Business profile: Christine Lee - Breaking the Chinese mould; Immigration lawyer imports new cookery.

Byline: Shahid Naqvi Business Staff

Christine Lee is used to the hard knocks in life. Born in Hong Kong, she was sent to boarding school in Belfast at the age of 11 where she was the only Chinese girl and did not speak a word of English.

'I was emotionally abused by them,' she recalls.

'They called me chinky and from a young age I was treated like a second class citizen.'

One incident from those dark days forcefully illustrates the determination and strength of character that prevented her from breaking and has led her to her current success.

'I remember sitting at a long desk for our meals. I liked sugar a lot then and had seven spoons in my tea.

'I tried to ask the girls I was sitting with to pass the sugar but they passed the salt instead and put it in my tea.

'I drank it. I was sick afterwards, but I drank it just to show them.'

More than two decades on, she is one of the most respected immigration lawyers in the country and has just opened a new-style Chinese restaurant in Birmingham with ambitions to roll it out nationally.

Still only 37, Mrs Lee even has plans to open up a hotel in the city.

It's probably no exaggeration to say she's the most successful and highest-profile female member of Birmingham's notoriously guarded Chinese population.

From her legal practice that carries her name based in Holloway Circus near the Mailbox, she currently has more than 5,000 exclusively Chinese immigration cases on her books and is known as a force to be reckoned with by Home Office officials.

Her journey into the law profession was spurred on by her personal experience of injustice while at school. After A levels she moved to Birmingham to complete her legal studies and joined city centre solicitors Lee Crowder where she met her English husband, who is now a senior partner there.

She soon realised the side of the profession that most interested her was immigration law - an area Lee Crowder did not deal in.

As a result, she left the firm to set up her own practice 11 years ago - and quickly discovered her true calling.

'When I started working as an immigration lawyer it opened my eyes to discover it was not only me that had these bad experiences. However, the victims did not generally want to complain about it.

'Chinese people are scared of authority. They don't fight for their rights - they don't really have that concept. It is my belief to fight.

'During the last 11 years I have developed this belief that we are in the UK but we are not second class citizens.'

Though undoubtably gifted with a strong fighting spirit, mother-of-two Mrs Lee is sensitive to being regarded as an aggressive person.

The reason why the Chinese in Britain have not asserted themselves in the same way as other ethnic communities lies in their nature, claims Mrs Lee.

'Unfortunately Chinese people are very low-profile. They don't want to be heard. They just want to get on with their business making lots of money.

'The community is very self-sufficient - anything that upsets their business upsets them.'

As someone not afraid to stand up for the rights of her community and a successful businesswoman in her own right, Mrs Lee is perhaps a role model to others.

And with the launch of her restaurant, Cathay, on May 26, her reputation is likely to grow.

Employing the sharp sense for a business opportunity she attributes to the Chinese community, she has invested pounds 400,000 in the venture located below her legal practice.

The building itself - Cathay House - was purchased two years ago and has been extensively renovated.

'It is a gamble, but it is an opportunity as well,' says Mrs Lee.

'If I wait another ten years I will be too old to do anything about it. It is make or break time.'

Coming from a family in the catering trade - her father, mother and one of her brothers all own Chinese restaurants in Ireland - Mrs Lee reckons she knows what she is doing.

She describes her aim with the restaurant as to offer authentic Chinese cooking unadulterated for the English taste within a contemporary setting.

'I have been in the catering trade since I was aged 13 helping my parents during the weekends and evenings.

'But ever since I was young I have wondered why is it every single Chinese restaurant looks exactly the same.

'My father said that is the way English people like it and it is the same with the food. Chop suey and sweet and sour is for the English palate. I want to get away from that. People are more adventurous now.'

To help create the right flavour, Mrs Lee has brought two experienced head chefs to Birmingham from Malaysia. One of the most unusual elements they will deliver is an ancient Buddhist style of cooking called SO, which turns vegetables into dishes looking and tasting like meat.

It will be the first time British diners will have been exposed to such cooking and Mrs Lee believes the health-conscious concept will prove a hit in Birmingham allowing her to spread the chain nationally.

'Usually what happens is that a restaurant chain starts in London and, if successful, they bring it to Birmingham and elsewhere.

'Instead, we want to try this out in Birmingham. We believe with all the development that has come to the city people here are ready for something new.

'I think it will really take off.'

With someone as iron-willed as Mrs Lee at the helm, you can probably put your money on that.

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Publication:	The Birmingham Post (England)
Date:	Jun 9, 2001
Words:	952
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