Former education chief Michael Suen dies at 80

Hong Kong’s former Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung died in the early hours of Tuesday at the age of 80.

Having joined the Government in 1966, Suen served as Secretary for Home Affairs, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs and Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands. He was appointed as the Secretary for Education in 2007, a post he held until June, 2012 when he retired.

During his time as Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Suen was known for his nine-point policy in 2002 to forestall a slump in property prices after a 60 percent decline in the first five years of the handover of Hong Kong to China.

The measures included scrapping regular land auctions and subsidizing housing Home Ownership Scheme. Critics said the moves had sown the seeds of the rise in property developers’ influence and sky-high property prices in the following years.

Starting from 2011, he was admitted to hospital multiple times due to illness. In April 2011, he was diagnosed with kidney failure and required treatment with peritoneal dialysis. In December of the same year, he was diagnosed with legionnaires' disease and in April 2012, a thyroid tumor was removed.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu expressed his condolences to Suen’s family.

“Suen had devoted decades of service to the Government, holding various important positions,” Lee said.

“He had provided advice to the SAR in different policy areas, responded to various challenges and promoted Hong Kong’s development. He had enthusiastically served the public over the years and had won the respect of his government colleagues and members of the community.”

Lee praised Suen for making “great contributions” to the city and recalled that he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star medal in 1999.