Chris Hare
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Thank you, Vince. They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. But in this case, I think we can both agree that's a good thing. And I'm very excited to be chatting with you again for a second time with a decade that doesn't really feel like it should have been a decade later.
Thank you, Vince. They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. But in this case, I think we can both agree that's a good thing. And I'm very excited to be chatting with you again for a second time with a decade that doesn't really feel like it should have been a decade later.
Sure. So I'm a third generation Hong Konger. My grandparents moved here in 1960. My grandmother's family had been in Indonesia as Dutch colonists for something like 300 years. Her father and her uncles were all in government in the last colonial government of Indonesia. And of course, after World War II, they moved back to the Netherlands.
Sure. So I'm a third generation Hong Konger. My grandparents moved here in 1960. My grandmother's family had been in Indonesia as Dutch colonists for something like 300 years. Her father and her uncles were all in government in the last colonial government of Indonesia. And of course, after World War II, they moved back to the Netherlands.
And my grandmother was half Indonesian and she never quite felt like she fit in. So when she met my grandfather and he proposed, she agreed on the condition that they would find their way back to Asia. And sure enough, a few years later, they moved to Hong Kong and got married in Hong Kong just a few days after moving in.
And my grandmother was half Indonesian and she never quite felt like she fit in. So when she met my grandfather and he proposed, she agreed on the condition that they would find their way back to Asia. And sure enough, a few years later, they moved to Hong Kong and got married in Hong Kong just a few days after moving in.
And less than a few years later, less than a year later, my mother was born here. And I was actually a similar product. So my mother, who grew up in Hong Kong and went to school here, went to the Netherlands, found herself a hub and basically said, if you want to marry me, you've got to find your way back to Hong Kong. And that was my father, who was studying medicine at the time.
And less than a few years later, less than a year later, my mother was born here. And I was actually a similar product. So my mother, who grew up in Hong Kong and went to school here, went to the Netherlands, found herself a hub and basically said, if you want to marry me, you've got to find your way back to Hong Kong. And that was my father, who was studying medicine at the time.
For him to get qualified as a doctor, he had to go spend a year of training in London. And I have been there. Be Catholic accident, I think is the way to put it. But within a few months of my birth, we were all back in Hong Kong. And the rest of my siblings, I'm one of four, were all born in Hong Kong. So I grew up really at the tail end of Hong Kong's colonial era.
For him to get qualified as a doctor, he had to go spend a year of training in London. And I have been there. Be Catholic accident, I think is the way to put it. But within a few months of my birth, we were all back in Hong Kong. And the rest of my siblings, I'm one of four, were all born in Hong Kong. So I grew up really at the tail end of Hong Kong's colonial era.
And I had, for all intents and purposes, a really happy childhood and upbringing. I got to the age of about 13 or 14, and then I went to school in the UK. I went to a small boarding school with a military background.
And I had, for all intents and purposes, a really happy childhood and upbringing. I got to the age of about 13 or 14, and then I went to school in the UK. I went to a small boarding school with a military background.
While there, one of the more defining events in my life happened, and that was the passing away of a childhood friend of mine who had a rare congenital illness. At the age of 14, I didn't have money. I didn't have resources.
While there, one of the more defining events in my life happened, and that was the passing away of a childhood friend of mine who had a rare congenital illness. At the age of 14, I didn't have money. I didn't have resources.
I didn't have any talents to contribute to his legacy, but I figured what's something I could do that would encourage people with resources, with money to maybe join that fight. And so on a typically cold, rainy English day, me and a few friends were sitting together talking about, of course, our summer plans.
I didn't have any talents to contribute to his legacy, but I figured what's something I could do that would encourage people with resources, with money to maybe join that fight. And so on a typically cold, rainy English day, me and a few friends were sitting together talking about, of course, our summer plans.
And it was a joke and kind of in a serious way, I suggested, why don't we walk across England? And I remember all of my friends laughing lightheartedly, except for one who looked at me dead straight and said, let's do it.
And it was a joke and kind of in a serious way, I suggested, why don't we walk across England? And I remember all of my friends laughing lightheartedly, except for one who looked at me dead straight and said, let's do it.