BMag-2012 - University of Birmingham

34 The Birmingham Magazine
Hong Kong’s high flyers
Some of the most influential people in Hong Kong are proud to be
Birmingham alumni. The Birmingham Magazine spoke to four former
students at the top of their professions about working life, the province’s
future and their memories of Birmingham.
Kwok Hing Woo
(LLB Law, 1968)
Commissioner on
Interception of
Communications
and Surveillance
(C/ICS)
Reviewing the
conduct of Hong Kong’s law enforcement
agencies in interception or covert surveillance
operations is the responsibility of Kwok-Hing
Woo, former Chairman of the Electoral Affairs
Commission (EAC) and a retired Court of
Appeal judge.
Anna Lin, a MBA
graduate of
Birmingham and
Chief Executive
of GS1
The next time you see
a bar code on the new
video camera or CD
you have bought, think of Anna Lin.
GS1 is a global Non Governmental Organisation
responsible for supply chain standards and
technologies and barcodes are one of the
most visible aspects of its work. Anna and
her colleagues are working in more than 150
Kwok Hing’s current post is completely the
opposite from his previous role at the EAC,
where he spent 13 years making electoral
arrangements compliant with the principles
of openness, fairness and honesty. Now his
duty is to oversee and review law enforcement
agencies’ work and to ensure that they do not
carry out any operations without authorisation.
‘I must adhere to the principle that nothing
must be done that may prejudice the prevention
of crime and protection of public security.
I cannot even explain to the public why I do a
certain thing or why I denounce a certain LEA
officer whenever that may involve divulging
information of which criminals and would-be
criminals could take advantage,’ he says.
countries worldwide to create a new kind
of language to facilitate global trade.
‘We are currently moving into barcode
technology, for mobile devices so in the future
the consumer can scan a barcode on a product
package anywhere in the world and access
information about it,’ Anna says. ‘I really enjoy
my work because it’s an opportunity to improve
global trade and make life for consumers better
and safer.’ Anna describes China as a
powerhouse in terms of manufacturing but
believes the country will have to focus on the
domestic market if its economy is to continue
to grow.
Kwok Hing’s many fond memories of
Birmingham including the quaint and peaceful
surroundings of his hall of residence, Manor
House, the mid-morning breaks when law
students in their black gowns trouped to
the refractory for coffee, and the occasional
escapade into the city centre to have Chinese
cuisine for lunch.
‘The long lasting effect of my time at
Birmingham is my friendship with two folks at
Manor House who also came from Hong Kong
(Robert Tang and Albert Li). We still see each
other quite often nowadays, 44 years after my
graduation,’ he says.
As for the future of Hong Kong, Anna believes
its traditional role as a trading arm between East
and West will change as China develops its
internal consumer market and the province will
become a base for the professional services
needed to support manufacturing.
Anna’s husband, Terry To, also studied at
Birmingham and one of her enduring memories
is the picturesque green campus. ‘It was a very
different experience to the condensed
environment of Hong Kong,’ she says.