Fok Hing-tong (; 1872–1957), also known as Huo Qingtang, was a Hong Kong businesswoman and social reformer. Wife of

Ma Ying-piu Ma Ying-piu (; 21 December 1860 – 15 July 1944) was a Hong Kong retailer and businessman. He founded the Sincere Department Store in 1900, the first Chinese-owned department store in China and is widely regarded as the "father of Chinese depart ...

, founder of the

Sincere Department Store Sincere Department Store () is a department store under the Sincere Company Limited and one of the oldest department chains in Hong Kong. Prior to 1949, its largest operation was in Shanghai, and along with Wing On (which survives in Hong Kong ...

, she was the director and chairwoman of Chinese YWCA of Hong Kong and the leader of the 1920s anti-''mui tsai'' movement.

Biography

Born in 1872 in into a Christian family in Hong Kong with the family root in

Shunde Shunde District, also known as Shuntak, is a district of the city of Foshan, Guangdong province, located in the Pearl River Delta. It had a population of 2,464,784 as of the 2010 census. Once a traditional agricultural county, it has become one ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

, Fok's father, Fok Ching-shang, was a Vicar of St. Stephen's Anglican Church and one of the earliest Chinese clergymen in Hong Kong. Rev. Fok had no sons and wanted his four daughters to marry Christians. Fok Hing-tong married

, an Australian-Chinese businessman who was also the founder of the

, the first Chinese department store in Hong Kong. Fok accompanied Ma to Australia and returned to Hong Kong in 1894 before she convinced her husband to open the Sincere Company. When the first department store in 1900 at 172

Queen's Road Central Queen's Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, within the limit of Victoria City. It was the first road in Hong Kong, constructed by the British between 1841 and 1843, spanning across Victori ...

, she also became the first modern Chinese saleswoman at a time when respectable Chinese women did not work in public. Fok was also an active social leader in Hong Kong. She joined with her sister Fok Shui-yue, Katherine S.C. Woo and So Pui-kau to form the first women's association in Hong Kong, the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, where she served as director from 1920 to 1928 and from 1948 to 1957 and chairwoman from 1920 to 1923. Under her leadership, she promoted the anti-''mui tsai'' movement, a campaign among women and girls to abolish the practice of buying young girls as servants. She was also the chairwoman of the investigation committee of the movement. Ma and her husband Ma Ying-piu had 13 children. All her sisters married to Australian-Chinese Christians. Fok Shui-yue (1877–1961) married Ma Wing-chan (1863–1938) and Fok Fung-kiu married Kwok Kwai. Her fourth son, Ma Man-fai, was also a social activist.

References

{{reflist 1872 births 1957 deaths Chinese women's rights activists Chinese Christians Hong Kong Christians Hong Kong businesspeople 19th-century Chinese businesswomen 19th-century Chinese businesspeople 20th-century Chinese businesswomen 20th-century Chinese businesspeople 19th-century Hong Kong people Social leaders

Biography

See also

References