188
clude the Chamber of Commerce in this?”
In its opinion Hongkong need not fear that a spy was needed to discover these soft spots they were so obvious anyone could see them.
After the appointment was withdrawn, the anxieties of those who had so strongly opposed it were alleviated. Four years later, in 1895, the fear of undue influence of Chinese officialdom on Hong-kong affairs was again aroused at the inauguration of a Chinese Chamber of Commerce under the leadership of Ho A-mei.
A CHAMBER TO GIVE CHINESE AN IDENTITY
In 1895 a building for a Chinese Chamber of Commerce was opened. Ho A-mei was chairman of the organising committee. The opening was the fulfilment of a long-felt need within the Chinese community.
There had been a need for a proper meeting place for the leaders of the community. Previous centres had not been altogether satisfactory and there had been agitation for something like a Chinese Town Hall for a number of years. The new building of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was expected to meet this need.
The demand for a public meeting place attested to the fact that through the years there had emerged out of the heterogeneous collection of Chinese who had settled in Hongkong from various villages and districts recognised leaders, community organisations and a distinct identity.
Both the leaders and the organisations were an important part of the history of the Chinese in Hongkong and the struggle for visible signs of self-identity.
The Chinese who came to Hongkong after the British occupation were, on the whole, an unruly lot.
The officer in charge of Census and Registration describes the state of affairs: "The arrival of the British fleet in the harbour