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3 Foreword Preface Introduction Contents Section 1 Rise of Electricity and the Community Chapter 1 The Beginning ( ) 12 Chapter 2 Growing Up in Kowloon ( ) 28 Chapter 3 Lighting Up the New Territories ( ) 38 Chapter 4 War Spills Over the Border ( ) 48 Section 2 Mutual Development of Energy and City Chapter 1 Switching on the Electricity 60 Chapter 2 Modernizing Electricity and Community Kowloon Yau Tsim Mong 76 Sham Shui Po 82 Kowloon City 94 Wong Tai Sin 100 Kwun Tong 108 The New Territories Tsuen Wan 114 Kwai Tsing 122 Tuen Mun 132 Yuen Long 142 North District 154 Tai Po 162 Sha Tin 168 Sai Kung 178 Islands 184 Section 3 All Systems Go Chapter 1 Power Givers, People Carers 198 Chapter 2 Improving the Quality of Life 210 A brighter life for customers 212 Caring for the community 216 Protecting the natural environment 226 Celebrating the Centenary with the Community 234 Acknowledgements Index Reference Copyright

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6 FOREWORD In 1981, my father, the late Lord Kadoorie, was quoted as saying that Logically, Hong Kong should not exist. He added, however, Illogically, the international need for the services it renders is essential to the future relationship between East and West. In this book Professor Kwok Siu-tong explains how Hong Kong s people defied both logic and the turbulence of history to create a world city initially on China s doorstep and today as part of the People s Republic with its own unique status as a Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.). Hong Kong s success is a tribute to the energy, innovation and dynamism of its people. Professor Kwok reflects on these achievements and the role which CLP has played in powering Hong Kong s social and economic development. Both our community and CLP may justly take pride in the events chronicled in the following pages. My own family has been privileged to have been closely associated with CLP for much of the past one hundred years. In 1930, my father joined my grandfather as a Director of the Company, and held the office of Chairman for a total of 39 years until his death in I am honoured to follow in his steps. From the age of seven I accompanied him on his frequent walks through the Hok Un Power Station and in later years was to fully understand the value of this lesson, in grasping detail and relating to people. The legendary foresight of previous generations, allied with continuity and intimate knowledge of the company has fostered traditional values, which are easy to embrace, namely the importance of a long-term view in a long-term industry, coupled with financial prudence, integrity in business dealings, and a sense of obligation to the society in which we live. III

7 Foreword CLP s link with our community is perhaps the strongest single theme of Professor Kwok s work. In the last sixty years, following the spectacular post war development of Kowloon and the New Territories and with 80% of the S.A.R. s population of 6.8 million living within our area of supply, I believe that it can justifiably be said that CLP s history is now inextricably linked with that of Hong Kong. We have always been guided by confidence in our home; something which has never been misplaced. This faith, coupled with a vision of the future, was the foundation for our company philosophy from 1901, its resurrection in 1945, literally from the ruins of the Japanese occupation, through to the present day. This book highlights CLP s place in Hong Kong s history and into the future. The S.A.R. will remain our home and the heart of our business, but the future will see the Company s broader participation within the Pearl River Delta, mainland China and the Asia Pacific region. As throughout the past century, the services Hong Kong renders continue to be essential to the relationship between East and West. The Hon. Michael D. Kadoorie Chairman, CLP Holdings Limited fs

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10 PREFACE As a Director of CLP since 1967 and with a lifetime s involvement in Hong Kong s business and political life, I am delighted to provide a foreword to the excellent book written by Professor Kwok Siu-tong and his team. I am particularly impressed by the way in which they have linked CLP s history with that of Hong Kong throwing new and interesting light on the achievements of both the company and community over the past 100 years. I believe that, during my lifetime, the greatest contribution of CLP to the development of Hong Kong was its adequate and reliable supply of electric power to the fast-growing manufacturing industries, particularly during the post-war years. I would like to offer some thoughts on how this came about and on the new changes and challenges of recent years as they affect CLP and the broader community. For a century since the British took Hong Kong in 1841 the territory had survived as an entrepot, a role rendered obsolete when the Japanese invaded and occupied Hong Kong during After the re-occupation, Hong Kong stirred back to life and prospered again on entrepot trade which expanded 40 percent every year from 1946 to Manufacturing in Hong Kong up to this point was insignificant. The events that unfolded in China and Korea during this period completely changed the economic structure of Hong Kong in the following 40 years. First, there was the civil war in China leading to the establishment of the People s Republic of China in October This was shortly followed by the Korean civil war and the Sino-American military conflict, which ultimately led to the United Nations embargo on trade with China in At this time Hong Kong found itself almost completely cut off from its traditional means of livelihood. Booming foreign trade collapsed, losing one-third of the market within three years. As if the sudden economic depression were not enough, Hong Kong had to absorb the exodus from the Mainland and in three years the local population rose from 2 to 2.6 million. As Hong Kong had lost its traditional livelihood, it turned to manufacturing, starting with textiles and clothing, to which Shanghainese refugees brought money, experience and business acumen. This was the beginning of Hong Kong s manufacturing. With plenty of labour available, more people invested in manufacturing and the territory began to prosper. VII

