Ng Siu Hung

Both Ng Siu Hung, his father and his grandfather was borned in Nga Tsin Wai. He almost stayed in the village for his entire life. Ng Siu Hung was born in Nga Tsin Wai in 1943 and grew up in his ancestral home with his parents and an elder and a younger sister. His grandfather regularly smoked opium in the village while his grandmother farmed pigs to support them. Ng Siu Hung was born during Hong Kong’s occupation by the Japanese army. His father had worked as a farmer during his early years and was over 40 when Ng Siu Hung was born. As the older man was forced into hard labour away from his home by the Japanese occupiers, he was not present when Ng Siu Hung was born. After the war ended, Ng Siu Hung’s father returned to Hong Kong and ran a hawker business with his wife. The older man subsequently took up a Government job at the airport when his son was around 10. Ng Siu Hung’s grandparents and father all lived and died in Nga Tsin Wai. Ng Siu Hung himself was born and raised in the village, getting married and starting a family in an ancestral property his grandchildren also called home.

Ng Siu Hung grew up in a big family in Nga Tsin Wai. Both his elder and younger uncles were respected elders. Ng Siu Hung’s father originally had more than ten brothers and sisters, most of whom had died young, leaving only his father with his eldest and youngest brothers. Ng Siu Hung’s eldest uncle had poor hearing in his old age and villagers called him “Deaf Uncle”. In his early years, Deaf Uncle was employed by shipping companies like Swire and P & O, working on ocean liners. When he was around 60, Deaf Uncle retired and returned to Hong Kong having spent most of his life working overseas. The old man had held the title of “Committee member” (the former name for Manager and Director) and handled the affairs of the village and clan while still young. He was also the person in charge of Tin Hau Temple.

Ng Siu Hung’s youngest uncle became a policeman upon completion of his studies, initially working as a civilian sergeant. After a quarrel with some people with backgrounds, he was demoted to a uniformed role. As a result, he soon quit and returned to the village. Already a policeman before the war, this uncle worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years. Despite having won the trust of the villagers when managing village affairs and ancestral properties, he held no official title and was rarely ever photographed in public.

Ng Siu Hung’s family owned three ancestral houses in Nga Tsin Wai. Family life was warm despite the overcrowded environment.  His father and youngest uncle lived in one of these properties in 1st Lane, while his eldest uncle and his family occupied two private properties in 2nd Lane. The 1st Lane house had an area of 0.01 acres (approx. 430-square feet) and was a two-storey granite dwelling with a tile roof. In all, over 10 people lived here, with Ng Siu Hung’s family occupying the upper level of the building. During his childhood, Ng Siu Hung stayed with his parents and younger sisters, while his older sister moved out after getting married and Ng Siu Hung’s wife later married into the village. Ng Siu Hung’s youngest uncle’s family lived in the lower level and included his uncle and aunt and his six counsins.

Ng Siu Hung and his family members slept in two bunk beds, arranged in a ‘T’ pattern which were hidden away by the drawing of draperies at bedtime. The house was simply furnished with just basic cabinets and cardboard boxes to fill the space. In the old days, there were no electrical appliances such as TVs and washing machines. A fan and a folding table for dinner were placed in the living room, while there were some spaces for putting miscellaneous items under the bed. Although they lived together, the two families of his father and youngest uncle prepared and took their meals separately. Typical dishes this branch of the family enjoyed included stewed or steamed pork, poached chicken, stir-fried vegetables and steamed fish. The entire family mostly sat down to enjoy meals together.

Ng Siu Hung's choice of career was influenced by his elder and younger uncles. After he had finished primary school , he studied at an English evening school. Two years later  he dropped out and took a job. His youngest uncle suggested that Ng Siu Hung became a policeman as he had connections and referring him for admission would not be difficult. His eldest uncle disagreed. Claiming that “It’s always better for a boy to have a rotten batting”, he advised his nephew to learn a craft. So Ng Siu Hung decided to start a career in machinery industry. He was a mechanics for more than 10 years after he finished his apprenticeship. When the machinery industry hit hard times later, he found it hard to make ends meet, so he changed career to seafaring. As Ng Siu Hung had some knowledge of machines he was successfully employed by a local shipping company. Starting in the mid-1970s, his career as a sailor lasted for more than 20 years, most of them spent working on ocean liners. He was forced to spend much of his life outside Hong Kong. 

