Rosanna Wong
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Dame Rosanna Wong Yick-ming (, born 15 August 1952) also known by her
married name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the Surname, family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("bi ...
, Rosanna Tam Wong Yick-ming, in her former marriage from 1979 lasting until 1992, and primarily known as Dr Rosanna Wong in public occasions after 1997, is a Hong Kong social work administrator and politician who has served as the Executive Director of the
Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...
since 1980. Before the
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...
, she was appointed as unofficial 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 and of the Executive Council from 1988 to 1991. She briefly retired from politics in 1991 but was successful to return as unofficial Executive Councillor for a second time in 1992, and was also appointed chairperson 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 ...
in the following year. Wong was trusted by the last British colonial
Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...
,
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
(later Lord), who chose her to replace Baroness Dunn as the Convenor of the Executive Council (equivalent to the Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council) in 1995, thus rising as an influential figure in the final years of the colonial government. In 1997, she was made
Dame Commander 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 ...
and became the second
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
woman, after Baroness Dunn, to be made a
Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...
in history. After the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Wong was one of the two colonial unofficial members who remained in the new Executive Council under the
Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a mea ...
. Nevertheless, when the Housing Authority Short-piling Scandal broke out in 1999, Wong, as the chairperson of the Housing Authority, was heavily blamed by the general public of not taking any responsibility. Under public pressure, she subsequently decided to resign from the Housing Authority four days before the Legislative Council passing the
motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
on her and the Director of Housing, Tony Miller in June 2000. However, her resignation did not prevent her and some other government officials from receiving censure in the short-piling scandal investigation report released by the Legislative Council later in January 2003. Following the scandal, Wong ceased to be an unofficial member of the Executive Council in 2002 but was appointed chairperson of the Education Commission from 2001 to 2007. Since 2003, she has also been a Hong Kong member of the
CPPCC 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 system. Its members advise and put proposals ...
National Committee of the People's Republic of China. Besides, Wong plays a role in the business sector in Hong Kong. She has been a non-executive director of the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
since 1996 and has also been an independent non-executive director of Sir Ka-shing Li's
Cheung Kong Holdings Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a ma ...
since 2001.


Biography


Early years

Wong was born on 15 August 1952 in Hong Kong to a family descended from
Anxi County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Quanzhou, in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China with 1,003,599 inhabitants ( 2020 census). It lies adjacent to and directly north of Xiamen city. Anxi is well known for a number ...
of
Fujian Province Fujian is a province in southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefecture city by population is Qua ...
in China. Her father Wong Chun Chung was an
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
from Singapore. Her mother Poon Chor Ying had been a journalist in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and in Hong Kong was a teacher at St. Stephen's Girls' College. Both had graduated from mainland China universities and were considered well-educated. Wong is the fourth child in the family. She has three elder sisters and two younger sister and brother. She spent her early years with her family in
Shatin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...
and later moved to
Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...
. After entering secondary school, Wong's family resided on Lyttelton Road in
Mid-levels Mid-Levels () is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. It has a population ...
on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...
.何良懋. 《香港的童年》. 香港:新雅文化事業有限公司. 1997.Edited by Kevin Sinclair, ''Who's who in Hong Kong'', Hong Kong: Who's Who in Hong Kong Ltd.: Asianet Information Services Ltd., 1988. 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. Wong had some classes with her mother, who also taught
Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a politician in Hong Kong. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as w ...
and
Rita Fan Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...
, later
Secretary for Security The Secretary for Security is the member of the Government of Hong Kong in charge of the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters. The post was created in 1973 a ...
of the Hong Kong government and the President 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 ...
respectively. 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 Kowloon Walled City () was an extremely densely populated and largely lawless enclave of China within the boundaries of Kowloon City of former British Hong Kong. Built as an imperial Chinese Fortification, military fort, the walled city beca ...
. In 1972, Wong graduated from the school and was soon successfully enrolled at the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
studying
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
. At first, she was not given a room in any of the residential colleges because she lived too near to the campus. Only when she became a social secretary of St John's College Students' Association in year three of study, she had the chance to move into St John's College. In the university, Wong was something of a
student activist Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...
and in 1973 joined a university visit the
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
. All these experiences influenced her deeply and she decided to commit herself to the field of social work upon graduation.


