Hong Kong’s pre-eminent social housing pioneer honoured in the UK

Hong Kong's pre-eminent social housing pioneer honoured in the UK. Social reforming politician and pioneering landscape architect Donald Poon-huai Liao is made a Doctor of Science at Durham University in recognition of a career that has improved the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. Mr Liao, 82, has enjoyed a meteoric career as a landscape architect who revolutionised the approach to social housing in his adopted home of Hong Kong and laterally as a reforming politician was a moderniser who helped address the many issues relating to the region's more overcrowded districts. Mr Liao, originally from Taiwan, said: "I am so honoured to be awarded a Doctorate of Science by Durham University - the place I was able to first study landscape architecture after winning a precious British Council scholarship. "After being advised by a great mentor of mine to study the exciting and dynamic discipline of landscape architecture, I was very fortunate to do this at King's College Durham in 1957." Mr Liao was awarded a degree in landscape design from Durham University giving him the theoretical foundations for a career dedicated to designing and managing some of Hong Kong's most ambitious social housing projects. "The principles I developed at Durham shaped my later career working for the Hong Kong Housing Authority - the concept of decent large scale public and private sector residential developments," said Mr Liao.