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Wong Wing Man
Wong Wing Man
Retired Manager, Engineering, Amoy Food Limited
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1934 Age at Interview: 76 Education: Primary Occupation: Manager Theme: Industry Wong Wing Man thought that today’s canned dace with salted black was not delicious. Amoy’s canned dace with salted black beans tasted excellent and gave off a mouthwatering aroma when deep-fried with lard and Amoy’s salted black beans. Amoy was the first company in Hong Kong to produce canned dace with salted black beans. After relocating its plant from Ngau Tau Kok to Tsuen Wan, the company eventually ceased production of this product.
Title Amoy made canned dace with salted black beans with own recipe Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m10s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-001 When Amoy Industrial Estate was located at Ngau Tze Wan, the most popular form of entertainment in those days was fishing for clams and crabs. The seaside was just across the road opposite the main entrance of Amoy Industrial Estate. Many workers took buckets to catch the clams and crabs and returned home with full loads almost every time. Wong Wing Man liked basketball and always tried to play during lunch breaks and after work. Workers’ lives tended to be simple and modest.
Title Amoy’s workers spent their leisure time after work playing basketball in a court and catching crabs and netting clams at the seaside Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m19s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-002 Wong Wing Man and his colleagues had a great time playing basketball with fellow workers and goin...Wong Wing Man enjoyed many happy moments when working at Amoy. He had learned many valuable lessons at Amoy after he came to Hong Kong. He played basketball after work and joined company picnics with fellow workers. In the past, Hung Mui Kuk in Sha Tin was the favourite destination for Amoy company outings. Workers brought along rattan cases filled with peanut butter sandwiches for lunch to these days out. He also went swimming with his lads from different departments in Clear Water Bay every Sunday.
Title Wong Wing Man and his colleagues had a great time playing basketball with fellow workers and going on company picnics Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m25s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-003 Wong Wing Man enjoyed Amoy’s good welfare. Amoy was really a big family. Free meals were provided to male workers every day. On every Sunday, staff took their families to dine in the estate canteen and brought home any leftovers. Children could also play on the Amoy basketball court. The company even had a laundry room and hired three female workers for washing. It cost only $4 a month to have the entire family’s clothes and bed sheets cleaned!
Title Workers wrapped up food remains on holidays and used an affordable in-house monthly laundry service Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m32s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-004 Wong Wing Man’s happiest memory came in the last half hour of each year’s last working day (Lunar calendar) when Amoy’s general manager passed everyone their annual bonus. Amoy’s bonus came in the form of $10 bank notes (commonly known as ‘cotton blanket’), some of which Wong Wing Man still treasures nearly half a century on.
Title Staff were happiest when receiving their year-end bonuses Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 2m9s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-005 Amoy first had its own staff basketball team to participate in the Factory Cup and the company la...The basketball team formed by Amoy’s employees participated in matches for the annual Factory Cup tournament. Organised by the Hong Kong Basketball Association, this challenge was open to all factories in Hong Kong. Later, Amoy’s management hired top local basketball stars to form a professional team and participate in open matches in Hong Kong and Singapore for promotional purposes. The professional team was coached by Shek Chun Tat.When not playing in open matches, the pros played against teams of employees in order to allow the staff players to sharpen their skills. Called the Lucky Team, the Amoy employees’ team played in two or three open matches and was rated as being a dark horse by the press.
Title Amoy first had its own staff basketball team to participate in the Factory Cup and the company later recruited professionals to play in open matches Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m52s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-006 In the past, everyone at Amoy, from the boss to the workers, was like one big family. As a result, there was never any problem in maintaining good working relationships. During the 1967 riots in Hong Kong, some looters wanted to break into the Amoy plant but found employees there were so united that they took turns to guard and stop intruders at the factory gates!
Title Workers united to guard the Amoy factory during the 1967 riot Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m4s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-007 Wong Wing Man was regretted when Amoy was sold to Sime Darby, but stayed in touch with old boss a...Wong Wing Man felt sad about Amoy’s sale to Sime Darby. The company had a long and distinguished history and the offspring of his old boss remained in constant contact with him. Though he has long retired, the former and current managers, old colleagues and past workers at Amoy continue to meet Wong Wing Man in teahouses to this day.
Title Wong Wing Man was regretted when Amoy was sold to Sime Darby, but stayed in touch with old boss and former colleagues. Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m30s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-008 Wong Wing Man saw Amoy as his second home and gave him a strong sense of loyalty that sustained him for more than 50 years. Amoy’s employer-employee relations were very good, with both bosses and workers getting along very well. Determined to take good care of its employees, Amoy offered excellent welfare benefits and was one of the first companies in Hong Kong to set up a provident fund and retirement pension scheme for its staff. Wong Wing Man is now close to 80 and is living on his provident fund and retirement scheme. He looks back on his career at Amoy with great fondness.
Title Wong Wing Man regarded Amoy as a second home Date 05/10/2010 Subject Industry Duration 1m20s 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. AY-WWM-HLT-009