Social work career

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 Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...
as a
social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
. She 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 Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Y ...
,
Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po () is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...
and
Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...
. Wong later received
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
scholarship from 1974 to 1975,
Rotary Foundation The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely ...
Educational Award from 1977 to 1978 and PEO International Peace Scholarship from 1978 to 1979. These scholarships allowed her to further study in the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in Canada from 1977 to 1979. After obtaining a master's degree of social work from
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Wong returned to the Federation of Youth Group and was immediately promoted as Executive Secretary (Operations). Later in 1980, she was further promoted as general secretary (later renamed Executive Director) at the age of 28 and thus becoming the leader of the Federation. In this capacity, she has successfully expanded the Federation to be a major teenage service organisation in Hong Kong with a total number of 800 employees. Apart from the Federation, Wong had also involved deeply in a large number of social organisations including a number of local
Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
es. Since 1981, she had also been appointed as a member of the Executive Committee 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 ...
and stepped down in 2005 after more than twenty years of service. From 1984 to 1988, she was appointed to the Subventions and Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee as a member by the government as well. In 1982, she was awarded
Commonwealth Scholarship The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...
, studying
social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...
and planning in the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
of the United Kingdom, and obtained her
master degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practi ...
in science in 1983. Two years later she received a diploma of executive management in a course organised jointly by the
Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...
and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. In the same year, she was awarded Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons' Award.《香港特區名人錄》. 香港:星島日報出版社. 2004.


Legislative and Executive Councillor

Wong's brilliance as a social administrator was soon noticed by Governor Sir Edward Youde. In 1985, Sir Edward intended to reform 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 ...
through appointing professionals from different career sectors to the Council. Under the recommendation of Legislative Councillor, Hui Yin Fat, Wong was appointed as unofficial member of the Legislative Council at a relatively young age of 33 and thus entering politics. Other unofficial legislators newly appointed in that year included
barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...
Maria Tam Maria Tam Wai-chu (; born 2 November 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician and lawyer. She is a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) since 1997 and the chairman of the Operat ...
, physician Dr Henrietta Ip Man-Hing and so on.〈火鳳凰. 王䓪鳴〉. 《壹週刊》時事短打. 3 May 2001. Since joining the Legislative Council, she had hold a large number of public duties which included court member of the University of Hong Kong,
Technical College An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
(later Polytechnic University), Baptist College (later Baptist University) and City Polytechnic (later City University), member of the Hong Kong committee for
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
, vice-patron of
Mother's Choice ''Mother's Choice'' is the fourth album by Australian rock band Buffalo, recorded during 1975 and 1976 and originally released in 1976 by Vertigo Records. After the dismissal of founding guitarist John Baxter at the end of 1974, the band und ...
, member of the government's Standing Committee on Young Offenders and so on. Besides, from 1987 to 1988 she was appointed honorary advisor to the Social Welfare Department, member of government's
Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...
and
Broadcasting Authority Broadcasting is the distribution of audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began with ...
from 1987 to 1990, appointed chairwoman of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee from 1988 to 1991 and appointed the first chairwoman of the government's newly created Commission on Youth from 1990 to 1991.''Executive Councillors'', Hong Kong Government Website, 1998. Wong's work in the Legislative Council was deeply impressed by then Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council
Lydia Dunn Lydia Selina Dunn, Baroness Dunn, (; born 29 February 1940) is a Hong Kong-born retired British businesswoman and politician. She became the second person of Hong Kong origin (the first was Lawrence Kadoorie, Baron Kadoorie) and the first fem ...
(later Dame and Baroness) that under her promotion, she was further appointed as unofficial member of the government decision-making body, the Executive Council by Governor Sir David Wilson (later Lord) in 1988. On 16 January 1989 Wong was made an unofficial Justice of the Peace and later on the
Queen's Birthday The King's Official Birthday or Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the m ...
in 1990 she was made an
Officer 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 ...
for her contribution to the general public. However, in 1991 Wong suddenly retired from the two Councils and resigned all her public posts. She chose to further her study with her husband Dr Alfred Tam Yat-chung in the United States, trying to save their marriage from divorce. Yet their attempt was fail and they divorced eventually in 1992.〈刀槍不入. 王䓪鳴〉. 《壹週刊》時事. 4 October 2001. Although the divorce was a terrible blow to her, she was able to continue her study while took care of her two children alone. Finally in 1993, she obtained her master's degree of arts from the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
. A year before graduation, she was also awarded the prize of Global Leader of Tomorrow.


