TNAG-1350-FCO40-1791-Leading-personalities-in-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 28

CODE 18-77

Fire

Miss Hazel, Social Secretary

JA4AQX

Reference..

RECEPTION FOR THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM REDEVELOPMENT APPEAL

1. In your minute of 1 October, you asked us to check the name s of Mr and Mrs Stanley Ho.

2.

Mr Ho is a Eurasian. He was born in

in Hong Kong on 25 November 1921.

After being educated at Hong Kong University, he left Hong Kong for Macau at

time of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong and established himself as a Macau merchant between 1942 and 1946, when he returned to Hong Kong.

3.

Since the war he has developed considerable commercial and property interest in both Macau and Hong Hong. The basis of his wealth is the monopoly that he holds on all of Macau's gambling outlets.

4.

In the past, particularly amongst the older generation of Hong Kong Chinese, there was a tendency to view Mr Ho as a Japanese collaborator because of his

of his trading activities in Macau during the occupation of Hong Kong. Moreover his control of the Macau gambling franchise has brought him into close contact with s ome undesirable organisations in Macau.

5.

Nevertheless substantial contributions from Mr Ho have been accepted in recent years by Hong Kong University and the Hong Kong Girl Guides. He has recently become Patron of the Hong Kong RSPCA.

He has also contributed substantially to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon (which perhaps accounts for

for the Imperial War Museum putting forward his name for the Prime Minister's fund raising reception). The Governor of Hong Kong doubts whether an invitation to Mr Ho would be much remarked on by Hong Kong Chinese, other than possibly by a small group of ex-POWs. The Governor has advised that while he would not have tak en the initiative to propose that an invitation should be sent to Mr Ho, he would not wish to advise against an invitation and would be content that the decision should be taken by Number 10 in the context of the factors which would apply to considering a donation from a similar source in the UK.

6.

HKD therefore advise objection to invitations being

7 October 1985

HKK 010/1

RECEIVED IN NI ISTRY

- 7 OCT 1985

that there would not be an

issued to Mr and Mrs Ho.

b.o. Ehrman

W G Ehrman

Hong Kong Department

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