The Patriotic Life of a Legendary Hakka Businessman

As a courageous entrepreneur， he decided to invest in the mainland at the beginning of reform and opening-up and step by step creating a colossal business empire. Wisdom and courage always help him to keep pace with the times. He constantly seized opportunities and exceeded himself from good to great.

As a renowned business leader， from the member of CPPCC of Henan Province to the member of the Standing Committee of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas， he fully devoted himself to the social and economic development of the country and also made great contributions to the well-being of Hakka people.

His life is a patriotic chapter full of legendary stories. He firmly resolved to return homeland at an early age. He invested in the motherland while breaking through the obstacles that prevented him from going back to the country he deeply loved. Throughout his life， he never forgot his mission as an overseas Chinese. Wherever and whenever， his love of the nation never fades.

He is the protagonist of our story， Li Kam Chung， Li Kam Chung， chairman of the Board of JinXin Group Ltd， the Seven Star International Holdings Inc， and chairman of the World Hakka Business Association.

Patriotism grows from childhood

Born in an overseas Chinese business family in Indonesia， Li Kam Chung lived a happy childhood. Because of his forefathers’ painstaking efforts， Li’s family was relatively wealthier than others when he was born. At that time， the Indonesian society was stable and the government was friendly to overseas Chinese. Not only Chinese education developed rapidly， but commerce was also thriving in overseas Chinese community. It can not be denied that Li’s life was full of joy and happiness at that time.

Although foreign country born and foreign country bred， Li Kam Chung developed a special feeling towards his motherland early on which was attributable to his father Li Jiefu. Li Kam Chung was told by his father that for an overseas Chinese China was the only motherland.

As both Li Kam Chung’s father and uncle once worked in overseas Chinese labor union， they often brought some Chinese newspapers such as People’s Daily home for him to read. Under such an environment， Li Kam Chung had read a great many revolutionary and patriotic books. Until today， Li Kam Chung can correctly recite some pieces adapted from classic literature works such as How the Steel Was Tempered， Red Cliff and Song of Youth.

Unfortunately， in the end of 1950s， overseas Chinese in Indonesia was suffered from a wave of antiChinese movement. Overseas Chinese in Indonesia became the biggest victim. In the meantime， the business of Li Kam Chung’s family was badly damaged by gangsters and suffered a great loss. “Where there is no strong motherland， there is no dignity for overseas Chinese!” said Li Kam Chung’s father. Hearing his father’s words， Li Kam Chung said nothing but an important decision had been made in his heart.

In the Autumn of 1960， had not been on board the ship that traveled to the motherland， the story about him and his country would have been totally different， but he did it without any regret. A week later， the ship reached in Guangzhou after several painful days of travel. At the moment Li Kam Chung stepped on the motherland， he could not hold his excitement. “I was embraced by the motherland， finally!”From then on， the young man silently decided to devote himself to his motherland.

In 1965， graduated from middle school， Li Kam Chung was faced with the second important choice in his life. Before the college entry exam， young students were called on to serve in vil- lages and remote areas. L i K a m C h u n g was ready to answer the motherland’s call and went wherever he was needed. While other students were concerned about their career and destiny， Li Kam Chung was ordered to stay and continue his study. Ultimately， he entered Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture with high scores. After graduation， he was assigned to factory where he spent several years with workers who deeply impressed him with the noble character of the worker class. Whatever role Li Kam Chung played， his love towards his motherland never fades.

Way to success

Influenced by his family， Li Kam Chung believed that he developed some commercial gift. In 1979， China launched its reform and opening-up agenda. Li Kam Chung realized that economic development was the basis for a strong and prosperous country. In the spring of 1982， Li Kam Chung went south to Hong Kong to find some opportunities. Although everything was strange to him， Li Kam Chung was no fear and decided to gain success through his own efforts.

Li Kam Chung did not only care about economy but also care about politics which made him win more opportunities than others. His first business was to sell decorative materials and chemical products. At the moment， international market was hit by oil crisis. Many chemical companies went bankruptcy as oil prices skyrocketed. As a result， a great deal of plastic raw materials was overstocked in warehouse. The price of plastic materials was unimaginably low. In comparison， demand of plastic materials in the mainland was extremely high in that China just started a new round of economic growth. Li Kam Chung quickly smelled the opportunity which was proved to be correct afterwards.

