This morning, Julie and I went to Markville Mall for our usual morning walk.
It was an ordinary morning, but something happened that brought me back more than sixty years.
I met an old schoolmate.
We talked about the upcoming La Salle College picnic on August 30. He asked whether I would be going. For personal reasons, I decided not to attend this time.
Then our conversation took an unexpected turn.
He asked me, “Were you in the same class as Jack So?”
That question immediately brought back a name from my school days.
Jack So Chak Kwong — 蘇澤光.
My classmate strongly recommended Jack's recently published autobiography, 不說不可能——從廣州街童到機場主席 — roughly, Never Say Impossible: From a Guangzhou Street Child to Chairman of the Airport Authority.
I had heard of Jack So many times over the years. But suddenly I realized something:
I knew Jack before he became Jack So.
Jack So Chak Kwong (蘇澤光), my La Salle College classmate, whom I first knew as an outstanding student in 1964.
We Were La Salle Classmates
Jack and I graduated from La Salle College in 1964.
We were classmates at La Salle, although we were usually in different classes. I remember Jack as one of the outstanding students in our year, consistently near the top academically and already very popular among his classmates.
I left La Salle after Form 5 to join Abbott Laboratories Hong Kong, while Jack continued his studies through Forms 6 and 7 before entering the University of Hong Kong.
Today, looking back, I remember Jack as an outstanding student.
He was consistently near the top of our form academically. He was also already very popular among the students.
At that time, of course, none of us could have known what his future would look like.
We were just teenagers going to school.
We studied, played, talked with our classmates and worried about examinations.
But even then, Jack stood out.
La Salle's alumni records identify him as a 1964 graduate, and HKU records that he later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969.
From a Schoolboy to a Builder of Hong Kong
After university, Jack's career took him into many different worlds.
He began with the Hong Kong Government. He later moved into the private sector and held senior positions in securities, finance and property development.
He became Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council from 1985 to 1992.
Then, in 1995, he became Chairman and Chief Executive of the MTR Corporation.
This is where his story becomes particularly interesting to me.
When we think about Hong Kong's MTR today, we probably think of it simply as part of everyday life.
We take the train.
We transfer between lines.
We use Octopus.
We go to work, school, shopping or the airport.
But somebody had to build that system.
During Jack's years at MTR, he was involved in major developments including the Airport Express and the Tseung Kwan O rail extension. HKU describes him as a leader behind the development of the Airport Express and the introduction of Octopus cards, as well as major projects including the IFC and ICC.
The Airport Express in particular changed the relationship between Hong Kong and its new airport.
What millions of passengers experience today as a convenient train ride was once a massive infrastructure project involving planning, engineering, finance, land, transportation and thousands of people.
And Then There Was the Airport
Jack's career later brought him even closer to the aviation world.
In June 2015, he became Chairman of the Board of Airport Authority Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government specifically noted his extensive experience in economic, trade and transport affairs when announcing the appointment.
By then, Jack had already spent decades working on some of Hong Kong's most important economic and infrastructure projects.
His career had come full circle in an interesting way.
The boy who had once sat in a classroom at La Salle was now helping oversee one of the world's major international airports.
It is difficult to imagine that journey when you are sitting in Form 1.
The Man Behind the Scenes
What interests me most about Jack is not simply the number of important positions he held.
It is the nature of the work.
Much of what he helped accomplish is something ordinary people simply use.
The MTR.
The Airport Express.
Octopus.
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The IFC.
The ICC.
These are things we see and use, but we rarely think about the people behind them.
HKU described Jack as a man of “innovative ideas and decisive action” and credited him with leadership in many of these developments.
That makes me think about the meaning of success.
Some people become famous because they are constantly in front of the camera.
Others become important because they quietly get difficult things done.
Jack seems to belong very much to the second group.
His Memoir
That is why I am now curious about his autobiography.
The book is titled:
《不說不可能——從廣州街童到機場主席》
The title itself tells us something about the journey.
From a childhood in Guangzhou, to Hong Kong, to La Salle College, to the University of Hong Kong, and then through more than five decades in public service and business.
The memoir was published in March 2025 and reportedly contains 128 historical photographs, using Jack's personal experiences to reflect on Hong Kong's economic transformation and development.
I have not read the book yet.
But after my conversation with my old classmate this morning, I certainly want to.
I want to see what Jack remembers about those years that I also remember.
More importantly, I want to understand how the boy I knew at La Salle became the man who helped shape so much of the Hong Kong we know today.
Sixty-Two Years Later
There is something almost amusing about this whole episode.
In 1964, Jack and I were simply two La Salle students.
He was in the A class.
