For this year's Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, the pen manufacturer chose local music man Thomas Lee Tse-ven. Yes, that would be the eponymous founder of the Tom Lee Music empire, which for the past 30 years has also operated a non-profit-making music foundation running 17 education centres across the city.
'He is a true patron of music,' Montblanc chief executive Lutz Bethge (pictured handing Lee the award) said at a gala on Friday at the InterContinental Hong Kong, as the Tom Lee Vocal Ensemble Group's children's choir performed. For his part, the modest Lee deferred attention from himself to the music and its social benefits.
'Nowadays everyone pays attention to how much money people make,' Lee said. 'I'm doing this work to follow a philosophy, in business and in my family, to make people happy. When I say make people happy and benefit people, sometimes, of course, you do that with money, sometimes with how you behave.
'Children who learn music will less likely become bad. It's not just about improving talent but being a good and happy person.'
Lee noted how music education in Japan contributed to social harmony. 'I want China to recover the past glory too.' Putting his money where his mouth is, Lee also donated his entire Euro15,000 (HK$186,560) award to the Tom Lee Music Foundation.