The Death of a Hero-Henry Fok

Miserable childhood

Henry Fok's ancestral home is Panyu County, Guangdong Province, and he was born in Hong Kong boathouse on May 1993 1923. Grandpa Huo Dachao once owned a sailing boat, which traveled between Hong Kong, Macao and other provinces and engaged in freight business. However, when Henry Fok came to this world, his family was already in a very difficult situation. He lives on his father's chartering and barging. He has a low income and a hard life. His family is too poor to wear shoes. No matter how cold and hot it is, they walk barefoot. Once during the Spring Festival, his father wore a pair of new shoes to the street for the first time. He took off his shoes at the stall and squatted on the stool to eat powder. After dinner, I left on my feet. When I got back to the boat, I found that I didn't put my shoes back, because I never wear shoes.

There was no weather forecast at that time, and house boat's life was not guaranteed. Two brothers of Henry Fok were killed in the typhoon. One is 5 years old and the other is 7 years old. Fortunately, his mother was saved by his uncle, but soon his uncle was overturned and drowned in the wind and waves. When Henry Fok was about 7 years old, his father died of illness, and he was only in his 40 s. Because I was ill for a long time, I used Chinese herbal medicine every day, and my limited money was spent. After I died, I just buried it in Tsing Yi Island.

After his father's death, the life of the Huo Yingdong family became more difficult. At that time, he also had a 9-year-old sister and a 5-year-old sister, and the burden of life fell on his mother.

My mother is a tenacious, hardworking and diligent person. In that troubled day, she was not impressed by the heaviness of life, but stood up straight and tried to continue the lightering business left by her husband. This kind of barge business is to contact the freighters in the open sea and transport the goods to the shore on their behalf with small sampans. The main goods received at that time were coal. The Huo family didn't have a barge, so they took over the business from the shipowner and then distributed it to the sampan lighters to earn a meager commission. Because Henry Fok's father was very popular when he was alive, and his mother was open-minded and decent, most boatmen and sampans sympathized with orphans and widows and barely survived.

Although Henry Fok's mother can't read, she hopes her children can read and write. At about the age of six, Henry Fok was taught by others. Then he went to the maritime school, which was free of charge. His family lives in the same boat, wandering around, attending classes is very abnormal, and sometimes it is not easy to find a boat after school. Three shifts, transfer to Dunmei Primary School. This primary school is charged and has free classes, but only 30 students are enrolled. Students have to write an article to take the exam, but Henry Fok was admitted. He was the first person to be admitted. Later, he transferred to Ren Huang College. The academic system of the academy is reversed from class eight, which is equivalent to the first grade of junior high school. At that time, Class 8 of the Academy recruited three classes, each with 30 students, but most of them were introduced by teachers, parents and various relationships, and less than 10 students were actually admitted. During the exam, he also asked for an article, and Henry Fok was also the first to be admitted.

Henry fok is very diligent in school, and his grades have always been in the top few. He later recalled: "At that time, I was very absorbed in my studies and I was always unwilling to lag behind. Occasionally, I fell below the third place and felt very shameful. " In Ren Huang College, Zero Yingdong received a systematic education. In addition to completing his studies prescribed by the school, he also read a lot of literary works, such as Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. At that time, his life was very difficult, because the tuition of Ren Huang College was very high. In order to save some money, Henry fok often spends half an hour rushing to school instead of taking the tram. His favorite extracurricular activity at school is playing football, probably because he is thin and wants to build a strong physique. However, he didn't dare to play for long. He always plays in a hurry for 30 minutes and then goes home, because he has to go back to help his mother keep accounts and send invoices. He later recalled: "This stressful life often made me exhausted, dizzy and even nervous. However, this is an excellent exercise for me, so that no matter how hard my life is and how busy my work is, I can cope with it calmly. "

Henry Fok is in Class 3 of Ren Huang College, which means that he has graduated from high school and entered the college preparatory course. At this time, the Pacific War broke out, Japan began to attack Hong Kong, and Henry Fok's studies were forced to end.