With his prudent operation style， Li Kam Chung won the trust of South American suppliers who hired him as the agent to tap Chinese market. Every coin has its two sides. Li Kam Chung held the belief that the potential of domestic plastic market was huge. After making up his mind， Li Kam Chung signed more ten contracts with domestic plastic factories. With these contracts， he got letters of credit from the bank. Under the help of these letters of credits， he imported 20，000 tons of plastic raw materials from Brazil.

It proved that he was right. After that， the price of plastic raw materials in the world market began to soar. When the goods were delivered， the price doubled in domestic market. As a result， Li Kam Chung attained his initial success and started his successful career in Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong banker once asked Li Kam Chung， “Why could you succeed in every time?” Li Kam Chung answered， “Dialectical materialism is the art of war when I am doing business.” As far as Li Kam Chung was concerned， everything had its two sides， business was no exception. Opportunities often surfaced when the market was depressed and people were pessimistic. Only with these deep understandings of business could Li Kam Chung succeed time after time.

Help Henan province to transform

Li Kam Chung’s investment philosophy was forever closely related to his passion for the motherland. Even a barren land could raise his mercy for it. In 1991， when Li Kam Chung first arrived at Xiangcheng County in Henan province， all he could see was poverty and backwardness there. But in his heart， this place should not have been in poverty like that.

When visiting Lianhua Monosodium Glutamate Factory， Li Kam Chung got acquainted with Li Huaiqing， the manager of the factory， who was regarded as a reliable cooperative partner by Li Kam Chung. Li Kam Chung immediately decided to establish the first joint venture there. But when he was back， his decision was rejected by the majority of the board. Li Kam Chung patiently persuaded them to believe that China was a huge potential market and full of commercial opportunities.

In 1992， Henan Zhoukou Golden Heart Monosodium Glutamate Co.， Ltd was established. At the signing ceremony， Li Kam Chung said that whether a company was good or not did not depend on how much money it owned but on the vitality it displayed. Sure enough， the newly-established company did not let Li Kam Chung down. The company quickly took the lead in the whole industry and became one of the four biggest monosodium glutamate companies around the globe.

For Xiangcheng County， Li Kam Chung’s contribution was not merely his investment. He unleashed a new period for the county to attract foreign investment. Following Li Kam Chung’s investment， many other foreign investments poured in Xiangcheng County. In several years， joint ventures in Xiangcheng County had reached more than 20.

Li Kam Chung’s patriotism towards Xiangcheng County both included economic development and educational investments. When he was a child， he was told by his father that talented people was of great importance for the rise of a nation. On arriving Henan province， Li Kam Chung was worried about the educational condition there. Young students were usually quitting school to engage in business. Kaifeng University， the only college trained workers for local factories， was faced with problems such as old infrastructures and delayed teachers’ salary. In 1994， Li Kam Chung， together with business leaders from Hong Kong， Canada， Australia and Japan， established Kaifeng University Board. By these business leaders’ donation， educational conditions in Xiangcheng County had been greatly improved.

To help poor students finish their education， Li Kam Chung set up “Kam Chung Scholarship” to fund their education. Up to now， there are 15，000 students studying in Kaifeng University and the university is increasingly gaining popularity in the society. The days when teachers can not be timely paid are gone!

Promote cultural exchange

As a member of Hakka minority， Li Kam Chung has played a significant role in cultural exchange between the mainland and Taiwan. He concerned the life and destiny of 4 million Hakka people in Taiwan. In international community， Li Kam Chung is also under the spotlight. In the process of overseas cultural exchange， he once met with former U.S. president Gorge Bush to discuss world food issue. What is more， he was also graciously received by many foreign country leaders.

In fact， Li Kam Chung devoted most of his efforts to the establishment of The World Hakka Business Association. Li Kam Chung believed that the social status of overseas Chinese have been greatly improved some of whom are Hakka people. The aim to establish the association is to strengthen the cooperation among Hakka business leaders around the world. Therefore， the World Hakka Business Association had been established advocated by Li Kam Chung. In 2003， the association funded a cultural center in Zhengzhou under the cooperation with the municipal government.

All Li Kam Chung has done is from his love of the motherland. His patriotism developed from his early age and will not fade any more forever. Prosperity is the aim of his career. In future， he will continue his generosity towards his motherland to the end because he knows that his destiny is closely related to his motherland.