The Correspondent, March 1976

The

Foreþ

March 1976

Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong

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P:ïl'ffi,ilï:ly.fä# respondents' Club of Hong Kong. Offìces at l5th Floor, Sutherland House, 3 Chater

President

Keith Kay First Vice President Bert Okuley

Road, Hong Kong.

É,Ætløî¿ärF'Fsp

KONG. Address all correspondence to: Editor, Foreign Correspondents' Club of

Second Vice President P. Viswa Nathan

Hong Kong, lsth Floor, Sutherland House, 3 Chater

Treasurer Gail Johnson Secretory

Edward K. Wu

Harold Ellithorpe Photographer Hugh Van Es

Advertising Nida Cranbourne

Road, Hong Kong. Adver-

Our Cover: Our Die is Cast

A ouietþ-smoked Editor

Tel: 5-237734 and 5-233003.

Cables: CORCLUB HONG

cigar and calm

demeanor made many discount John Diggins as a possible champ at the Fírst F.C.C. Yantze Tour-

nament. Only a sly occasional tvvinkle of the eye revealed his

confidence qt tossing the five dice to ci victorious - overage.

All hail the Kine!

tising: Nida Cranbourne, First Floor, 30 Ice House St., Hong Kong. Tel: 5-248482

Hanoi today: Seeing yourself on the other side Hanoi is one of the most beautiful cities left in Asia. Because of the single-minded war effort and the channelling of most resources in that direction, there has been little development, though that is begin' ning to change. So Hanoi retains a

leafy, gracious atmosphere with many of the French colonial buildings still intact.

The day we arrived was an auspicious one in the old Viet-

namese calendar and hundreds of

worshippers

were visiting

the

Buddhist temples that lie beside the Big Lake. That was a surPrise. . . to see the Devout carrying joss sticks,

by Bian Barron BBC News

send a cable - in part to show we were there, at last, and, of course,

to give the BBC our

address.

North Vietnam's cable system is extremely efficient but one of the

most expensive in the world. Fortunately there was no need to send anything other than short servicers cost 12 or 15 - but even thoseeach.

Still, it was American dollars

extremely satisfying to receive cables from the BBC, though one arrived addressed to Mr. Baroon a¡rd the second to Mr. Brain.

We travelled everywhere in a small bus and, on reaching Haiphong, we darted into the post

communist countries.

Haiphong is a very clean citY but we could see that a huge amount needs to be done in terms of developing communications and rebuild'

ing factories and

storage

areas,

We were also warned that several areas of the city are off-limits to foreigners. A few weeks earlier some foreign tourists failed to heed this advice and for a few hours were under arlest.

One evening we stayed at a sea' side resort about twenty miles from

Haiphong - the countryside, and the weather too - seemed rather like Wales in the autumn.

But though no

Welshmen

Designed and produced 95 by IMPRINT, l0l Dannies House, 20 Luard Road,

loomed out of the mist one important visitor did: General GiaP and

his aides drove up in the

early

Hong Kong. Tel: 5-282026.

evening and later some

these

Printed by Kadett Printing

iJlfl H,*¡ì

1lî.,ï,

of

topranking North Vietnamese soldiers could be seen plaYing tennis table in the hotel garden.

::., l;:.r

Company, Hong Kong.

The general was in good humour

but was too busy to talk to us. Of course, the North Vietnamese Army is everywhere and we saw it engaged in the same sort of work as the People's Liberation Army in

Don't Bitch Afterwards Like most democratic bodies, the Foreign Correspondents' Club has a rather drawn out, one might say cumbersome, electoral procedure. As in all such affairs, it is those who think ahead and rccognize the critical early steps who will be able to make their democratic voices felt most strongly.

In the case of the Club, the key period is that of nominations for the officer and governor candidates, already underway. The decisive selections will be made not later than April 7. It is vital that members take a suffìcient interest to assure the strongest possible slate of candidates - now.

In the past this crucial function of rounding up members willing and able to serve has been left, almost by neglect to a small number of older board members

who have the Club's welfare and future at heart.

Iast year a large proportion of the correspondent members (who hold control of the Club by virtue of a constitutional preponderance on the Board) were out of town covering the Indo{hina war finale at the time of this crucial politicking.

A number of board candidates were virtually drafted to hll the available spots. This aberration in our electrol processes was necessary, but hopefully will not now be repeated out ofindifference.

2

Recent Boards, including the present one,

have

established a positive forward thrust, determined to expand and improve the Club. This has meant a myriad of changes from a new kitchen to a system of more

useful professional meetings, from making a more

equitable staff salary scale to bringing in the latest videotape systems to members' enjoyment.