In the days when Hong Kong fell.

When the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong, the small ship "Xinghe" purchased by Henry Fok's mother and others in partnership was requisitioned by the Japanese army. His life was unsettled and he dropped out of school. Like many people at that time, at first, I made a living by putting clothes and sundries in the seller's house. Soon, life forced him to be a fireman on a boat. The ship burns coal. He is a coal shovel. This was his first job, when he was only 18 years old.

Henry fok worked hard, and when he got home, his whole body seemed to fall apart, and he fell asleep on the bed. I only worked for nine months and was laid off by my boss.

Soon, Henry fok spent 10 yuan's old Japanese ferry tickets, which were introduced to Taikoo Wharf and used sledgehammers to strike the iron. Although Henry Fok was a fireman, he was still not competent for such a heavy job. Then someone told him to turn to the rivet of the wind cannon. Henry fok swung the wind cannon called straight, and his hand was shaking all the time. So, it's over again.

/kloc-in the summer of 0/942, the Japanese army expanded Kai Tak Airport and recruited a large number of workers. Fok Ying-tung was introduced by a friend who worked at the airport and entered the airport as a coolie. The salary is 70.5 cents a day. Because of the shortage of food, each person is rationed to six or two meters a day, and 20 points are deducted, which is 50.5 points. The airport is in Kowloon. I have to go to work at 7: 30 in the morning and go out two hours early. It takes two hours to walk home from work at night, and I am exhausted every day.

At that time, he really wanted to learn a skill. With a skill, he doesn't have to do coolies every day, but what to learn? On one occasion, he was carrying a 50-gallon petrol tank, and his finger was crushed because he was not strong enough. A kind supervisor saw his thin body and advised him not to do other jobs. Henry fok took the opportunity to learn to drive, and the supervisor actually agreed.

Henry fok was overjoyed, thinking that he could drive back to the mainland and leave occupied Hong Kong after learning the technology. But people at that time were very conservative and unwilling to teach. Usually, a learner should do odd jobs for a year or two before learning skills. So he can only see how the master operates, which is called "stealing the teacher". Whenever the master noticed, he immediately forgave him and told him to disassemble the battery. At that time, there were very few cars, and the Japanese only had trucks coming in and out and parked at the airport at night. One day, after 5 pm, the car was parked. When Henry Fok was washing the car, he saw that the key to a car was still there. He climbed up and tried to drive. But it happened that the wheels were skewed when parking, and the car started and hit another car. When the Japanese found out, they beat him up and made him lose his job.

Soon, Henry Fok entered Swire Sugar Factory and worked in the laboratory. He is used to doing rough work and is all thumbs. He often breaks glassware. If you want to learn more skills, you will often get into trouble. Once, he and another student made hydrogen with sulfuric acid and lit it with fire. Hydrogen mixed with oxygen in the air and made a huge explosion. His face was covered with glass fragments. The people in the sugar factory thought it was a bomb explosion and were dismissed by the factory.

When Japan occupied Hong Kong, rice was rationed all over the country. He went to the warehouse as a kilo of rice, called "rice threshing", and worked in the warehouse in the western ring. At first, I thought it was not difficult to weigh rice, but it was not. He was weighed here, the warehouse was inspected there, and he had to catch a train to the New Territories. A group of coolies lined up with rice bags, waiting to be weighed. They wanted to weigh 180 A Jin bags. If there is more, it will be impossible. If there are fewer warehouses and refuse to accept them, the hands and feet will be a little slower, and the coolies in the queue will be suppressed, so it will be difficult for the work to go on.

1942, my mother sold everything, even the gold chain, and together with other people 13 opened a grocery store in Goose Neck Street, Wan Chai, named "Like". In fact, it was originally called "Youhe", but it was too sloppy when registering for the permit, so it was wrong to write "like".

