Yeung Kwong

Yeung Kwong
Traditional Chinese	楊光
Simplified Chinese	杨光
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yáng Guāng

Yeung Kwong, GBM (1926 – 16 May 2015) was a Hong Kong communist trade unionist and activist. His daughter studied in Britain and married a British man. He was leader of the 1967 Leftist Riots against British rule in Hong Kong. Yeung organised serious terrorist attacks in Hong Kong, including assassinations and the setting up of bombs, which lead to the death and injury of many people in Hong Kong.

Trade unionist career

Born in 1926, Yeung became a member of the Hong Kong Tramways Workers Union in 1948 and led strikes by Hong Kong Tramway's fare conductors the following year.

He served as chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), the largest pro-CPC labour union in Hong Kong, from 1962 to 1980, and then its president between 1980 and 1988. From 1973 to 1987, he was a local deputy to the National People's Congress.

1967 Leftist riots

During the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist riots, which was inspired by the Cultural Revolution and escalated from a labour dispute at a plastic-flower factory in San Po Kong, Yeung served as director of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Committee for Anti-Hong Kong British Persecution Struggle. Thousands were injured and 51 died, 15 of whom were killed in bombings planted by the Leftists.

Grand Bauhinia Medal controversy

Nominated by the FTU, then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest honour in Hong Kong, to Yeung for his "outstanding contribution to the labour movement and labour welfare in Hong Kong and for his dedicated community service" in 2001.

The award ceremony was held on 13 October 2001, and controversy immediately rose after the announcement, with many people believing that Tung, who was seeking re-election at the time, was pandering to the FTU, which is an important bloc of vote in the unique Chief Executive election system in Hong Kong. Yeung had in 1996 and 2002 sat on the Election Committee that elected Tung as Chief Executive. Some critics asserted that Yeung was not suitable for the highest honour of the land. Critics argued the event was a symbolic gesture for approval of the 1967 riot. Criticisms also came from victims of the riots and officials responsible for putting down the unrest, but the government declined to say if Yeung's "contributions" included what he did during the protests.

"It is not a matter of who encouraged this kind of action [bomb attacks]. Oppression will result in popular revolt," Yeung responded, also replying that deaths and injuries were inevitable in the struggle when asked if he felt sorry for the victims.

Death

In the morning of 16 May 2015, Yeung died at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin after he underwent a heart operation. Acting Chief Executive Carrie Lam sent her condolences to Yeung's family and praised the man for his contributions to the labour movement. Hong Kong politicians Chief Executive CY Leung, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung and other senior officials including the Director of Beijing’s Liaison Office Zhang Xiaoming attended the funeral on 14 June 2015.

Protesters gathered outside his funeral with banners in the memory of those who died at the hands of the leftists during the riots. Some brought champagne to celebrate his death; others brought pineapples (a metaphor and Cantonese slang for bombs and grenades) and cursed him to go to hell.

References

• RTHK article on Yeung's involvement in 1967 riots
• Cheung Man Kwong's newspaper article
• Editorial in Taipei Times, 2001
• Hong Kong Hansard record on proceedings, 2001