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The speaker believed that the meeting was with him in a desire to express appreciation “of the kindness of Her Majesty.” He set before them the means of doing so. He proposed the Chinese put up a building for a Chamber of Commerce.
Such an institution, he maintained, was not only much needed, but indispensable, because "Hongkong was the entrepôt for the commerce of Asia; and yet the Chinese had no place where they could discuss matters relating to commerce and trade in particular, and also hold public meetings."
Besides a hall the building would contain a free library and a reading room where both Chinese and English books and periodicals would be available. The library would be named after the Queen,
While the Portuguese and even the Japanese had a meeting place, the Chinese had none. To them it was a disgrace that there was no hall where they could hold official receptions and celebrate public events.
They were holding their meeting in the Tung Wah Hospital. The Chinese had used it as a meeting place since it was opened, but it was only out of necessity. They did so "because they had subscribed to it, and had no other place to go, but it was really a Chinese hospital and not a place for meetings to be held."
It would take time to build a suitable hall. As a temporary measure it was proposed to use a building next to the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road.
In presenting the plan, Ho A-mei reviewed some of the past history of a search for a site for a meeting hall. During the administration of Governor Hennessy the grant of a space in the Chinese Recreation Ground was sanctioned, but it was cancelled by his successor, Governor Bowen.
At the time, the Registrar General had told them that if they really wanted the site they could probably get it if they pressed for it. But this did not seem advisable as the site was far from ideal.