This grocery store is run by Henry Fok and opens at six every morning. Just after washing, customers swarmed in. Sometimes, when more than ten people come at the same time, they should be properly greeted and stand by the roadside to prevent customers from running to other booths. A customer often wants to buy several or even ten varieties, such as garlic, lobster sauce, pickles, salted fish and so on. He holds the scale and gestures quickly and beautifully, otherwise the customers will be dissatisfied, so talk less. Although working at the airport is hard, you don't have to think about it, but you have to take care of this and that all the time in the grocery store. Even if you eat a meal, you can't be at peace. You have to eat standing up and be ready to meet customers at any time.

In the evening 10, the guys go shopping after work, and Fok Ying-tung will stay in the store to cook sauce, add sweet vinegar and prepare soy sauce. During the Japanese occupation, everything was lacking, so we had to do it ourselves. It's midnight 12 o'clock, so cover everything. Rats are rampant in the store, biting everything, oyster sauce, Nostoc flagelliforme ... everything must be cleaned up before leaving the store. You can't steal an hour every day, 365 days a year.

In these days, Henry Fok works from morning till night, but "this is a good training for running a business." Thanks to his careful and shrewd management, the business of the grocery store is booming. This period of life is a good exercise for Henry Fok, from which he obtained good management training and cultivated a strong will and flexible way of doing things.

Back to my parents' rebuttal.

But the work in the grocery store is too complicated and tiring after all. 1945 after the war, everything took on a new look, and all walks of life gradually became active, so the transportation industry naturally needed to develop urgently. Seeing this opportunity, Henry Fok and his mother resolutely gave the grocery store to others and got 7000 yuan, determined to return to their parents' old business.

At that time, there were two ways out for Henry Fok: first, there was a smooth road and such an opportunity. He applied for a job as a clerk in Swire Foreign Firm, and was accepted by reply, with a monthly salary of HK$ 300, which was not bad at that time. Being a clerk, raising a wife and children from nine to five, as long as there are no big mistakes, promotion can ensure the stability of life. The other is a bumpy road: temporarily help my mother with transportation, and then seek other opportunities. Although the future was uncertain, he was unwilling to be dull and finally chose the latter.

Helping his mother to do the lightering business, Fok Ying-tung has clear accounts and no salary, but the living expenses of the family are all borne by her mother. The family environment is still very difficult, but it is finally better than in the past. Huo Yingdong, who is competitive, is naturally not satisfied with this. He believes that it is extremely important to seize the opportunity and find a way out. At that time, there was only one business in Hong Kong, that is, dealing with a large number of post-war materials and shipwrecks. He paid great attention to the news about the auction of postwar materials in the communique, bid for ships, cheap sampans and naval machines that only needed minor repairs in time, and then resell them quickly. For lack of funds, it is difficult for him to go all out. Once, he took a fancy to a batch of naval machines and won the bid with 18000 yuan. He went home in high spirits and asked his mother to chip in. Unexpectedly, my mother flatly refused. Henry fok had no way to borrow money, and a big deal fell through. People are witty. Henry fok found a factory owner and discussed renting his warehouse to store machines. The boss saw the machine and agreed to rent it. Henry fok saw that the boss appreciated the machine and offered to sell it to the boss. The boss bid 40,000 yuan, and Fok Ying-tung was very happy, and the deal was made soon. From 1945 to 1948, Henry fok made a net profit of 22,000 yuan. This is a large sum of money he earned in the years after auctioning the surplus materials. Recalling this past, he said with emotion, this is really a good opportunity. If I had enough money then, I would earn more money.

Dongsha Island Adventure

1948, Henry fok was 25 years old, which was a romantic time in his life. One day, he heard that there are a lot of seaweed on the seabed around Dongsha Island, which is the raw material for making stomach medicine. He Xian bought it from a company in Macau at a pound 1 USD. Henry fok listened and wanted to have a try. However, he has never been abroad and lacks knowledge of navigation. His mother also strongly opposed it, but he made up his mind to form a company with others. He bought the shares of the motor sailboat he had just bid for at a discount of 30 thousand yuan, and with the investment of others, he raised 654.38+10 thousand yuan. He recruited 80 fishermen in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong, and gave them some settling-in expenses. More than 90 people set off with the crew.

