Cho-Yiu KWAN (aka 關祖堯) [1907-1971]

Submitted by anonymous-01 on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 02:13
Names
Given
Cho-Yiu
Family
Kwan
Alias / nickname
關祖堯
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Died
Date

Any information regarding Sir C Y Kwan - one time member of the HKLegislative Council - appreciated. Practiced law in HK  his firm was called CY Kwan and Co I think. Contacts or info please.

Tags

Photos that show this Person

Comments

THE HONOURABLE KWAN CHO-YIU, O.B.E. (關祖堯 Wikipedia link）

lots of info on Wikipedia using Google Translate - click here

File:C-y kwan.jpg (photo from Wikipedia) Senior Chinese Unofficial Member, one of Hong Kong's most famous politicians

The Wikiipedia entry is very good. What else do you want to know about him?

 

Thanks for the information. I am interested in Sir C Y because he lived in London with my family while he studied law. My family in Hong Kong - documented in www.thehongkonglegacy.com - provided a home for several young Chinese men studying at London University but Sir C Y kept up the relationship down the years. I have in my possession a picture of him and his family on the occassion of his 25th wedding anniversary and, until his death he always sent my grandmother a Christmas hamper from Fortnum and Mason! There are many holes in my account of my family during the time they lived in Hong Kong and I simply wonder if his family which I have not been able to track down, have any light to shine on some of those days. Perhaps they may come across the website one day. Thanks for the Wikipedia info. It all stacks up.

I wonder what the connection was between people like Sir C Y Kwan and your family in London. The house at Duke's Avenue belonged to John 2, is that right?

Did he just make an open offer to students from Hong Kong, helping them out when they were far from home? Or was there already a connection, eg that John 2 knew the fathers of these students from his time in Hong Kong. eg through membership of the same organisation? Masons? Jockey Club? ...?

Good question and the one that I would like to ask his descendents as anybody who knew in my family are dead.

My guess is that there was a link in some way. Sir CY was born in 1907, the same year as  John 2's eldest son. John 2 went to the Diocesan School for Boys which Sir CY did. Interestingly the second son of John 2 became High Sheriff of London some years ago and entertained Sir CY in his official capacity.

As I mention Sir CY sent Christmas hampers to my grandmother Annie Louisa Moore Bourke, the widow of John 2, up until the time of her death in 1966. I know because I got to have a lot of the goodies!

All she ever would say about him was that he stayed with them for a long time in London and had become very rich and important in HK! I also know that his legal firm acted for John 2 and eventually my grandmother in HK. He was certainly the only HK link regularly mentioned. In my collection of family pictures I also have a picture which I suspect is a young Sir CY taken with John 2 in London.

I don't think there was an open offer to students but some others whose names I don't know certainly stayed with John 2 which all points to some relationship with his mother's family. As you know her name was Ching Ah Fung. And that is all we know of her.

Hopefully, somebody will have some ideas.