Eric Hotung

As someone who had covered the Yang Bin (杨斌) incident, I am ashamed to admit that I had no idea that Eric Hotung (何鸿章, pictured) was at one-time rumored to be a successor to Yang.

Yang was of course the former head of North Korea's Sinuiju free-trade zone arrested by China for commercial crimes in 2002.

Shortly after Yang's arrest, it was rumored that Hotung, a philanthropist and heir of a prominent British-Chinese family in Hong Kong, would take over Yang's job. Hotung denied the rumor, saying that "it's a job for a young man." Hotung was 76 in 2003.

An active aid donor to North Korea, Hotung, among other things, set up a children's fund, and donated soy beans and veterinary medicine to the Hermit Kingdom. He was even conferred the title of "honorary citizen" by Pyongyang officials.

Born in Hong Kong, Hotung is the eldest grandson of the the late Sir Robert Hotung, who became wealthy in the 19th century as a business intermediary in China for the company now known as Jardine Matheson Holding Ltd - one of the largest businesses in the territory. He spent his childhood and youth in Shanghai before going to the U.S. in 1947, and graduating from Georgetown University in 1951. Hotung was also a former adviser on China at the U.S. Center for Strategic Studies.