At that time, Dongsha Island was under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province, and the sea use permit must be issued by the Guangdong Provincial Construction Department. Due to the failure to go to sea normally, the ship was detained by the customs at Sanmen Pass. Tools, sampans, anchors, lifeboats, etc. On the ship, the customs said it was goods and must be detained. More than 90 people were stranded on the boat for 10 days, and all the salted meat and fish were eaten up. Later, I turned to Shanwei and encountered wind and waves on the way. Most of the fishermen recruited are from Shanwei, and Shanwei is their hometown. Many people left without saying goodbye. Henry fok had to recruit a new group of people in Shanwei. After many twists and turns, I finally set sail at sea.

They finally arrived at Dongsha Island. As soon as the ship landed, regardless of the fatigue of navigation, Henry Fok immediately led the crew to carry materials ashore, set up a residence, and set up a warehouse to store seaweed. Being able to reach Dongsha smoothly is, of course, a major breakthrough for Henry Fok. However, what they boarded was not a "golden mountain". It's "hell"

Salvaging seaweed is not as easy as mowing grass on land. This kind of algae grows in submarine corals three or four meters deep. They lack the necessary diving tools, so they have to make their own diving glasses. They can see seaweed under the water. Everyone takes a deep breath and dives. Not much seaweed was collected, so they rushed to the surface and gasped against the side of the ship. Sometimes those coral thorns are sharp and hard, and they will be cut if you are not careful, so you should always be on guard against shark attacks! Up and down like this, turned over all day, no one can pick off half a basket of seaweed.

The local weather is very hot, and the sun has emerged from the sea since 5 o'clock in the morning. During the day, the temperature is above 40℃, and there is no shelter on the island. The burning sun burns people's skin. The beach is silvery white by the sun, so it's hard to open your eyes. Everyone can only move if they wear black glasses. When fishing for seaweed at sea, you can't even wear a bamboo hat, and you are exposed to the sun all day. Everyone only wears a pair of briefs, and in a few days, they will peel off their skin.

On one occasion, Henry fok and others came back from sea transportation of seaweed. Suddenly, there was a strong wind and waves, and the ship was damaged, so the helmsman was afraid to sail. Henry fok had to steer by himself and let the wind and waves drift. From day to night, the wind never stopped, and the ship didn't know where it was drifting. Everyone is in a hurry. Suddenly, I saw a flashlight flashing in the distance. Henry fok was overjoyed to know that it was Dongsha Island. So he and the crew put the rudder forward and headed for the island. At this time, the wind and waves have weakened and are out of danger. It turned out that the light was a man holding a flashlight to the seaside to see if the moored boat was blown away by the strong wind. Henry Fok later recalled: "If it hadn't been for the flash of saving lives, we would have sunk to the bottom of the sea to feed sharks."

It is also difficult to eat on the island. I didn't bring much salted fish and pickles when I came. I thought I could fish and eat fish as a dish, but the sea is full of big fish. In less than two days, all the fishing lines were bitten off. I only eat white rice every day and eat a lot. But I didn't bring much food. After more than ten days, I was half hungry. A month later, many people's faces were swollen.

There is only one well for drinking on the whole island. There is not much water, the taste of water is half salty and half light, and the water depth is only half a foot at ordinary times. Besides cooking and drinking water, you can only wash your face and rinse your mouth with a little. Whoever wants to take a bath has to wait until it rains. Unfortunately, every year 10 to April is the dry season, and there is little rain. After being fished out of the sea, everyone was sticky and sweaty. It was fishy and smelly, and it was really unbearable without fresh water washing. When the bitter smoke source was cut off, the crew became addicted to cigarettes, so they had to look for those cigarette butts that had long been moldy and smelly in the garbage dump, pick them up, soak them in water, dry them in the sun, fry them in a pot and roll them up with paper. Talk is better than nothing.

