When asked about the core of the spirit of Chaoshan business people, businesswoman Winnie Ko Pui Shuen, who recently took up the post of president of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce and became the first female leader of the chamber in 103 years, mentioned resilience, perseverance, a sense of responsibility, and a willingness to contribute.
HONG KONG, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- In September, businesswoman Winnie Ko Pui Shuen took up the post of President of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce and became the first female leader of the chamber in 103 years.
At a handover ceremony held earlier, under a photo wall of the previous presidents, Ko, chairman of garment company Kingrich Asia Holdings, received the chamber's seal wrapped in red brocade from her predecessor.
Founded in 1921, the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce is one of the oldest and most influential business organizations in Hong Kong. It gathered in the financial hub elites from the Chaoshan region, mainly including Chaozhou (called "Chiu Chow" in Cantonese) and Shantou cities in south China's Guangdong Province.
As the first female president of the chamber, Ko said with a smile that she did not feel any different.
"The Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce is a big family and a platform for generations of Chaoshan businessmen to unite and help each other. We believe that cooperation brings win-win results," said Ko, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
As the spirit of Chaoshan businessmen was passed down from generation to generation, Ko learned a lot from the sages. Chuang Shih-ping, an outstanding leader of the overseas Chinese community and a paragon of patriotic businessmen, was one of them.
"He tried his best to help those who encountered difficulties," Ko said, recalling Chuang's personality. "We, the younger generation, were deeply impressed by his love for the country."
At the beginning of the reform and opening up of the Chinese mainland, Chuang encouraged Hong Kong businessmen from the Chaoshan region to invest and start businesses in their hometown and develop in the mainland.
In the early 1980s, Ko, who was engaged in the textile industry in Hong Kong, returned to her hometown, Shantou, to seek business opportunities. In 1993, her clothing business expanded to Shenyang, the capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province.
Bringing her business management experience from Hong Kong to the mainland, Ko helped to drive the development of the textile industry in mainland cities.
Ko has consistently dedicated herself to fostering collaboration between Hong Kong, Shantou, and Shenyang, particularly in industrial cooperation and resource sharing.
"Hong Kong can establish brand design and promotion centers in the future, thereby creating an integrated collaboration model of industry, academia, and research across the three places," she said.
According to the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Database set up by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, there are about 1.2 million Chaozhou natives in Hong Kong and they actively carry on the cultural traditions of Chaozhou and Shantou.
In May 2023, with the efforts of Ko, a Qiaopi culture exhibition was successfully held in Hong Kong.
In the olden days, Qiaopi was a unique form of mail that combined remittances and family letters. It served as a bond between overseas Chinese and their family members back in China.
"Chaoshan natives who went abroad never forget their hometown. The first thing they did when they earned money was send it back to their hometown," Ko said.
Since many overseas Chinese were from the Chaoshan region, Qiaopi became a unique part of the Chaoshan culture. It was a kind of historical document that held significant value.
For many years, Ko has spared no effort to preserve and carry forward traditional Chinese culture, including providing substantial financial support to academic research projects on Qiaopi culture.
When asked about the core of the spirit of Chaoshan businessmen, Ko mentioned resilience, perseverance, a sense of responsibility, and a willingness to contribute.
"If a business is not beneficial to the society, no matter how profitable it is, we won't do it," Ko said, stressing the importance of contributing to the country and the society.
"This is our culture, and it's the reason why the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce has maintained a good reputation and has had wide influence in the city for over a century," she said.■