Dr. Chow Yei Ching, Prof. Ricky Kwok (2nd and 3rd from left), Dean Prof. Tien (2nd from right) and the nine graduates had a wonderful lunch last December.
One of the most successful entrepreneurs in Hong Kong, Dr. Chow Yei Ching, Chairman of the locally listed Chevalier Group, hosted two rounds of lunch party to share his wisdom accumulated over six decades of entrepreneurial experience with our lucky engineering graduates, accompanied by Dean Prof. Tien, Prof. Ricky Kwok and Prof. Alfonso Ngan.
The first round of lunch was held on a sunny Wednesday last December at the spectacular WaterMark restaurant. Under a splendid atmosphere garnished with a great sea view, Dr. Chow started off by telling an incredible story of riding his Harley-Davidson motorbike all the way from Hong Kong to Shanghai in 9 days. The most amazing part is that the trip happened not so long ago!
The second round of lunch was held in late January at the Hong Kong Aviation Club. Dr. Chow enjoys flying, but there are no airy-fairies in his life. Instead, his ways are always down-to-earth. And he believes one should not override the basic morals no matter what he/she is dealing with.
A certified pilot, Dr. Chow is clearly an ambitious adventurist and risk-taker, qualities that are essential for someone who aspires to be a successful entrepreneur. Indeed, when asked by students about what he thinks are the necessary ingredients for success, Dr. Chow, like many highly successful people, gave the “common sense” advice:
- Be truly sincere to people;
- Be honest;
- Work hard;
- Respect others (e.g., never be late—it is always better to arrive 5 minutes early than to be 5 minutes late); and
- Help others (e.g., giving out money but expect nothing in return).
Simple as these precepts might seem, we all know it is never easy to comply wholeheartedly with such “rules”. It is clear that Dr. Chow himself walks the walk, down to a very detailed level, evident in acts such as paying the bill in cash (and tipping the server) at the Watermark restaurant owned by the Chevalier Group. As “illustrative examples”, stories about his business dealings with Koreans and Japanese were told, and everyone was inspired by the important lessons about discipline, integrity and commitment.
Dr. Chow is a true patriot in that he expressed prudent concerns about our country in many aspects— economy, education, environment, etc.— despite its recent success on the world stage. In particular, he thinks that, to achieve sustainable success in our country, while university education is important, family education is extremely critical, too. Indeed, he very much values the traditional Chinese culture of bringing up a person— to become a decent individual （君子）. Specifically, he reminded us of an old saying: “Do a good deed and want people to know, that is not a real good” （善欲人見，不是真善）.
The second round of lunch at the Aviation Club in January with Dr. Chow Yei Ching (2nd from left), Prof. Alfonso Ngan (2nd from right) and nine graduates.
As always, the parties had to end when the discussions were at their climaxes. Apart from wisdom and experience sharing, photo-taking, etc., before saying good bye, Dr. Chow very kindly offered “immediate” help (as a Christmas/Chinese New Year gift!) by, for example, lining up his associates with our graduates to explore near-future job opportunities.
The next round of lunch gathering will take place in April.