Tung Chao-yung, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Tung Chao-yung

Hong Kong businessman

Date of Birth: 28-Sep-1912

Place of Birth: Ningbo, Zhejiang, China

Date of Death: 15-Apr-1982

Profession: entrepreneur, shipowner

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Tung Chao-yung

  • Tung Chao-yung or C.
  • Y.
  • Tung (traditional Chinese: ???; simplified Chinese: ???; pinyin: Dong Zhàoróng; 28 September 1912 – 15 April 1982), also known as Tung Hao-yun, simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???; pinyin: Dong Hàoyún), was a Chinese shipping magnate, the founder of the Orient Overseas Line (now Orient Overseas Container Line or OOCL).
  • He was the father of Tung Chee Hwa, the first chief executive of the Hong Kong S.A.R.. At the peak of his career, he owned a shipping fleet with over 150 freight ships; his fleet's cargo capacity exceeded 10 million tons.
  • He was one of the world's top seven freight moguls; he was often called the Onassis of the Orient. Tung believed in the importance of education.
  • In September 1970, he bought the Cunard ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth to convert it into a floating university S.S.
  • Seawise University to keep the World Campus Afloat program alive.
  • On 9 January 1972, the ship caught fire during refurbishing and sank into Hong Kong's harbour.
  • He did not give up the plan because of this setback.
  • He bought a smaller ocean liner Atlantic to complete the plan.
  • He cooperated with various universities (e.g.
  • University of Pittsburgh) to run the academic sea programme with the Institute of Shipboard Education entitled Semester at Sea.Politically, Tung was aligned with Kuomintang regime of the Republic of China on Taiwan; indeed the company emblem of the OOCL is a plum blossom, the national flower of the Republic of China.
  • However, when the OOCL experienced financial trouble after his death the government of the People's Republic of China rescued the company.
  • This paved the way for C.Y.
  • Tung's son, Tung Chee Hwa, to become the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in 1997.

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