# Lau Chu-pak > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lau_Chu-pak > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lau_Chu-pak.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lau_Chu-pak > Source revision: 1349687005 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Hong Kong merchant and politician Lau Chu-pak CMG JP Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong In office 5 September 1913 – 7 June 1922 Appointed by Sir Francis Henry May Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs Preceded by Ho Kai Succeeded by Ng Hon-tsz Personal details Born (1867-06-05)5 June 1867 Hong Kong Died 3 May 1922(1922-05-03) (aged 54) Hong Kong Lau Chu-pak Traditional Chinese 劉鑄伯 Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Làuh Jyu baak Jyutping Lau4 Zyu3 baak3 **Lau Chu-pak** [CMG](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) [JP](/source/Justice_of_the_Peace#Hong_Kong) (5 June 1867 – 3 May 1922) was a Hong Kong merchant and politician. Lau Chu-pak was admitted to [Queen's College](/source/Queen's_College%2C_Hong_Kong) in the same year as [Sun Yat-sen](/source/Sun_Yat-sen). He became a clerk at the [Hong Kong Observatory](/source/Hong_Kong_Observatory) and later went into business and became a [comprador](/source/Comprador) of the [West Point Godown Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Point_Godown_Company&action=edit&redlink=1) in 1888 and of [A. S. Watson](/source/A.S._Watson_Group) from 1893. Together with [Ho Fook](/source/Ho_Fook), they founded the [Chinese General Chamber of Commerce](/source/Chinese_General_Chamber_of_Commerce), where he later served as chairman. Along with Sir [Robert Hotung](/source/Robert_Hotung), Lau was an early developer of the West [Hung Hom](/source/Hung_Hom) (now [East Tsim Sha Tsui](/source/East_Tsim_Sha_Tsui)) area of Kowloon in the 1890s.[1] He held various public posts, including the chairmanship of [Po Leung Kuk](/source/Po_Leung_Kuk) and [Tung Wah Hospital](/source/Tung_Wah_Hospital), and was a member of the [District Watch Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=District_Watch_Committee&action=edit&redlink=1) and the [Sanitary Board](/source/Sanitary_Board).[2] He was appointed as [Unofficial Member](/source/Unofficial_Member) of the [Legislative Council](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Hong_Kong) from 1913 until his death in 1922.[3] He helped found the [University of Hong Kong](/source/University_of_Hong_Kong) by donating to the endowment fund in 1911. He later became a member of the University's Court between 1911 and 1914 and was made honorary life member of the Court in 1914. He was a member of the University Council from 1911 to 1922. In 1921, Lau and fellow Legislative Councillor [Ho Fook](/source/Ho_Fook) established the Society for the Protection of the Mui Tsai, an initiative aimed at curbing the demise of the [mui-tsai](/source/Mui-tsai) system, a form of child slavery in which young girls were bought and sold in Hong Kong and other parts of China. The society had the backing of Chinese community leaders including [Ts'o Seen Wan](/source/Ts'o_Seen_Wan), [Chow Shou-son](/source/Chow_Shou-son) and [Ho Kom-tong](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ho_Kom-tong&action=edit&redlink=1).[4] Lau adopted a staunchly conservative and anti-communist stance amid the 1925 Seamen's Strike. He regarded "strong Bolshevist support" as the root cause and opposed any concession.[5] His son Lau Tak-po founded the [Hong Kong and Yaumatei Ferry Company](/source/Hongkong_and_Yaumati_Ferry), which is still under the control of the family. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Smith, Carl T.; Hayes, James (1975). "Hung Hom (紅磡): An Early Industrial Village in Old British Kowloon". *[Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society](/source/Journal_of_the_Hong_Kong_Branch_of_the_Royal_Asiatic_Society)*. **15**: 318–324. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0085-5774](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0085-5774). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Ure, Gavin (2012). *Governors, Politics and the Colonial Office: Public Policy in Hong Kong, 1918–58*. Hong Kong University Press. p. 239. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Mellor, Bernard. *Lugard in Hong Kong: Empires, Education and a Governor at Work*. Hong Kong University Press. p. 199. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Smith, Carl T. (1981). "The Chinese Church, Labour and Elites and the Mui Tsai question in the 1920s". *[Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society](/source/Journal_of_the_Hong_Kong_Branch_of_the_Royal_Asiatic_Society)*. **21**: 91–113. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0085-5774](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0085-5774). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Chan, Lau Kit-ching (2000). "The Perception of Chinese Communism in Hong Kong 1921-1934". *[China Quarterly](/source/China_Quarterly)*. **164**: 1048. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0305741000019299](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0305741000019299). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0305-7410](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0305-7410). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [153886582](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:153886582). Legislative Council of Hong Kong Preceded by Ho Kai Chinese Unofficial Member 1913–1922 Succeeded by Ng Hon-tsz Preceded by Wei Yuk Senior Chinese Unofficial Member 1917–1922 Succeeded by Chow Shou-son Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lau Chu-pak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lau_Chu-pak) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lau_Chu-pak?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.