I was in the B or D class, depending on the year.
He was one of the outstanding students. I remember him being popular and well regarded.
Then I left La Salle after Form 5.
Our lives went in different directions.
More than sixty years passed.
And now, in 2026, I am an old man living in Canada, writing my stories and taking morning walks with Julie.
Then, unexpectedly, another old schoolmate mentions Jack So to me at Markville Mall.
Suddenly, a piece of my youth comes back.
That is one of the strange and wonderful things about getting older.
Our memories do not disappear completely.
Sometimes, all it takes is a name.
We Never Know Where Life Will Take Us
When we were young, we probably thought success meant getting good examination results, entering a good university and finding a good career.
Life turned out to be much more complicated.
Some people became doctors.
Some became teachers.
Some became businessmen.
Some left Hong Kong.
Some stayed.
And some, like Jack So, became involved in projects that affected millions of people.
Looking back from the perspective of more than sixty years, I think there is a lesson here.
We should never underestimate the people sitting beside us in a classroom.
The quiet student.
The brilliant student.
The popular student.
The boy who always seemed to know the answer.
None of us could see the future.
We could only see the person sitting in front of us that day.
I knew Jack So in 1964.
I knew him as a fellow La Salle student who was already outstanding.
Decades later, I discovered that he had become one of the people who helped build the Hong Kong that I knew.
And now, after all these years, I am curious to read his story in his own words.
Perhaps that is what growing older really means.
We don't just remember our past.
We rediscover it.
Hashtags
English:
#GrandpaJourney #JackSo #HongKong #LaSalleCollege #HongKongMTR #HongKongAirport #AirportExpress #Memoir #LifeJourney #OldClassmates #HongKongHistory #Memories
我在1964年认识苏泽光——后来，他参与建设了现代香港
今天早上，我和Julie到Markville Mall散步。
这是我们平时很普通的一个早晨，但一件小事，却把我的记忆带回了六十多年前。
我在商场里遇到了一位老同学。
我们聊起了8月30日举行的拉沙尔书院同学聚会。他问我会不会参加。
因为一些个人原因，这一次我决定不去了。
没想到，我们的谈话后来转到了一个我非常熟悉的名字。
他问我：
“你以前是不是和Jack So同班？”
Jack So。
苏泽光。
这个名字一下子把我带回了我的中学时代。
老同学向我大力推荐苏泽光刚刚出版的自传：
《不说不可能——从广州街童到机场主席》
听到这里，我突然意识到一件很有意思的事情：
我认识苏泽光的时候，他还只是一个拉沙尔书院的学生。
我们都是1964年拉沙尔毕业生
Jack和我都是1964年拉沙尔书院毕业。
虽然我们是同届同学，但很多时候并不在同一个班。
中一的时候，他在1C，我在1D。
到了中二，他升到2A，我在2B。
中三和中四，他在A班，我在B班。
到了中五，他在5A，我在5D。