The process is far f¡om over. Indeed, the Club is just beginning to realize some of its huge potential both as a superior place of enjoyment and as a focus ofprofessionally useful effort.

All members are urged to discuss possible candidates, encourage good men to give the Club their sweat and time, and to come forward themselves to do their stint of duty.

An ideal Board of

Governors would combine

experienced older heads and bright younger voices, radicals and conservatives, professionals and nonprofessionals. It must be a hard working Board and a Board willing to involve in its efforts a wider array of the many talents available within the membership.

The club'is, thank God, democratic. It is up to the members to exercise their rights and not to abdicate them through failure to act. Now is the critical period for real decision. And you are the deciders.

China: rebuilding roads and factones.

Hanoi hoardings tout reunification

praying before Buddha.

the I

images of

office

to buy

stamps and send

another cable. When we came out,

in the sunshine, someone

saw the Gods

blinking

being propitiated in Vietnam was in the Saigon office of the oil exploration department a couPle of Years

decided

ago.

dating from the turn of the century.

We found Hanoi unexpectedlY relaxed and the people generallY friendly. Our hotel was one of Hanoi's new status symbols, built

by Cuban aid experts on the edge of a lake three miles from the citY centre. So when our bus was not

policeman came and stood beside him, clearly unsure whether or not this foreigner should be allowed to

The last time

available

-

it

was question of walking

or borrowing a bicycle from one

of the embassies. That is still the

ideal way to travel though the tram lines are a hazard and the Vietna-

to take a snap of the post offìce itself. It was one of those yellow painted colonial buildings

outside Hanoi

-

and we had to

In the end the Policeman relented.

It was very clear that Haiphong had suffered heavily in the war. The port itself is small - though the

East Germans are now helping to it - and the ha¡bour area in

one-way street signs.

overflowing with thousands of tons of goods, mainly from the world's

9 76

to

Practise grenade throwing. And on the roads

photograph this prime target!

enlarge

The Correspondent, March I

flags, taking turns

While the photograPher struggled with his lens, a HaiPhong

mese seem amusingly indifferent to

Of course, we were anxious to

One morning, beside the Hanoi River near our hotel, hundreds of soldiers were lined up behind red

In Haiphong, old soldíers'helmets and bicycles

CTUBS AFFAIRS

have permits to leave the capital there were fairly frequent security checks.

There is a very friendly diploma-

tic community in Hanoi - one old

hotel contaÍns nearly a dozen embassies. Some of the diplomats told us they prefer cycling around Hanoi because using a car at night can be hazardous. The Vietnamese

cyclists don't have lights so it's difficult to see them.

One diplomat - his country will

to remain nameless - said the North Vietnamese driving test is one of the most demanding in the

have

world. It's divided into three stages - fi¡st a medical check, then an

examination on the theory of driving and finally the test behind the wheel.

This same gentleman had been

in a

collision with a tramca¡" - as my old news editor used to put it - when his car became boxed in by cyclists at a junction. He saw the ttamcar coming from a distance of 250 yards and mistakenly believed it "involved

would stop.

The Hanoi police were terribly polite and said that provided he acknowledged he was in the wrong that was the end of the matter. Well, he didn't want to do that and con-

sequently ìvas summoned to the police station for a lesson - using model tramcars

has the right You're looking at the very best there is, in the field of 16 mm sound pro¡ectors.

It's one of the brilliant new TQll Filmosound series from Bell &Howell.

And we admit they're a l¡ttle more expensive than most other makes But when you consider that the new TQll series are built to lasl longer, project brighter more efficiently and more economically - then we feel you'll understand they're worth ev€ry extra cent you pay.

After more than 50 years research, developmenl and innovation Bell & Howell are still leading the f¡eld in motion p¡cture equipmenf. AnY feputable photograph¡c dealer can tell you that the Bell & Howell TQllser¡es of 16 mm pro¡sctors are the image of quality

E

Beu,EHouJEtL Simply ingenious

- in who and what of way in ganói!

There was one personal surprise in the capital. While visiting the war museum, arid its reconstruction of

the fall of Saigon, we came across a large photograph of General Minh surrendering the south to General Tra. Standing beside them in the photo are a couple of us who were

among those who witnessed the event. This came as a great surprise to our interpreters in the museum.

Travel tips for potential visitors: Take your own collapsible bicycle, or better still a unicycle like the ones they use in the Hanoi circus.

Develop a taste for Russian champagne which is widely on sale for

about four American dollars

a

bottle. Hanoi vodka is very tolerable but can have lethal after effects.

Time for a Change Final nominations for the next president, officers and Board of Governors of the Foreign Cor¡espondents' Club will be held the evening of April 7. This will be one of the more crucial elections of tlie Club's history, deserving of members' close attention.

