E r i c H o t u n g . c o m

His Excellency Ambassador Eric Hotung C.B.E (The Patriot of British Empire), known as He Hongzhang by his Chinese name, is the eldest grandson of Sir. Robert Hotung - last of the Merchant Princes and a leader of the Chinese community.

Born in 1926 in Hong Kong, he spent his childhood and youth in Shanghai. He went to the United States in 1947 and graduated from the Georgetown University in 1951. He had worked in New York Stock Exchange, General Motors and other places. Following the passing away of his grandfather in 1956 and his father in 1957, he returned to Hong Kong to inherit his family's property. At first, he was engaged in import and export trade, and then he went in for real estate development, as well as securities. His business expanded gradually from Hong Kong to Europe and the United States, and in the meantime, he established contacts with financial circles and stock exchanges worldwide.

Carrying on the fine tradition of his family, H.E. Ambassador Hotung has always been enthusiastic in promoting public welfare and the cause of charity. For this, he founded the "Eric Hotung Trust Fund" in 1965 with the aim of developing education in Hong Kong, and other regions and countries. Owing to his wide participation in and warm support to international social activities, he was appointed by many counties as director or council and education. For instance, starting from 1980's he became members of the board of directors of the Georgetown University in the United States and the Research Centre of International Studies in the Philippines. He also serves as Council Member and Trustee of the American National Committee on U.S. - China Relations and the Song Qing Ling Foundation in China. In 1999, after the Timorese people won independence through years of fighting in bloody battles, H.E. Ambassador Hotung, was one of the first individual to come to the country's assistance by donating money, a ship to return refugees and establishing the Hotung Institute for Timor-Leste. He has been appointed by the Timor-Leste government as Ambassador at Large and Economics Advisor for Timor-Leste. Many countries have acknowledged his generosity.

As an old friend of the Chinese people, H.E. Ambassador Hotung is very concerned about China's development, warmheartedly supports her public welfare, and generously donates money to her cultural and educational cause. Since the 1980's his total donation to China(excluding Hong Kong)has reached tens of millions RMB, besides, he has also done much work and contributed positively to the understanding and improvement of relations between China and the United States. Chinese leaders like Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Ye Jianying, Deng Yingchao, Yang Shangkun have all met him personally.