It has been said that the Jews are the most readful and intelligent people;
It is also said that they are the most ungrateful and forgetful people.
China helps Jewish refugees, takes them in, provides all kinds of help, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
"No state aided the Jews during World War II."
In such a nation full of controversy and contradictions, there is a person who is different, who perfectly combines wisdom and forgetfulness to his roots, and achieves fame.
Not only did he make a fortune in China, but he didn't forget his roots when he returned after becoming famous!
He directly gave up his Canadian citizenship, insisted on his foundation, and insisted on joining Chinese nationality with all the assets he earned in Hong Kong, China, and was angrily scolded by foreign media as a madman.
With his unique and avant-garde vision, he became a business tycoon in the Jewish and Hong Kong areas.
In Hong Kong, China, where every inch of land is at a premium, he is known as the legendary figure of the "Father of Lan Kwai Fong".
In 2011, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region awarded Zeman the "Grand Bauhinia Medal", which symbolizes the highest honor.
Even in 2019, Zeman was invited to participate in the 70th anniversary celebration of the motherland.
Information source: China News Network, see the link at the end of the article
He often said: "I have never regretted becoming a naturalized Chinese citizen, and I am proud to be Chinese." ”
He was Zeman, a Jewish businessman who became a Chinese citizen.
As a business tycoon, doing it to the extreme will become a sweet spot that all countries want to "put in their pockets".
Especially in the contemporary era when a large number of Chinese people immediately give up their Chinese nationality to get a green card after enjoying the national welfare benefits and making money, the contrast is even more stark and prominent.
Sheng Zhiwen has not forgotten that he made a fortune is a platform provided by China, and he has achieved something on Chinese soil.
Sheng Zhiwen said: "I am a foreigner, and I am also an old Hong Kong person. ”
Such a legendary figure, what kind of background did he come from, and he continued to work hard, step by step, to the present, and became a Hong Kong tycoon. And still adhere to the original intention, do not forget the original?
A childhood that was suddenly changed and difficult and difficult
Zeman Zeman was born in Germany in 1948 to an ordinary Jewish family, his father was a seamstress, and his mother was a health care worker. The family is ordinary but happy.
The accident happened when he was 7 years old, his father died, and in order to make ends meet, his mother had to take Zeman to Canada to join relatives and friends, and barely survived on his mother's meager income in Montreal.
The two of them depend on each other, but he wants to live a life of stability, wealth, and no burdens. The young Zeman has quietly planted a seed in his heart, and he must work hard to make money!
At the age of 10, Zeman was busy delivering newspapers to his neighbors, rain or shine; At the age of 12, he worked as a handyman at a steakhouse on weekends, wiping tables, serving dishes and mopping floors.
His insistence on working to subsidize the family has indeed helped his mother relieve a lot of life pressure.
In this way, while going to work and studying, I was stunned to buy a car with my own income when I was 16 years old.
In fact, it can be seen from his childhood experience that Zeman did not do nothing because he was young and complained about others, but was smart, self-reliant and had the character of perseverance.
Set sail for China
The poor boy struggled to make ends meet in Canada until he was 19 years old.
During this period, Zeman finished high school, and although his grades were good, and he did not delay his studies because of the day-to-day part-time work, Zeman felt that he did not want to live that life without the future in his grasp.
At the age of 17, he gave up his university studies and went to work in a clothing company, and gradually worked from sales to the main person in charge of importing women's clothing from Hong Kong to Canada with his observation and good eloquence accumulated since childhood.
At the age of 19, he went to Hong Kong for work reasons, and it was that opportunity that he discovered a business opportunity.
He found that the overall atmosphere of Hong Kong is more harmonious and gentle, with a desirable prosperity and tolerance. Since then, he has had plans to start a business in Hong Kong.
The story begins like this, 19-year-old Sheng Zhi bra has become successful, he feels that his talent and ability have been honed since childhood, and with his savings over the years, he is his own boss.
Zeman opened a garment import company, which he imported from Hong Kong and sold in North America.
After a year of doing this, Zeman thought he could finally succeed, but after paying 50% of the tax, he found that the money he got was only $425,000, which he did not expect, and Zeman was very frustrated and lost his fighting spirit for a while.
But what happened to him was that he inquired by chance and learned that Hong Kong's tax rate was only 15%, and he felt that he had found a way out, so he decided to do a big job - move the company to Hong Kong!
In 1975, Dr. Zeman took advantage of the east wind of Hong Kong's garment industry and founded Colby in Hong Kong, mainly engaged in garment trade, exporting Hong Kong garments to Europe and the United States, which not only helped his own garment business to a higher level, but also highlighted the level of garment production in China.
In just a few years, Colby has continued to grow, and as a direct result of its high profit margins and good market response, the business has continued to expand and push forward strongly to the market.
With the continuous expansion of the company, the circle of friends has also expanded to the extent that you can meet different elites from all walks of life.
In the process of communicating and chatting with people from all walks of life, Zeman repeatedly heard people complaining that there are only bars to relax in Hong Kong, but bars are not open for leisure and entertainment.
After hearing the news, Zeman found that Hong Kong does have a large market gap in leisure and entertainment facilities, and the related infrastructure is single and lacks diversification.
Sheng Zhiwen, who took advantage of the dividends of the times to take advantage of the business opportunities of Hong Kong's ready-to-wear garments, won the first hand of chess, gained the Chinese market, and also got to know a lot of contacts.
Now, Zeman is determined to change the direction of development and become an integrated leisure and entertainment venue. The first was the opening of a restaurant on a leased basis, California. With the good response, it slowly spread out and became bigger.