Mail nomination sheets

have

already been sent to the correspon-

dent, journalist and

associate

membership for their selections.

Oral nominations may be made

from the floor at the April

7

meeting.

Ballots will be mailed in April to

all members and will be opened and counted at 2 p.m. on May 19. The new officers and board will take

over formally at the

Annual

General Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 26.

It is hoped that a particularly strong Board will be elected this year. The new Board will have the task of reorganizing the Club's operations in conjunction with a

'Mr. Li¿o behind the

Rio Grande

duck, phoenix and dragon

On the Rio Grande

kew,

shrimp hong sue, egg rolls, an item

- Our Mr. Liao f¡om the U.S. with came back photographs and a menu from his son's new restaurant in Del Rio, Liao Chien-ping

Texas.

Nice looking layout for Del Rio. Named the China Hut, it offers a

multi-dish "family which includes almond

sty1e" dinner pressed

called Hong Kong steak, and sweetsour shrimp.

Mr. Liao posed for

pictures

behind the well-stocked bar

-

but

he doesn't look as comfortablY at home as he does behind the Club bar at Sutherland House.

Rumours of M¡. Liao's imminent retirement are premature.

new Club Manager.

More importantly, several longrange and medium-range programs will need refinement and decision.

The work of the Long

Range

Planning Committee inaugurated this past year will become increasingly important as the Club decides

its futu¡e course.

Expanded professional functions

will

require improvements. The Club's film and videotape program will be just getting underway and

its smooth functioning will be responsibility

a

of the new Boa¡d.

As the F.C.C. moves from a purely social organization into wider scopes of service to its members in professional ways, pressures put on Board members will increase

proportionately.

Anyone wishing more information is invited to contact the office.

All members are urged to attend the meeting which will be followed by presentation of the silver trophy cups to the winners of the Club's fìrst Yantze Tournament.

The Correspondent, March I 976

BAR CHATTER The Singapore Straits Ttmes recently advertised for "fìnancial journalists with at least fìve years' experience on a major Fleet Street paper." (We know of a couple who

fìt the bill

admirably) What

is

is the flurry of regional publishers to jump into the fìna-

curious

cial reporting business.

With the For Eastern Economic Review, Asian Finance, Insight, fhe new Asian Iloll SÛeet Journal, a rumoured Malaysian fìnancial supplement and Lord only knows what others, the fìeld seems to be getting a

bit c¡owded.

Flo has returned.

We've heard

a

delightful new

phrase: "funcionally bankrupt."

How apt!

The old English-English

bit

more of this attention when the stock market was zooming - and plunging - in l97l-73.

Bert Okuley laid a bet on the ninth race, handed his chit nonchamessanger and

It." It wasn't. So much for

declared, "So Be

that

versus

American-English dispute evoked an admission at the Club Table the

other day that the

"u" in

such

words as "labour" and "harbour" was actually a coloration added by

the dastardly Normans.

there

It

was not

in the pure Anglo-Saxon.

We suspected all the time that the French were at the bottom of this linguistic controversy

We could have used a

lantly to the waiting

myth.

!

Lately there a¡e those who are deprecating Cantonese as being suited only for yelling and argu-

ment, as compared to the more "cultured" Mandarin dialects. Not true, and we'll punch anybody in the snozzle who tries to put down the fair tongue of Hong Kong.

PROFESSIONAT AFFAIRS

TIIE

Thirty

ln for Life

The body of Michel Laurent, the last journalist to be killed in Vietnam, has been flown home to his

Telegrapher Makes Good Upon reaching his 70th birthday,

Richard Hughes shared with the Club some "anecdotes of a stupid

native France for burial. The 28year-old Gamma photographer was killed in fighting on the highway to Xuan Loc in the final days of the

old man" at a special luncheon March l0 in which he was made a

[I

communist assault on Saigon's defenses. A thin, fljzzy-hatued pro-

Life Member of the F.C.C. As courtly as his grey hair, tough as his pugilist frame and jolly as his ever-handy monocle, Dick dug back

SBW TS

fessional, Michel surprised acquain-

tances

to his days as an Aussie correspondent in "the last gentleman's war," the "Rommel War in the western

Company radio correspondent who

founded a broadcasting network in the Philippines after 1945.

Bob Considine who covered much of the world for Hearst newspapers and International New

Winston Churchill declined to meet with the press during a swim near Carthage. The war time Prime

Minister later explained, "I didn't have any pants to wear." Censorship killed the story.

A friend of Alan Moorehead, he recalls the later's answer to an editor's request for a 1,000 words

the Egyptian

covered

c

o

now dead, who shared with him

tr

of

meddle with copy direct from men on the frontline.

