Sanford Yung Yung-tao (; 3 October 1927 – 7 November 2013) was a Hong Kong accountant, politician and racehorse owner. Yung was born in Hong Kong in 1927 with family roots in

Zhongshan county Zhongshan County (; ) is a county in the northeast of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of ...

, Guangdong, China. His step-grandfather Yung Wing was China's first overseas student and Sanford Yung was also the first Chinese to apprenticed as a chartered accountant in the accounting firm Davidson and Workman in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.

Early career

After he finished his accountancy training, Yung returned to Hong Kong in the 1950s and set up the Sanford Yung & Co in 1962. In 1965, the firm became part of British firm

Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along ...

. Yung became the chairman since and held that position until he retired in 1992. Six years later, the company merged with other firms to become part of the global accounting firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

(PwC). In 2001, Yung formed the Sanford Yung Scholar for Excellence in Accounting Studies to pay tuition fees for accounting students in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai and arrange internships for them at PwC in London and New York. Yung also played a role in preparations for 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 ...

during the 1980s as a member of the

Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Drafting Committee (BLDC) was formed in June 1985 for the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after 1997. It was formed as a working gro ...

. According to the Democratic Party founding chairman

Martin Lee Martin Lee Chu-ming (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party (Hong Kong), Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship Pr ...

, Yung was perceived as a liberal among the

pro-Beijing camp The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp or pro-China camp is a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Government of the People's Republic of China, Beijing central government and the Chinese Commun ...

Horse Ownership

Yung was also known as the owner of legendary galloper

Silver Lining Silver Lining, A Silver Lining or The Silver Lining may refer to: * Silver lining (idiom), a metaphor for optimism in the common English-language idiom "Every cloud has a silver lining" Film * ''The Silver Lining'' (1915 film), a short direct ...

. Yung bought Silver Lining for HK$50,000 in 1977 and it won a number of championships and became the first local horse to win more than HK$1 million. He once said that while he was "happy and proud" of Silver Lining's success, he often slept badly the night before a race, worrying that the horse would break down under the "super weights" it had to carry of up to 69 kg. He was also an honorary voting member of

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

Television Commercials

Yung appeared in an American Express TV commercial with Silver Lining in 1984.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Death

Yung suffered from cancer for some years in his later life. He died peacefully on 7 November 2013 in his sleep with his family by his side at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yung, Sanford 1927 births 2013 deaths Hong Kong accountants PwC people Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee members Hong Kong racehorse owners and breeders