37 Facts About Rosanna Wong

Rosanna Wong briefly retired from politics in 1991 but was successful to return as unofficial Executive Councillor for a second time in 1992, and was appointed chairperson of the Hong Kong Housing Authority in the following year.

Besides, Rosanna Wong plays a role in the business sector in Hong Kong.

Rosanna Wong has been a non-executive director of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation since 1996 and has been an independent non-executive director of Sir Ka-shing Li's Cheung Kong Holdings since 2001.

Rosanna Wong was born on 15 August 1952 in Hong Kong to a family descended from Anxi County of Fujian Province in China.

Rosanna Wong's father Wong Chun Chung was an overseas Chinese from Singapore.

Rosanna Wong's mother Poon Chor Ying had been a journalist in Vietnam and in Hong Kong was a teacher at St Stephen's Girls' College.

Rosanna Wong has three elder sisters and two younger sister and brother.

Rosanna Wong spent her early years with her family in Shatin and later moved to Kowloon.

Rosanna Wong entered St Stephen's Girls' Primary School in 1962 and followed her sisters to enter St Stephen's Girls' College, where their mother taught, in 1965.

Rosanna Wong had some classes with her mother, who taught Regina Ip and Rita Fan, later Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong government and the President of the Legislative Council respectively.

Rosanna Wong once recalled that her mother's knowledge and attitude to life had deeply inspired her thinking that since secondary three, she had become a volunteer and once joined a gospel rehabilitation group for drug addicts to pay visit to the Kowloon Walled City.

In 1972, Rosanna Wong graduated from the school and was successfully enrolled at the University of Hong Kong studying social work.

Rosanna Wong received her degree of social work from the University of Hong Kong in 1975 and was immediately employed by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups as a social worker.

Rosanna Wong was sent to Kowloon West at first and became a supervisor responsible for affairs of teenagers and counselling services in districts including Yau Ma Tei, Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan.

Rosanna Wong later received HSBC scholarship from 1974 to 1975, Rotary Foundation Educational Award from 1977 to 1978 and PEO International Peace Scholarship from 1978 to 1979.

Apart from the Federation, Rosanna Wong had involved deeply in a large number of social organisations including a number of local Christian churches.

Under the recommendation of Legislative Councillor, Hui Yin Fat, Rosanna Wong was appointed as unofficial member of the Legislative Council at a relatively young age of 33 and thus entering politics.

On 16 January 1989 Rosanna Wong was made an unofficial Justice of the Peace and later on the Queen's Birthday in 1990 she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to the general public.

However, in 1991 Rosanna Wong suddenly retired from the two Councils and resigned all her public posts.

Rosanna Wong chose to further her study with her husband Dr Alfred Tam Yat-chung in the United States, trying to save their marriage from divorce.

Under this background of wind of change, Rosanna Wong was appointed back to the Executive Council as unofficial member by Patten in 1992, a year before graduating from the University of California.

Rosanna Wong then was selected to replace Dunn as the last Convenor of the colonial Executive Council by Governor Patten.

Rosanna Wong was the second Hong Kong woman, after Baroness Dunn, to be made a substantive Dame in history, and was the last person to receive a damehood in the colonial Hong Kong.

Rosanna Wong received the damehood from Governor Chris Patten in the Government House on 19 April 1997.

Since Rosanna Wong had close and intimate ties with the colonial government, there had been rumours before the transfer of sovereignty that she would not be allowed to serve in the new Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Executive Council, or even the Housing Authority.

Yet, the fact was that Rosanna Wong once served in the colonial Executive Council with the future Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa and Tung was impressed by her low-pitched image.

Rosanna Wong continued to remain as chairperson of the Housing Authority as well.

Rosanna Wong has been appointed president of the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association since 1997, appointed president of the English Speaking Union, Hong Kong from 1999 and has become a director of the board of the Dragon Foundation and the chairperson of the World Vision Hong Kong since 2000.

Many civil groups representing residents of the public housing estates reproached Rosanna Wong for being incompetent to supervise the housing constructions and they demanded her and the Director of Housing, Tony Miller to step down.

Rosanna Wong hoped the legislators to vote against the motion of no confidence, claiming that if "both of them leave one after another, an administrative and legal vacuum would be created at the top level of the Government".

Rosanna Wong declared her resignation from the Housing Authority on 24 June 2000, and became the first government official to hold accountability and resign from the government of the Special Administrative Region before the introduction of Principal Officials Accountability System.

On 8 May 2001, Rosanna Wong was summoned to give evidences in front of the committee.

Dominic Rosanna Wong explained that since 1988, it had been the Housing Authority who decided the target number of public housing flats to be built annually.

Rosanna Wong further explained that the government had only started to make their own forecast since 1997, so it was not the case suggested by Rosanna Wong that the Housing Authority had to fulfill the target number of public housing flats demanded by the government.

In January 2001, Rosanna Wong was employed as a non-executive director to the Cheung Kong Holdings by Li Ka-shing and her employment aroused public concern.

Since 2003, Rosanna Wong has been appointed as a Hong Kong member of the CPPCC National Committee of the People's Republic of China.

Rosanna Wong married Dr Alfred Tam Yat-chung, a paediatrician, on 15 September 1979.