Obituary | James Sung, veteran Hong Kong political scientist and commentator, dies at 71
Sung held leadership roles in academia for most of his career and founded the Hong Kong Progress and Perfection Research Institute
Veteran Hong Kong political scientist and commentator James Sung Lap-kung has died at the age of 71.
Sung died on Thursday, according to an alumni association for which he had been vice-chairman since 2022.
“During his tenure, he actively promoted the development of the association and assisted in organising large-scale events, uniting alumni from all over the world,” the Hong Kong Pui Ching Alumni Association said on Saturday.
Sung, the founding director of the Hong Kong Progress and Perfection Research Institute, is known for his political commentary and op-ed articles.
After graduating from Pui Ching Middle School, he studied music at the Grantham College of Education – which later merged with other institutions into what would become the Education University of Hong Kong – and taught in a secondary school in Kowloon for nine years.
He then attended Columbia University in the United States in 1986 for a master’s degree in Chinese and Hong Kong politics.
Upon returning to Hong Kong in 1992, Sung set up the public administration course at the school of continuing and professional education at City University (CityU), where he held the position of course coordinator for 27 years.