After such a month, there is not a supply ship from the mainland. The crew couldn't stand it anymore and finally broke up.

Henry fok later had to hire a group of people from Taiwan Province province and Ryukyu. Ryukyu people can bear hardships and endure this inhuman life. Finally, relying on this group of people who work hard, continue to support. Henry fok stayed on this desert island for half a year.

The person in charge of logistics affairs only made an account, not an account. After the seaweed was sold one after another, it was said that it was only enough for various expenses and did not earn a penny. After suffering in the air for half a year, Henry Fok was upset at that time, but he thought that this hard life tempered his will and perseverance and played an important role in his future career. As long as he thinks of his days and nights in Dongsha Island, he has the determination and courage to overcome no matter what difficulties and adversity he is in.

Open up a new world of real estate industry

The population of Hong Kong was only 500,000 at the time of recovery, and then it gradually increased to 6.5438+00,000. The rapid increase of population, the serious shortage of housing and the vigorous development of industry and commerce have created a huge demand for land and buildings. Henry Fok sized up the situation and decided that Hong Kong's real estate industry would develop greatly. As early as the beginning of 1953, he started to operate the real estate industry and established Lixin Real Estate Co., Ltd. ..

At that time, real estate developers in Britain, the United States, Canada and Hong Kong all sold the whole house. Unless there was huge funds, it was difficult to buy the whole building, so it was difficult to sell the house. In the past, overseas Chinese in the United States liked to buy real estate in bu, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, and pass it on to future generations for rent. From buying land, planning, construction and even collecting rent, the capital turnover cycle is very long. Fok Ying-tung borrowed money from the bank in Gai Lou at that time, and had to pay more interest. When it is completed, he will sell it, and if people don't buy it, he can't afford the interest, so he has to "jump off the building". So he changed his past practice, industrialized real estate, built a comprehensive building of houses, office buildings and shopping malls, sold them in layers and units, pre-sold "uncompleted residential flats" and advocated installment payment. This "uncompleted residential flats" layered pre-sale and installment payment method was indeed a breakthrough at that time, which was very popular with property buyers.

At that time, people who guided property buyers to look at the building were all famous "negative guys". They are very impatient with sellers, because they repeatedly take people to the top to introduce real estate, and I don't know how many times a day, and often the business fails in nine cases out of ten, and they run back and forth in vain. In view of this, Fok Ying-tung published a booklet to widely publicize the situation of the building and the new measures to sell the building for the convenience of buyers. This was also a pioneering work at that time and received good results.

Henry fok is very cautious. He calculated an account: at that time, renting a house had to pay a down payment, usually 7,000 yuan per set. If a building has six floors and is in a high position, the price can be cheaper. A unit only sells 14000 yuan, and it is advertised for pre-sale. The down payment is 7,000 yuan, and the remaining 7,000 yuan will not be paid in 300 yuan every month. It will be paid off in two years, which is no different from renting a house. But the buyer got an apartment, which is very cost-effective. Therefore, as soon as the advertisement came out, the uncompleted residential flats were quickly sold out, but the actual upstairs has not yet started. From the architectural point of view, for example, the project cost needs 654.38+00,000 yuan, and the down payment is 654.38+00%, so it is only necessary to pay 654.38+00,000 yuan first, and then pay a certain amount in installments during construction. The building can sell for two or three million, and the net profit is one or two million. Charge half of the selling price first, the cost of building this building has been solved long ago, and the capital turnover is very fast. It is foolproof that he will only start working after collecting a fixed amount. But buyers still feel cheap, or rush to buy. Selling after subscription is often profitable. Someone bought a sleeper in the morning and sold it in the afternoon to make money. This shows that the real estate industry is very attractive and can attract people's money to the real estate industry.

