Chip Off the Old Block

Under the stewardship of Vicky Hwang, the iconic art deco building Parkview Square is receiving a multimillion-dollar restoration that’s slated to be unveiled this month. She tells KAREN TEE about her passion for this family legacy

- Karen Tee

In recent years, awareness for shark protection has gained global recognition and declining a bowl of shark’s fin soup or ordering an alternative to this delicacy at a Chinese banquet has become de rigueur for the eco-conscious. But over two decades ago, the Hwang family of the Parkview Group empire was already making a brave stand for this cause.

As Vicky Hwang, managing director for Parkview Group in Singapore recalls, it began in the 1990s when her elder brother Leo began scuba diving as a teenager and learnt about the important role that sharks play in the marine ecosystem. He stopped eating shark’s fin soup at family dinners, where his relatives, including his grandfather, the late CS Hwang, founder of Chyau Fwu Group — which incorporated the Parkview Group — quickly noticed his statement-making act. Confusion soon gave way to understanding and the family, which owns a series of highend residential, hotel and office developments globally, began to take action by phasing out the dish at their restaurants.

Hwang herself was personally converted during her first open-water dive in Palau and now, the family is full of firm advocates of shark protection and its members are raising public awareness for the cause. “My family banned it in all our restaurants. I don’t eat it ever and I decline when it is served to me at banquets,” says Hwang.