Young people in the post-war era of Hong Kong were often deprived of education. Because of the lack of government-run facilities, a considerable part of Hong Kong’s education at the time was provided by private schools, which mostly taught in Chinese. New Asia College was one of them.
In 1952, the Government promulgated the Business Regulation Ordinance requiring all private schools to register with the Department of Commerce and Industry and also to pay business tax. Most New Asia students back then were poor and depended on the support of the school. Mr. Chien Mu once said that “80% of our students were exempt from tuition at the time”, so taxes would be a burden. More importantly, the registration implied that New Asia was a profit-oriented school, which, according to Chairman Mr. Vermier Chiu, “would be mocked by society”.
Part of the license mentioning that seven College members signed the Memorandum of Association on October 24, 1952 which was referred by the Registrar in his consideration.
In his reply to Mr. Chiu’s enquiry during his recuperation in Taiwan, Mr. Chien protested against this policy, and stated that he would rather give up the school than to apply for a business license. To remove the words “Limited Company” from its registration, the College needed to register as a body corporate in accordance with the Companies Ordinance as well as to verify its non-profit nature. After one year of negotiation, the College was finally granted the permission to dispense with the word “Limited” in its registration today 68 years ago, on July 7, 1953.
The exemption signified the official recognition of the College as a solely educational institution. As stated by Mr. Chien, this had made New Asia “the only non-profit-making private school in Hong Kong. It was indeed a tremendous honor for the College”.
