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Kwong Kwok Hung
Kwong Kwok Hung
Executive Committee Member,Nga Tsin Wai Village Committee
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1948 Age at Interview: 64 Education: Lower Secondary Occupation: Mechanics Theme: Community, Industry Kwong Kwok Hung was born in Hong Kong in 1948. His ancestral native place is Pinghu, Baoan County. After he was born, he lived with his parents and two elder sisters. The whole family lived in a rented room in an tenement house in Man Ming Lane, Yau Ma Tei. When Kwong Kwok Hung was old enough to perceive, his father was already working in the Public Works Department. At the time, many of their relatives also left Pinghu for Hong Kong. His mother was an indigenous resident of Tai Lam Liu Village, Sha Tin. When Kwong Kwok Hung was a child, his mother always took him to visit her parents at their home. His mother was a housewife, but she helped support the family by assembling plastic flowers and knitting gloves. Later on, his father won the 2nd or 3rd prize of the lottery. He used $6,000 to $7,000 of the winnings (which was more than$10,000) to purchase a house at No. 33 of the 1st Lane in Nga Tsin Wai. The family’s living conditions greatly improved when they moved from Yau Ma Tei to Nga Tsin Wai.
No. 33 of 1st Lane was only the correspondence address because the houses in Nga Tsin Wai were given no house numbers. It was thought that the former owner of the house was Ng Fat Tsai (Ng Yau Fat), who was the father of Ng Chi Wing the incumbent village headman. A transaction deed was signed between Kwong Kwok Hung’s father and Ng Yau Fat when the house was purchased. At the time, marriages between Nga Tsin Wai residents and Sha Tin villages were common. Many women married the villagers of Nga Tsin Wai. Ng Chi Wing’s mother was a villager of Wong Nai Tau, which was separated from Tai Lam Liu Village by a pit. Kwong Kwok Hung’s mother had known Ng Chi Wing’s mother since childhood. As a matter of fact, they were cousin sisters. It was for this reason that the Kwong family was able to purchase a village house.
Title Coming from a rural background, Kwong Kwok Hung’s mother bought a village house in Nga Tsin Wai for her family Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community,Social Life Duration 2m35s 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-KKH-HLT-001 Kwong Kwok Hung lived in a 2-storey tile-roofed house at No. 33 of the 1st Lane. He did not know what materials the walls were built of because the house was sandwiched by another house on both sides; he thought it was bricks or granite stones. When Kwong Kwok Hung was 6 years old, the family moved from Yau Ma Tei to Nga Tsin Wai. Each floor of the new home had an area of more than 200 sq. ft. But, Kwong Kwok Hung was too young to have the concept of ‘area’. He only felt that the house was spacious, and there was a playground outside the porch. In the old home in Man Ming Lane, there was no place for him to play. The only place he used to play was the Temple of Tin Hau where his elder sister took him to. He used to slide down the ramp in front of the Temple as a game. To him, the new home was a great contrast with the old home. The Kwong family lived on the second floor. The room was made his parents’ bedroom, his two elder sisters and he slept on a bunk bed in the living room. In summer, they would be most glad to sleep on the cool tiled floor, which was very clean because they would take off their shoes before climbing the stairs to the second floor.
Title Having moved to Nga Tsin Wai from a tenement building, the family’s new home and its surrounding kid-friendly areas felt more spacious Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community Duration 2m5s 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-KKH-HLT-002 In Kwong Kwok Hung’s home, the kitchen was situated at the end of the ground floor. It was connected with the porch by a corridor above was built a staircase leading to the second floor. The L-shaped kitchen had the width equivalent to that of an alley in the village and was installed with two stoves. When the Kwong family moved in, they no longer used the firewood but cooked with a kerosene stove. The family took a bath in the kitchen beside the stove for boiling water. When they bathed, they would close the small window which opened to the 2nd Lane. There was a water tank next to the kitchen. Because the government frequently implemented the water rationing measure, Kwong Kwok Hung’s father, who was a plumber and electrician, built a water tank with cement so as to eliminate the trouble of fetching water from the public standpipe with a bucket. The tank, which had the capacity of several buckets of water, was not a facility in most of the village houses in Nga Tsin Wai. But, with the water tank built, the Kwong family could not open the back door as some other village houses. Kwong Kwok Hung’s father did all the repair works for the water pipes and household electrical appliances. Kwong Kwok Hung and most of his peers had equipped themselves with some kind of ‘technical skills’ for practical use, so all households in the village painted their own houses.