Ng Siu Hung’s family owned three ancestral houses in Nga Tsin Wai which were respectively located in the 1st, 5th and 6th Lanes. The 1st Lane house was the family’s ‘official’ ancestral house as it had been built by Ng Siu Hung’s ancestors in the days when the walls of the village had first been put in place. As the house had subsequently been passed down from generation to generation with no formal transfer of ownership, the property had no title deed. The ancestral homes at 5th and 6th lanes were purchased during the Japanese occupation. At that time, some brothers in the clan sold the houses to Ng Siu Hung’s grandfather due to financial difficulties, with all transactions being handled by Ng Siu Hung’s father. The old man only signed his elder brother’s name, Ng Shu Hing, on the title deeds.

Ng Siu Hung’s father and youngest uncle later informed him that Ng Shu Hing had handled all procedures for registering the title deeds with the District Office by adding in his two younger brothers’ names. When Ng Siu Hung began negotiating with the URA on acquisition matters in recent years, he was surprised to learn that only the 1st Lane house had completed the required name adding formalities. He also discovered that the remaining two houses’ title deeds were still solely in the name of his eldest uncle. Since his elder uncle, father and yougner all passed away, Ng Siu Hung was not recognized as a  legal heir. During his negotiation with URA, he had to follow nowadays' legal requirements. The fact that walled village traditions were not applicabe enraged him very much.

Ng Siu Hung succeeded his youngest uncle and became manager of ancestral trust. His youngest uncle was the former Manager of Ng Yat Un Tso . Ng Siu Hung ended his career as a sailor in 1992. When his youngest uncle withdrew from clan affairs in 1993, Ng Siu Hung succeeded him as Manager of Ng Shing Tat Tso and Ng Yat Un Tso. His youngest uncle firstly invited Ng Siu Hung to take over as Ng Yat Un Tso’s Manager, and then convened a meeting for the eight descent lines’ clansmen to discuss the managerial candidates for Ng Shing Tat Tso. Ng Siu Hung’s youngest uncle recommended his nephew in this meeting. Although other clansmen preferred another candidate, Ng Siu Hung was eventually elected by the majority of the attendees.  

Ng Siu Hung had fought for the preservation of Nga Tsin Wai but his efforts were in vain. In the early 2000s, Ng Siu Hung and several villagers put up banners at the gatehouse to protest against CKH’s demolition of their homes, hoping that the Government would preserve Nga Tsin Wai. By that time, some 80% of the walled village was still intact and the living environment inside was acceptable. Those trying to protect the village were limited in number and financial resources and found it hard to attract support. As residents’ children had far better financial conditions, many of them had already bought homes away from the village. As homes in Nga Tsin Wai were difficult to rent out or maintain, the younger generation advocated selling them as soon as possible. Ng Siu Hung believed that even if older residents refused to sell, their children would eventually dispose of the properties anyway. As a result, proper redevelopment of the walled village became imperative. Those who stayed faced an increasingly deteriorating environment, becoming so frustrated they would give up their ancestral homes. Ng Siu Hung sighs now that “people don’t cherish what they have when they have it. They only remember it fondly when it is about to be destroyed and will soon vanish forever.” 

Ng Siu Hung emphasized on his family contribution to the walled village. While he paid HK$1 in taxes (Editor’s note : Government rent) on behalf of Tin Hau Temple for many years, he never knew its title ownership. Some of the villagers even thought that the temple and its lands were owned by Ng Siu Hung’s family. As a result, he made a guarantee in writing with the elders. The document stated that even if the title to the property was established to belong to his grandfather or eldest uncle and if the Government requested demolition of the temple, he and the other descendants would waive their right to claim for compensation. As a result, any compensation money paid out would automatically become a public asset. Ng Siu Hung believed that his ancestors had donated the land to build the temple in order to appease both the gods and serve the walled village. For this reason, the temple and its lot should be a public property.  

Ng Siu Hung remembers his childhood as being a time of innocence and fun. He grew up with clansmen with similar ages. He went home after classes dropping his school bag and rushing out to play with his friends. He was a naughty boy back then and liked to run and hide amongst the houses. As his neighbours were mostly relatives, they all knew him and his playmates very well. They simply shot marbles and picked soda bottle caps from the sandy ground, scuffling playfully in a group as they did so. The playmates also went up into the hills to catch jumping spiders and pick gooseberries and wild gooseberries. On hot days and during holidays, they paddled in the water in the huge sewer (Editor’s note: now call Kai Tak Nullah) and went swimming in the valleys of Diamond Hill which was free of any water pollution.