The Yang - family: Liang Kee & Co.

Submitted by tinpin on Fri, 04/10/2015 - 15:43

I am doing a project about a family named Yang, and I'm looking for any information at all about them or their company. This is what I have been told by their son, who moved to Norway in 1960:

The father of the family was Frank Yang. He brought his two Malaysian Chinese wives to HK in 1949, although I think he also lived in Hong Kong before that. All together he had five wives at the same time. In 1950 he starts working for the British governor. Soon after he also started his own shipping company, which was later turned into a recruitment agency, with 9000 sailors they hired out to foreign companies. It was called Liang Kee & Co (良記行）

I suspect that some of the numbers given to me may have been a bit exaggerated, but I can't find proof that any of them ever having been in Hong Kong, which seems a bit strange. 

In 1957, Frank Yang moved to Norway with one of the wives, but returned a decade later. in 1970, one of his sons sold the whole company and emigrated to America, leaving the family with a huge debt.

I took a quick look for Liang Kee or 良記 in http://www.icris.cr.gov.hk/csci/, but didn't see any matches. Do you have any paperwork (eg business correspondence, namecards) that show these names, or are they from family memory? It's easy to make a mistake if they're reported from memory.

I hope you get some more clues - please let us know if you make progress.

Regards, David

I have SOME paperwork including a letter with the address and phone number- the family used to live in 55 Connaught Road, which was also the address for the agency. 

I managed to find a master's thesis regarding Chinese Immigration to Norway who had information about this company, however, most of the information also in thesis is provided by the family, although not even close to 9000, there is enough evidence supporting that many of the Chinese seaman employed by the Liang Kee company later immigrated to Norway. 

A Chinese guy I spoke to whose father used Liang Kee as an agency to find work, said the family was well known in HK when they lived here, because they had so much money. It's just very strange that there is (almost) no trace of them. 

I looked in the newspapers (https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/web/guest/advanced-search). No results for exact phrase Liang Kee, but there were a few results for 良記. I don't read Chinese - according to Google Translate the results aren't related to your search, but could be worth a look if you haven't already.

Could also be worth contacting the Maritime Museum to see if they know anything about the company or can give you any leads.

Regards, David

Hello tinpin,

I stumbled upon your post and believe you may be referring to my paternal grandfather, Frank Yang. I'm interested in any information you may have found regarding his family or anyone connected to them. I would greatly appreciate any insight you can provide.

Thank you,

Grace