HK builders need to keep history alive

Michael Kadoorie is one of the few Hong Kong tycoons who have a touch of class.

Although I have met many business leaders and interviewed quite a few of them during my long career as a business reporter in this commercial town, I have never had an opportunity to talk to Sir Michael in person. But like many thousands of local residents and foreign visitors who have patronized the Peninsula Hotel across the street from what used to be the old railway terminal, I admire the dignified splendor of the facade and the hushed luxury of the interior, which are a tribute to its owner, the company controlled by the Kadoorie family interests.

Of even more significance to our "collective memory" than the Pen, as the hotel is affectionately called, is the Peak Tram, which is also owned by the same company. In one single day on May 30, more than 10,000 Hong Kong citizens took a ride down memory lane on the tram to commemorate its 120th anniversary. Many of them waited in heavy rain for hours to get on board that day.