Title Kwong Kwok Hung's family created a shelter forthemselves by mastering technical expertise Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community Duration 2m15s 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-KKH-HLT-003 Most of Kwong Kwok Hung’s childhood playmates have become members of the Nga Tsin Wai Village Committee now, including Ng Chi Wing, Kong Chi Yin and Ng Siu Kei. Kwong Kwok Hung was poorer than his peers in academic performance because he was not interested in studies. When he was in primary school, he attended the morning session which ended at 1 pm. After he returned home, he did not do his homework and played the whole afternoon. He would have pogs and ball games in the open space (which was still the mud ground) at the gatehouse. When he grew older, he would go catching jumping spiders in the shooting range at the foot of Lion Rock with friends. Because live fire exercises were carried out at the range, to ensure safety they only went up the mountain when no exercise was held. They travelled to and from the range on foot. Each hunt lasted for 2 to 3 hours. They must return home before sunset to avoid being punished by their parents.
Title Childhood peers enjoyed endless fun just running through the mountains Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community Duration 1m44s 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-KKH-HLT-004 Nga Tsin Wai villagers often helped each other out by tipping friends off about jobs where they w...Kwong Kwok Hung got a job as a vessel machinery apprentice in a factory in Ap Lei Chau when he was 14 or 15 years old. That was his first formal job. Ng Sui Mo was the first Nga Tsin Wai villager who worked in that factory. He had become a qualified worker when Kwong Kwok Hung started his apprenticeship. Ng Sui Mo first referred Ng Chi Wing to work in the factory, and Ng Chi Wing recommended Kwong Kwok Hung to the apprenticeship. At the time, four young Nga Tsin Wai villagers were employed by the factory as apprentices, Kwong Kwok Hung was the third of them who joined the factory. He learned from the qualified worker the skills to repair the machines of shrimp boats and fishing boats.During the period of apprenticeship, he lived and had meals in the factory and earned a monthly salary of $20. He would have 1 or 2 days off after working for a considerable period of time. When he had holidays, he would go home with several young Nga Tsin Wai villagers. Kwong Kwok Hung and other apprentices did not complete their apprenticeship. They collectively resigned after one year or so. By then, they had barely learned the basic skills. Later on, Ng Chi Wing and Kwong Kwok Hung were employed by the Pepsi Cola freezer manufacturer which operated factories in San Po Kong and To Kwa Wan. They were employed as semi-skilled blacksmiths and earned a monthly salary of $80. Shortly afterwards, Ng Chi Wing became a sailor through referral of Ng Sui Mo. Originally, Ng Chi Wing was supposed to be employed by the Jardine Shipping Services, but he joined another company, so he asked Kwong Kwok Hung to fill the post he was supposed to take.
Title Nga Tsin Wai villagers often helped each other out by tipping friends off about jobs where they worked Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community Duration 2m55s 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-KKH-HLT-005 After Kwong Kwok Hung left the Public Works Department, he opened an electronic component factory jointly with his siblings in the hope of making a fortune by working hard to develop his own business. At the time, the electronics industry was at its prime, many radio manufactures were set up in San Po Kong. The factory was opened by his elder sister’s husband who was a merchandiser of an electronics factory. Kwong Kwok Hung and his younger brother were responsible for operation of the factory. They purchasing two die cutting machines and set up a workshop at home. They took orders from radio manufacturers and hired mold makers to produce the molds according to product drawings from clients. When the molds were done, they produced with the die cutting machines. The product price depended on the order size: the greater the order, the lower the die-making cost and the lower the unit price. The electronic component factory continued to expand in scale, so the Kwong brothers rented two factory flats with a total area of several thousand square feet. A large labour force was not needed, they only had to hire workers who had the skills to adjust the molds and operate the die cutting machines. Kwong Kwok Hung guided the workers on work safety.