Returning to politics

In 1991, the Legislative Council introduced
direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...
for the first time in the
history of Hong Kong The region of Hong Kong has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, Old Stone Age, later becoming part of the Chinese Empire with its loose incorporation into the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Starting out as a Walled villages of Hong Kong, farming ...
and the election resulted in the landslide victory of the many new-born local pro-democratic political parties. To balance the power in the Council, to show friendliness to the
mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC) ...
regime and to ensure that sovereignty of Hong Kong can be transferred smoothly and peacefully in 1997, many appointed or indirectly elected legislators, such as
Allen Lee Allen Lee Peng-fei, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Justice of the peace, JP (; 24 April 194015 May 2020) was a Hong Kong industrialist, politician and political commentator. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, serving ...
,
Selina Chow Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee (; born 25 January 1945) is a former Hong Kong television executive and politician. She was a member of the Legislative Council for nearly three decades, and was also a member of the Executive Council. She is honorar ...
and
Rita Fan Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...
came together and formed a more conservative political group, the
Co-operative Resources Centre The Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC; ) was a short-lived political group in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). Led by the Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executive and Legislative Councils Allen Lee, ...
(later renamed Liberal Party) with the support of then Governor Sir David Wilson immediately after the election. Nevertheless, Sir David was soon forced to retire in 1992 and the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
policy towards China changed fundamentally. Sir David's successor,
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
no longer continued his policy of gradual reform but endorsed democratic reform in full-swing. Patten believed the Co-operative Resources Centre would become a hindrance to his reform and therefore he refused to support the Centre as Sir David had done. Furthermore, he immediately reshuffled the pro-Sir David's Executive Council after becoming governor. Except the Senior Member Baroness Dunn, all other members served in Sir David's Executive Council were replaced. Under this background of wind of change, Wong was appointed back to the Executive Council as unofficial member by Patten in 1992, a year before graduating from the University of California. After returning to Hong Kong politics, she was deeply trusted by the Governor. In 1993, she was appointed chairperson 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 ...
, overseeing the policy on the construction of
public housing estate Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
s. In the same year, she was also appointed chairwoman of the
Independent Police Complaints Council The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) is a civilian body of the Government of Hong Kong, part of the two-tier system in which the Hong Kong Police Force investigates complaints made by the public against its members and the IPCC m ...
. In 1994, she became a member of the Court of the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status, and the firs ...
and was made a
Commander 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 ...
. On the contrary, Baroness Dunn, the Senior Member of the Executive Council, was distanced by Governor Patten because she once supported the founding of the Co-operative Resources Centre, and thus her importance in the government faded gradually. Eventually in 1995, Dunn retired from the Council and chose to migrate to England. Wong then was selected to replace Dunn as the last Convenor (equivalent to the post of the Senior Unofficial Member) of the colonial Executive Council by Governor Patten. As the Convenor of the Executive Council, Wong became an influential figure in the final years of the colonial government. Apart from being appointed non-executive director of the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
in November 1996, she was chosen as the chairwoman of the ICAC Complaints Committee in the transitional period between 1997 and 1998. In the
1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...
, she caught up the last chance before the
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...
that she was made a
Dame Commander 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 ...
and therefore became a Dame. Wong was the second
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
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. She received the damehood from Governor Chris Patten in the
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...
on 19 April 1997.〈彭定康愛將回歸前封爵〉. 《太陽報》A01. 6 May 2001. In the same year, Wong also received her doctorate of sociology from the University of California, Davis. She personally chose to call herself Dr. Rosanna Wong rather than Dame Rosanna Wong after 1997 in public occasions.〈王䓪鳴博士〉. 《香港教育學院第十屆畢業典禮》. 19 November 2004. Since 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a Special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the List of ...
's Executive Council, or even the Housing Authority. Yet, the fact was that Wong once served in the colonial Executive Council with the future
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
,
Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born May 29, 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and retired politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He served as a vice chairman of th ...
and Tung was impressed by her low-pitched image. Finally in 1997, although Tung chose veteran politician Sir Sze Yuen Chung as Convenor, Wong, along with Raymond Ch'ien Kuo Fung, was invited to stay as unofficial member in the new Executive Council. Wong continued to remain as chairperson of the Housing Authority as well. In the early years of the Special Administrative Region, Wong was again appointed to different public posts. She 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 (香港宣明會) since 2000.


