Chinese family leaves lasting impression

From government posts to currency in Mauritius, Chu Wei Chuen's progeny continue to keep emigrant's proud legacy alive in island nation

When US writer Mark Twain visited Mauritius in 1896, he quoted a resident on the island as saying that "Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius".

But for impoverished Chu Wei Chuen, who traveled more than 7,700 kilometers to reach the paradise island at the age of 14 in 1887, the goal in his mind, like that of his peers from the Hakka community, was returning to his hometown of Meizhou, Guangdong province, after starting his own business and making a fortune on the island.

It would never have occurred to him that he would spend the rest of his life in the exotic land, which he would call home; that his second-eldest son, Jean Moilin Ah-Chuen, would become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Mauritius and the country's first minister of local government; and that his eldest granddaughter, Marie Madeleine Lee, would become the Mauritian ambassador to China more than a century after his arrival on the island.

"Our family is very proud that, because of my father, each time there is a Chinese in the Cabinet of Mauritius, and, because of my sister, each time the new ambassador appointed from Mauritius to Beijing is a Chinese," says Donald Ah-Chuen, 84, son of Jean Moilin and CEO of ABC Group, during an interview in the family's old residence on Reverend Lebrun Street in Rose Hill.

When Marie Madeleine went to present her credentials in Beijing in 2000, it was a great honor for her to meet then-Premier Zhu Rongji, and Zhu was so happy to have an ambassador from an African country who spoke fluent Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka and Shanghai dialect, aside from English and French, Donald says.

The ABC Group, founded in 1931 by Jean Moilin, is nowadays one of the leading business organizations in Mauritius and employs more than 1,300 people. With operations ranging from food, automobiles and banking to insurance, shipping and logistics, the company is one of the top 25 conglomerates in the country.

But it all started with a grocery store named ABC, which stands for Au Bazar Central, in Port Louis.

"At the age of 14, (Jean Moilin's) elder brother died, so he had to leave school and help with my grandfather's business," Donald says about his father.

Sugar plantations had been the island's pillar industry since the 18th century, when Mauritius was colonized by French and British settlers. After 1840, many immigrants came from the poorest villages in India to work at sugar cane farms in Mauritius, Donald says.

"The sugar plantation season lasted only six months of the year, so there was no work for the workers in the other half of the year. But although the workers didn't get paid, the Chinese shopkeepers still supplied them with food," he says.

That was the beginning of a special relationship between the Chinese and the workers, from India and whose descendants are the majority of the Mauritian population today, he says.

"At the age of 19, he said to my grandfather, 'I am now going to start my own business,' and opened his shop - the ABC store," Donald says.

In 1942, Jean Moilin became the youngest president of the Mauritian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, where he started his political career, Donald says. The chamber, founded in 1908, is the second-oldest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, he adds.

During World War II, rice and flour supplies could not reach Mauritius, then a British colony. Cargo ships leaving the island's harbor were diverted, intercepted by Japanese warships and submarines, or blown up by Japanese mines.

"Food was scarce. Everything - rice flour, edible oil, soap - had to be imported from overseas. The government decided to adopt the rationing system. Every family had a quota for food and necessities, with allowance cards issued by the government," Donald recalls.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce, entrusted by the Mauritius government, distributed food in the Chinese community to ensure fairness. Jean Moilin, who was a major entrepreneur in the food business and a member of the country's Supplies Council, played a pivotal role during the process. Meanwhile, he called upon overseas Chinese youth to raise funds to help China resist the Japanese invaders.

"My father, as the president of the chamber, also organized a small group of Chinese shopkeepers to form a force for the defense of Mauritius. ...The force, with him as captain, had a few hundreds members," Donald recalls.

Lan Binggang, a 101-year-old veteran who was awarded a medal at a ceremony in China in 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), was a member of the force, according to an earlier report by Changsha Evening News.

Lan came to Mauritius to do business in 1936 and went back to the Chinese mainland in December 1939 to join the army and fight Japanese invaders, the report said.

"After the war, the British government decided that Mauritius should get more democracy. My father became the first Chinese representative on the Legislative Council in 1948 as a reward for his contribution to the country during the war," Donald says.

