| April 2000 Fung Leung Lo
Adversity crafts one’s
character
By Chan Siu Sin
Article from the same
section:
Photojournalists - Vision and mission
Life involves changes and chances. These two
interacted to construct the life of Fung Leung Lo.
Fung Leung Lo never lingers in the same profession, as
he changes jobs frequently. He has been a teacher, a life insurance salesman, an
international financial planner, a real estate agent and a columnist.
He is now a writer, radio talk show host, a television
program host and an elected District Board Councillor.
With his diverse working experiences and knowledge of
history, he might be regarded as successful. Yet, behind the success, few people know
about his unusual childhood.
His father died when Fung was 3. He thus found himself
"floating" in different homes during childhood.
Such difficulties shaped his characteristics.
Question: Could you give us a brief account of your childhood?
Answer: After my father died, my siblings departed because my mother couldn't support six
of us. Then I lived under the roofs of relatives for 10 years, frequently being
"transferred". In those 10 years, deep in my heart, I was afraid of my
relatives, because they usually beat me and disgraced me. I felt inferior to others. I was
being abused.
Q: With the frequent moves, how was your school life and how were your studies?
A: I had no regular schools. At the very first, I didn't like going to school. I fought in
school nearly every day. When I graduated from primary school, I didn't even know the
alphabet. Since I met my mother again at 14, I started to work hard because she placed
high expectations on me. She emphasized that she was looked down upon by others and relied
on me to earn respect. I read primarily English books and various Chinese newspapers, as
there was no other entertainment. After the two-year matriculation, the University of Hong
Kong failed to give me any offer. Therefore, I worked for one year, saving up to further
my studies in Canada.
Q: Do you consider your childhood a drifting one?
A: This is fate. I'll accept it. As in Zhuangzi's story, a duck would still know how to
survive if it is born with only one leg. But frequent moves really had an impact on me. I
seldom had friends. In fact, this actually became helpful to me as I learned how to rely
on myself. Support from friends is merely "pseudo-power" as it cannot stand
through time. Friends cannot provide real support. You can only rely on yourself.
Q: With that in your childhood, how do you treat your own children?
A: My girl and boy are now 19 and 15, respectively. I want them to be independent, in
terms of money and emotion. When my daughter went abroad to study, I gave her a sum of
money, once and for all. Thus, she had to manage on her own. Emotional independence means
that when she has problems, she has to handle it herself instead of coming to me. When she
was 4, she once asked me her uncle's telephone number. I told her his company name and she
dialed the telephone enquiry hotline to find out the number.
Q: What impact did studying abroad have on you?
A: I was majoring in history. But it is only a tool. Studying abroad changed me as it
widened my perceptions of the world. At that time, only rich people could afford studying
abroad. On the contrary, I was poor. But I recognized that many rich youngsters are not so
smart as they seemed to be. They were more naive than I was. The more I read, the more the
confidence piled up. Through this widening of my perceptions, I slowly developed my
confidence and conquered my feeling of inferiority.
Q: Your Christian name, Ronald, was picked by you when you were in the university. Is
there a hidden meaning here?
A: When I went abroad, my written English was fair but my listening and oral skills were
poor. When I registered at the university, the receptionist asked me, "Your name
please?" I replied "I don't know". She laughed. Another time I went to the
orientation, where there were only a few Chinese. I saw my neighbour and I was so happy
that I put my hand on his shoulder. He asked me, "Are you queer?" I didn't
understand what he meant, but I did not want to say "I don't know" again as I
had been laughed before. So I said, "Yes". He ran away immediately. It was later
that I realized "queer" means "homosexual". Since then I tried very
hard to improve my English. The "r" sound of my name was particularly difficult
for me to pronounce. That's why I named myself Ronald, pushing myself to overcome the
"r" sound.
Q: How do you see the job of a life insurance salesman?
A: I could pursue and pay effort according to my potential. In fact, the impact of being a
life insurance salesman had the greatest impact on me of all the jobs I've tried. The job
has made me get in touch with people. Besides, the job nature of sales is a matter of
effort. Salesmen have to sell products which are not yet generally accepted by society.
They are supposed to set the trend themselves.
Q: Are you eloquent?
A: Eloquence is not about whether you know how to talk. It is the result of the concrete
work you've done. That means if you are familiar with all the procedures in your work
after you have experienced it by yourself, you'll know the gist and be eloquent about it.
If you are born to be eloquent, you are just being talkative. To be really eloquent, we
have to turn our weaknesses into strengths. And through this conquering process, we could
change from being timid to eloquent.
Q: Why are you interested in Chinese history?
A: As I am confident about Hong Kong's prospects after the signing of Sino-British Joint
Declaration in 1984, I know learning Chinese history is beneficial. I think politics is a
growing industry. Besides, I would like to help maintain "one country, two
systems" so that Hong Kong is ruled by her own people.
Q: Why do you change professions rather than changing to another company?
A: When I first start a new profession, I commit myself in the job and I learn. But after
I have grasped the techniques, the work becomes monotonous and mechanical. When I can't
see any breakthroughs in my job, I change to another profession. Life needs new
nourishment. To start from nothing again, I would work from the lowest to see the whole
picture. Shortcuts are meaningless. That's why I never count my failures. When I was a
life insurance salesman, there might only be one successful deal among four clients. Three
people said "No" to me. So what? This is life. You win some and you lose some. |
|
"Leung means two and Lo means effort. That's
why I named myself Leung Lo. Whatever I do, I'll put in twice the effort. Cleverness is
controlled by genes, but diligence is controlled by myself."
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