Short-piling scandal

Under the " 85,000 Housing Policy" suggested by Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, the Housing Authority was demanded to build large-scale
public housing estate Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
s and
Home Ownership Scheme The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing in Hong Kong, public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing wit ...
estates all over Hong Kong by the government in the early years after the transfer of sovereignty. At one time the Authority was even asked to build not less than 85,000 flats a year, so that more people could enjoy public housing. Nevertheless, because of lacking of efficient monitoring and poor planning, the policy soon became a leak for jerry-building, and a series of short-piling scandals were exposed.〈立會短樁報告. 暗批「八萬五」肇禍〉. 《香港經濟日報》A22. 21 January 2003. In September 1999, some blocks in Tin Chung Court, a Home Ownership Scheme estate built by the Housing Authority in
Tin Shui Wai Tin Shui Wai New Town is a new towns in Hong Kong, satellite town in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. Originally a ' () fish pond area, it was developed in 1980s in Hong Kong, the 1980s as the second New towns of Hong Kong, new tow ...
, were discovered with serious and unusual settlement. Later in January 2000, a Home Ownership Scheme construction site in
Yuen Chau Kok Yuen Chau Kok () is an List of areas of Hong Kong, area in Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Sha Tin Road and Prince of Wales Hospital and is within walking distance of City One station of the MTR Tuen Ma line. The island was ...
,
Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The new ...
was reported to have the same problem found in Tin Chung Court, and it became known that the
pilings A pile or piling is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled deep into the ground at the building site. A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from th ...
of these affected blocks were much shorter than required. The short-piling scandals were followed by a series of discoveries of jerry-building. In March and May of the same year, constructions in the shopping centre of Shek Yam Estate and in the site of Phase 3 of
Tung Chung Tung Chung ( " eastern stream") is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung C ...
Area 30 were reported extensive non-compliance respectively. The general public was deeply shocked by the series of scandals and the Independent Commission Against Corruption soon carried out investigations into the housing scandals.〈公屋短樁醜聞經過〉. 《大公報》A07. 23 January 2003. Facing the housing scandals, as the chairperson of the Housing Authority, Wong vowed to grasp the opportunity to reform the bureaucratic and corrupted
Housing Department Housing Department () is a department of Hong Kong Government and is the executive arm of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, managing public housing estates which is a statutory organisation tasked to develop and implement a public housing ...
. However, she quickly became the target to be blamed by the public opinions. Many civil groups representing residents of the public housing estates reproached Wong for being incompetent to supervise the housing constructions and they demanded her and the Director of Housing, Tony Miller to step down. In June 2000, Secretary for Housing, Dominic S. W. Wong appointed Director of Intellectual Property, Stephen R. Selby as the chairman of the Investigation Panel on Staff Discipline in the Yuen Chau Kok and Tin Chung Court Incidents to see if anyone was derelict in the whole scandal. Apart from the pressure from the government, Democratic Party's legislator
Fred Li Fred Li Wah-ming (Chinese: 李華明; born 25 April 1955, Hong Kong) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the constituency of Kowloon East. He was a member of the Kwun Tong District Council for Tsui Ping. H ...
moved a
motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
on both Rosanna Wong and Tony Miller in 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 ...
on 9 June. Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa later paid a special visit to the Legislative Council on 23 June and addressed to the Council Meeting. He 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". She 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 In Hong Kong, the Principal Officials Accountability System ( zh, t=主要官員問責制, labels=no) was introduced by inaugural chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal officials, including the Chie ...
. Four days later, the Legislative Council passed the motion of no confidence on her and Miller with a significant majority, however, Miller had never resigned. The post of chairperson of the Housing Authority was later filled by Dr Cheng Hon-kwan on 1 October. The scandal did not rest with the resignation of Wong. In February 2001, the Legislative Council set up a Select committee to enquire into the whole matter in-depth. On 8 May 2001, Wong was summoned to give evidences in front of the committee. In the enquiry, she admitted the risk of jerry-building had been underestimated. Yet, she claimed that the concept of "85,000 Housing Policy" which had already existed during the governorship of
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
and the
Housing Authority A housing authority or ministry of housing is generally a governmental body that governs aspects of housing or (called in general " shelter" or "living spaces"), often providing subsidies and low rent or free public housing to qualified people. ...
was merely ordered to carry out the long-term housing policy which was planned by the government, not the Authority. Besides, she provided a number of letters to Governor Patten written by her between 1994 and 1996 to the enquiry. One of them, dated December 1996, stated that the Housing Authority could build only 82,000 flats a year and could not fulfill the government's intention to build 106,000 flats. However, when Secretary for Housing, Dominic Wong gave evidences to the enquiry on 12 May, he rebutted what Wong had said. Dominic Wong explained that since 1988, it had been the Housing Authority who decided the target number of public housing flats to be built annually. The government itself had not been involved and therefore, figures forecasting the number of new public housing flats in each year's colonial '' Policy Address'' had been provided by the Housing Authority instead. He 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. After two years of investigation, the Legislative Council's Select Committee released its report on the short-piling scandal in January 2003. Rosanna Wong, Dominic Wong and Tony Miller received differing degrees of censure in the report. However, the report did not recommend any punishment as it was up to the government to make the decision of whether to impose any punishment or not.


