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The Hong Kong Fukien Chamber of Commerce (formerly the Fukien Chamber of Commerce), guided by its mission of “Caring for our fellow compatriots and nurturing talent”, founded a charity school in 1926.
The school premises were located on the 4th floor of 92 Des Voeux Road West, which was the former address of the Fukien Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. TO Sze Tuen, the Founding Chairman of the Fukien Chamber of Commerce
In 1941, Hong Kong fell, and the charity school ceased operation. After Hong Kong's liberation in 1945, more Fukien natives came to Hong Kong, and demand for their children's education grew.
Driven by Mr. WONG Siu Ping, Chairman of the Fukien Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. CHONG Sing Chung, Chairman of the Fukien Clansmen Association, a ten-member school founding committee was formed to build a school. They applied to the British colonial government for land to construct a school, but were refused.
Mr. WONG Siu Ping (left), Chairman of the Fukien Chamber of Commerce and Mr. CHONG Sing Chung (right), Chairman of the Fukien Clansmen Association, spearheaded the joint effort of the two associations to establish the school after the war.
On March 19 1951, “Fukien Secondary School” was founded on Des Voeux Road West in Sai Wan, providing primary and secondary education for local children, overseas Chinese families, and newly arrived students.
The early years were difficult. After nine years of hard work, enrollment rose to over 700, and senior secondary courses were introduced, bringing the school to an initial stage of development.
In post-war Hong Kong, as a large influx of mainland immigrants arrived and the number of school-age children surged, clan associations and chambers of commerce from various regions founded schools one after another. Under difficult conditions, the Fukien Chamber of Commerce and Principal CHAN established Fukien Secondary School's founding mission of “Caring for our fellow compatriots, nurturing talent, and loving the country and one's hometown”, making "patriotic education" the core of the school from its very inception and boldly elevating "overseas Chinese education" to "patriotic education." The establishment of this philosophy was highly visionary and courageous given Hong Kong's political and social environment at the time.
Under the leadership of Principal CHAN, the school upheld the spirit of charitable free education. After its official registration in 1951, it kept tuition fees low and admitted large numbers of the children of overseas Chinese families who had settled in Hong Kong from the mainland, as well as underprivileged students, even reducing or waiving tuition fees to help students from poor families.
Entering the 1960s, classrooms became insufficient. To solve the campus problem, the chamber decided to build its own premises. Through the collective efforts of the chamber, the self-built campus on Java Road in North Point was completed and opened in 1966, improving the teaching environment.
During this period, the Sai Wan and North Point campuses coexisted. Later, overcoming all difficulties, a "one school, three campuses" model was established, with the secondary school, primary school, kindergarten, and evening school operating simultaneously.
In February 1969, the school raised funds to purchase the second floor of 19–21 North Point Road, opening a branch for the primary school and kindergarten.
In 1973, the former Shue Yan School premises on Tsing Wah Street, North Point, were rented as a branch campus.
In 1974, the school purchased the entire second and third floors of Cheong Fai Court on Tsat Tsz Mui Road, North Point, totaling several thousand square feet, to establish a branch campus.
During his tenure, he led the planning and construction of the Kwun Tong and Siu Sai Wan campuses.
The Java Road main school became one of the first batch of Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools, while the Tsat Tsz Mui Road branch continued to operate as a private school, marking Fukien Middle School's official entry into a "one school, two systems" period. With increased resources, student results became even more outstanding. The school continued to maintain excellent results in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), and its reputation rose accordingly.
To meet the government's teacher qualification requirements for DSS schools, the school had to recruit more registered teachers with local university degrees. A group of teachers with rich teaching experience but unable to register due to academic qualifications were reassigned to other school duties or arranged to teach at the primary and secondary schools still operating as private schools. In addition, teachers who had taught for many years and reached retirement age were asked to step down from the classroom. To show care and respect for these elderly staff members, the "Fukien Secondary School Senior Staff Association" was established in 1992.
In 1996, Mr. TUNG visited the school. Although the campus was modest, he was deeply moved by the students' outstanding academic results and patriotic fervour.
After the handover, Mr. TUNG immediately fulfilled his promise to allocate land for a new school, facilitating the completion of the Siu Sai Wan campus and the Kwun Tong Millennium campus, allowing FSS to bid farewell to its old environment entirely. We will always remember this timely act of kindness.
The School Management Committee received notice from the Education Department that its application had been successful: land in Siu Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island was granted for the construction of a new aided secondary school.
Originally on Java Road in North Point, officially moved into the new millennium campus on Chun Wah Road, Kwun Tong.
The former campus on Java Road converted to run a "Induction Programme" to help newly arrived students adapt to school life in Hong Kong.
The School Management Committee successfully obtained the right to operate Christian Alliance Cheng Muk Hing Primary School and renamed it "Fukien Secondary School Affiliated School.“
To commemorate this glorious moment, a short film titled "The Hong Kong Fujian Chamber of Commerce: A Century of Education" was specially produced. At the same time, the three schools jointly produced an anniversary film, “Bonds Across a Century," inviting the renowned actor Joel CHAN Shan Chung to play the male lead, and mobilising over 200 teachers, students, alumni, and retired teachers to reflect on the original mission of education and the spirit of the times through the medium of film.