我读完中五以后就离开了拉沙尔。
Jack则继续读中六和中七，后来进入香港大学。
现在回头看，我对当年Jack最深的印象，就是：
他是一个非常优秀的学生。
他的成绩一直名列前茅，差不多都是全级最前面的位置。
而且，他在同学当中已经相当受欢迎。
那时候我们当然不会想到几十年以后的人生。
我们只是十几岁的学生。
每天上课、考试、打球、聊天，也会为考试成绩而紧张。
没有人能够真正知道自己的未来。
但是Jack在当时已经很突出。
拉沙尔校友资料也确认Jack So是1964年毕业生。后来，他进入香港大学，并于1969年取得文学士学位。
六十多年以后再回头看，这段校园记忆突然变得很有意义。
从一个学生，到参与建设香港
大学毕业以后，Jack的人生开始走向完全不同的方向。
他最初加入香港政府。
后来，他进入私人机构工作，逐渐在证券、金融及商业领域担任重要职务。
1985年至1992年，他出任香港贸易发展局执行董事。
这个职位让他有机会从香港本地走向国际，参与推动香港的贸易和经济发展。
然后，在1995年，他成为香港地铁公司主席兼行政总裁。
这也是我特别感兴趣的一段人生。
今天我们想到香港的地铁系统，可能觉得这是再普通不过的事情。
我们搭地铁。
换车。
使用八达通。
去上班、上学、购物。
或者从市区坐机场快线去机场。
可是，我们很少停下来想：
这样一个庞大的交通系统，当年究竟是怎样一步一步建立起来的？
在Jack担任地铁公司主席兼行政总裁期间，香港进行了许多重要的发展，包括机场铁路、将军澳线等大型项目。
八达通系统也是那个时代的重要创新之一。
今天我们拿一张八达通卡搭车、购物，可能已经觉得理所当然。
但是在当年，这些都是新的想法、新的技术，也是新的挑战。
从地铁到机场
Jack后来又走进了香港航空业的核心。
2015年，他出任香港机场管理局主席。
这又是一个很有意思的人生转折。
香港国际机场每天接待成千上万的旅客。
对普通旅客来说，机场就是一个出发和抵达的地方。
但对建设者来说，机场背后却是一个极其复杂的工程。
土地、交通、航空、金融、商业、国际联系，以及成千上万工作人员的协调，都需要有人来推动。
而Jack的人生，正好跨越了香港这个巨大变化的时代。
从政府工作，到贸易发展；
从商业，到地铁；
从机场铁路，到机场管理。
他参与的很多事情，最后都成为香港人日常生活的一部分。
一个在幕后工作的人
我觉得Jack最值得我们注意的，并不只是他担任过多少重要职位。
真正让我感兴趣的是：
他很多时候都是站在幕后。
我们每天使用香港地铁，却不会想到背后的管理者。
我们乘坐机场快线，却不会想到几十年前那些参与规划和建设的人。
我们使用八达通，也很少会想是谁推动了这样的系统。
这些东西已经成为我们的日常生活。
而在这些我们习以为常的事物背后，有一群人默默地做了大量工作。
Jack就是其中的一员。
他并不是一个天天站在聚光灯下的人。
可是，他参与推动的事情，影响了数以百万计的人。
我觉得，这也是一种非常特别的成功。
有些人因为经常出现在镜头前而出名。
另一些人则因为把困难的事情做好而留下痕迹。
Jack似乎更属于后者。
他的自传
所以，现在我对这本书产生了真正的兴趣。
书名是：
《不说不可能——从广州街童到机场主席》
单单这个书名，就已经包含了一段很不平凡的人生。
从广州的童年，到香港；
从拉沙尔书院，到香港大学；
然后进入政府、商业、贸易发展、地铁以及机场管理。
这不只是一个人的职业经历。
某种程度上，也是香港过去半个多世纪发展的一个缩影。
这本书于2025年出版。
据介绍，书中通过Jack自己的经历，回顾他五十多年的人生和工作，也谈到香港社会和经济的发展。
我现在还没有读过这本书。
但是经过今天早上在Markville Mall和老同学的这次谈话，我已经很想找来读一读。
我想知道：
Jack自己是怎样看待这一生的？
也想看看，他对我们共同经历过的拉沙尔岁月，还有什么记忆。
六十二年以后
想想这件事，其实很有意思。
1964年，我们都是拉沙尔的学生。
Jack在A班。
我有时候在B班，有时候在D班。
他是我们年级里很优秀的学生，也是很受欢迎的同学。
然后，我在中五毕业以后离开了拉沙尔。
我们的人生走向不同的方向。
六十多年过去了。
今天，我已经是一位住在加拿大的老人。
我和Julie每天散步。
我写自己的博客，记录生活，回忆过去，也继续学习新的东西。
然后，就在一个普通的早晨，在Markville Mall，我偶然遇到一位老同学。
一句：
“你是不是和Jack So同班？”
就把我带回了1964年。
有时候，年纪大了以后，我们的记忆并没有真正消失。
它只是安静地藏在那里。
我们需要的可能只是一个名字、一张照片，或者一次偶然的相遇。
记忆就会重新打开。
我们永远不知道同学将来会走多远
年轻的时候，我们可能以为人生就是考试、升学、找工作，然后一步一步往前走。
但是人生从来没有这么简单。
有人成为医生。
有人成为老师。
有人成为商人。
有人离开香港。
有人留在香港。
而有些人，则参与建设了一座城市。
回头看，我觉得这件事情给我一个很简单的启发：
千万不要低估坐在你身边的同学。
那个安静的同学。
那个成绩最好的同学。
那个很受欢迎的同学。
那个每次考试都名列前茅的同学。
我们在年轻的时候，都看不见未来。
我们只能看到那个坐在教室里的少年。
1964年，我认识Jack So。
那时候，我认识的只是一个拉沙尔书院里非常优秀、非常受欢迎的同学。
六十多年以后，我才重新发现：
原来这个老同学后来参与建设了我们所认识的现代香港。
而这次偶然的重逢，又让我有机会重新认识他。
也许，这就是人生到了这个年纪以后最有趣的一件事。
我们不只是回忆过去。
我们也在重新发现过去。
而有时候，一段已经过去六十多年的故事，只需要一个老同学的一句话，就重新开始了。