After-Housing Authority

After resigning from the Housing Authority, Wong started to fade out from Hong Kong politics and retired from the Executive Council in 2002. Besides, she succeeded
Antony Leung Antony Leung Kam-chung GBS OBE JP (born 29 January 1952 in Hong Kong with family roots in Shunde, Guangdong) is a businessman who served as Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), from 29 May 2001 unti ...
as Chairperson of the Education Commission from 2001 to 2007. In January 2001, Wong was employed as a non-executive director to the
Cheung Kong Holdings Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a ma ...
by Li Ka-shing and her employment aroused public concern. Some public opinions feared she had only stepped down from the Housing Authority for only seven months and it was inappropriate for her to be employed to a real property corporation. A few legislators also worried that Wong would no longer represent the interest of social workers by having a closer relationship with the business sector. Yet, she responded that she would only receive 5,000 HKD annually as director's emoluments from the directorship and she promised to bring the voice of the social work sector into the corporation. Since 2003, Wong has been appointed as a Hong Kong member of the
CPPCC 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 system. Its members advise and put proposals ...
National Committee of the People's Republic of China. There was little controversy within the pro-Beijing camp of Hong Kong over the appointment since it was the first time for Wong to be admitted to a mainland Chinese official organisation. Some criticised she had had pro-British background while some said she had a close friendship with former Chief Secretary,
Anson Chan Anson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang, (; ''née'' Fang; born 17 January 1940) is a retired Hong Kong politician and civil servant who was the first ethnic Chinese and woman to serve as Chief Secretary, the second-highest position in both ...
. Yet, all these criticism died out soon.〈行會前成員獲委政協. 王䓪鳴入選惹左派爭議〉. 《蘋果日報》A04. 22 January 2003.


