Farewell to Lui Che-woo: Donald Tsang, Carrie Lam among 10 pallbearers of Hong Kong tycoon

Dozens of politicians including several former chief executives and business leaders honour the real estate and casino magnate

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Guests arrived at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point for Lui Che-woo’s funeral on 4 December 2024. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 4:58pm, 4 Dec 2024Updated: 8:53pm, 4 Dec 2024

A who’s who of Hong Kong bid their final farewell to one of the best-known rags-to-riches tycoons, with four former chief executives of the city and Macau – where the late Lui Che-woo made his billions – serving as pallbearers.

Dozens of politicians and business leaders from Hong Kong and Macau bid farewell to Lui at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Macau businesswoman Angela Leong On Kei were among them.

Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the second and fourth chief executives of Hong Kong, are among the 10 pallbearers for the late property-and-casino tycoon who died on November 7 at the age of 95.

Joining them were Macau’s former chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah, now a vice-chairman of the Chinese legislature’s political advisory body, and Fernando Chui Sai-on, also a former chief executive. Both officials oversaw Macau’s casino-dependent economy, where Lui’s Galaxy Entertainment Group was one of six concessionaires to operate the only legal gambling halls on Chinese soil.

Tung Chee-hwa, 87, the first chief executive of Hong Kong after the return of the city to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, was not among the pallbearers because of his advanced age. He was listed as an honorary director of a funeral committee that comprises more than 100 dignitaries from Hong Kong and Macau, according to a tribute published on Tuesday.

A programme at the funeral of the tycoon Lui Che-woo listing the pallbearers on December 4, 2024 at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point. Photo: Yulu Ao

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying served as an honorary director of the committee, while John Lee, Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, and Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, headed the funeral committee, the tribute said.