Ho Sai-chu, GBM, JP (; born 6 June 1937) was a Hong Kong entrepreneur and the member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from 1985 to 1991 for

Commercial (Second) The Commercial (Second) functional constituency () is a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong first created in 1985. The constituency is composed of 421 corporates members of the Chinese General Cham ...

constituency,

Provisional Legislative Council The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong), until the 1997 handover whe ...

from 1996 to 1998 and Legislative Council after the transfer of the Hong Kong sovereignty in 1998 to 2000 for the

Election Committee The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states ...

constituency. He is also the member of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

National Committee and life honorary chairman of the

Chinese General Chamber of Commerce The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCCHK; ) is a non-profit organization of local Chinese firms and businessmen based in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1900 by Ho Fook and Lau Chu-pak, two prominent leaders of the Chinese community during t ...

Early life

Ho was born in Hong Kong on 6 June 1937 to an entrepreneur Ho Iu-kwong. He was educated at the

Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Wah Yan College, Hong Kong also referred to by its acronym WYHK, is a Catholic Church, Catholic all-boys grant-in-aid secondary education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It was founded by on 16 December 1919. ...

and the Hong Kong Technical College, predecessor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He became a contractor and was the director of many construction and real estates companies, including director and manager of the Fook Lee Construction Company, director of the Fook Lee Estates and the Fook Lee Holdings. He was also the director of the United Builders Insurance Company and the chairman of the Chung Fu Petrochemical Company and the Bright Sources (Xian) Development.

Public career

He was core member of the Building Contractors' Association was appointed member of the Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board Panel, Building Development Advisory Committee and Building Contractors' Sub-committee. Besides construction associations, Ho was also chairman of the

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (), with a history dating back to 1870, is the oldest and largest charitable organisation in Hong Kong. It provides extensive education and community services through 194 service centres spread across Hong Kong. ...

and the

South China Athletic Association South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, ) is a Hong Kong professional sports club with a football team competing in the Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong Kong football league system. The ...

and vice-chairman of the

Hong Kong Football Association The Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited (HKFA; ) is the governing body of association football in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. Its current chairman is Eric Fok. History The HKFA was established in 1914. It is one of the ...

, president of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, vice-president of the Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society. He was the four-time chairman of the

Hong Kong Council of Social Service The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS; or 社聯) is a council coordinating NGOs in the social service field in Hong Kong, established in 1947. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service represent more than 480 Agency Members that provi ...

from 1972 to 1983. He had been core member of the

, a pro-Beijing chamber of commerce in Hong Kong. In 1985, he represented the chamber of commerce to sit in the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

through the Second Commercial

functional constituency A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China: * Functional constituency in Hong Kong * Indirectly el ...

. He served on the council until 1991 and was succeeded by Philip Wong. He was also appointed member of the National Committee of the

by the Beijing government. In 1993, Ho and his wife were unsuccessfully prosecuted regarding financial dealings relating to the transfer of ownership of pro-China tabloid newspaper

Tin Tin Daily News ''Tin Tin Daily News'' also known as ''Tin Tin Yat Pao'' was a newspaper in Hong Kong, published between 1960 and 2000. In later years it took a pro-Beijing editorial stand. It was founded by the Wai Kee-shun family, who made their fortune in phar ...

. In 1996, he was elected to the Beijing-controlled

. He went on to become the member of the first Legislative Council from 1998 to 2000 through the

constituency. He served on many public positions including a member of the

Hong Kong Housing Authority The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an government agency, agency of the Government of Hong Kong. In the same year, the R ...

and the Labour Advisory Board and chairman of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board. He held positions of directorship of

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong K ...

and board membership of the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

. He was involved in the city development of Guangzhou and served as the chairman of the Guangzhou Friendship Liaison Association, an honorary professor of

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

, a director of

Jinan University Jinan University ( ; JNU, zh, 暨南大学) is a national public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university is part of the Double First-Class ...

and a director of

Southeast University Southeast University (SEU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Its precursor, ...

Honours

For his public services, Ho was awarded Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in 1973 and was later promoted to Officer of the

(OBE). In 2007, he received a

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star, under the Order (distinction), honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system after the Handover of Hong Kong, transfer of sovere ...

(GBS) for his contributions in the

. On 1 July 2015, he was awarded the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Decorations and medals of Hong Kong, Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong ...

(GBM), the highest honour of the SAR, in recognition of his contributions to the formulation of labour policies and the promotion of harmonious employer-employee relations in the past decades and also his efforts in serving on the Labour Advisory Board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Sai-chu 1937 births Living people Members of the Provisional Legislative Council Hong Kong businesspeople Liberal Party (Hong Kong) politicians Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star HK LegCo Members 1985–1988 HK LegCo Members 1988–1991 HK LegCo Members 1998–2000 Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong