Former member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), He Zhuguo, passed away on June 11 at the age of 75. He Zhuguo previously served as the Chairman of the Sing Tao News Corporation and the US Department of Justice registered the US-based “Sing Tao Daily” as a foreign agent.
He Zhuguo revealed in February of this year that he was diagnosed with lung cancer last year and had been undergoing treatment in Hong Kong. Reports from Hong Kong 01 suggested that he had contracted the coronavirus, leading to complications of pneumonia.
On Saturday (28th), He Zhuguo’s family held a memorial service at a funeral home in Hong Kong from 4 pm to 7 pm for family and friends to pay their respects. Hong Kong officials including Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan, former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and current Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Leung Chun-ying were in attendance.
Numerous Chinese political figures and business leaders sent floral wreaths. CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang, State Council Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam, former member of the CPC Politburo Yu Zhengsheng, former State Council Vice Premiers Liu Yandong and Liao Hui, as well as other retired Central officials, all sent wreaths in their own names. Official media Xinhua News Agency referred to He as a “close friend” of the Chinese Communist Party.
He Zhuguo was born in Shanghai in 1949 and inherited the Hong Kong Tobacco Company founded by his grandfather He Yingjie. After graduating from Diocesan Boys’ School in Hong Kong, He Zhuguo went to the United States for further studies. He returned to Hong Kong in the 1990s to take over the family business and develop his own career. He Zhuguo served as Chairman of the Sing Tao News Corporation for many years until it was sold in 2021.
As early as 1998, He Zhuguo was elected as a member of the CPPCC and was re-elected for multiple terms.
The “Sing Tao Daily” was founded by Hu Wenhu in 1938 and taken over by his daughter Hu Xian in 1954. In January 2001, He Zhuguo acquired 51.4% of the shares of “Sing Tao Daily”, transforming it from a newspaper that was originally critical of the CPC under Hu Wenhu’s founding vision to a pro-Communist newspaper.
Amidst the transformation of the “Sing Tao Daily” into a party organ, He Zhuguo played a key role. He signed a contract with Xinhua News Agency in Beijing to launch the landmark project “Xinhua Online” for the CPC’s external propaganda. He also entrusted the editorial control of the European and American regions to the former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily, ensuring the consistency of all editorials and the People’s Daily’s stance.
In June 2021, He Zhuguo sold “Sing Tao” to mainland Chinese businessman Guo Yingcheng and his daughter Guo Xiaoting, turning “Sing Tao Daily” from a pro-Communist newspaper to a newspaper under CCP control.
On August 23, 2021, five US-affiliated companies under the Sing Tao News Corporation were registered by the US Foreign Investment Committee as “foreign agents”. Its media outlets are required to report their assets and financial status to the US government annually, and its journalists are no longer allowed to report from important national institutions such as Congress and the White House.
As a result, Sing Tao’s overseas operations have shrunk. On August 28, 2022, the Canadian “Sing Tao Daily” ceased publication.