A state funeral was held in Hong Kong on Sunday for Tung Chee-hwa, the city's first chief executive after the end of British colonial rule. Tung, who served from 1997 to 2005, passed away on September 8 at the age of 89. He guided Hong Kong through its early years following the 1997 handover from Britain to China. The funeral was one of only three state funerals held in Hong Kong since the handover, with Chinese officials and local political leaders in attendance. The event took place at the Hong Kong Funeral Home, where flower wreaths were placed outside the venue. Tung’s coffin, draped in the Chinese flag, was visible as it was transported away after the service, according to live video streamed by local media. Journalists were not allowed inside the funeral site. Shi Taifeng, a high-ranking member of China’s Communist Party, and Xia Baolong, head of China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, attended the ceremony. They left the funeral in a white minibus with Hong Kong’s current leader, John Lee. Around 200 people were invited to the service, according to a source who spoke to the South China Morning Post. Others paid their respects at three public venues set up across the city. The Chinese government praised Tung as a close ally of the Communist Party and a key figure in the "one country, two systems" framework, which allows Hong Kong to maintain a separate legal and economic system from mainland China. Tung’s tenure coincided with significant challenges, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, which caused nearly 300 deaths in Hong Kong. That same year, hundreds of thousands of people protested against a proposed anti-treason law, which many saw as a threat to civil liberties. The government later postponed the plan, and Tung resigned in 2005, citing health issues. His resignation marked the beginning of a period of growing pro-democracy activism, which reached a peak in 2019 with large-scale protests. After leaving office, Tung was appointed as vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a top advisory body in China. In 2019, he was among 42 individuals honored with national medals for their contributions to the country. His legacy remains a subject of reflection, given his role during a pivotal era in Hong Kong’s history.