For a man who began his workworking life as a telegrapher on an Australian railroad, Richard Hughes

has come a long, hard and persistent way.

But his enthusiasm does not lag.

During the past year he has rewritten his Hong Kong book (Bonowed Place, Bonowed Time), brought out a new edition of his Foreign Devil

China-Burma-India

War. A prestige panel of journalistic o

response.

correspondents'

the

theater during World War II and later returned to cover the Korean

army

clubs in Cairo" during the war years.

They learned, he reported, to leave bits sand in their dispatches.

Censors sitting in the plush, peaceful offìces of Cairo were less apt to

LTON

Service, has died in the U.S. after 45 years of fame and adventure. He

Hughes, accompanied at the luncheon by his charming wife, Annie, remembered friends, many

that "trinity of

HON

Æ¡ ç\

would move. "No, no, a thousand

times [o," was the

the

Missouri in World War II has died.

Norman Paige succumbed to cancer at the age of 60 at Mexico City. He

Hughes said the reporters proclaimed.

whether

the final act of

covered

Japanese surrender aboard the USS

"We're not dunny boys,"

on

and

of bayonet murders in Bangladesh.

The American Broadcasting

Then the Aust¡alians refused to rüear arm bands which would have given them neutral status as war correspondents in event of capture.

The armbands we¡e marked "W.C."

Ricþ.

h

1972 he won the Pulitzer Prize for photographs

desett."

For reservations, call 5 -233111, ext 452. Ask for Ground Floor, Gammon House.

with his large cigars

intense dedication.

J

o

-o

c 6

E

A

monocle on the world: Dick and Annie Hughes

autobiography, written a delightful The F.C.C. luncheon followed lead to the offìcia1l976 Hong Kong by five days a black tie affair yearbook, helped on a script movie hosted by close friends at the to be issued in conjunction with Hilton at which Governor Sir Cathay Pacific, reported weekly for Murray Maclehose toasted the the London Times and The Econo- colony's senior journalist and most nlsr, supplied a column weekly for notable author. On hand was his Ihe Far Eastern Economic Review, son, Richard Hughes Jr., a working and found time to befriend dozens journalist from Australia. of fellow journalists half his age. "We're only as good as our President Keith Kay presented friends," he demurred as he Dick with a certificate of Life received the Life Membership from President Kay. True, but men like

Dick Hughes have thousands of friends who remember his kindnesses his

presidents of the Club.

The Correspondent, Morch I 976

wit, his charm

-

and his

unswerving professional diligence.

friends from around the world has established a Bob Considine Scholarship Fund to be given to deserving beginning students of the cl.afl at Ohio University.

The Fund Committee headed by Walter Cronkite is requesting donations, quoting Considine's own

words before the Overseas Club in New York:

"Call

it

vanity, call

it

Press

arrogant

presumption, call it what you wish, but I would grope for the nearest open grave ifI had no newspaper or

wi¡e service to work for, no need to search for and sometimes fìnd the winged word that just fits, no keen wonder over what each unfolding day may bring. Besides it's better than working for a living."

Contributions may be sent to Bob Considine Scholarship Fund, P.O. Drawer 869, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA.

of Playboy. Do you under'dialectical materialism'? Or 'the dictatorship of the proletariat?' Or 'the eight directives and the three side memoirs, and back issues

Victor Zoza, writing from London, recently øsked whether analysts of communist areas were failing in their iobs. He cited unspecified "officials" who "wonder whether anolysts whose reputations have long been protected by oÍlicial secrecy and anonymity ought perhaps to be given o salutary shock." The reason for Zorza's concem was an alleged failure by China-watchers to predict the current political crisis inside China and the appearance of Huo Kuo-feng as acting premier. New York Times correspondent Fox Butterfield wrote in similar vein, drawing a sharp response in the letter columns of the South China Morning post from Stanley Spector who said the charge of failure by China watchers was "a serious disservice to our pressmen and to our academic community." Feeling that this issue touches deepty themembership of the Foreign Conespondents' Club of Hong Kong, the Editor of The Correspondent held an extensive, exclusive interview with the oce China watcher of them all, Sam Sweetsour of the Peeking Joumal of South pasadena.

For more than six hours, Sam held forth at the left end of the Ctub Table in what is a most revealing e & A

of the China-watching

orders'?

Ed: Must be a most complex subject to handle. How do you get a feel for the Chinese personality, for the workings ol the oriental mind?

I

I

business.

Ed: I understand that China-watchers qre like skilled intelligence analysts, first collecting masses of seemingly irrelevant dota, collating it into inteltigible categories, and arriving at a final analysis through patient, perservering deductive reasoning.

