Cheong-Leen, Hilton, 1922-2022
Hilton Cheong-Leen (張有興，1922-2022) was born in Georgetown. He was educated at Central High School in Georgetown. In 1931, his family moved to Hong Kong, and Cheong-Leen enrolled at La Salle College. After the graduation from the College, he had worked at a law firm, an import and export company, and a bank.
In 1941, Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong, Cheong-Leen and his family fled to Guilin (桂林), China, where he worked at the US Consulate. Shortly after they fled to Kunming (昆明). When the war ended in 1945, they returned to Hong Kong and Cheong-Leen founded a trading company, H. Cheong-Leen & Co. (HK) Ltd., specializing in importing Swiss watches.
In 1950s, Cheong-Leen started getting into the political landscape and actively participated in community services. In 1954, Cheong-Leen co-founded the Hong Kong Civic Association and was elected as honorary secretary. Cheong-Leen was elected as a member of the Urban Council in 1957 and held his seat for the next 34 years, until he retired in 1991. During his service period, Cheong-Leen became the vice chairman of the Urban Council from 1973 to 1975, and from 1979 to 1981. Shortly after he became the first Chinese Chairman of the Urban Council in 1981 and was dubbed “Hong Kong’s mayor”. Also, Cheong-Leen served as a member of the Legislative Council from 1973 to 1979, and from 1985 to 1988.
To recognize Cheong-Leen’s services to Hong Kong and its people in many fields, he was awarded with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1984. Cheong-Leen passed away on 4 January 2022.
References:
Cheong-Leen, H., Cheung, G., & Chou, Oliver. Hilton Cheong-Leen (張有興): First Chinese “Mayor” of Hong Kong. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2022
Gary Cheung, “Hilton Cheong-Leen, political stalwart known as the ‘mayor of Hong Kong’, dies aged 99,” South China Morning Post, 4 January 2022. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162083/hilton-cheong-leen-political-stalwart-known-mayor-hong-kong (22 February 2024).