LI Wai San

Li Huishan was a member of Hong Kong’s prominent Eurasian community and closely connected to the influential Ho family.

She was originally the wife of Roberts, and later became one of the spouses of Ho Fook, a leading comprador, entrepreneur, and philanthropist of the Ho clan. Ho Fook was regarded as one of the 'Five Great Chinese Merchants' and a central figure in the city’s elite circles.

In colonial Hong Kong society, a popular saying went: 'Ho, Lo, Shih, Sin, and Choi daughters never worry about marriage outside their circle.' This reflected the tradition of intermarriage among the five powerful Eurasian families—Ho, Lo, Shih, Sin, and Choi—to preserve wealth, status, and influence.

As Ho Fook’s partner, Li Huishan embodied this family alliance practice, and her marriage symbolized the tightly woven social and cultural networks that defined the Eurasian elite of early Hong Kong.