China-watching Easy as Frying Eggs in a Wok Ed: Sam, let's get right down to the nitty gritty at the bottom of the won ton bowl: what do you think of criticisms leveled agoinst China-watchers?

Sam: Then you've got to get posted to Hong Kong.

This is where ihe action is. Here you are exposed to the story in all its gory detail.

Sam: Anyone who has consistenily read my stuff will know exactly what's going on. Don't ask me to comment on the quality of my fellow wórkers in this great field of human endeavour. We don't like to wash

I suppose it is good to have o university background in East Asian studies?

ou¡ socks at the village well, do we?

Sam: That's an interesting question. Many people think its just us reporters who sit here in Hong Kong.

That's not true. You've got all sorts of spooks - in Russia, in the United States, in Turkey, everywhere.

They watch China very carefully. And then you've got a bunch of eggheads who pundit from universities and write big books and such. And, of course, there a¡e businessmen who study China in hopes of making a fast buck and a rotating group of "concelned hippies."

There are only a handful of true journalistic Chinawatchers lfüe me, maybe 20 or 30 at the most.

Ed: llhat do you think of critics who say Chinøwatchers are missing the junk-boat?

Sam: I'd like to bust 'em right in the chops. You want the real inside of this business, the essence? Okay, ordér another carafe of the red, and I'll give it to you.

Ed: I've often wondered just what preparation

is

necessary to become a China-watcher?

Sam: The right kind of background is important.

You have to sta¡t out on a police beat, and . . .

Ed: l|hy a police beat?

Sam: It makes you a cynic. Very important. You can't believe anything, and being a young police reporter is one way to make sure you don't.

Ed: What else?

8

Sam: Yah, something like that.

Ed:

Sam: Generally they are a

don't try to pull their own

Sam: Eithe¡ that or a high school diploma. is

your typical day?

Sam: Don't be racist. Of course, there many Chinese and they're very good, they know the lingo. And then we've Japanese and Indians and Australians and French and a Mongolian or two.

up.

Ed: Let me qsk point-blank: why didn't you Chinawatchers know Hua Kuo-feng was going to get the

Ed: How? Sam: I call other China watchers on the telephone.

Iæt's say that I notice that the phrase "evil revisionist wind to reverse previous verdicts" has been changed to "vile streams to back up the capitalist drain pipe."

That could be signifìcant. Language is very important.

I'll call my friends on the left, the right and the center to see what interpretions they put on it.

Ed: Isn't that a bit

incestuous

of you

China-

watchers?

Sam: Do you want a clout up alongside the head?

Of course, we pick each other's brains. How else can you get by in this business. You're no better than your friends, I always say.

Ed: I supposeyou have steeped yoursetf in the titerature of China.

Sam: Christ, yes. I've read all four volumes of Mao's writings, the little red book, a whole bunch of poems, and a couple of magazines. And not only China stuff.

I've thumbed through Marx, Engels, Stalin, K¡uchshev's

modest group. They chains. Let's see, now,

Ed: Are they all westerners?

if I

missed anything important yesterday. Then I pour over the latest word from Hsinhua, glance at Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Pao over a bloody mary. If something catches my eye, I follow it see

sþ,

there's Charlie and Eddie, Sidney and Freddy, Suzie and Mimie - not all of these are fully employed right now. They cover the beat, so to speak.

Sam: Unlike many of these othe¡ lazy louts, I start early, even if I've got a hell of a hangover. First I read

the newspaper to

lUho are the other top China-watchers? They

seem to be mysterious beings to the outside world.

Ed:

Ed: How do you work? What

Ed: fust who qre the Ûtinq-watchers?

Sam: I prefer the Pussycat Bar but others have their own sources. Of course, we must be extremely discreet and never uncover our sources. Sorry I can't give you more details on some aspects of this. Just too sensitive.

acting premier's

job?

-

Sam: Fung.

Ed: Iühat?

I n

Sam: It's pronounced \{-h-a k-u-a-o F-u-n-g.

Ed: Oh.

Photogrøphers wøtched during Nixon trip.

They say that sex isn't important. Don't you believe it. is really ain't because it's already become something else through the interaction of opposites. Understand? I try to find out who's sleeping with who.

It's all part of the dialectics what

Ed: Very interesting. How

can

you do that?

Sam: You remember the Water Margin campaign last fall. Well, there was this mist¡ess of the emperor who shacked up with the rebel. He sent her back to the Emperor to make what the inscrutable Chinese called "pillow talk." As.a result, the rebel joined the Emperor and became a big wheel. Now that is significant. By using this broad, he became a capitulationist!

