Press Release - February 14, 2007

An interactive lecture presented today (Wednesday) by Senator Vivenne Poy on her new book at the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto illustrates a remarkable story of how Hong Kong has evolved from a fishing village to an international financial centre.

The lecture kicked off the Asian Institute's "Hong Kong in 2007 Series: A Prospective Retrospective". The series of lectures and events marks the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) – when Hong Kong's sovereignty was returned to China on July 1, 1997. Upcoming lectures include and . Other events include two video conferences, including , a session devoted to Hong Kong Art & Design and a Hong Kong Film Festival.

Senator Poy's book, which depicts the history of modern China and Hong Kong through the history of her family, is a fitting way to launch the Series. The Director of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO), the official representative of the HKSAR Government in Canada, Mr Bassanio So, took the opportunity to thank the Asian Institute and the Richard Charles Lee Canada Hong Kong Library for presenting the Series and featuring Senator Poy. "I'm excited about Senator Poy's new book as it truly is a reminiscence of Hong Kong's 'can-do' and 'entrepreneurial' spirit – traits that Hong Kong people always take pride in and well-recognized for," he said.

The book focuses on the family's last four generations, in particular, Poy’s grandfather Lee Hysan and her father Richard Charles Lee Ming Chak. As one of the most eminent families in Hong Kong, distinguished by phenomenal success in business and public service, the Lees' experiences reflect the development of the Chinese people in modern times and illustrate the polynodal connections of an important segment of Hong Kong elites during the second half of the 20th century. To Senator Poy, writing this book was like "writing the history of modern China and Hong Kong, on a very personal level."

Certainly, her intelligent and absorbing portrait is set in the broader context of twentieth century Hong Kong and Chinese history, and illuminates many dimensions of Hong Kong society. According to History Professor Diana Lary of the University of British Columbia, the book is "a moving and evocative study of Hong Kong’s recent history", and that "Vivienne Poy captures the richness and the complexity of this history through the study of her own remarkable family, the Lee Family". Succinctly put by Professor Ruth Hayhoe of the University of Toronto, "the story of Hong Kong’s Lee Hysan Family is, in many ways, the story of Hong Kong".
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For more information, please contact:
Stephen Siu, Assistant Director (Public Relations), Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: (416)924-5544 or email: [email protected] or
Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected]

Pictured from left are Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, Mr Stephen Siu; Director of the HKETO, Mr Bassanio So; author of "Profit, Victory & Sharpness - The Lees of Hong Kong", Senator Vivenne Poy; Chief Librarian of the University of Toronto, Ms Carole Moore; and Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Eric Fong, performing the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the launch of the "Hong Kong in 2007 Series: A Prospective Retrospective" held in Toronto today (Wednesday).

Click here to download a Chinese version of this press release in PDF format.