BORN in Mauritius on March 4, 1916, Pierre Wong Sen Leung Shing would become one of the most revered leaders in the Chinese community and a devoted Mauritian who would leave his mark in the business world and in society at large. He spent part of his early years in China. Fate would have him leave his ancestral homeland for Mauritius when his parents died there, He continued his schooling in Mauritius and when he grew up to be a young man, he launched his own business which has now flourished into a conglomerate of enterprises.

His lifelong motto was ?Non Nobis Solum? (Not only for ourselves). As a result, he became increasingly involved in serving his community and his own beloved country, Mauritius. Meanwhile, a dynamic, energetic, eloquent and intelligent young lady by the name of Marie Madeleine Rose (Chu Tse Hing) Ah-Chuen was also very active in community service raising funds for the Red Cross during World War II. Their paths crossed when 25 year-old Pierre met Marie Madeleine Rose who was at the time President of the Association of Volunteers and of the Chinese Women?s Association.

They married in 1943. She gave him five children : Emmanuel Jean Leung Shing currently Attorney General, Minister of Justice & Human Rights, Georges Leung Shing, Group Chief Executive of Mon-Trésor & Mon-Désert Ltd. After two boys, they were ready to welcome a daughter, Thérèse, who worked in the seventies as Economist and Trade & Marketing Officer at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry before she emigrated to Canada. The fourth in the family, Noël Leung Shing also an economist, is Managing Director of United Importers Ltd, Mauriplastics Ltd and Gold Air Travel & Tours. The youngest, Dr Louis Pierre Leung Shing, is Director of the Charleswood Medical Clinic in Canada. Pierre Wong Sen Leung Shing, not unlike most Chinese parents, harboured a secret wish of seeing one of his children become a doctor. This wish not only came true when Louis Pierre became a doctor 25 years ago but he was also blessed to have been in Canada in 2002 when his grandson graduated from McGill University Medical School.

Pierre Leung Shing was known to be a supporter of China?s old régime (Taiwan). As such, he assumed many responsibilities which include the directorship of the Chinese Daily News & the Century Motion Pictures Ltd, the management of the Chinese National College and the vice-presidency of the Chinese Cultural Centre. In 1987, he was appointed to the Control Yuan Upper House of the Taiwan Assembly representing overseas Chinese of the African regions. On account of his political convictions and the advent of the new régime under the People?s Republic of China, Pierre Leung Shing became estranged from his ancestral homeland for well over half a century and only returned there in April 2002. He was accompanied by his wife, his children and grandchildren and a delegation of 250 Sino-Mauritians avid in their endeavour to rediscover their roots and their long-lost relatives & friends. The visit was exhilarating and, at the same time, very emotional for those who joined the delegation. It was the first time in more than seventy years that Pierre Leung Shing met his mainland relatives and friends. As for his grandchildren, it was their first visit.

Most Chinese from Mauritius originate from Meixian in the province of Kuang Dong. The delegation was welcomed with tremendous joy and fanfare by the local authorities. Pierre Leung Shing took his family to his ancestral home which was in a discrepit state after years of absence. But this did not stop the Leung Shing family from celebrating their réunion with family & friends by throwing a dinner party in this home for the local people and authorities. Pierre Leung Shing?s emotion was running high and reached its climax when the family gathered around their ancestors? tombs to pay their respect. He broke down in tears and no one would ever comprehend the pain he was experiencing as he prayed in front of his mother?s tomb ? the mother he was deprived of during his growing years.

One of the highlights of their trip to China was the inauguration of a bridge, donated by Pierre Leung Shing, which now bears his chinese name ?Wong Sen?. It was a happy ending whereby he managed to reconcile and build bridges with the People?s Republic of China. The new bridge would inadvertently come to symbolize this reconciliation.

When he died on January 18 2004, representatives of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as well as the People?s Republic of China were in attendance to pay their last respect to a son of China, who had come to terms with the political destiny of his ancestral homeland and who, in his final days, was praying for the reunification of the two Chinas.

Pierre Leung Shing was also a loyal and devoted son of his native land, Mauritius. Many who knew him were familiar with his customary quote from US President John F. Kennedy : ?Do not ask what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your country.? His outstanding contributions to the Mauritian society are a living testimony to the fundamental values to which he subscribed. As Chairman of the Welcome Committee of the first Chinese Trade and Industrial delegation from Hong Kong in 1971, he was relentless in his efforts to promote investment opportunities in the Export Processing Zone to the Hong Kong business tycoons. He worked hand in hand with Sir Jean Ah-Chuen and Mr Joseph Lee, at the time Honorary Consul of Mauritius in Hong Kong, to promote the development of the Export Processing Zone. In the early stages of the textile industry, he had the foresight to launch one of the first support industry for textiles.

Pierre Leung Shing, the founder of the family business, remained the ?patriarch? up to the end of his life. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of United Importers Ltd, Mauriplastics Ltd, L. Shing Ltd, United Lands Ltd, Harbour View Ltd, United Processing and Canning Ltd, Gold Air Travel & Tours and Blue Lagoon Beach Hotel Ltd. He also had an interest in agriculture. He actively promoted the Tea Development Project financed by the World Bank by serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of La Cannelière Tea Estate Ltd, and as one of the Directors of the Chartreuse Tea Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd (1957-1975).

The wide spectrum of capacities in which Pierre Leung Shing tirelessly served the country and the Chinese community speaks for the man himself. Over the years, he served as Director of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce & Industry & President of the Mauritius Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the Mauritius Wages Council (1962-1967), the Mauritius Lotteries Her Majesty?s Forces Fund (1962, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1976), the Mauritius Trade Delegation to India (1970), Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh Welcome Committee (1972).

In 1981, in recognition of his contribution to trade and industry, Pierre Leung Shing was awarded the CBE and received the medal from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

As his daughter Thérèse said of her father in her eulogy, Pierre Wong Sen Leung Shing was a man devoted to his family, a man who gave endlessly to his community and his country, a man of few words but a man of action and commitment. As the family mourns a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather, Mauritius as well as China mourns a son.

B.L.