Tung Chee-hwa’s legacy: Hong Kong’s fragile balance with Beijing

Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive after the 1997 handover, died at 89. Handpicked by pro-Beijing elites, he aimed to implement Deng Xiaoping’s one country, two systems but faced a turbulent tenure marked by the 1997 financial crisis, the SARS outbreak, and the controversial Article 23 bill that sparked massive protests in 2003. His governance boosted projects like Disneyland and housing targets but was criticized for crony capitalism and weakening Hong Kong’s role as a financial hub, contributing to a deepening divide with Beijing and a long-term shift of the city’s economy toward the mainland.