Master Shek

In those days, there was a rock hill surrounded by agricultural lands immediately adjacent to the Chung Hwa printing plant that had been opened for many years. After it was eventually levelled, the hill became To Kwa Wan Sports Centre. At first, Chung Hwa’s security printing section was located in what is now the Merit Industrial Centre. A bus company subsequently bought this plot of land intending to build a garage there. After finding out that there was no water supply, the bus company sold the land to Merit who started constructing an industrial building. Back then, Kowloon City Ferry Pier - actually just a plank stretched out into the sea - was located along Kai Tak Road. Master Shek had been to the old pier to buy shrimps and eels. Right next to today’s Kowloon City Ferry Pier was a garbage jetty where cattle bound for the slaughterhouse were brought ashore. Once, Master Shek heard gunshots from outside his quarters in To Kwa Wan Road, he then realised that runaway cattle were shot! 

Looking back at the relationship between Chung Hwa’s workforce and management, Master Shek recalls that staff were mainly grouped into factions according to their native origins (e.g. Wuxi or Ningbo). Employees in the colour printing and letterpress printing rooms were mainly from Wuxi and Ningbo respectively, while those who operated large machines in the banknotes-printing room were mainly from Changzhou. While workers from different factions did not fight each other, those from the same home districts tended to enjoy closer relationships.
 

Master Shek did not have much time for entertainment when he worked at Chung Hwa as he was not fond of frittering money away foolishly. When relaxing outside working hours, he usually went climbing or swimming with his workmates. Some of them came from Master Shek’s own hometown while others were from places like Shanghai and Wuxi. As their accents and dialects were all similar, they had no problems in communicating with one and other. Popular activities in those days included climbing the Lion Rock and going swimming at North Point and Repulse Bay. Ritz Garden in North Point was a popular swimming venue as it offered very convenient transportation via ferries travelling between Kowloon City Ferry Pier and North Point. Back then, Ritz Garden was owned by Li Tsai Fa, an infamous Shanghai gangster who was renowned for helping to smuggle movie stars back to the safety of mainland China during the Japanese Occupation from 1941 to 1945. The Hong Kong Government recognised his bravery and gave him the Ritz Garden in return. 

Like many workers back then, Master Shek had a big family. Trying to support a wife and five kids proved to be a huge struggle. In an attempt to make ends meet, he and his wife took extra night shifts at Chung Hwa’s book binding workshop. Working on the third floor of the plant, they mainly bound Bibles, with labour charges calculated on a piece-rate basis. As this was classified as casual outsourced work to its own employees, Chung Hwa did not allow staff to work too late in case their performance the following day suffered. Master Shek had seen some workers secretly sneaking into the plant to earn a little extra to feed their families. On Sundays, he also did part-time jobs such as gold-stamping and book folding. In those years, some Chung Hwa colleagues resigned to set up their own businesses, opening up printing factories in North Point, Wan Chai and other places. Master Shek also joined several of his colleagues in taking casual shifts at these factories.  

The main reason behind Master Shek’s departure from Chung Hwa in 1971 was that the company’s General Manager sent him a beautiful calendar to use as a quality benchmark. He and another master were asked to do a trial print. Frustrated that he was denied the equipment and skills needed to competently complete such high-end jobs, he quit work. The fact that he had a family with five children and Chung Hwa’s wages were insufficient to support them all was another factor in his decision. He sent an application letter to Japanese company Toppan Printing and went on to start work for them. While there, Master Shek learned a great deal of new skills and techniques that would not have been possible at the more backward Chung Hwa.