11 Preface I remember at that time there was a lack of engineers and technicians. The Government established the Hong Kong Polytechnic and then the City Polytechnic to mass produce technicians. CLP was at the same time fast expanding by installing larger and larger generating capacity, so as to supply the reliable and reasonably priced electricity demanded by new and fast expanding industries. During the 30 years from 1951 the generating capacity of CLP and its associates increased more than fifty-fold, from 50 MW to 2,656 MW, a spectacular growth indeed. In addition, CLP contributed greatly to the improvement of the environment by replacing oil and coal fuels with much cleaner natural gas pumped from the South China Sea. Hong Kong s manufacturing flourished and reached its peak in the mid-1970s, when it provided one-third of GDP and employed half of the workforce in Hong Kong. Manufacturing only started to decline in the early 1980s when the Mainland started its economic reform and open-door policy. With both labour and land costs of only onetenth of Hong Kong s, the local manufacturing had to move north to be competitive. The process of relocation of Hong Kong s manufacturing into the Pearl River Delta accelerated after the signing in 1984 by the British and Chinese Governments of the Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong. At the same time, Hong Kong started to diversify its economy with the development of financial and related services. This trend towards a service economy has continued in recent years with Hong Kong acting as the brain and nerve centre for manufacturing operations in the Mainland and providing supporting service infrastructure, such as telecommunications, banking, insurance, marketing, container cargo handling, auditing etc. The Mainland s developing economy, including WTO entry and the increasing economic integration between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta, as well as the broader competitive pressures of globalization, mean that, once again, Hong Kong will have to show its characteristic adaptability and reposition itself in the regional and global business environment. The Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive, The Hon. Tung Chee-hwa recognized this in his manifesto for a 21st Century Hong Kong, when he expressed his vision of Hong Kong as the most important trade, transportation, communication, education and entertainment centre in Asia, with an economy characterized by high value services, including management, finance, design, marketing and technology development. I am confident that, as so often in the past, Hong Kong s people will rise to these new challenges and that CLP will ensure the reliable, quality and cost-competitive supply of electricity to power our new economy. This will be the next chapter in the history of Hong Kong and CLP. The Hon. Sir S. Y. Chung Director, CLP Holdings Limited sfff

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13 Introduction A CENTURY OF LIGHT - A COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF THE COMMUNITY Electricity is an important and fundamental force in promoting modernization. It brings to humanity and society light and heat. Electrification transforms the community, enhancing the quality of life of the people. China Light and Power Company, founded a century ago, started in a period of difficulties, grew up quietly and finally succeeded in developing into a public utility company with a deep social conscience. It helped Kowloon and the New Territories move into a new stage of electrification and development, building up an unshakeable foundation on which the 14 districts of Kowloon and the New Territories have been progressing steadily. Eletricity is closely interrelated with the community. It moves into the community, facilitating its development, mutually interacting and supporting each other. To retell the historical account of China Light and Power on its centenary, the best way undoubtedly is to let the residents of the community express their feelings. To borrow the collective memory of these residents, the historical experience of electrification in the community is vividly and tellingly recaptured. In this enterprise, over 40 students from different departments of the Chinese University of Hong Kong went into the community to interview over 120 residents, including six aged over 100. In addition, Mr.Robin Hutcheon interviewed over 10 past and present residents. The voices of these people creatively repaint, like strokes from a Chinese paint brush, the historical profile of China Light and Power in its centenary year. We are also deeply indebted to Professor Jao Tsung I, whose superb Chinese calligraphy graces the cover of this book. In the soundless world of electricity, the residents of the community voice their feelings in a historical context. They relive the changes in their communities and tell their different stories of the introduction of electricity. This reliving of the past is an exercise that is full of feeling and historical authenticity. The supply of electricity has created a certain emotional space for the community and the community has provided China Light and Power with a collective memory.a public utility company with a social conscience helps society in its general progress in both formal and informal ways. A century of achievement has been demonstrated in the collective memory of the community. All of us have been enjoying electricity in our daily lives without realizing its existence, and now electrification has developed to a stage that reflects the traditional Chinese Daoist saying doing everything as if doing nothing. A century of light is the best evidence of this kind of historical achievement. Professor Kwok Siu-tong History Department The Chinese University of Hong Kong u