The nation yesterday bid farewell to Henry Fok, a philanthropist patriot who risked his life to support Chinese volunteers in the Korean War and played a pioneering role in the country's reform and opening-up.

Political and business leaders attended the early morning memorial service in Hong Kong and mourning residents paid their homage to the vice-chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Fok's family members, distraught with emotion, bid him a tearful farewell.

His coffin was draped in the national flag and he will be buried in a Buddhist cemetery on Friday.

Fok's eldest son Timothy thanked the nation and the media for their support. "Some of the media reports refreshed my memories of my father," he said.

CPPCC National Committee Vice-Chairman and former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa organized the memorial service in a manner befitting Fok's status as a State leader. Wreaths sent by President Hu Jintao and other State leaders lined the inside of the service hall.

Funeral Committee Chairman and CPPCC National Committee Vice-Chairman Wang Zhongyu hailed Fok as a patriot and a close friend of the Party. "His passing away is a loss both for Hong Kong and the nation," he said.

He praised Fok for supporting the "one country, two systems" principle and for contributing to the stability of Hong Kong.

Government officials and politicians, including Chief Secretary Rafael Hui, Financial Secretary Henry Tang, Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung, Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong Chairman Ma Lik, and Liberal Party legislator Selina Chow were among those who attended the funeral.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang was on an official overseas visit.

Source: China Daily