Elsie Tu Papers
Scope and Contents
The Elsie Tu Papers provide a broad overview of Dr. Elsie Tu’s fifty-years of political and social activism in Hong Kong. The records give ample information on her work for the underprivileged and her role as a councillor in the Urban Council and Legislative Council. The overall arrangement of the collection was provided by the archivist while most of the folder titles were provided by Dr. Tu. Oversize materials including two posters and a group photograph of the Association for the Promotion of Public Justice as well as two photo albums and some photographs were pulled from their original folders and boxes and put in the OS File and PHOTO File. Duplicates were not included in the collection and returned to Dr. Tu.
- Geographic coverage
- Hong Kong, Great Britain, China
- Types of documents
- Articles, books, clippings, correspondence, government documents, manuscripts, maps, newsletters, periodicals, photographs
Dates
- 1951-2015, undated
Creator
- Tu, Elsie (Person)
Language of Materials
English, Chinese
Restrictions
Anyone using this collection must sign an Agreement to use the Elsie Tu Papers. No material except published works such as books, pamphlets, press release and newspaper clippings may be photocopied.
Biography
- Full name
- Elsie Tu 杜葉錫恩
- Birth date
- June 2, 1913, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- Parents
- John Hume, Florence Lydia Hume
- Siblings
- Ethel, Dorothy, Albert Collingwood
- Marital Status
- Married to William Elliott in 1946 in England; Married to Andrew Hsueh-kwei Tu (杜學魁) on June 13, 1985 in Hong Kong
- Children
- Yau Ling Tu
Dr. Elsie Tu’s work, political views and achievements are documented in her manuscripts and correspondence with various political figures and government officials of both Hong Kong and British governments. For instance, her correspondence with former Governors, Lord Murrary MacLehose and Mr. Christopher Patten as well as British government officials, reveals her opinions and ideas on the colonial rule and political reforms in Hong Kong. In addition, the rich manuscripts and clippings from Hong Kong and British newspapers also record many significant political and social events in Hong Kong. Some examples are Star Ferry fare increase and Kowloon riots in 1966, 1967 and 1984, establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974 and police amnesty in 1977.
Education
- 1925-1928
- Benwell Secondary Girl’s School, England
- 1928-1932
- Heaton Secondary School, England
- 1932-1937
- Armstrong College, University of Durham (renamed as Newcastle University later)
Career
- 1937-1947
- Teaching in England
- 1947
- Joined Christian Missions in Many Lands, went to Jiangxi (江西), China as a missionary
- 1948-1951
- Stationed in Yifeng (宜豐) near Nanchang (南昌), involved in teaching and evangelistic activities
- 1951-1955
- Left China to Hong Kong in February 1951 and continued her missionary work among the poor. Started a tent school in September 1954 and later founded a school with Andrew Hsueh-Kwei Tu (杜學魁) in September 1955.
- Left Hong Kong to England in November 1955
- 1954-2000
- Supervisor and teacher of Mu Kuang English School (慕光中學)
- After 1956
- Resigned from the Christian Missions in Many Lands and returned to Hong Kong in May 1956. Coached private students, taught at schools
- 1957-1963
- Taught English, English Literature and French in Hong Kong Baptist College
- 1963-1967
- Joined the Reform Club (革新會) and Hong Kong Civic Association (香港公民協會)
- 1963-1995
- Elected member of Urban Council
- 1962-1967
- Joined the United Nations Association of Hong Kong
- 1981-1986
- Member of Kwun Tong District Board
- 1986-1989
- Vice-Chair of Urban Council
- 1985-1990
- Member of the Consultative Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
- 1988-1995
- Member of Legislative Council
- 1991-1995
- House Committee Chair of Legislative Council
- 1994-1997
- Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to People’s Republic of China
- 1995
- Member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region First Chief Executive Selection Committee
- 1997-1998
- Member of Provisional Legislative Council
Honours
- 1976
- Magsaysay Award
- 1977
- CBE (Commander of the British Empire)
- 1988
- Hon. Dr. Social Science, University of Hong Kong
- 1992-1995
- 大學婦女亞洲協會傑出婦女獎
- 1994
- Hon. Dr. Laws, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- 1994
- Hon. Dr. Social Science, Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong
- 1995
- Chairman of Magsaysay Award Committee (Asian Projects)
- 1996
- Hon. Dr. Civil Law, University of Durham
- 1996
- Hon. Dr. Civil Law, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- 1997
- Grand Bauhinia Medal (G.B.M.)
