Johnson Choi Looking back and forward 蔡永強思前想後 Dec 3 2025

1974 to 1980, I studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of Hawaii, later pursuing an MBA degree. During that time, I held two jobs simultaneously: one as an Assistant Food & Beverage Manager at the Lobster House Restaurant in Hilton Hawaiian Village, and the other as an assistant manager and waiter at Maple Garden Restaurant. I was taking 21 credit hours per semester, averaging only four hours of sleep per day! At Hilton, the job offered reputation but little financial gain—a monthly salary of just one thousand dollars for 50 hours of work per week. Meanwhile, at Maple Garden, working four hours each night, I earned around eighty dollars in tips, totaling over two thousand dollars per month, all tax-free! Back then, a house cost only twenty-five thousand dollars, and I could have bought two or three—each of which is now worth two million dollars. Some of my classmates worked as waiters at the French restaurant Michelle, where they averaged 200 to 300 dollars in tips per night!

As a waiter, I detested the “tip pooling” system. Because I worked quickly, I could handle 5 to 8 tables at once, with a high turnover rate. When tips weren’t pooled, I often earned over a hundred dollars in a single night. In the 1970s, a hundred dollars was a significant amount of money! Whenever the boss was short-staffed, they would always call on me.

I have two major regrets in life: first, not using the money I earned to buy property; second, foolishly—extremely foolishly—choosing to stay in the United States!

In the 1970s, Hong Kong was more advanced than the United States, while mainland China lagged behind. Therefore, it was understandable for people from mainland China to aspire to come to the United States back then. But today, China’s development surpasses that of the United States tenfold, yet some are still willing to spend 500,000 to one million dollars to buy a U.S. passport! Your children will inevitably abandon their ancestral roots and forget their heritage—is it truly worth it?

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. The next three hundred years will undoubtedly be an era dominated by the Chinese nation. As descendants of the Chinese people, we should take immense pride in this!

我於1974至1980年間在夏威夷大學攻讀酒店與餐廳管理，隨後進修MBA學位。期間同時從事兩份工作：一是在希爾頓夏威夷度假村的龍蝦餐廳擔任餐飲副理，另一是在楓園餐廳兼任副理與服務員。當時我每學期修讀21個學分，平均每天只睡四小時！在希爾頓的工作有名無利，月薪僅一千美元，每週工時長達50小時；而在楓林閣餐廳，每晚工作四小時便能賺取約八十美元小費，月入超過兩千且完全免稅！那時一棟房子僅需二萬五千美元，我本有機會購入兩三棟——如今每棟價值已達二百萬美元。我有些同學在法國餐廳Michelle擔任服務員，每晚小費平均有200至300美元！

當服務員時，我最反感「均分小費」的制度。因為我動作快，能同時照應5至8張餐桌，翻桌率高，若不參與分帳，一晚常能賺取百元以上小費。在1970年代，一百美元可是筆可觀的數目！當時只要老闆人手不足，必定會找我幫忙。

人生有兩大憾事：一是未能將所賺的錢用於購置房產；二是愚鈍至極，竟選擇留在美國！

1970年代，香港的繁榮程度勝過美國，中國大陸則相對落後。因此那時大陸同胞嚮往美國是可以理解的。但如今中國的發展已領先美國十倍，竟還有人願花費50萬至100萬美元購買一本美國護照！你們的子女將來也難免背棄祖源、忘卻根本——這真的值得嗎？

三十年河東，三十年河西。未來三百年，必將是中華民族主導的時代。身為炎黃子孫，我們應當為此深感自豪！