He bought the embassy building first and sold it for 2.8 million yuan, making a lot of money. He took the lead in "selling uncompleted residential flats" for the properties built one after another, and for a time, real estate developers followed suit and became a major operating feature of the Hong Kong real estate market. "Selling uncompleted residential flats" accelerates the sales of buildings and the recovery of funds, so it is easy for developers to raise funds. At that time, the whole territory was crazy, and many people were involved in the whirlwind of the real estate industry. From 1955 to 1965, the real estate industry in Hong Kong has developed vigorously.

In the past, buildings in Hong Kong did not exceed four or five stories. 1955, the Hong Kong government amended the Buildings Ordinance to allow the construction of high-rise buildings, and the real estate industry developed more rapidly. At that time, the Hong Kong government auctioned the 12 plot every week for three consecutive years. During this period, Henry fok built the first 17-storey building in Hong Kong, and in the following years, the buildings were all over Hong Kong and Kowloon. Most of the more than 60 companies under his name are engaged in real estate business. He is the president of the Hong Kong Real Estate Developers Association, which has more than 300 members and operates more than 70% of the real estate business in Hong Kong. At present, many rich people in Hong Kong have made their fortune by real estate. His innovative measures have pushed Hong Kong's real estate industry to a new peak. At that time, he foresaw that the real estate industry would have greater development and put forward the goal of "home ownership", which was gradually realized in Hong Kong. He is still the permanent honorary president of the Hong Kong Real Estate Developers Association.

The start of the real estate industry has promoted the development of Hong Kong's industry. At that time, cotton mills, enamel factories, cement factories and shipyards were difficult to support because of the economic downturn. However, factories occupy a lot of land in urban areas, and some yarn mills occupy hundreds of thousands of feet. These factories moved factories, sold land and built buildings, and made a lot of money at once. These factories came back to life and expanded their business again. Shipyard has no ships to dismantle, and warehouse inventory is insufficient, so it can sell land and turn to real estate. These major changes occurred a few years after 1955. Once a high-rise building is built, it will drive other related industries. 1959 The total number of cotton mills in Hong Kong was only 380,000 spindles, but by 1967, due to the good real estate market, it had 900,000 spindles. Nanyang Cotton Mill moved to Tsuen Wan and made a fortune as soon as it moved. The original site is located in a prosperous area, and Gai Lou is trying to make a lot of money.

At that time, everyone was fighting for territory. Fok Ying-tung demolished the old building in Liyuan Mountain, and bought some slag warehouses and warehouses of milk companies. He also bid for the opening of the Navy Pier, all in order to find a place and build a building. The Hong Kong government also sells land by reclamation, and it also undertakes reclamation projects.

The real estate industry not only promotes industrial development, but also promotes tourism, commerce and catering industry, and also promotes the development of financial industry, making the whole of Hong Kong prosperous.

Before 1950s, banks did not lend easily and did not accept deposits. In the early days, HSBC did not accept deposits, and it had to be introduced by a prestigious person to open an account. Many people don't have enough money for real estate, but they mortgage their real estate to the bank and borrow money from the bank to buy it. At that time, mortgage became the main business of banks. Finance in Hong Kong is also becoming more and more active.

Looking back now, Henry Fok's new measures to manage the real estate industry at that time were indeed a major breakthrough in Hong Kong's economic development. It not only promoted the development of real estate, but also promoted the development of industry and finance.

From dredging sea sand to contracting projects

The development of the real estate industry has driven the building materials industry. Forward-looking Henry fok has already set his sights on the seabed sand. Dredging can reclaim land from the sea, dig deep into the seabed and obtain a large amount of sea sand needed by the construction industry. However, the workload of dredging sand is large, the price of sand is cheap and the profit is small. At that time, many people were reluctant to operate.

