It is with great sorrow and sadness that Chen Hsong Holdings Ltd. (“Chen Hsong Group”, HKEX: 00057) announces the passing away of beloved founder and Honourable Chairman Dr. CHIANG Chen, recipient of the Grand Bauhinia Medal (Hong Kong’s highest honour), on 13th March, 2022 in the company of family members, aged 100.
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Dr. CHIANG Chen |
Dr. Chiang was born in Heze City, Shandong Province, China to a poor family. Orphaned early, the young Dr. Chiang would prove to be industrious and a keen learner, culminating to his lifetime obsession with industrial machinery and manufacturing technologies. Dr. Chiang founded his “Chen Hsong Machinery Co. Ltd.”, predecessor of the Chen Hsong Group, in 1958 and later, in 1966, developed the first 10oz in-line plastic injection moulding machine in Hong Kong – a remarkable achievement for the industry at the time, which also earned him the fame of “King of Plastic Injection Moulding Machines”. Chen Hsong developed rapidly under Dr. Chiang’s leadership and was eventually listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1991 as one of the leading manufacturers of plastic injection moulding machines worldwide.
In addition to being a leading industrialist in Hong Kong, there has also always been a special place in Dr. Chiang’s heart for China. He was among the first group of industrialists to invest into the Mainland, establishing a joint-venture factory for plastic injection moulding machines in Shunde, Guangdong Province, all the way back in 1986 when China’s “Opening Up” movement was just gaining steam. His confidence and insistence in contributing back to his homeland was unheard of in Chinese industrial circles at the time.
Due to humble beginnings, Dr. Chiang himself firmly adheres to the motto that “industry enriches people’s livelihood, leading to prosperity which strengthens the country.” For that, in 1990, he donated his entire shareholding in the Chen Hsong Group to set up the Chiang Chen Industrial Charity Foundation (“Charity Foundation”) – a charity fund with the charter of promoting technical education and training for Chinese industrial talents and industry leaders, as well as to support the development of China’s industrial base.
Throughout more than 30 years of its existence, the Charity Foundation regularly held technical training seminars, sponsored scholarships and donated to technical research projects, non-stop and always with low profile. To date, a total sum exceeding HK$400million has been given and the Charity Foundation is now one of the largest charity organizations based in Hong Kong dedicated to the education and development of Chinese industrial manufacturing.
The Charity Foundation boasts cooperation with numerous world-renowned institutions include Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, South China University of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Dalian University of Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Tongji University, Shandong University, University of California, Berkeley (USA), George Washington University (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Stanford University (USA) and Columbia University (USA). More than 60,000 technical and management personnel benefited from the Charity Foundation’s programmes.
While manufacturing technology remains Dr. Chiang’s life-long interest, his love for society and its people led him to generously give back, and his philanthropic activities were duly recognized by many, including being awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal (Hong Kong’s highest honour), the OBE from the Queen of England, and honorary doctorates from The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and The Open University of Hong Kong (now Hong Kong Metropolitan University).
The passing away of Dr. Chiang struck a hefty blow upon all our hearts, and he will forever be remembered by society as Hong Kong’s trail-blazing philanthropic industrialist as well as a true master in industrial machinery.
His spirit and inspirations will be with us all.
The Chen Hsong Group