Personal life

Wong married Dr. Alfred Tam Yat-chung, a
paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...
, on 15 September 1979. They had two children, Joyce (born 1981) and Jonathan (born 1985). In 1991, the couple went to study in the United States, during a difficult time in their marriage. They were divorced in 1992, after Alfred began another relationship. While married, she styled herself as Mrs. Rosanna Tam Wong Yick-ming.


Honours


Conferments

* Unofficial Justice of the Peace (16 January 1989) *
Officer 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 ...
(
Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...
, 1990) *
Commander 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 ...
(Queen's Birthday Honours, 1994) *
Dame Commander 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 ...
(
New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
, 1997)


Honorary doctorates

*Doctorates of Law **
Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...
(1996) **
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
(1999) *Doctorates of Social Science **
Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...
(2002) **
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
(2003"Wong, Rosanna Yick-ming", ''HKU Honorary Graduates'', 2003.) **
Hong Kong Institute of Education The Education University of Hong KongUniversity titl ...
(2004)


Honorary memberships

* Hong Kong Institute of Housing (Honorary Fellow, 1994) *
Chartered Institute of Housing The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for those working in the housing profession in the United Kingdom. It has a royal charter, gained in 1984. Currently CIH has over 17,000 members, mostly in the UK but also overseas ...
(Honorary Member, 1994)


List of publications

* 《從政路上》. 香港:香港基督教服務處. 1992. ** (''On the Road of Politics'', Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Service, 1992.)* * 《也曾同路-給香港青年的書信》. 香港:香港基督教服務處. 1996. ** (''Once on the Same Road – Letters to the Teenagers of Hong Kong'', Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Service, 1996.)* * *''Please be noted that the English translations are for reference only.''


See also

*
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 ...
* Baroness Dunn *
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...
*
Settlement (structural) Settlement is the downward movement or the sinking of a structure's foundation. It is mostly caused by changes in the underlying soil, such as drying and shrinking, wetting and softening, or compression due to the soil being poorly compacted wh ...
*
Vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...


Footnotes


References


English materials

* Edited by Kevin Sinclair, ''Who's who in Hong Kong'', Hong Kong: Who's Who in Hong Kong Ltd.: Asianet Information Services Ltd., 1988. * ''London Gazette''
no. 52173, page 17
15 June 1990. * ''London Gazette''
no. 53696, page 16
10 June 1994. * NICK TABAKOFF, "HSBC TOPS UP NAMES ON BOARD", ''South China Morning Post'', 27 November 1996. * ''London Gazette''
no. 54625, page 24
30 December 1996. * , Hong Kong Government Website, 1998. *
OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
', Legislative Council of Hong Kong, 23 June 2000. *
Wong, Rosanna Yick-ming
, ''HKU Honorary Graduates'', 2003.


