2013-11-26    A Hong Kong Christmas Carol

Chin Gu Hon (錢吝嗇) was a ruthless Hong Kong tycoon.  His motto was "The world is unfair and we want to make sure the advantage becomes more and more unfair".  He despised poor people and refused to help anyone in need.

Then a friend gave him a copy of Poverty in the Midst of Affluence by Leo Goodstadt - about the miserly attitude to poor people by business leaders and successive administrations in Hong Kong.

This caused Gu Hon to have two disturbing dreams. In the first dream he saw the Ghost of 1997 Past, which recalled how he had cheated so many workers at his factories in China. In the second dream he saw the Ghost of 1997 Future, which showed him a Hong Kong plagued by increasing social instability because of rampant poverty, eventually causing the collapse of his company.

After the dreams, Gu Hon changed his name to Chin Guan Sum (錢關心) and dedicated a large part of his time and energy to helping poor people in Hong Kong and the Mainland. May more Hong Kong hard-hearted leaders please read Leo's book ...and have some interesting dreams!  (Background: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens)
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Chin = money
Gu Hon = stingy
Guan Sum = caring