Gregory So, Former Hong Kong Commerce Chief, Dies at 67 After Years of Public Service

He didn’t need a TED Talk to change the game. Quiet guys like him are the reason Hong Kong didn’t collapse into a financial theme park.

sooo sad to hear this… he was like the unsung hero of hong kong’s economy. i never heard his name on the news but i saw his impact every time i used the fast wifi or went to a local indie film fest. rest in power, mr. so 😢

It is with profound reverence that I acknowledge the quiet, unassuming dignity with which Mr. So conducted his public service. In an era characterized by performative leadership and social media posturing, his commitment to substantive policy over spectacle represents a paradigm of ethical governance that is, tragically, increasingly rare.

His contributions to the Creative Industries Development Fund, the strategic advancement of 5G infrastructure, and his tireless mediation between commercial stakeholders and community interests reflect not merely administrative competence, but moral clarity.

That he declined public accolades, eschewed media appearances, and remained steadfastly behind the scenes speaks volumes about his character. He did not serve for recognition-he served because it was the right thing to do.

May his legacy inspire a generation of civil servants who prioritize the public good over personal visibility.

This hit me harder than I expected. I grew up in Hong Kong, and I remember those pop-up stalls during Lunar New Year-before, they were chaotic; after So’s policy, they were vibrant and safe. He didn’t just make rules-he made space for people.

Also, my cousin works at a gaming startup that got funded by that $230M pot. She says he showed up at their pitch day just to listen. No suit, no press release. Just a guy who cared.

Rest easy, Mr. So. You built something real.

And yet, despite all this ‘quiet service,’ Hong Kong is still a colonial relic clinging to outdated economic models. Why celebrate a bureaucrat who upheld a system that suppresses dissent under the guise of ‘stability’? This is the same man who helped enable corporate monopolies while pretending to support ‘creatives.’

His ‘consensus’ was just compliance with the state. His ‘legacy’ is a facade.

Let’s not romanticize technocrats who serve authoritarian structures.

Wow so he was just another Chinese government puppet? Of course he got a gold star. They always reward the ones who make the colony look good while crushing real autonomy. You think he cared about street vendors? He cared about tourism revenue. He cared about keeping the mainland happy.

Don’t fall for the ‘quiet hero’ narrative. This is PR with a suit.

Man, I remember when they first rolled out the free public Wi-Fi in Mong Kok-no one knew who pushed it. Turns out, it was So. He’d show up at community centers with a thermos and ask old ladies how their noodle stalls were doing.

Most officials talk about ‘innovation.’ He just showed up, listened, and then made it happen. No fanfare. No selfies.

He didn’t need to be loud to be powerful. That’s the real lesson here.

It’s weird how the people who change the world the most are the ones who never show up on Instagram. So was the opposite of a influencer-he was a quiet architect. And now that he’s gone, you can feel the silence where his influence used to be.

Kinda makes you wonder how many other ‘So’s’ we’ve lost without even noticing.

Let’s be real-he was a bureaucrat who got lucky. The 5G rollout happened because mainland China forced it, not because he ‘lobbied.’ The Creative Fund? A PR move to distract from housing crises.

His ‘consensus’ was just silence from dissenters. And the Gold Bauhinia Star? A reward for loyalty, not merit.

He didn’t change anything. He just made it look like he did.

He died of ‘ill health’? Yeah right. They always say that. He was poisoned. The same people who gave him the Gold Bauhinia Star are the ones who silence anyone who questions the system. He knew too much. They made sure he didn’t outlive his usefulness.

Look at the timing-right after the new digital tax law was leaked. Coincidence? I think not.

Let’s be honest-he was a mid-tier civil servant with a nice pension. His ‘legacy’ is just corporate jargon dressed up as legacy. The Creative Industries Fund? A drop in the bucket. 5G? He didn’t build it-he just signed the paperwork.

People romanticize bureaucrats who never took a risk. That’s not leadership. That’s compliance with a title.

He was a footnote. Not a force.

I’m from New York, but I visited Hong Kong last year and saw how the tech hubs and street markets coexist now. My friend runs a tiny animation studio that got a grant because of him. He never knew who gave it to him.

That’s the kind of person you want running things. Not the ones screaming on TV. The ones who just… make it work.

Let’s deconstruct the mythos here. The ‘quiet architect’ narrative is a classic neoliberal tool-elevating technocrats to depoliticize systemic inequality. So’s policies were technocratic band-aids on structural wounds: wage stagnation, housing crisis, youth exodus.

His ‘consensus’ was the illusion of inclusion. His ‘legacy’? A beautifully curated PR campaign for a dying economic model.

Stop canonizing bureaucrats who optimize oppression.

I’ve seen how Hong Kong changed over the years. The way the city feels now-alive, creative, connected-it’s because of people like So. He didn’t need applause. He just wanted things to work better.

That’s a rare kind of love for a place.

Another one of those ‘quiet heroes’ who worked for the system that’s killing Hong Kong’s soul. You think he cared about street vendors? He cared about keeping tourists happy so the GDP numbers looked good.

Gold Bauhinia Star? More like Gold Propaganda Pin.

Wake up. This is not legacy. This is control.

Rest in peace, Mr. So. I’m from India, but I’ve followed Hong Kong’s economy for years. Your work on digital infrastructure inspired our own startup incubators. You didn’t just serve your city-you helped shape Asia’s future.

Thank you for working quietly. The world needs more like you. 🙏

he was the real deal. no flashy press confers, no tweets, just showed up, listened, fixed stuff. my uncle’s food stall in Kwun Tong got a grant because he came by one rainy night and asked how they could sell more. no one else did that.

hong kong won’t be the same without him. 😔

While the contrarian voices here attempt to reduce Mr. So’s legacy to political symbolism, they overlook the tangible, human impact of his work: the small business owner who now has a licensed stall, the young coder who received seed funding, the elderly resident who now has reliable broadband. These are not abstractions-they are lives altered by consistent, unglamorous dedication.

To dismiss his service as ‘performative’ is to misunderstand the very nature of effective governance: it is not spectacle, but sustained presence.