Rebecca Chan Chung

Birth and parents

Rebecca Chan Chung was born in the David Gregg Hospital for Women & Children (also known as Yiji Hospital located on Duo Bao Road in Guangzhou, China, during the Warlord Era. She was the second child of her parents. Her mother, Lee Sun Chau (1890-1979), was one of the earliest Chinese female doctors of Western Medicine in China and was a resident physician in the David Gregg Hospital for Women and Children at the time of the birth of Rebecca Chan Chung. Her father, Po-Yin Chan (1883-1965),^[1][2] was a revolutionary under Sun Yat-sen in the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and was a Senator of Guangzhou in the 1920s.^[3]

Schooling

Rebecca Chan Chung graduated from St. Paul’s Girls’ School (primary school, currently St. Paul's Co-educational College) in Hong Kong in 1933. In 1938, she graduated from Diocesan Girls' School (secondary school) in Hong Kong, when Miss H.D. Sawyer ^[4] was the Headmistress.

Husband

Rebecca Chan Chung married Leslie Wah-Leung Chung (1917-2009) in Old Mission Church,^[22] Kolkata, India, on July 7, 1945. This day coincided with the July 7 Chinese National Day, chosen by the Government of China to remember the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937. This Incident was instrumental in uniting the Chinese people to fight against the Japanese invasion in World War II.^[21][23]

Leslie Wah-Leung Chung was a member of Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (also known as Royal Hong Kong Regiment). While serving as a Gunner, he was wounded in action in Lei Yue Mun Fort in the Battle of Hong Kong (a part of World War II) in December 1941.^[21]

In August 1945, about 1.5 months after the wedding, Leslie Wah-Leung Chung left his bride and Calcutta to study Economics at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States.^[24] The newlyweds were thus separate for 3.5 years.^[21]

In Hong Kong in 1965-1968, Leslie Wah-Leung Chung was elected and served as the President of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association.^[25] His most noteworthy contribution was the establishment of equal pay for men and women, including the right for married women to be permanent employees.^[26][27] Before this, the job status of a woman changed from permanent employee to temporary employee once she was married, thus losing the pension benefit.^[21] He also founded St. Mark's School (Hong Kong),^[28][29] and served as the Head of the Department of Commerce and Business Studies in Hong Kong Technical College (currently Hong Kong Polytechnic University). He was responsible for starting the accounting education in Hong Kong.^[30][2]

Rebecca Chan Chung and Leslie Wah-Leung spent their retirement years in Toronto, Canada. They were married for 64 years. Their combined military burial took place in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, on Easter Saturday, April 7, 2012. Veterans of Canada, United States, and Hong Kong were present in the ceremony.^{[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][26][40]}

Daughter

Deborah Chung (鍾端玲) is the second child of Rebecca Chan Chung and Leslie Wah-Leung Chung.^[41] She is a co-author of Rebecca Chan Chung's autobiography, Piloted to Serve, and gives lectures on the subject.^[42][43][44] Deborah Chung is an American scientist and university professor who is best known for her invention of smart concrete.^{[45][46][47][48][49][50]}