Chinese materials

* 岑維休主編. 《香港年鑑》. 香港:華僑日報. 1990. dited by SHAM Wai-yau, ''Hong Kong Year Book'', Hong Kong: Oversea Chinese Daily, 1990.* 何良懋. 《香港的童年》. 香港:新雅文化事業有限公司. 1997. O Leung-mau, ''The Childhood of Hong Kong'', Hong Kong: Sun Ya Publications (HK) Ltd, 1997.* 〈房委會歡迎新任主席〉. 《新聞公報》. 香港:香港特別行政區政府新聞處. 2000-9-29. HA Welcomes New chairman", ''Press Release'', Hong Kong: HKSAR Government News Agency, 29 September 2000.* 〈王䓪鳴任長實非執行董事. 議員憂行會權力轉移工商界〉. 《星島日報》A09. 2001-1-26. Rosanna Wong Appointed Cheung Kong's non-executive director – Legislators Fear Exco Will Be Pro-Business", ''Sing Tao Daily'': A09, 26 January 2001.* 〈火鳳凰. 王䓪鳴〉. 《壹週刊》時事短打. 2001-5-3. Phoenix: Rosanna Wong", ''Next Magazine'', 3 May 2001.* 〈彭定康愛將回歸前封爵〉. 《太陽報》A01. 2001-5-6. Chris Patten's Confidant Received Damehood before Handover", ''The Sun'': A01, 6 May 2001.* 〈王䓪鳴:不知「八萬五」怎訂出. 承認低估地盤監督風險〉. 《蘋果日報》A16. 2001-5-9. Rosanna Wong: Don't Know Where Did '85,000 Policy' Come From – Confess Underestimation of Risk in Monitoring Construction Sites", ''Apple Daily'': A16, 9 May 2001.* 〈王䓪鳴認低估. 監管工程難度. 建屋高峰準備足夠否. 也值得商榷〉. 《香港經濟日報》A28. 2001-5-9. Rosanna Wong Confesses Underestimation of the Difficulty on Constructions' Supervision. Preparation for Massive Construction is Questioned", ''Hong Kong Economic Times'': A28, 9 May 2001.* 〈黃星華反駁王䓪鳴. 指建屋量由房委會制訂〉. 《新報》A03. 2001-5-13. Dominic Wong Rebuts Rosanna Wong: Target Amount of Public Housing Flats to be Built was Planned by the HA", ''Hong Kong Daily News'': A03, 13 May 2001.* 〈刀槍不入. 王䓪鳴〉. 《壹週刊》時事. 2001-10-4. The Unbeatable Rosanna Wong", ''Next Magazine'', 4 October 2001.* 〈范太當年被禁參加運動會〉. 《蘋果日報》A06. 2002-3-19. No Sport Day to Mrs Fan in Good Old Days", ''Apple Daily'': A06, 19 March 2002.* 〈唐英年等獲理大榮譽博士〉. 《大公報》B02. 2002-11-28. Henry Tang and Others Receive Poly Tech's Honorary Doctorates", ''Ta Kung Pao'': B02, 28 November 2002.* 〈公屋短樁醜聞經過〉. 《大公報》A07. 2003-1-23. The Whole Story of the Public Housing Short-pilings Scandal", ''Ta Kung Pao'': A07, 23 January 2003.* 〈立會公屋短樁調查報告完成. 王䓪鳴苗學禮黃星華遭譴責〉. 《蘋果日報》A08. 2003-1-21. Legco's Public Housing Short-pilings Scandal Report Completed – Rosanna Wong, Tony Miller and Dominic Wong Denounced", ''Apple Daily'': A08, 21 January 2003.* 〈立會短樁報告. 暗批「八萬五」肇禍〉. 《香港經濟日報》A22. 2003-1-21. Legco's Short-pilings' Report Implies '85,000 Policy' is the Origin", ''Hong Kong Economic Times'': A22, 21 January 2003.* 〈行會前成員獲委政協. 王䓪鳴入選惹左派爭議〉. 《蘋果日報》A04. 2003-1-22. Former Exco Member Appointed to CPPCC, Rosanna Wong's Appointment Arouses Controversy Amongst the Leftists", ''Apple Daily'': A04, 22 January 2003.* 《香港特區名人錄》. 香港:星島日報出版社. 2004. 'Hong Kong Who's Who'', Hong Kong: Sing Tao Daily Press, 2004.*
王䓪鳴博士
. 《香港教育學院第十屆畢業典禮》. 2004-11-19. Dr Rosanna Wong", ''Citations in the Tenth Graduation Ceremony of the Hong Kong Institute of Education'', 19 November 2004.


External links


Citation by the University of Hong Kong
2003
Citation by Hong Kong Institute of Education
2004 (Written in Chinese)

by 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 ...
, January 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Rosanna 1952 births Living people Government officials of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire HSBC people Hong Kong Christians Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Alumni of St. John's College, University of Hong Kong Alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Toronto alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of California, Davis alumni Chinese women in politics HK LegCo Members 1985–1988 HK LegCo Members 1988–1991 Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Members of the Election Committee of Hong Kong, 2021–2026