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Tramways veteran followed his dream despite being disowned by family

Jack Kwan Wai-kay's family almost disowned him when he started working at Hongkong Tramways. Now, 25 years later, Kwan is glad to have followed his dream - all the way to the company's 110th anniversary celebrations.

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Jack Kwan Wai-kay's family almost disowned him when he started working at Hongkong Tramways.

Now, 25 years later, Kwan is glad to have followed his dream - all the way to the company's 110th anniversary celebrations.

He had always wanted to become a tram driver, he said, because "the uniform was cool and the vehicles were iconic", although, with his university qualifications from Taiwan, he started out as an inspector and is now a traffic controller.

The job went against the wishes of his family, who had wanted him to help out with their paper business after his return from Taiwan. "My parents told me to move out and never go back when I told them [I had a job in Tramways]," Kwan, 59, recalled. "They said I wasn't helping out, but the business just bored me."

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He left the family business to his sister. "I did move out, but we still contacted each other," he said.

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