Elsie Tu

The Honourable Elsie Tu (Chinese: 杜葉錫恩; June 2, 1913-), GBM, CBE, (previously known as Elsie Elliott, nee Hume) is a prominent social activist, former elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong, and former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, northern England, she moved to Hong Kong in 1951 following a period as a missionary in China. She became known for her strong antipathy toward colonialism and corruption, as well as for her relentless work for the underprivileged.

Early life

Following her graduation in 1937 as a Bachelor of Arts in Durham University, Elsie Hume worked as a teacher in England. During World War II she was a Civil Defence volunteer.

She married William ("Bill") Elliott in 1946, and went with him to China as a missionary in 1947 (having become a Christian in 1932). After the Communist takeover in 1949, foreign missionaries were expelled from the Mainland and the couple moved to Hong Kong in 1951. Shocked by the poverty there, Elliott became disenchanted with her husband's extreme Protestant faith and the refusal of their church, the Plymouth Brethren, to become involved in social issues. The couple eventually separated during an abortive trip back to England, and later divorced. Tu left the Plymouth Brethren and returned to Hong Kong alone.

In 1954 Tu set up a school for the children of squatters in Kwun Tong, remaining a school principal for many years thereafter until 2000.

Political career

Becoming politically active, Elliot was elected for the first time to the Urban Council (then the only public body with a partially publicly elected membership) in 1st April 1963 as a member of the Reform Club. Later she left the Reform Club and ran as an independent candidate.

In 1965, the Star Ferry applied for an increase of First Class fare by 5 Hong Kong cents (from 20 cents to 25 cents). This was widely opposed in Hong Kong. Elliott collected over 20,000 signatories opposing the plan, and flew to London in an attempt to arrest the plan. The increase in fare was given its go-ahead in March 1966 by the Transport Advisory Committee, where the only vote opposing was Elliott's. Public outcry to the fare increase sparked the Kowloon riots in April 1966. Elliott was persecuted by the government as a result, accused of instigating the riots. Though never convicted of any charge, she remained under suspicion in the eyes of many.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Elliott was a fierce opponent of the corruption then endemic in many areas of Hong Kong life and the influence of the Triads. She also campaigned for better working and housing conditions for the poor. Though many in ruling circles disliked Elliott "rocking the boat", her campaigning is credited with leading to the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 1974.

In 1980 it was revealed by investigative journalist Duncan Campbell that she was under surveillance by the Special Branch of the then Royal Hong Kong Police. This, however, did not worry Elliott as she stated: I know my telephone was tapped and probably is at this moment but I have done nothing wrong and have no political affiliations. Later, Elsie Tu wrote in her semi-autobiographical work, Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu, that her phone line was already tapped in 1970.

In later years, Elliott married her long time partner in her education work, Andrew Tu, on 13 June 1985; he died in 2001. In 1988 she was elected to the Legislative Council as a representative of the Urban Council.

In the period leading up to Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty, Tu disappointed many of her former allies and supporters by becoming an advocate of gradual democratisation (as preferred by China's leadership) rather than the much faster pace advocated by many democrats in Hong Kong, like Emily Lau and Martin Lee. She lost her Urban Council seat in the 1995 direct election to Szeto Wah, whose campaign was targeted mainly on Tu's perceived pro-communist stance.

Tu left active politics and closed her surgery (office) in 1999 after having failed in her bid to be elected to the Legislative Council. Since then, she has continued to comment on social issues.

Tu has written two volumes of autobiography (one co-written with Andrew Tu), as well as other works. She also completed for publication her husband Andrew's autobiography of his childhood in Inner Mongolia, Camel Bells in the Windy Desert.

Honours

Tu has received numerous honours in recognition of her services to Hong Kong. In 1975, she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, often called Asia's Nobel Prize. She was awarded the CBE in 1977, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 1997. A number of honorary degrees have also been conferred on her.

External links

• Hong Kong Newspaper Clippings Online
• Ramon Magsaysay Award citation
• Elsie Tu papers in Hong Kong Baptist University - includes biographical material
• The Elsie Tu Digital Collection - a selection from the Elsie Tu Papers in Baptist University, available online free of charge

References

• Elsie Elliott (1971) The Avarice, Bureaucracy and Corruption of Hong Kong
• Urban Council, Urban Council Annual Report, 1974
• Elsie Elliott (1981) Crusade For Justice: An Autobiography - covers her early life and her campaigns in Hong Kong
• Elsie Tu (2003), Colonial Hong Kong in the Eyes of Elsie Tu (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press) ISBN 978-962-209-606-6
• Elsie Tu and Andrew Tu (2005) Shouting At The Mountain: A Hong Kong Story of Love and Commitment - focuses on the couple's relationship and their work together

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