Publication
- Tu, E. (1966). Hong Kong, another colonial problem in the making a report on non-representative government and colonial malpractices. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (1971). 新官塲現形記=The avarice bureaucracy and corruption of Hong Kong (Vol. 1). Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (1976). Hong Kong’s unsolved injustices. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (1979). Hong Kong legal affairs, 1978, as viewed from an Urban Council ward office. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (1982). 葉錫恩自傳=An autobiography of Elsie Tu (初版). 香港：明報出版部.
- Tu, E. (1984). China, Hong Kong and 1997. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (1995). 葉錫恩自傳=Crusade for justice : an autobiography(初版). 香港：明報.
- Tu, E. (1997). Doom or boom for Hong Kong in 1997? Elsie Tu’s correspondence with the British Government in the run-up to 1997. (n.p.).
- Tu, E. (1998). The last struggle of colonialism in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
- Tu, E. (2000). Away with all superstitions! : a plea for man to broaden his narrow traditional horizons. Hong Kong: Science & Education Publication Ltd.
- Tu, E. (2000). Japan’s number one war criminal and American post-war connivance with Japanese war criminals. (n.p.).
Extent
18 Linear Feet (35 boxes (4 record cases, 31 document cases))
Arrangement
The records’ original arrangement was by and large retained. The folders are now arranged alphabetically by subject and document type (i.e. correspondence, Manuscripts, etc.) and then chronologically within each type of document classification.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials for this collection were received by the Special Collections & Archives in March and May 2000 from Dr. Elsie Tu.
Separated Materials
The following items have been transferred to the HKBU LIBRARY book collection:
Bernacchi, B. A. (1979). The Hong Kong Urban Council the case of the elected members. (n.p.).
張杰霖. (1985). 思燕樓隨筆. 香港：張杰霖.
杜學魁. (1999). 還我公道：請日本以道德勇氣承擔侵略罪責 (初版). 香港：科教.
Tu, E. (1966). Hong Kong, another colonial problem in the making a report on non-representative government and colonial malpractices. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (1971). 新官塲現形記=The avarice bureaucracy and corruption of Hong Kong (Vol. 1). Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (1976). Hong Kong’s unsolved injustices. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (1979). Hong Kong legal affairs, 1978, as viewed from an Urban Council ward office. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (1982). 葉錫恩自傳=An autobiography of Elsie Tu (初版). 香港：明報出版部.
Tu, E. (1984). China, Hong Kong and 1997. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (1995). 葉錫恩自傳=Crusade for justice : an autobiography(初版). 香港：明報.
Tu, E. (1998). The last struggle of colonialism in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: E. Elliott.
Tu, E. (2000). Away with all superstitions! : a plea for man to broaden his narrow traditional horizons. Hong Kong: Science & Education Publication Ltd.
Tu, E. (2000). Japan’s number one war criminal and American post-war connivance with Japanese war criminals. (n.p.).
Tu, E. (2000). The struggle for public education in Hong Kong : a public lecture. Hong Kong: Centre for Citizenship Education, Hong Kong Institute of Education.
Processing Information
In the Scope and Contents description, the notation “folder 2-5” means box 2, folder 5
Creator
- Tu, Elsie (Person)
- Author
- Irene Wong, Lily Ng
- Date
- May 13, 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- February 2, 2016: Revised
Repository Details
Part of the HKBU Special Collections Repository
Special Collections & Archives
AML 405, L4, Au Shue Hung Memorial Library,
Hong Kong Baptist University
34 Renfrew Road, Kowloon Tong
(852) 3411-5937
libarc@hkbu.edu.hk