Sex: | Male |
Birthyear: | 1945 |
Age at Interview: | 66 |
Education: | Primary |
Occupation: | Restaurant owner |
Theme: | Community |
Chan Kwong Yiu was born in his hometown Chaoyang in 1945. He finished primary schooling in his hometown. He came to Hong Kong in 1958. His father worked as an egg incubation master in Yuen Long. Then he ran a chicken farm in Ping Shan. Upon his arrival to Hong Kong, Chan worked as a delivery boy in his aunt’s grocery store, Man Sang Lung Foreign Wine Store. His monthly wage was $30. His work offered him many opportunities to visit places like ballrooms, hotels, Dai Pai Dongs and opium-smoking dens so that he understood dealings of pornography, gambling and drugs in Yam Ma Tei. In 1963 he left Man Sang Lung and helped his father to run a grocery store in Kwun Tong. In 1969, Chan together with his father and brothers started their own business. They bought two shop premises in Canton Road and founded Tai On Coffee & Tea Shop which was close to Kam Wah Theatre and Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter. Business was very prosperous in 1970s. Customers included movie audiences, boat people and coolies. As the typhoon shelter was progressively reclaimed and Kam Wah Theatre was rebuilt, business of Tai On was affected. In 1980 Tai On reduced its scale to one shop. Recently Chan had sold the shop and rented it back from the buyer.