Peter Lai

Peter Lai Hing-ling, JP (Chinese: 黎慶寧) was the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong from 1995 to 1998, spanning the Handover of Hong Kong.

Peter Lai Hing-ling JP
黎慶寧
Secretary for Security of Hong Kong
In office 1 July 1995 – 30 August 1998
Personal details
Born	1951 (age 69–70)
Nationality	British Australian
Alma mater	University of Hong Kong (BA)

Peter Lai
Traditional Chinese	黎慶寧
Simplified Chinese	黎庆宁
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lí qìng-níng

Career

Lai graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a first-class honours degree in history (majoring in Modern Chinese History). While studying at Queen's College (a secondary school), he worked to create the school's newspaper, The Courier (文苑), which continues to publish today.[1]

In 1973, he joined the Administrative Service, and held various political and managerial posts, including in the New Territories Administration, the Urban Services Department, the Immigration Department, the Lands and Works Branch, the Civil Service Branch and the Constitutional Affairs Branch.

In the mid-1980s he took part in the negotiations between Britain and China on the future of Hong Kong, which led to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, as well as in negotiations in 1993 about Hong Kong's new political system. He also contributed to the drafting of the Basic Law.[2]

In February 1995 Lai was appointed the first ethnic Chinese Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Government, and he remained in this post until his resignation in mid-1998, the year following the Handover, when he emigrated to the United Kingdom.[2] It was speculated that he had to resign since he was also responsible for British intelligence work in Hong Kong, and also because of his strong stance in refusing to share the information held by Hong Kong Police with the Beijing government, though these claims have been dismissed by the Hong Kong government.[3]

He was an Associate with the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, specialising in Hong Kong's politics and constitutional developments from 1998 to 2005. Lai returned to Hong Kong and is now Adviser with the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre.[4] and an honorary Professor of the Department of Politics and Public Administration of the University of Hong Kong.[5]

References

1. "Old boys relive their school days at exhibition". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
2. "Asia Research Center". 2005. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
3. "Government statement on Peter Lai's resignation". Government of Hong Kong. 14 August 1998. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
4. "Bauhinia Foundation Research Center". Archived from the original on 8 August 2010.
5. "Professor Peter LAI Hing-Ling 黎慶寧". Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 5 June 2016.

External links

• Mr. Lai's statement of resignation (in Chinese)