'I would call it all second to garbage,' says Robert Ho Hung-ngai, with a self-deprecating laugh, after an hour recollecting his life.
The journalist-cum-philanthropist, who turns 80 this year, belongs to the third generation of the Hotung family, the Eurasian clan that has left its mark many times over in the history of Hong Kong and, for a period, the mainland.
Ho lives in Vancouver, Canada, now, but makes frequent return trips to Hong Kong, the most recent being last month, when he was here on business for his charitable foundation.
HO'S GRANDFATHER, Sir Robert Hotung (1862-1956), born to a Dutch father and a local mother, was more than just the first Chinese person to live on The Peak, as it has often been said. A 1923 South China Morning Post report refers to a modus vivendi he suggested for warring factions on the mainland, which drew a positive response from none other than Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary who had overthrown the Qing dynasty.
'I have repeatedly expressed myself in favour of the peaceful unification of China. I therefore approve your suggestion for roundtable conference of principal leaders in country. [Signed] Sun Yat-sen,' the telegram, dated July 19, 1923, read.
Earlier that year, Sun had visited his alma mater, the University of Hong Kong, and was accompanied by Edward Hotung, Sir Robert's eldest son and the then chairman of the student union. Sir Robert's second son, Robert Ho Shai-lai, Hung-ngai's father, was more directly involved in shaping the destiny of China.
'My father was serving under Marshal Zhang Xueliang in northeast China before the Japanese attack and occupation of Manchuria in 1931. He was in charge of intelligence, and all coded messages went to him. That shows he was well trusted by the young marshal,' Ho says.