He also showed off his Citizen watch, a Japanese brand whose current range starts at around $250—in contrast to multi-thousand-dollar luxury brands. It’s set 30 minutes fast, “because even if I forget an appointment—anywhere in Hong Kong, I can be there in half an hour,” Li said.
Referring to discontent in the city, seen in the pro-democracy protests of the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and in political fallout since, Li talked about creating prospects and hope for young people. He said he yearns for them to have a genuine thirst for knowledge, and referred to times when he strived to learn in dire circumstances. As books were being burned as fuel during wartime, he acquired teacher’s manuals to give himself an education.
His father, a primary school principal, died of tuberculosis a year after the family arrived in Hong Kong. It was perhaps this event that shaped Li into who he has become.
“I was very influenced by him from a young age and realized that education is the most important thing,” Li said.