Elsie Tu, veteran Hong Kong politician and champion of the underprivileged, dies at 102
Former Urban Councillor who moved to the city in 1951 from England never wavered in speaking her mind
Elsie Tu, a veteran politician who spent her life fighting for the underprivileged in Hong Kong, died this morning at the age of 102 from pneumonia-related complications.
Tu, a former Urban Councillor and lawmaker regarded as a pro-Beijing figure, was well-known for her outspoken manner. The centenarian still actively turned in articles to newspapers to criticise government policies she deemed unfair or inadequate.
Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England in 1913, Tu and her then husband William Elliot moved to Hong Kong on missionary work in 1951. Not long after, Tu quit the church, and her marriage to Elliot ended.
Mu Kuang English School in Kwun Tong, founded by Tu and her late husband in 1954, said it was saddened by her death and called her the “real spirit of Hong Kong”. The school will organise Tu’s funeral. The Elsie Tu Education Fund’s ceremony this Saturday to present award to students with good academic progress will go ahead as plannned in order to honor Tu’s wish, the school said.
Turning a brand new page of her life, she met the late Andrew Tu Hsueh-kwei. The pair co-founded Mu Kuang English School in 1954.
Theirs was a long-blossoming relationship. It was not until 1985 that their friendship led to marriage – 30 years after the two teachers met. She was 71, her husband 63.