Ed: Very intriguing. And. you have figured out how thís great historical reference applies to todq)'s scene in Peking?

Sam: Hell, no. But it sure made a hell of a sexy yarn for the Journal of the Institute of Sexual Politics in Dresden.

Ed: That's

an academic

quarteþ?

Sam: A popular monthly.

Ed: As a final question, how would you ploce the role of the China-wstcher in world history? l4that is his contribution to monkind?

Sam: We had him pegged in the front of pack at about 8-to-one odds. A couple of us paired him on a quinella shot with Teng Hsiao-ping. Sure,I'll admit we were surprised a bit. But you should see the bundle I

lost on Lin Piao.

Ed: I understand there are various 'schools' of thought on China-watching. Some like the Chiang Ching-is+he-real-power theory, others say its the generals whg call the shots. Still others say Mao is

undoubtedly the godÍather still. What's your

analysis?

Sam: I'm something of a loner on this. Always was.

The Correspondent, March 1976

Sam: Well,if we're going into that kind of rubbering, let's have another carafe of the red. Hmmmm, I suppose you would have to say, at a modest minimum, that we have illuminated our times. Into the dark recesses of the inner halls of the Imperial Palace we have shone the stark light of truth. We probe the souls of the oriental unknown, unravelling the communist condrums ofmodern sinic civilization. . . . . . . .

Ed: Ah, Christ, he's passed out again. Switch off that damn recorder and let's get the hell out of here.

IUe're going to hove to edit all that crap out of this tope.

9

ENTERTAINMENT quickly noted that this clearly

Diggins is Champ First Yantze Joust

revealed that judgment plays a major role in determining the final victors who managed to stay in to the end of the 24-game play.

Creates a Tradition

It

should have started sooner.

Luck, which on any individual

The First Annual F'C.C. Yantze Tournament began at 7 P.m. on March 10 with two of the

star

t¡l

players plastered and several others well on the way. But, in true sportsman style, this did not detract from the play which launched off vigorously with 26 entrants.

c

The same spirit Prevailed on St.

Patrick's Day when the

eight

fìnalists sat down to dice.

John Diggins, a quiet

6

Ê o J

I

almost

only slightly under Diggin

imperturbable student of the lucky

Mary Jackson, who

specks, diligently stuk

to a con-

sistently above-average game to establish himself as the undisputed F.C.C. Yantze ChamPion of 1976' His final average was a very high 247.O83.

Sam Weller landed second Place with a style that combined intuitive

skill a¡rd shrewd calculation.

The

s. 236,25. astouncled

the early rounds with unexpectedly beautiful control - and the highest single game score of 439 - Placed third. Her average 233.458.

Dr. Derek SeYmour-Jones who showed phenomenal endurance in the first two rounds, slipped slight-

ly in the final round to

land in

fourth place witha 240.125 average.

this discovery.

-

the tournament low score knock him out in the

saw some unbelievably

ceremony

ofvictory at a special

in APril.

Interestingly, less than a 14 point spread separated the averages

ofthe four top contestants. Experts

favoured candidates for the firstever Silver CuP for Yattze.

Bert OkuleY contested the fairof allowing two PlaYers to compete while others had to PlaY in four-member tables. Judges Tim Street and Hal EllithorPe took the

to the Guiness Book of Records and to a true sport of chance. Yanlze has found its place in the world, thanl$ to the sporting

SeymourJona: lceep the gøith

Other challenges were

Vy'eller: the strain shows

Of fice Club Schools

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courage and alcoholic endurance of members of the Foreign Correspondence Club.

unqble rc find a suitable quotation to serve as the piding key link for the masses. It would be unseemly

Dear Editor: Last October I proposed to the Committee that we invite to the Foreign Correspondents'Club a representative of the finest examples of the flower of Texas womalhood, the Kilgore College Rangerettes.

In receiving the Committee's regrets I was advised that a remark had been passed to the effect that this sort of thing was "not in keeping with the F.C.C.'s

roader in power still clings to the sexist-road and refuses to reform himself. Among the chsirman's nine directíves qnd umpteen orders we have been The Conespondent, March I

to reproduce the revisionist literature you suggested, comrade, qs it is sltitoble only for Big Character posters in the lavatories. Humble Ed. )

Dear Editor: Have you heard that line before: I'm not a letter-to-

the-editor writer, but -?

I'm not really but I'm breaking this principle to tell

you I think the new look of The Correspondent is terrific. You're doing a great job in making the press club's publication readable, easy on the eyes, good clean use ofphotos and interesting.

I'll let you buy me a drink for this compliment the next time I get to Hong Kong. Best regards to you and all my friends.

