Force of circumstance brought Molly Kung (Gong Zhongxin) to Hong Kong in 2007 after more than 20 years in the United States, a move which obliged her to switch careers, while she also dealt with the headlines and court appearances related to the last will and testament of her elder sister Nina Wang.
“It was a time for the family to come together,” says Kung, now executive director of marketing for the Chinachem Group. “The first couple of years in Hong Kong were quite tough and confusing, but friends in the company were there to advise me. I also had a responsibility to learn, so I read everything and asked questions continuously. I can’t yet say I’m a business expert, but I understand the big picture and know what has to be done.”
From her first “when I grow up” composition in primary school, Kung always wanted to be a doctor. She held firmly to that ambition through the late forties and 1950s, a period which saw the family move briefly to Taiwan, her businessman father lost in a sinking at sea off Zhejiang province, and her mother managing to make ends meet as she raised four children.
“Overall, we still had a decent life in Shanghai until the Cultural Revolution,” says Kung, whose mother had qualified as a midwife and went back to work as a nurse for a food manufacturing company. “She got quite a good salary, plus my father had left some money and we sold his car and some goods in storage. We had a nice house in the former French Concession – number 202 Nanchang Road - and were not affected by events at that time the way some other families were. Deep down, though, I always felt that I needed to give and should not live a life that was self-centred.”
To this end, Kung trained in the English-language stream at Shanghai Second Medical University for eight years from 1960 before being assigned to work, along with her husband and in line with official government directives, in a remote, impoverished area of Qinghai province.
“We were 35 hours by train from Shanghai and were given RMB 3,000 to open a clinic and surgery,” she says. “Chairman Mao said ‘serve the people’, so that is what we went to do.”
At times, the conditions of poverty were hard to believe. Most villagers had just one set of clothes, few had enough to eat since the land could produce crops only five months a year, and the nearest field served as the privy. The winters at 3,000 metres were long and bleak, and water was so precious, no one wasted it on washing.
“Before giving patients an injection or performing an operation, I would first have to peel the dirt off their bodies,” Kung says. “So, one of the first steps was to buy everyone soap and set up a place to shower. In due course, I also taught the women about birth control and made them understand they didn’t have to have all these children. I remember meeting one woman aged 38 who was married at 17 and, ever since, had been either pregnant or nursing a new-born.”
Altogether, Kung went on to train 22 female “barefoot doctors”, most with just a primary school education, who were then able to bring basic health care and hygiene education to thousands of previously neglected villagers.
Everywhere, though, there were reminders of how much still had to be done. For instance, visiting the home of one student who had four children, Kung realised they were eating a soup made of powdered grasses. In winter, women would have to work barefoot in the snow, while the men sat at home on the kang smoking their pipes. And too many kids could easily succumb to the usual childhood diseases simply through not receiving the necessary attention in time.
“But I visited the area again three years ago and it has all changed,” she says. “They welcomed me back with a big pile of bread and a gift of handmade shoes; I couldn’t stop crying.
Looking back, it was a bizarre period of Chinese history, but I have come to appreciate my 10 years in Qinghai and what I was able to achieve.”
In 1978, Kung returned to the university in Shanghai, as the country’s education system gradually recovered. She qualified as a master of medicine in child development and health care, with her dissertation focusing on a standardised “picture-vocabulary” intelligence test for children in China, which has been used ever since.
That done, she joined her husband in Nanjing, working for two years as a paediatrician in a state hospital, and then, in 1984, she accepted an invitation to be a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.
“It came about by chance,” she says. “A neighbour in Shanghai, who had been there, put me in contact with Michigan. Subsequently, at the age of 42, I started graduate studies in the School of Kinesiology, where they also paid me to be research assistant.”
This led to later involvement in major national research projects looking into health education and health care management. These initiatives typically used sociological studies and randomised controls to test different models. Kung also did advanced work on other subjects including human nutrition and international epidemiology.
“I’m a ‘studyholic’,” she says, a trait which has definitely helped in mastering new briefs in a less familiar field since 2007. Among current priorities, Kung wants to build the corporate brand, emphasising sustainable development, while also supporting the work of the Chinachem Charitable Foundation.
TALKING POINTS
Molly Kung’s business maxims
Be caring “I firmly believe every young person has a responsibility to their family and to society. For this, it is important to have a big heart and take steps to develop your potential through hard work and study.”
Take things in “In any new environment, it is up to each of us to observe and learn. People are like sponges, though, so there is no reason that should present a problem.”
Persist “Even at my age, transformation is not so difficult if you are ready to apply yourself and can rely on the held and support of people around you.”
Don’t worry “Be grateful for whatever you have and look on the positive side. When I first came into the business world, some people said negative things, but you can’t let that concern you.”
Think local “The company has always shown confidence in Hong Kong and sought to contribute to the community - and will continue to do so.”
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Hearts and minds.
