Kitty Poon Explained

Dr. Kitty Poon
Birth Place:Hangzhou, Zhejiang[1]
Fields:Social Sciences
Alma Mater:Rutgers University
Columbia University
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Doctoral Advisor:Kuan Hsin-chi
Known For:Undersecretary of the Environment Bureau (10 July 2008 – present)
former associate professor in Applied Social Science at Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Kitty Poon Kit (; born 1964) is a Hong Kong politician. She was one of the undersecretaries appointed by the Government of Hong Kong in 2008.

Personal life

Poon, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang in mainland China, immigrated to Hong Kong with her family after her middle school graduation in 1982. She moved to the United States in 1989 for further studies.[1] There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University and a master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.[2] She naturalised as a US citizen before moving back to Hong Kong in 1997.[1] She later completed a PhD in Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[2]

Career

Poon joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in August 2005 and was promoted in 2006 to the post as an Assistant Professor of the Department of Applied Social Sciences. She is a part-time member of the Central Policy Unit and a council member of the Hong Kong Political Science Association. She is also a columnist for the South China Morning Post.[3]

In 2008 she was nominated Undersecretary for the Environment Bureau under the 2008 Political Appointments System. She had to renounce her United States citizenship as a result of the public furore.

In 2009 Poon purchased a 3-story home in Sha Lan Villas, Tai Po. In 2011 it was discovered that it was illegally extended to a glass house on the roof and two balconies. She was ordered to take it down.[4]

She has been a professor in the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University since 2018.[5]

Notes and References

  1. News: 理大學者潘潔 曾任記者7年 (Polytechnic University scholar Poon Kit was a reporter for seven years) . . 21 May 2008 . 28 March 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110519104558/http://paper.wenweipo.com/2008/05/21/HK0805210041.htm . 19 May 2011 .
  2. News: CE appoints Under Secretaries (with photos). Info.gov.hk. 20 May 2008. 21 June 2008.
  3. News: Hong Kong deputies disappoint. https://web.archive.org/web/20090828151915/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JF03Ad02.html. unfit. 28 August 2009. Kent. Ewing. Asia Times. 3 June 2008. 21 June 2008.
  4. News: Those who live in glass houses ... . The Standard . 19 May 2011 . 28 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121015195834/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=111210&sid=32429751&con_type=3&d_str=20110519&sear_year=2011 . 15 October 2012 .
  5. News: Full-time Faculty, School of Public Policy and Management. Tsinghua University. 28 March 2018. 10 Oct 2020.