After learning that he has only “a month or two” to live, Hong Kong philanthropist Sir David Tang is throwing a party in London as a last hurrah.
The Shanghai Tang founder has battled liver cancer and other illnesses over the years, most recent of which was a bleeding ulcer he wrote about in his Financial Times column on August 7. Last week, the Times reported that the famously eccentric Tang had issued an invitation to his friends which read, “As I have been given by my politburo of medical experts just a month or two to last, I thought the best way to go would be to give a party where we can see each other at least one more time, rather than at a memorial service where I shall be dead as a dodo.”
The “farewell to life” party will be held next month at the Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, where Tang launched the successful China Tang restaurant in 2007. Tang, who has been called the “best-connected man in Britain”, has promised “jolly merriment” and “a lot of embraces”.
While the guest list has yet to be announced, Tang counts the Queen (and other members of the British royalty), Hong Kong’s last governor Chris Patten, Nelson Mandela, national treasure Stephen Fry, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, and Kate Moss among his many, many friends.
The 63-year-old billionaire is the grandson of Sir Tang Shiu-kin, one of Hong Kong’s most famous philanthropists and the founder of the Kowloon Motor Bus company. Having spent his early years in Hong Kong, Tang was sent to England for boarding school at the age of 13, where he remained for 16 years. In 1983, Tang moved to China, where he taught English and philosophy at Peking University for RMB600 a month (which he noted in an interview with Zolima Citymag, was “RMB200 more” than what Deng Xiaoping was making at the time).
Tang’s influence on Hong Kong can be seen all over town, from the venerable China Club in Central where his impressive art collection is displayed to full effect, to his Chinese-chic fashion label Shanghai Tang (sold in 1998), the “Tang” restaurants, and more. Following his grandfather’s example, Tang is also a noted philanthropist, having started the Hong Kong Cancer Fund, helped raise money for the China Tiger Revival, and donated to charities for Down Syndrome, literacy, among others.
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