Title Kwong Kwok Hung set up his own business in Nga Tsin Wai starting from a home workshop Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community,Industry Duration 2m15s 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-KKH-HLT-006 Kwong Kwok Hung got married at the age of 21 when he was still working in the Public Works Department. After marriage, he moved out of Nga Tsin Wai with his wife because the house was too small. His wife had lived in the village longer than he did. Before she was married, she lived on the 5th Lane next to Ng Siu Kei’s family. At the time, several plots of vacant land existed on the 5th Lane. Kwong Kwok Hung had no feelings when he moved out of the village. To him, it is natural for a married person to move out of the family. He rented a room in Hung Hom and then moved to other places such as To Kwa Wan and Jordan Road. In every place, he lived in a rented room for 6 months to 1 year.About 6 years after moving out of Nga Tsin Wai, he moved back with his family when Tsang Ngan Mui offered the 2nd floor of her house on the 1st Lane for lease. Kwong Kwok Hung rented the flat for a low rent, and his children were taken care by their grandparents. Tsang Ngan Mui’s house was a two-storey building which was obviously taller than the adjacent houses. About one year later, Kwong Kwok Hung moved into a public housing flat of Lek Yuen Estate in Sha Tin with his wife and children. Kwong Kwok Hung submitted the public housing application when he was still working in the Public Works Department. As a civil servant then, he had greater chance of success in the application. He had lived in Lek Yuen Estate for more than 20 years. Now he lives in an Home Ownership Scheme flat in Ma On Shan which he moved in some years ago.
Title Kwong Kwok Hung felt indifferent when moving away from Nga Tsin Wai Date 26/06/2012 Subject Social Life 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-KKH-HLT-007 Kwong Kwok Hung remembers that China State Bank was the first buyer which intended to acquire Nga Tsin Wai. Lee Tong and Ng Fat Tsai (They were relatives: Lee Tong is the husband of Ng Fat Tsai’s elder sister.) represented the villagers in the negotiations with the China State Bank, but the talks were fruitless. Later on, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited took over the negotiations but reached no consensus with the villagers. Although knowing that it was impossible to acquire the whole village, Cheung Kong proposed to acquire houses with vacant possession with the price of $620,000, and pay $560,000 for houses without vacant possession. Kwong Kwok Hung thought Cheung Kong planned to acquire the plots one by one and apply to the government for land exchange with title deeds. Cheung Kong asked Lee Foo the village headman to liaise with the villagers and would reward him with $1,000 as traffic allowance for each successful referral of house sale.Lee Foo notified the Kwong family of the acquisition. Kwong Kwok Hung supported to sell the house because his parents were old and the living conditions of the village houses were poor although the only advantage was relatively close neighbour relations. Kwong Kwok Hung agreed as soon as he was told the Cheung Kong’s offer, and the house was sold for $620,000. The Kwong family purchased a flat in Sui Wo Court as the parents’ residence. A balance of more than $100,000 was left of the proceedings after paying the purchase price. Upon acquisition, Cheung Kong sealed the houses immediately and demolished them shortly after. Kwong Kwok Hung does not consider it to be a pity. He thought the houses should be demolished because this could prevent the former owners from returning as well as the drug addicts from occupying the vacant houses.
Title Kwong Kwok Hung’s house was demolished immediately after it was sold to Cheung Kong Holdings Date 26/06/2012 Subject Community Duration 2m12s 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-KKH-HLT-008