(There is splittism in the party centrol with evil sexist-roaders whipping up winds of revisionism to reverse previous verdicts. Unforrunatuly that sexist-

later ruled "moot."

Home

IETTERS

Ted Thomas

complaint under advisement but withheld judgment. The issue was

Jbr tlte

claim

Yours faithfully,

ness

Furtrislrittgs

Hotels

I enclose for your ¡eaders' enlightenment some snatches offered at the Bawdy Night on February 20th, an evening which I enjoyed hugely needless to say.

But I wonde¡ if someone would care to explain when the so-called "image" changed: and why?"

Jones, Mrs, Jackson as stronglY

oJ

Restaurants

image".

with Weller, Diggins, SeYmour-

Stt¡t¡tlicrs

LrD

created. The Club now has its own

for

engraved cups

I-IOUSC

ed to produce little effect. "You stupid ..... of mother-., . . . . . ," an incantation heard at

A living tradition has been

checked the contestants final score

Reputations fell dramaticallY in the first six-game elimination.

"Battling Bert," "Ready Eddie," "Jerking Jack" and several other wellestablished threats bit the dust as Lady Luck tossed them game after game of low dice.

Book odds, howevet, stablize in the second six-game run-off, and remained consistent until the end

CLAIIIDCC

twirlings attempted.

Oral admonitions likewise seem-

"Oh, my dear!"

"Judge." Mr. Worth owned a pocket calculator on which he accuracy in between recalculating the odds on winning

ornate

one early table, lost to a more calm,

official-looking badge which read,

beer and provided the dice cuPs. Winners will be presented their

ruled "damn

entice them, And the tournament

There wasn't any other choice: Okuley had prepared a huge round

of 89 - to

"trivial," "vexatious,"

seems only to confuse the gods, not

over the final games.

the

third round.

10

ultimately have its say.

was himself a contestant, Mr. Okuley announced that he had "consented to become a judge."

He, with Jack Worth and Hal Ellithorpe, presided decorouslY

candidates.

San Miquel furnished free draft

semi-fìnals

of chance and rattles the hell out of adjoining players, makes no difference whatsoever. However, analysts predict the game will not become more sedate as a result of "Fancy twirling" of the dice cup

sheets

game

will undoubtedly demur.

"Smashing the cup" which creates an audible challenge to the gods

nuisances," and "obstructionist'" In the final round, as Mr. Street

Mike Westlake managed to hang in the earþ plaY to win a sPot in

but struck a bad

various "systems" used proved ineffective although their adherents

game may account for 9O% of lhe score, becomes progressively less of a factor as a large number of games are played and averaged.

But, as in any sport, luck must

Iuitge Okuley, Punten Worth with winners'cups

tournament's final intensity found Sam loosening his shirt to remain, cool while racking uP an average

Analysts of the game noted that

9 76

Cheers,

Max Desfor Asia Photo Editor Associated P¡ess

(That's what we like to hear Ed. ) 1I

Stan Karnow:

tinction and impact as

Chuckling at His Critics, He Leap-frogged his Competition

Chief/Special Correspondent for Time/Life in Asia/Africa, Special

Karnow is a natural among profes-

Correspondent/Diplomatic Corres-

newsman

pondent

times.

Editor's Note With China undergoing

Foreign Correspondent/Diplomatic (in Paris) fo¡ National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Foreign Editor of The New

Republic (in Washington), Special Correspondent in the Far East for

back to the basic books produced on that upheaval of the 1960's. One of the best was by

Stanley Karnow, one of the Perseptive China-watchers oÍ

an

The Sarurday Evening Post, stringer for The Observer of London from Hong Kong/Saigon, and for a year now, as a columnist of The Editorial Press Service (EPS).

Since February 1976, Stan Ka¡now has also been one of the Contributing Editors of Newsweek.

I

yore. Here D.R. Raiagopal, who

knew Karnow

in the 1960's, of this

(

appreciotion

diligent author and iournalisl.

In the early 50s/60s, it

All this

tlt

was

alrnost incredible (and even qvante garde) for anyone among the educaled Io have had a c¡ack at LSD, speed, heroin andlor other hallucinatory drugs.

When the war in Vietnam became like a grave illness in a

This is inexplicable although the criteria adopted by the Pulitzer prize selection committee is under dispute.

Pen and ink by Eddie Mart¡ne

beyond anyone's expectations. He

sing in faultless French. This ability,

chuckled at such reactions.

I believe, helped him in his analytical coverage of the bestial war in

reporters and photo-

wore off.

