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When the Chinese in Hong Kong representing other districts in China saw that the power in Canton was drifting into the hands of the Sye Yup [Siyi] Association, they organized societies of their own, preventing the Sye Yup [Siyi] Association from monopolizing political influence in Canton.
One consequence was that the number of regional chambers in Hong Kong was increased from two in 1909 to sixteen in 1913, and to twenty-four in 1920. Besides, the Governor also supported the establishment of a large association in the colony as "an effort to hold all these societies [regional associations] into one society... to break the power of the Sye Yap [Siyi] Association". This association was but the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. The Governor specified that it was a gentleman called Liu Zhubo (1), who became the first chairman of this Chamber that he found trustworthy. It is to this Mr. Liu, and the leadership group with which he was affiliated that we now turn.
Liu and his associates were a new generation of western-educated Chinese leaders. To illustrate the nature of this group of social leaders, I cite Liu Zhubo and Ho Tung (He Dong)'s personal histories. Both Liu and Ho were born in the China town of Hong Kong and both had very poor family backgrounds. They were raised by their widowed mothers. Ho Tung, for example, was the eldest of four brothers, who had different fathers. The four brothers shared the same surname only because they adopted their mother's family name. Ho Tung himself was a Eurasian and was always excluded by Chinese circles in the colony. But like Liu, he managed to gain a scholarship to study at the government-supported Queen's College and turned out to be an active member of the Alumni Association. After a brief career serving as instructors of the College, Liu and Ho were employed as compradores of Lapack Co. Ltd. and the Jardine & Matheson Co. Ltd., respectively.
In business terms, these new leaders were closely connected with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, as well as with the Hong Kong government. I cite one example to illustrate this point. In 1914, Liu Zhubo and Ho Tung established The Da You Bank (The Bank of Great Wealth) with their Eurasian friend, Lo Changzhao. In the same year, the three men were granted an opium monopoly within the Colony. All three partners were graduates of Queen's College and were active