Chee Ming “CM” Tsang is a Chinese-American who was born and raised in Hong Kong. A University of Hong Kong BSc graduate, his career as a Certified Public Accountant followed working with KPMG and ConocoPhillips.

CM was certified in three countries: USA, UK and Hong Kong up to his retirement in 2000. In 2001 he and his wife decided to settle in Shanghai still continuing to travel widely being internationalists at heart. The pair appreciate the worldwide diverse cultures, customs, business and social habits and, of course, food and wine.

CM knew about the Chaîne in Hong Kong as it was publicised with many celebrity Chinese and European Chefs. In 2001, he was introduced to Chaîne Shanghai by the late Nora Sun. He attended several Bailliage events in Shanghai before being formally inducted in 2002.

In the early 2000’s the local Bailliage in Shanghai was in its formative years. However, unique events organised by the professional members, together with the dinner atmosphere, ambience and the absence of politics and religion began to help growth. The particular Chaîne spirit of camaraderie really impressed CM who feels there are no other organisations worldwide comparable to the Chaîne.

A Chaîne member for 19 Years CM first served the Bailliage of Shanghai as Vice-Argentier before being promoted to Argentier during which time in office he has:
1) Assisted Bailli Délégué Allen Wong to officially legalize “Chaîne China” by establishing it as a domestic Chinese company.
2) Overseen the development of a Bailliage Membership Management System with a parallel Membership Platform for events and news with the benefit that payments can be made through WeChat or PayPal.

CM enjoys the one-of-a-kind special cuisine and wine offered at Chaîne dinners and events not offered on regular menus and those special friendships with members. He has developed a group of Chaîne members who share passion of travel, good food and wines in Shanghai and other major cities in China.

Well aware of the community of Chaîne members worldwide, CM and his wife have attended many events whilst visiting Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, USA, Austria, South Africa, and of course, France. “We feel we have friends globally who make our visits most enjoyable and we gain a thorough understanding of local culture and cuisines.”

When asked what he would like to share with the global Chaîne family, CM replied, “The most valuable benefit is not simply attending local events organized by Bailliages but to travel internationally to share the spirit of camaraderie offered by all Chaîne members globally. The diverse cultures, habits, food and wine will definitely enrich your culinary and historical knowledge of each country you visit.” [Ed. Let’s hope that this will soon be possible once again in a post-pandemic world]