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Wen Choy Bon
Wen Choy Bon
Former Councillor, Kowloon City District Council
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1943 Age at Interview: 69 Education: Lower Secondary Occupation: Factory Clerk Theme: Industry, Community Thanks to the bovine bone factories nearby, To Kwa Wan was always filled with a fault smell. Those factories collected bones from the nearby meat stalls, ground the collected bones into powder and then made fertilizers with it. However, the storage and the production process of the fertilizers attracted many flies, polluting the environment. A slaughterhouse, which was near Tien Chu and now known as Cattle Depot Artist Village, bred cattle, sheep and pigs that would be slaughtered and supplied to the markets after being quarantined. Those domestic animals were imported from Mainland China, some in large trucks or swine trucks, and some by sea. For those shipped by sea, dozens of animals were landed at an exclusive pier (which is now the area of Grand Waterfront and the nearby five streets), herd after herd, and were flocked to the slaughterhouse along Ma Tau Kok Road by the “cowboys”. Droppings of the cattle and pigs were found everywhere along the road, and suffered by the residents in the vicinity.
Title Landscapes and smells of the slaughterhouse and Kowloon City Pier Date 13/12/2012 Subject Community Duration 3m58s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-001 As Hong Kong’s industries flourished, To Kwa Wan greeted its own hey days. In 1962, when Wen arrived in To Kwa Wan for the first time, the local industries were not well developed. In the 1970s, the electronic industry boomed. Factories moved in industrial buildings with air conditioners installed to carry on their production. So, the industries of To Kwa Wan shifted from the northern area to the southern area. The old cottage factories and the ground workshops in the northern area were eliminated and replaced with modern residential buildings. Industrial buildings appeared one by one in the southern area, gathering in the Hoi Sham Area (i.e. the area along Yuk Yat Street).
Title Industrial development in To Kwa Wan: from northern to southern area Date 13/12/2012 Subject Industry| Community Duration 3m10s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-002 At noon, the senior staff of Tien Chu had their lunch in the canteen first, and the unfinished food was for the trainees’ lunch. Lunch hour was about an hour. Wen would occasionally take a stroll nearby, and what he met on the street were the workers who went out for lunch. There were many snack stores, Chinese tea restaurants, and Shanghai restaurants in the surrounding of Tien Chu (such as Mok Cheong Street and Kowloon City Road) providing cheap lunch for the workers. Female workers preferred to bring their own food to the factory. Workmates liked to come sitting together at the entrance of the factory, sharing laughter and food, which was all so harmonious and friendly. Taking advantage of lunchtime, Wen often went to Argyle Street Playground to play football, and then got back to work happily in sweats.
Title Lunch time of workmen in To Kwa Wan Date 13/12/2012 Subject Industry| Community Duration 3m8s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-003 In 1964, the FTU Workers’ Club was established at the junction of the Ma Tau Chung Road and Ma Tau Kok Road. Since the Club was near the factory of Tien Chu, Wen often joined the recreational activities held by the Union. Many workers liked to go singing or reading magazines in the Club after lunch, and the Club became the gathering place for workers from different industries. In the 1960s, FTU had mainly organized recreational activities such as singing and dancing classes. In the late 1970s, FTU established the Spare Time Study Centre to provide a platform for further studies for the workers. FTU was the only organization that protected the worker’s rights by then. Before the emergence of supermarkets, the Union purchased cheap goods in bulk and sold them to the workers at cost values, and hence the Club became an excellent shopping spot for workers. For example, workers usually bought oil, Chinese sausages and other New Year goods from the Union during the Chinese New Year season.
Title Functions of the HK Federation Of Trade Unions Workers' Club Date 13/12/2012 Subject Industry Duration 3m3s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-004 Wen lived and studied in Wan Chai when young. In 1962, after graduating from Senior Secondary Grade 2, he worked at Tien Chu Ve-Tsin factory in To Kwan Wan on his school’s referral. The factory was a large-scale manufacturer of gourmet powder of the Finger Citron brand and also some chemical products. Tien Chu Ve-Tsin factory offered comprehensive benefits. Dorms would be allocated to its married staff members. Wen was married in 1968 and was allocated by the factory a dorm in 164 Ma Tau Wai Road, which was near the dorms in Bailey Street. In 1976 he moved to Tien Hung Building in Ma Tau Kok Road due to the demolition of his dorm. In 1997, he moved to Jubilant Place.
Title Moved and settled in To Kwa Wan because of his work Date 20/12/2012 Subject Community Duration 3m20s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-005 Wen lived near the Six Streets at that time. He got acquainted with a group of like-minded members after joining the trade union. With the aim and experience of serving the neigbourhood, they established the Ma Tau Kok Six Streets Reconstruction Concern Group. Wen was elected Convener by the residents to discuss with the departments concerned and strive for reasonable compensation and relocation. He had a heavy workload in the Concern Group, often attending various meetings such as mass meetings and meetings with different government departments (for example the Lands Department). This was a great lesson for him to learn how to deal with the government departments in order to strive for reasonable rights in a meeting.
Title Participation in the negotiations abot Ma Tau Kok Six Streets Revelopment Date 20/12/2012 Subject Community Duration 2m36s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Permission for use is given by Wen Choy Bon Accession No. TKW-WCB-HLT-006