"Don't do anything", Ze Wenhua thought about it, and simply spent more than 30 million Hong Kong dollars to buy the entire building where the restaurant is located.
After some design and decoration, the whole building has been transformed, directly from a neat and serious office building to an entertainment venue full of entertainment and freedom, integrating catering, KTV, bars and nightclubs.
Up to now, for more than 40 years, "Lan Kwai Fong" has been sticking to the alley just across the street from Queen Street, and the word of mouth has spread ten, ten, hundreds, and now it has become a well-known landmark in Hong Kong, and even has the reputation of "the first street of Asian nightclubs", so he is also known as the father of "Lan Kwai Fong".
This dirty sloping alley, which is no more than 20 meters wide and 300 meters long, ushered in a new tomorrow in the early 80s.
Under the careful care of Zeman, it quickly developed into the most distinctive bar street in Hong Kong, "Lan Kwai Fong".
It can be said that Zeman's success is both accidental and inevitable, and it is the dividends of the times that give him two chances to succeed in ready-to-wear and bar streets.
But Zeman's eyes of discovery led him in the right direction.
Finally, the most important thing is that Zeman's persistence is that his experience since childhood has made him not give up easily, and he can continue to persevere, so that he can continue to survive in desperate situations and get a new life.
gave up foreigners, became Chinese nationals, and was scolded as a "madman" just because he had a Chinese heart
He came to China at the age of 19, and in the nearly 50 years he has been in China, he has been learning China's excellent ideas such as moderation and harmony, and his desire to become a Chinese citizen has become stronger and stronger.
But when he brought it up to his family, they didn't understand it very well, but when Zeman talked about his displacement as a child and his worries about the future; He talked about the peace and stability he saw in China.
When he came here at the age of 19, he saw the infinite possibilities of China at first sight, and he liked China more than his own entrepreneurial history references in other countries.
After hearing this, the family also expressed their support, and in this way, after rejecting the ill-intentioned invitation of other countries and convincing the family, he finally succeeded in becoming a Chinese citizen in 2008.
Information source: Shanxi Evening News, see the link at the end of the article
During this time, there were many voices, including speculation about his intentions to join, the belief that he was just talking, criticism of him personally, and of course admiration for his ability to not forget his roots, and so on.
The so-called gentleman's deeds do not care about his heart.
In response to various voices, Zeman did not rush to respond, but proved everything with his actions during this period.
In 2003, Hong Kong's tourism industry was hit hard and Hong Kong's Ocean Park lost money for many years, and Zeman was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the marine theme park, a government-run park.
The government believes in Dr. Zeman, but Mr. Zeman does not have much confidence in himself.
Zeman was worried that he would not be able to do this project, because he was not sure if he could do it, and secondly, he didn't know anything about Ocean Park, let alone know what to do, but after repeated invitations, he decided to give it a try and visit Ocean Park!
In this way, from the field trip to the formation of the team, from the thinking plan to the implementation of the project, Zeman walked strictly and seriously every step of the way, and even played a role to attract guests by himself.
Fortunately, Huangtian has finally revitalized Ocean Park.
Not only that, but during his tenure as chairman of the board, he was also not paid a penny.
When the country needed help, Zeman rushed to the front.
In the 2017 Southeast Asian tsunami, Zeman also experienced it. When the tsunami came, some people were carried away by the tsunami before they could react.
After seeing the power of nature, Zeman did not flinch, he insisted on rushing to the front. Instead of staying away from the tsunami, they stayed in the area to help find the people who went missing in the tsunami.
After the tsunami, Dr. Zeman said:
"It is impossible to predict what will happen in the next moment in a person's life, and only by living in the present and living each day well can you leave without regrets."
In the Central Plains rainstorm incident, Zeman did not hesitate to donate 10 million to tide over the difficulties.
In 2011, Zeman was awarded the "Grand Bauhinia Medal" of the same style by Mr. Fok Ying Tung. In the face of this great honor, Zeman said with emotion: "I am proud to be Chinese!" ”
Information source: CCTV News, see the link at the end of the article
Later, in 2019, Zeman was invited to participate in the 70th anniversary celebration of the motherland.
Looking at China's prosperity and strength, Zeman is very proud and excited about this recognition and encouragement from the state, just like he often jokes about himself, a "white shell and yellow heart" egg.
Which Chinese people are not full of emotion and excitement at this moment!
epilogue
Life is a journey, there will be many scenery along the way, Zeman encountered a storm when he was young, a rainbow when he was young, and a sunny day in the future.
Whether it was a storm, a rainbow, or a sunny day, he seized every opportunity, enjoyed every scenery, and passed on his friendliness and remembrance to more people.
If you like this program, please click "Follow", which is convenient for browsing past works and not missing the next sharing, thank you for your support!
[Disclaimer] The content and pictures of the article are from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy and no vulgar and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible! If there is any suspicious part of the incident, delete or change it immediately after contacting!
Resources:
1. China News Network: "The Father of Lan Kwai Fong" Zeman: I am a "foreign face", but I have a "Chinese heart"
https://www.chinanews.com/dwq/2023/06-29/10033611.shtml
2. Shanxi Evening News: "The Father of Lan Kwai Fong" Zeman: Earned 1 million Canadian dollars at the age of 19, but gave up the US green card for naturalization in China
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1740882397519999769&wfr=spider&for=pc
3. CCTV News: "Hong Kong Entrepreneur Allan Zeman: "Patriots Administering Hong Kong" Point Out the Direction for Hong Kong, and the Future Will Be Better
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1693822047141743752&wfr=spider&for=pc