Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first post-colonial leader, dies at age 89

HONG KONG: Hong Kong ‘s first post-colonial leader, Tung Chee-hwa, who struggled to cope with an Asian financial crisis and growing protests for democracy in the early years under Chinese rule, died Tuesday at age 89. His office said in a statement that Tung passed away peacefully in the presence of his family members. Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that he died of an unspecified illness. Tung, a shipping tycoon, had little political experience before a panel of pro-Beijing elites picked him to be the first leader of the southern Chinese territory after the end of British colonial…