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A humble servant

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Oliver Chou

Few of Hong Kong's most prominent families and clans play themselves down as much as the Ho Tungs.

'You should not focus on me,' says Robert Ho Yau-chung, great-grandson of late tycoon Robert Ho Tung, once the city's richest man, and also the eldest son of Robert Ho Hung-ngai, who founded the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation in 2005.

'It's all about the foundation and the people behind it, and my father who set up the foundation.

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'My father founded the foundation with two general visions: to support Chinese arts and culture, and to support Buddhist concepts and ideas, especially to identify [Buddhism's] relevance for contemporary society,' says Ho, who has chaired the local philanthropic group since 2010.

Both visions are met in the International Buddhist Film Festival, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, which will continue until May 12 (www.asiasociety.org/IBFF). Featuring 13 films from 10 countries, including nine Asian premieres, the festival showcases various aspects of Buddhism to 'promote cultural awareness, mutual understanding, and an appreciation for Buddhist philosophy and art'.
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'But they are not promoting Buddhism in the traditional way. They are revealing aspects of Buddhist culture or folklore,' Ho says. 'So, if you talk to the film directors [five of whom attended their premieres], you'll see each film should be judged as a film itself, not just as a Buddhist film.'

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