HK actress Josephine Siao's husband, veteran newsman Clarence Chang, dies at 82

Clarence Chang had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May. Photo: St Stephens College/Facebook

Hong Kong star Josephine Siao has announced that her husband of more than four decades, Clarence Chang, died last Thursday (Aug 11).

He died in his sleep, surrounded by his family, at the age of 82. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May.

The news initially broke on Friday (Aug 12), after a friend posted about it on Facebook. but Siao later confirmed it to Hong Kong media.

Chang was her second husband, whom she married in 1980. They have two daughters.

Siao, 75, was a child actress who successfully continued acting even into adulthood. Though she has not acted since the 1990s, her body of work is impressive and include An Orphan's Tragedy (1955) with Bruce Lee, Fist of Fury 1991 with Stephen Chow and Summer Snow (1995), for which she won Best Actress at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1996, she was also bestowed with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a prestigious order given to those who have made significant contributions to the arts and sciences.

Chang was renowned as a pioneer in journalism, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP). A veteran newsman in Hong Kong, he began his career at global wires service Agence France-Presse in 1961.

He went on to serve as general manager of SCMP, Hong Kong's English-language newspaper of record. Chang also helped to start live broadcasts of Chinese-language news on television, and establish satellite technology in the territory.

In his later years, he taught journalism at the Hong Kong Baptist University. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network