Secretary for Planning and Lands | Succeeded by Carrie Lam as Secretary for Development | |
Preceded by | Chief Secretary for Administration Acting 25 May 2005 – 30 June 2005 | Succeeded by |
Preceded byas Secretary for Education and Manpower | Secretary for Education 2007–2012 | Succeeded by Eddie Ng |
Order of precedence | ||
Preceded by Nellie Fong Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star | Hong Kong order of precedence Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star | Succeeded by John B. Mortimer Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star |
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