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To Sui Wan
To Sui Wan
Garment Factory Supervisor
Sex: Female Birthyear: Early 1950s Age at Interview: 58-60 Education: Primary Occupation: Garment Worker Theme: Industry To Sui Wan lived in a low-cost housing estate in Tai Hang Tung with her mother, elder brothers and elder sisters. When she did not have to work, she helped her mother with the housework. When To Sui Wan came to Hong Kong, her elder sister already had 4 to 5 children, To Sui Wan always took care of them for her. To thank her contribution to the family, her brother-in-law would give her 5-dollar red packets on the Lunar New Year. However, her mother showed some disagreement.
Title Being self-disciplined and understanding since she was young: "I will do whatever I should do!" Date 05/09/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m16s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-001 Through a friend, she started working as a child labour in a woollen knitting factory when she was 11. Because she was under the statutory age to work (not less than 16 years old), she borrowed somebody’s identity card for the job interview. At the time, the identity card only showed the holder’s name but no photograph. In her opinion, child labour was nothing bad because it enabled an underaged to earn a living and it also served as a way for the children not able to go to school to have something to do.
Title Reflection on Child Labour: "It is better to feed them rather to let them wander on the streets." Date 05/09/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m38s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-002 Changing jobs frequently in her worklife: "Resigned on the morning then started new job in the fa...In the 1960s, To Sui Wan wokred in Yee Sing Woollen Kniiting Factory in San Po Kang. One day afternoon she saw a job advertisement on the street. She knew the factory nearby, Fung Lee Woollen Factory, employed stitching worker. The following day she applied a half-day leave in Yee Sing and went to Fung Lee to work for a trial. She worked from 2pm to 9pm and earned a total of $12 in the first day, which was far higher than her $7.5 daily wage in Yee Sing. So she moved to Fung Lee for better payment.
Title Changing jobs frequently in her worklife: "Resigned on the morning then started new job in the factory nearby in the afternoon." Date 25/07/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m42s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-003 When To Sui Wan worked in woollen knitting factories, afterwork sometimes she joined her colleagues to play majong on a boat of typhoon shelter. They usually set off at 11pm and had mah-jong games for five or six hours. They directly went to work in the morning after the game. On one occasion, when they arrived at the seashore at 11pm, the grandmother was off with her customers so they rented a room in a guesthouse and played mah-jong games overnight. For several decades, the scene of mah-jong games on the boat always come to her mind. Memories of her youth amused her, but she would describe her childhood as ‘silly’. Her family did not know what she did in her leisure time.
Title A colorful youthhood: "Those lives were crazy!." Date 05/09/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m41s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-004 Qualification of a female supervisor in garment industry: "If you know management, you don't need...In her opinion, an ‘elder sister’ (i.e. a female supervisor) must have the management skill so she could allocate tasks to workers. Besides, she had to win her superior’s trust so he granted her the authority to do the job. An ‘elder sister’ needed not be skillful in garment production tasks. Some ‘elder sisters’ did not know how to use the sewing machine at all. However, it would surely be an advantage if she had good knowledge of garment production because she could do it herself if the workers were not cooperative.
Title Qualification of a female supervisor in garment industry: "If you know management, you don't need to do much yourself." Date 25/07/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m27s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-005 To Sui Wan has great interest in sewing garments and is satisfied with her job so she has never thought of changing her occupation. The garment industry is constantly advancing with new designs coming up. In recent years, To Sui Wan engages in the design profession and produces clothes for use in movies and commercials. This gives her great satisfaction.
Title Enjoy her garment industry career: "Even today I am still an apprentice." Date 05/09/2009 Subject Industry Duration 1m Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. LKF-TSW-HLT-006