FRANCIS KIN KWOK CHEUNG
Founding Father of First Chinese Pay TV
If asked on his deathbed, “Have you had passion?”, he would have been amused, pleased and smiled.
On June 18, 2016, Francis Kin Kwok Cheung passed away peacefully at North York General Hospital in Toronto, after having spent 88 days at the Critical Care Unit, surrounded by his children Teresa, Rose, Joseph, Cecilia, Anthony and his grandson Nicholas. He was 85 years old.
Amongst his many endeavors in life, television had always been his everlasting love. As Founder and Chairman of Chinavision, he made unprecedented history in 1984 launching the first ever national Chinese cable pay TV in Canada with Category A license granted by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), providing Chinese households across North America daily news from Asia, drama series and entertainment shows, as well as locally produced programming. When asked by the commissioner panel, “How will you go nationwide?”, he replied, “Up in the sky.” In 1988, he followed through by launching Chinavision via satellite reaching over 90% Chinese population across Canada.
For more than 36 years since immigrating to Toronto, Francis devoted his life bringing Chinese and Asian cultures, entertainment and education to Canada through television as the medium. As Chinese Canadian media pioneer in the 80s, his vision and dedication bridged the cultural divides in this great country. As leader in the television business, Chinavision created hundreds of employment opportunities for aspiring young immigrants and locals alike, providing them training and mentorship.
A man of confidence, tenacity and creativity, he never accepted “no” for an answer. His vitality and optimism shone through especially in the face of challenges and adversities. At the age of 82, he spent the last four years of his life developing CtodayTV, his second Chinese-Canadian TV venture.
Born in 1931 in Guangzhou of Zhejiang Shaoxing descent, Francis was the third of six children in a diplomat family. He received private schooling at home, was well versed in rhetoric and poetry and had a natural talent for drawing; he secretly learnt cooking skills from his house chef. His career began when his family moved to Hong Kong at age 15. With perseverance, hard work and a magnetic personality, he made rounds collecting newspaper column writing assignments while illustrating the articles with drawings, under the pen name “Leisure Flame”. With tornado-like determination, he set himself apart from the competition. His fame grew though his face was seldom seen. He created Cheung’s Film Production Co., the first television commercial and animation production company in Hong Kong in the 60s. As the artistic director, he would draw storyboards through the night and would direct TV commercials during the day. His businesses grew, expanding across Asia – Taipei, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines with a staff in excess of 300, earning him the market leader in Asia. In 1966, he wrote and directed his first feature film The Super Eight of Peace Mountain. In 1980, Francis and his family immigrated to Toronto, Canada settling in North York.
Family oriented with old school traditional values, Francis respected and loved his parents and cared for his siblings. A devoted father, an unconditional giver, a kind soul, he cherished being surrounded by his children. Despite running a high profile media empire, he was simple, down to earth and lived a modest lifestyle. He loved nature and trees and enjoyed taking strolls in Edwards Gardens.
His legacy is to continue building his media ventures. He will be dearly missed by his family, friends and colleagues.
The Cheung family would like to thank the amazing medical team at NYGH Critical Care Unit for their 88 days of round-the-clock dedicated care of their father. Visitation will be held Monday, June 27, 2016 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the R. S. Kane Funeral Home, 6150 Yonge Street (Goulding/Steeles). Funeral Mass to be celebrated on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. at Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Parish (3220 Bayview Avenue, Toronto) followed by interment at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery (305 Erskine Avenue, Toronto). Condolences –