- 2 -
when a labor dispute at the Chong brothers’ store in Beijing
turned ugly--the store was ransacked and looted, and his brother
had to skedaddle out of China.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Yung Chong works full time as a driver for Federal Express,
but he has a strong entrepreneurial spirit that impels him to
seek out business opportunities. His brother, Lok Chong, shares
his spirit, and they began to collaborate in 1993 when Lok found
a market in China for leftover chicken parts and Yung found a way
to buy those chicken parts from large chicken producers in the
United States. The Chong brothers did quite well for several
years until those they called the “big boys” began selling
directly to China. The Chongs’ chicken parts business dried up
and a few years passed while Lok and Yung looked for a new
opportunity.
Lok, who is an Australian citizen, moved to Beijing in 1997
and spotted an opportunity to import Western food for the growing
expatriate population there. Lok took the leftover money from
the chicken venture, Yung supplied some additional capital,1 and
Gourmet Down Under was born. Gourmet Down Under specialized in
importing and distributing Australian dairy products, but also
sold American beef and even some authentic Mexican food. Lok
1 Available records do not show how much Yung Chong
contributed to the venture over the years, but the parties agreed
that he had contributed at least $88,500 by the end of 1998.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011