Early years Kan was born on 26 July 1913 in Hong Kong to a wealthy family which is descended from
Shunde,
Canton. He has thirteen siblings and he ranked fourth amongst them. His father,
Tong-po Kan,
JP (簡東浦), was a founder of the
Bank of East Asia. His youngest brother,
Professor Yuet-Wai Kan (簡悅威), is a notable American physician who was awarded the
Shaw Prize in
Life Science and Medicine in 2004. Kan studied in
Diocesan Boys' School in his early years. Upon graduation, he wished to be a doctor but gave up the idea when his family opposed it. He was enrolled to the
University of Hong Kong and resided in
Morrison Hall. He graduated from the university in 1934 and obtained a BA degree. As an alumnus of the Morrison Hall, he once recalled that "Morrisonians have always had such wonderful team spirit!" He then moved to the United Kingdom for further study and read law at the
London School of Economics. He worked briefly at a law firm in England after graduation before returning to Hong Kong in 1938, which he became a practising solicitor.
Business career Kan had a fast-growing career in law, business and banking in Hong Kong. He once worked as a senior partner of a well-known local
law firm,
Lo & Lo, and was successively served as the chairman of the
Law Society of Hong Kong and a member of the Society's disciplinary committee. He was also director of
Hong Kong Land and
Harbour Centre Development Limited for some time. Besides, Kan had taken over his family banking business, and served as chairman of the
Bank of East Asia from 1963 to 1983. From 1970 to 1975, he was appointed as the chairman of the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council for the first time. During his tenure, the Council expanded rapidly and had set up new offices in
Frankfurt, Vienna, Tokyo,
Amsterdam, etc. In 1973, the Council participated in the New York's
International Toy Fair for the first time. Kan left the Council in 1975 but was re-appointed in 1979. In his second tenure, he kept on visiting different countries and promoting trading benefits of Hong Kong. On the other hand, the Council tied up closer relationship with Japan by setting up a new office in
Osaka in 1979 and establishing an Economic Cooperation Committee with the Japanese government. In 1980, he also led a business tour to visit
Canton. Kan finally retired from the Council in 1983.
Public service As early as 1957, Kan was appointed as a councillor of the
Urban Council and served as a member of the government's
Public Service Commission from July 1959 to June 1961. He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1959
Queen's Birthday Honours. He left the Urban Council in 1961 and became an unofficial member of the
Legislative Council. He was named chairman of the government's
Transport Advisory Committee. During his chairmanship of the Transport Advisory Committee in 1966, the
Star Ferry applied for an increase of the
first class fare of the cross-
Victoria Harbour ferry from 20-cent to 25-cent and the application was soon approved by the Advisory Committee. The fare increase did not include the third class and therefore the grass roots community was largely unaffected, since the passengers of the first class deck were usually from the wealthier sector of the society. However, when the fare increase was announced by the government, it resulted in a general dissidence from the grass roots community as the Star Ferry was the only major cross-harbour
public transportation at that time. The chairman of Star Ferry,
M. A. R. Herries, worsened the situation when he publicly commented that "people who do not want to pay the first class fare can simply change their mind to the third class deck". That statement made a public outcry and was one of the blasting fuses of the
Kowloon Riots afterwards. Apart from his membership in the Legislative Council, he was additionally appointed as an unofficial member of the
Executive Council by then
governor Sir David Trench in 1966. As the
Cultural Revolution had just commenced, the political situations of both Hong Kong and
mainland China became increasingly unstable. In 1967, the turbulence from the mainland finally spilled over to Hong Kong, resulting in the disastrous
Leftist Riots which began as a
labour dispute in an
artificial flower factory in
San Po Kong. During the nearly year-long Leftist Riots, Kan held a hard line towards the rioters. He made a keynote speech in the Legislative Council, insisting those bombers be brought to justice and even death sentence for serious offences. He was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1967 Queen's Birthday Honours. After the riot, Kan was further promoted to the status of the senior unofficial member of the Legislative Council in 1968. Afterwards, he began holding a variety of public posts including the chairmanships or the memberships of the
School Medical Service Board,
Public Service Commission,
Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Legislative Council's Finance Committee, etc. Kan was
knighted in the 1972
New Year Honours, and travelled to
Buckingham Palace to receive the accolade in July. He retired from the Legislative Council that same year, but continued to serve on the Executive Council. In 1974, he was appointed senior unofficial member of the Executive Council. Soon afterwards, the price of rice in Hong Kong rose drastically and resulted in inflation. To solve the problem, the government appointed Sir Yuet Keung as the first chairman of the
Consumer Council. In 1978, a strike began by local civil servants. He was called to hold talks with the strikers and successfully reconciled the dispute. When
Queen Elizabeth II visited Hong Kong for the first time in 1977, Kan, in his capacity as the senior unofficial member of the Executive Council, delivered the welcome speech to the Queen in the
City Hall. In March 1979, he accompanied then-governor
Sir Murray MacLehose to pay a secret visit to Beijing, where both of them had a meeting with
Deng Xiaoping. Knowing that
Communist China insisted on obtaining Hong Kong by 1997 and that the
British Government had intended to give up over the issue of sovereignty, Sir Yuet Keung felt that the future of Hong Kong was less assured. After the visit, he was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), and retired from the Executive Council in 1980, choosing to fade out from the
politics of Hong Kong.
Later years Kan was appointed life member of Court of the
University of Hong Kong in 1972, he was also appointed life member of the Council of the
Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1983. He was the chairman of the Council of the Chinese University from 1973 to 1982, and from 1983 to 1996, he was the
Pro-Chancellor of the Chinese University. In retirement, Kan lived in Hong Kong but had almost withdrawn from public life. He died on 19 September 2012, aged 99 with his funeral quietly held at
Hong Kong Funeral Home on 18 September 2012. He is interred in the ossuary at
Hong Kong Cemetery. ==Family==