Dr Joseph LEE, GBS, OStJ, JP

Joseph Lee has established himself as a seasoned entrepreneur in the fields of social services, manufacturing and trading industries. He is the founder of Wofoo Plastics Limited, one of the oldest manufacturers of PVC compounds in Asia. Upon completing his studies and briefly working in the United States, Dr Lee returned to his hometown Hong Kong 50 years ago and dedicated his time to building partnerships and cultivating a harmonious community over the past 30 years. Through Wofoo Social Enterprises, he has strived to improve the social impact of public-private-partnerships through instigating different initiatives and various business models.

Dr Lee received the Young Industrialist Award from the Federation of Hong Kong Industries in 1991 and the Honorary Fellowship by the Professional Validation Centre of Hong Kong Plastics and Metal Industries in 2000. He received Honorary Doctorates from the Hong Kong Baptist University, the City University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong in 2011, 2017 and 2021 respectively, and was named University Fellow by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2015, Honorary Fellow by the City University of Hong Kong in 2014, by the Vocational Training Council in 2015 and by Tung Wah College in 2022.

Committed to serving our country and the community, he served three consecutive terms as a Deputy of the National People’s Congress of the PRC. He chaired various government boards including Commission on Youth, Environmental Campaign Committee, Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, and Applied Research Council, and held vice-chairmanship of Vocational Training Council, deputy-chairmanship of the Consultative Committee on Economic and Trade Co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and vice-chairmanship of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force of Commission on Poverty. He also served in many other government boards.

Dr Lee has been awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2013 for his great enthusiasm and dedication to the public and community service in the past decades, particularly his signification contributions and devotion to charitable activities, social enterprises, educational service and youth development. Dr Lee has been appointed as the Justice of the Peace in 2003, and has been awarded Bronze Bauhinia Star and Silver Bauhinia Star in 2000 and 2008 respectively.