Chinese President Xi Jinping’s former father-in-law, diplomat Ke Hua, dies in Beijing at age 103
- Ke was involved in early stages of Sino-British talks on Hong Kong’s future in the 1980s
- His youngest daughter Ke Lingling was Xi’s first wife but their three-year marriage ended in 1982
Ke Hua’s youngest daughter, Ke Lingling, was Xi’s first wife. Their three-year marriage ended in 1982 and she subsequently moved to Britain.
In 1954, Ke Hua joined China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became the first person to take up the post of director general of its protocol department. In 1960, he became China’s first envoy to an African country with his appointment as ambassador to Guinea.
He served as director general of the ministry’s department of Asian affairs in the mid-1970s and was appointed China’s ambassador to Britain in 1978.
In July 1982, Ke discussed the future of Hong Kong with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when he hosted a dinner for the “Iron Lady” at the Chinese embassy in London.
Thatcher, who a month earlier had led Britain to victory against Argentina in the Falklands war, insisted that the three treaties signed in the 19th century between the Qing dynasty and Britain concerning Hong Kong were still valid. She argued that Britain should rule the city for another 30 to 50 years after the lease expired in 1997.