In 1968, when Mauritius declared independence, Jean Moilin Ah-Chuen was appointed minister of local government. That gave much prestige to the Chinese community, because Sino-Mauritians, mostly of Hakka origin, only accounted for about 2 percent of the country's population, Donald says.

Moreover, "because of his good relationships with other ministers and the prime minister, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, he persuaded the Parliament to make Chinese Spring Festival a public holiday in Mauritius", Donald says, adding that Mauritius is the first non-Asian country to do so.

In 1972, the Mauritian government, in which Jean Moilin held the post of minister, established diplomatic relations with China, a decision that Donald described as wise.

In the early 1970s, the slump of sugar cane prices in the international market dealt a heavy blow to the country's economy. As a result, unemployment in the country rose at an alarming rate.

After the Mauritian government passed the Export Processing Zone Act in 1970 in an effort to provide incentives for foreign trade, Jean Moilin played a crucial role in building the export processing zone and invited a range of delegations of textile, garment and chemical entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao to invest in Mauritius with the help of his daughter, Madeleine, who was living in Hong Kong with her husband, Joseph Lee.

More than 60,000 jobs have been created since the zone was established in 1972, and the country's pillar industries have gradually shifted from sugar manufacturing to textile, tourism and finance services with the development of the zone.

"Not enough credit has been given to (Jean Moilin) for the success of the export processing zone. It must be said that it was the zone that saved Mauritius after independence," says Edouard Lim Fat, a close friend of Jean Moilin and another pioneer of the zone.

In late 1979, then-Prime Minister Ramgoolam recommended Jean Moilin to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for the honor of knighthood, in appreciation of his dedication and contribution to the country. He was made Knight Bachelor of the British Empire in January 1980.

Jean Moilin died in 1991 at the age of 90. His portrait appeared on the 25-rupee banknotes in Mauritius in 1998 when the country's central bank decided to honor all of the first ministers at the time of its independence. Three years later, a commemorative stamp marking the 100th anniversary of his birth was issued in the country.

In her book The Portrait of My Vivid Life, Marie Madeleine Lee says of her father, "You have unquestionably elevated the status of the Chinese community in Mauritius."

Donald Ah-Chuen says, "The Chinese community today is not only well-respected, but also esteemed by other racial groups, whether they are black people, Indians or Muslims."

Many people from the Chinese community are doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, university professors and even supreme court judges, he says.

He attributed the achievements of his family and the success of the Chinese community in the country to traditional Chinese values including integrity, hard work and discipline. "All of those things come from China. My father used to tell us, 'Don't dishonor your family; make your family more honorable by doing the right things," he says.

The family's old residence on Reverend Lebrun Street was turned into a memorial center and museum for Sir Jean Moilin in August 2009.

"From time to time, our family members meet here. It brings back good memories of my family and parents because we all grew up here," Donald says.

Jin Lian Qiu, 46, who moved to Mauritius 17 years ago and teaches Chinese at Royal College Port Louis and Greenwich University Mauritius, says every Mauritian is grateful to Jean Moilin because "his effort kept people from starving during World War II".

"Sino-Mauritians are proud of his dedication to improving the welfare of the community," and the community also serves as a bridge between Mauritius and China, she adds.

"I found that great changes have taken place in China when I was attending the World Chinese Language and Culture Education Conference in Beijing in December. China's rapid development makes overseas Chinese very proud," says Qiu, who is compiling a Chinese textbook for the Mauritian Ministry of Education and Human Resources. "I will play my role as a promoter of Chinese culture in helping more Mauritians better understand China and its culture."

Li Kook Tseung, director of the China Times newspaper in Mauritius and vice-president of the Heen Foh Lee Kwon Society, a Chinese organization, says: "Although we were born in Mauritius, we still have strong ties with China. Chinese-Mauritians prefer to travel to China rather than other places such as Europe and the United States. China is where our heart is.

Regarding China's development, Donald says proudly, "China has people in space." And though the US has long been very good at technology, China has caught up and has a lot of cutting-edge technologies and high-tech companies, such as Huawei, he says. "This is the reality. It's a global situation today."

dongjidong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/22/2018 page26)