To Kit
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| Names | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pen name | Given name | |
| Trad. | 陶傑 | 曹捷 |
| Simp. | 陶杰 | 曹捷 |
| Pinyin | Tao Jie | Cao Jie |
| Cantonese Romanization | To Kit | Tso Chit |
To Kit is the pseudonym of Chip Tsao, a Hong Kong-based columnist-cum-broadcaster. He was married, having two sons. To is considered as one of the most influential writer in Hong Kong.
| Contents |
Childhood
To's home county is Guangxi. His father was the vice chief editor of Ta Kung Pao, a leftist newspaper in Hong Kong, whilst his mother was also an editor of the same paper. His maternal grandfather was a journalist of Pearl River Daily. To was fetched up in Wanchai, he read literary works when he was young. He started writing during his secondary school studies and got his works published on Xin Wan Pao. He was keen to take part in different writing contests, and, very often, his works were highly appreciated.
School life
- Primary School: (unknown)
- Secondary: Nannam Secondary School
- Tertiary: the University of Warwick, master of English Literatures; the University of London, diplomacy of Public Relations
Career
To Kit was, in fact, a reporter-turned-columnist. Before using his pen to earn his butter and bread, To had been working at BBC for eight years, and a jornalist of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) accredited in the U.K.. When he returned to Hong Kong, he worked as a columnist for the renowned Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao (明報); the column is called 'The Golden Venture' (黃金冒險號)(a.k.a 金色冒險號 by the Chinese press), the name of a vessel that took Chinese illegal immigrants to the United States in 1993. He also writes a column for the Oriental Daily News (東方日報) and another for Ming Pao Monthly (明報月刊), an intellectual magazine.
Eventually he joined a team of broadcasters to host a weekly programme on RTHK called 'Talking East, Talking West' (講東講西). The hosts of the programme would choose one topical issue, and discuss it critically. In 2003, he switched to another radio station, the Commercial Radio Hong Kong to host a daily radio show similar to 'Talking East, Talking West' called 'Bright Peak' (光明頂)("Bright peak was the headquaters of Ming Cult, depicted in The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber by Jinyong.), at which point he also switched his newspaper affiliation to Apple Daily.
Works
His work, both on radio and in his columns, concentrates on the following subjects:
- Governance of Hong Kong and the difference between pre- and post-reunification of Hong Kong with mainland China
- The essence of classic Chinese and western civilization
- Difference between the Chinese and the Westerners (particular in terms of the politics and lifestyle)
- The 'peasant mentality' of the Chinese
- films
- Prominent women (he wrote a column on the achievements of some well-known Chinse women in Ming Pao Monthly between 1998 and 2003).
Major works of To's:
| *黃金冒險號 (“The Golden Venture”) | October 1998 | ISBN 9624513716 |
| *再見蘇絲黃 (“Adieu, Sussie Wong”) | January 1999 | ISBN 9624515271 |
| *不給一口釘 (“Not Give a Nail”) | February 1999 | ISBN 9624514836 |
| *馬戲班主走了之後 ((After the Circus Owner was Gone”) | February 1999 | ISBN 9624515530 |
| *日暮荒老的地平線上 (“On the Ageing Horizon”) | July 1999 | ISBN 9624515972 |
| *名人學語文 - 訪問系列 (“Celebrities Learn Languages – an Interview Series) | July 1999 | ISBN 962856031X |
| *香港這杯雞尾酒 (“Hong Kong the cocktail”) | September 1999 | ISBN 9624515735 |
| *中國化的魚眼睛 (“The Chinese-ised Eyes of a Fish) | December 1999 | ISBN 9624515832 |
| *泰晤士河畔 (Alongside Thames) | January 2000 | ISBN 9624513686 |
| *因為它在那?? (Because It was at the ??) | January 2000 | ISBN 9624516200 |
| *權力的地圖 (“The Map of Power”) | April 2000 | ISBN 9624514615 |
| *颱風和島的約會 (“The Date of a Typhoon and an Isle”) | March 2001 | ISBN 962451674X |
| *偉大的十字街頭 (“The Great Crisscross Streets”) | June 2001 | ISBN 9624516596 |
| *流芳頌 (“Ode to the Famed”) | June 2001 | ISBN 962973544X |
| *名人學語文 - 訪談系列第二輯 (“Celebrities Learn Languages – an Interview Series II) | June 2001 | ISBN 9628560328 |
| *那一頭是甚麼景色 (“What’s the View over There?”) | July 2001 | ISBN 9624516995 |
| *香港，你要活下去！ (“Hong Kong, Never Say Die!”) | October 201 | ISBN 9624517029 |
| *香港，你要爭口氣 (“Hong Kong, Make a Good Show”) | April 2002 | ISBN 9624517193 |
| *天涯遠望的焦點 (“The Focus from Faraway”) | July 2002 | ISBN 9624517223 |
| *滿香園的一朵朵笑靨 (The Smiley Faces in an Odourous Garden”) | August 2002 | ISBN 9624517193 |
| *思考在命運之上 (“Fate for Thought”) | October 2002 | ISBN 9624517363 |
| *有光的地方 (“Somewhere There is Light”) | July 2003 | ISBN 9624517606 |
| *風流花相 (“Risqué Expressions”) | July 2003 | ISBN 9624517592 |
| *圖騰下的銀河 (“The Galaxy below the Totem”) | November 2003 | ISBN 9624518009 |
| *魚的哲學 (“Philosophy of Fish”) | January 2004 | ISBN 9624517762 |
| *男女關係 2 (“Love Affairs 2”) | co-written, April 2004 | ISBN 9628699334 |
| *自戀紅燭 (“Self-intoxicated in a Red Candle”) | May 2004 | ISBN 962451805X |
| *石點頭 ─ 鍾逸傑回憶錄 (Feeling the Stones — the Memoir of Zhong Yat-kit”) | June 2004 | ISBN 9622096646 |
| *無眠在世紀末 (“Sleepless in the End of a Century”) | July 2004 | ISBN 9624518319 |
| *她是他的一場宿命 (“She is his predestination”) | July 2004 | ISBN 962451819X |
| *男女關係 3 (“Love Affairs 3”) | co-written, July 2004 | ISBN 988977545X |
| *大偶像 (“The Super Idol”) | December 2004 | ISBN 9889800268 |
| *迷宮三千祭 (3000 Worships to A Labyrinth) | December 2004 | ISBN 9624518726 |
Political viewpoints
To Kit did not hide his apparent disgust with the current Hong Kong administration, especially Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong. In his newspaper column, he once openly called for Tung to step down.
Born in a leftist family, To Kit is unusual in that he praised the governance of the British colonial administration throughout his columns, and its alleged superiority over the current administration. An admirer of former American President Ronald Reagan, To was said to be one of the most conservative public figures in Hong Kong. Template:Wikiquote