It was really difficult to dig the sea sand at first. Manual operation, it is very difficult to shovel sand, and the workload is very large. Whenever the coal ship arrives, the sand diggers are all transporting coal and no workers can be found. After that, tenders will be invited every year, and dozens of sailboats will be contracted, adding one cubic yard of 3 yuan. The shipowner borrows a year's salary first, and often can't deduct it all at once. There was still some left, and he asked to borrow it again. The advance payment is always unclear. Bidding next year, we can't give him any more, and we won't make much.

After a while, Henry Fok, unwilling to be conservative, tried to reform. He spent HK$ 7,000 to buy a dredging machine from the Navy Pier, which was operated by machinery and greatly improved its efficiency. Later, they switched to dredgers to dig sand, and sent people to Europe to order a number of advanced dredgers. Later, they went to Thailand in person and bought a large dredger with a load of 2,890 tons from the port supervisor of the Thai government, which can dredge 2,000 tons of sea sand every 20 minutes and automatically unload it into the cabin. In addition, he was beaten to the top and contracted the supply of sea sand through bidding. Since then, the sand mining industry has developed rapidly, creating a new situation of sand mining.

In order to expand the equipment and enhance the strength, he bought the Taiping Island Shipyard in the United States. In the past, only foreign capital annexed the industries of China people. This is the first time that China people have acquired the industries of foreign companies. He also bought a lot of tools from Dutch port management company, engaged in land reclamation and contracted international bidding projects.

In the past, major construction projects in Hong Kong were contracted by foreign companies. The airport was built in Hong Kong, and the French company won the bid. From 1947 to 1948, China Bank was also built by British construction companies. At the beginning, Henry fok undertook construction projects. Some people say that you are not an engineer, have not studied accounting, and can't do well. However, he has successfully undertaken many projects, never failed, and some of them are major projects with great difficulty, creating a precedent for China Construction Corporation to undertake major projects.

The most difficult project is to build the second phase of the freshwater lake of the Gulf Reservoir, which is the first design in the world.

The first phase of the freshwater lake project was contracted by a French company.

Due to the loss, I undertook the first stage and quit. Henry Fok undertook the second heightening project of the reservoir, which was the largest international bidding project in Hong Kong at that time. At the opening, more than a dozen Japanese companies voted together, but the valuation was twice as high as that of Fok Ying-tung.

This project needs high technology. The reservoir project is not simple, let alone building a reservoir in the bay. Every project has strict requirements. First, stop the dam drainage. There are stones outside the dam, and five feet of sand should be laid on the stones. Because it is inclined, the sand is easily washed away. How to play well was technically difficult, but he finally succeeded. After undertaking many projects, Henry fok has more confidence in this.

In addition, he has contracted hundreds of projects. I have done reclamation projects, built docks, safe havens, paved submarine natural gas pipelines and submarine sewage pipelines.

He also built hydrofoils. After purchasing Taiping Island Shipyard, he bought a hydrofoil made in Switzerland and built it according to its design. When welding, the hull must be turned over for easy operation. The hull is so big that many engineers are embarrassed to turn it over. However, they have an indigenous method, which is to install a big wooden wheel on the hull and turn it over.

The ambitious Fok Ying-tung also opened up the business of land reclamation in Southeast Asian countries, and he also contracted the projects of opening ports in Brunei and land reclamation in Penang. His "Rongrong Company" has been established in several port cities continuously, and it is often a shoo-in to compete with more than 20 international companies.

Turn your eyes to the mainland.

The 1970s was a major turning point in Henry Fok's life. After laying a good foundation for his economic career, he turned his attention to the mainland. He has always loved Hongkong and his motherland, and firmly believes that the people of China have enough wisdom and diligence to stand on their own feet among the nations of the world. He is eager for the prosperity of the motherland and is willing to do his best to revitalize China. But during the "Cultural Revolution" at that time, let alone economic construction, he had to start with sports, support the motherland to restore its legal status in international sports organizations as soon as possible, and make China athletes emerge on the world sports stage to inspire people and promote the development of sports in the motherland.

