Faye Leung, a B.C. businesswoman who was known as the Hat Lady, passed away earlier this month at the age of 92.
A real estate agent and prominent member of the Victoria and Vancouver Chinatown communities, Leung gained notoriety for her role in the downfall of then B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm over the sale of his theme park.
Leung arranged the sale of Fantasy Gardens in Richmond, B.C., for $16 million in 1990 to Taiwanese billionaire Tan Yu.
A 1991 inquiry by conflict commissioner Ted Hughes found Vander Zalm breached conflict-of-interest guidelines.
Hughes was asked to conduct the inquiry following controversy over Vander Zalm setting up meetings for Yu with his finance minister and the lieutenant-governor.
The public furor also included a late-night hotel meeting between Vander Zalm and Yu, who, according to a tape recording Leung provided Hughes, handed the then-premier an envelope stuffed with $20,000 US in $100 US bills.
Listen | The Early Edition interviews the Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason, who knew Leung well:
The Early Edition5:51B.C. businesswoman Faye Leung “The Hat Lady” dies at 92
A Vancouver trailblazer and businesswoman has died. Faye Leung – also known as the ‘Hat Lady’ — passed away at the age of 92. We speak to someone who knew her well. The Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason joins us.
Hughes said in his report that he didn’t believe Leung’s explanations or Vander Zalm’s, who told the court he took the money for safekeeping.
Vander Zalm resigned as premier in April 1991. He was acquitted of breach of trust in a criminal trial the following year.
Months after Zander Zalm’s resignation, his Social Credit Party, which had dominated provincial politics for nearly four decades with only a brief stint in opposition in the ’70s, finished third behind the New Democrats and the upstart B.C. Liberals in the October 1991 provincial election.
Leung gained attention for her role in the scandal, her rapid-fire speaking style and her penchant for flamboyant hats.
Gary Mason, a columnist with the Globe and Mail, remembers Leung as a warm person with a quirky personality who “kind of stumbled into this moment in B.C. political history.”
“Faye Leung kind of fit right into that whole era,” Mason told Gloria Macarenko on CBC’s The Early Edition. “She was amusing, but, in a way, didn’t really stand out because there were so many bizarre characters that surrounded Vander Zalm at that time … she was just one of them.”
A post on Leung’s Facebook page said she passed away on Nov. 1. It said Leung was born in Victoria and raised in the Chinatowns of both Victoria and Vancouver. It described her as a champion of the Chinese Canadian community who paved the way “for future generations to thrive in a society that once marginalized them.”
“Faye’s energetic, unrelenting personality, laced with intricately detailed stories, made her a force of nature that left a lasting impression on all who met her,” the post said.
WATCH | Bill Vander Zalm resigns:
A conflict-of-interest scandal topples the flamboyant premier.