This is related to his love of sports, especially football. Henry Fok said: "I fell in love with football when I was a child. In colorful dreams, what fascinates me most is the star who gallops on the court and is cheered by the people. " When he entered Ren Huang College, he liked to play small football, but his homework was tight, so he didn't have much time to practice his feet. The Japanese army invaded Hong Kong and didn't even get a chance to play ball. After rehabilitation, life is pressing and physical exercise basically stops. I came back from Dongsha Island and was in poor health. 1954 started to work in the real estate industry, and the work was even more tense. I only slept for three or four hours every day, leaving only 102 kg. At this time, he was alert to the necessity of serious exercise and decided to participate in weightlifting, swimming, tennis, football and other activities regularly every day.

In the early 1960s, Henry Fok often went to other places to participate in football matches. The tolerant small football team and outstanding team he organized are strong teams in Hong Kong and Macao, playing nearly 300 games every year, with ups and downs 10 years unchanged. He is the center of this team, and his reputation is quite big, so all football groups in Hong Kong call him "Big Brother". He often takes the lead and leads young teammates to the front; At the age of 43, he participated in the first division. In the first game, he scored three goals, which became a story for a while. His football team spends more than HK$ 6,543,800+on activities every year, and he is willing to pay. At the same time, he loves every player on the team. He also plays tennis very well. From 1972 to 1977, he won the Hong Kong Open doubles championship six times. He also participated in the veteran doubles competition held in Wimbledon, England. Although he didn't win, he was the first person from China to participate in Wimbledon.

It is precisely because of this relationship with sports that Fok Ying-tung devoted himself to helping the motherland's sports cause rush to the world with his patriotic spirit in the 1970s. He thinks it is very important to win the gold medal in the international arena, which shows the strength of the country. It is an urgent problem to restore China's due position in international sports organizations, so as to participate in various events and play its due role. But at that time, there were anti-China forces outside and "Left" interference inside. In order to solve this urgent problem, we have experienced many twists and turns and great resistance. 1974, Henry fok invited FIFA president and secretary-general to Beijing, but no official came to receive him. At 9 o'clock in the evening, the foreign guests arrived at the banquet hall of Beijing Hotel. The hall was deserted, and only Henry Fok and his eldest son Zhen Ting greeted them. Housing is also arranged in the middle building where ordinary foreign guests live, rather than the east building where distinguished guests live. Henry fok to this embarrassing situation, both puzzled and helpless, had to explain.

Despite the setbacks, Henry Fok is still full of enthusiasm, and continues to seize every opportunity to run for China sports to go global. In the same year, when he attended the AFC meeting in Teheran as the head of the Hong Kong Football Association, he made up his mind to open the gap from the AFC and strive for China to join the organization.

At that time, although the United Nations had restored China's legal seat, the International Olympic Committee and many international sports organizations still retained the representative seat of Taiwan Province Province, and China was still excluded. At that time, East and West Germany, North Korea and South Korea all participated in international sports organizations and international sports competitions respectively. However, the situation in China is different. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the one-China position, so they all participate as regions. It is still possible for Taiwan Province Province to be renamed as a region. This is more acceptable to the representatives of many countries.

The issue of restoring China's legal membership in the AFC should have been raised 60 days ago. The day before the meeting, the Executive Committee of the Football Association decided not to discuss China's membership at this meeting. Our state sports commission also thinks that this meeting can't solve the problem. In spite of this, Henry fok still holds a glimmer of hope and actively strives for it. He thought that if he missed this opportunity and held the meeting two years later, it would be delayed for another two years. However, according to the articles of association, issues outside the agenda will not be discussed, and can only be included in the agenda with the support of more than three quarters of the people present, and an interim motion will be proposed as an urgent matter. At lunch that day, Henry fok thought twice and decided to go out for activities, and through this only way, tried to put it on the agenda. This time, the Iranian representative proposed for the first time at the meeting that China should be accepted. The chairman who presided over the meeting was Tengku Raman of Malaysia. The matter was debated at the meeting for about an hour and the motion was supported.