Among the hundreds of Western/

of

graphers had toyed seriously with the idea of taking 'pot'. Fewer still in tlre media had a ¡eal 'go' at the

Eventually. the very experience became commonplace,

as

its novelty

US/Asian reporters who covered Asia

-

a

have

hard'news-beat'

-

many bizane types of drugs. And even still fewer among the greenhorns of 'drug culture' would or did make a clean breast of thei¡ unusual

undoubtedly, Stan Karnow exem-

expefrence'

many.

plifies professional excellence and stylistic {ìnesse. He wears his plaudits, easily. His kudos have been

1i6n. Karnow wrote a four-page absorbing piece on a drug-shot he had. It was his usual vivid and

Stan Karnow and I barged into each othe¡ 17 years ago at Army HQs in Java during the salad and politically explosive years of the

arresting prose

Sukarno era.

Stanley Karnow was an excep-

in the columns of

The SoturdaY Evening Post.

The dateline: Vientiane in "the

land of million elephants and the white parasol." Ka¡now described with clinical detail his drug-trip and its inevitable chilling aftermath.

Karnow then was a Special Correspondent of The Post. Many who read it were startled, some abashed, pleasantly, though. Virtually, every-

one was impressed,

at

versatility. Ka¡now

Karnow's

had

gone

notwithstanding, Kar-

now has missed the Pulitzer prize.

affecting everyone, famly everywhere 'weed' became 'popular'in Vietnam.

Then, only a few among

hundreds

llashington Post,

Correspondent

an-

other Maoist purification reminiscent of the Cultural Revolufion, many a reporter has gone

gives

for

Bureau

Then, Karnow was the bureau chief in S-E Asia for Time/Life.

He had come into Asia earlie¡ after distinguishing himself in covering war-ravaged Algria. With coverage

Karnow's diligence and consistency is indeed commendable. In the company of his close friends, and especially of his utterly vivacious wife, Ennette (a lovely girl from sun-kissed California) and his

Vietnam.

Gavin Young, the tall, strapping

children Curtis, Cathay and Michael

The

delightful, uninhibited and seemingly unconcerned fellow.

Professionally, of course, he is a different quantity. Very competitive, always in fierce pursuit of his

and able correspondenl of

Obsener writing an in-depth and perceptive piece on the role of the global media in Indo-China in The Encounter of ß66, singled out

Ward Just, Charles Mohr

(or more?), Stan Karnow is

Stanley Karnow, as the three most

many US reporters who have covered Asia for years on end who has this dis-

Ka¡now who has had bright innings in all aspects or modes of media - print and electronic, has

for

an

international wire service.

He has worked with style,

a

places and all

Significantly, Karnow

has

written only a few, though very good books. Over a decade ago, Karnow wrote an eminently readable book on South-East Asia.

Published by the Life Library Book Series, it was-and is-an immediate knockout.

In the late sixties,Karnow put a1l his knowledge and insight into the complexities and baffling problems of the demographic monster across

the border and came up with

makes absorbing reading.

Undoubtedly, over these years,

Karnow and success seem to be running neck-and-neck. Indeed, it could be said as a critii put it, "success always runs ahead of Stan Karnow."

I

don't think Stan would mind

that, either. Karnow is a

proud

man (and all of us have our egosbig or small). Yet, Karnow is good and also lucky fellow.

Indeed, as Charles R. Smith my very good friend and colleague

since 1959

in

Java

-

Karnow is also a modest man.

Once a husky, pretty and rather

self-assured blonde - a spinster from Boston - and I were travelling

together. Inevitably, we fell into conversation

suggests

always, "You have to be lucky, and

on books,

authors,

journals and reporters. Suddenly, she recalled chubby and charming

Karnow. The blonde insistently maintained she was responsible for Karnow getting his fìrst (which one?) job !

Promptly, I checked this personally with Stan Karnow. He didn't bat an eye-lid or skip a pulsebeat. He was hardly nettled.

Karnow broke into

an

analytical book on Mao's China. An incisive portrait of The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and its disruptive and divisive impact,

* * *

Fellow and a Kennedy Fellow. He

is the only one among very

somehow never worked

for all

is

a

smile

during a leisurely dinner at a common friend's digs. Stan said '?er-

.May be it is t¡ue. . ."

Cackles of delight from him and ripples of silvery laughter from his beautiful wife drowned all other "small talk."

For all his success, erudition and professional brilliance, there is one thing, though about Stan Karnow.

Perhaps this facet ofhis personality and his professional style is true of haps. . . .

all

competent correspondents who have self-confìdence, and who indulge in diligence, daily.

That is: Stan Karnow appears to

be allergic to the prospect of staying with one employer too long! But then, that is intrepid journalism,

dis-

A DIVISION OF RIGGS PERSONNEL

AGENCY LTD.

WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO:

is a Neiman

almost a'cake-walk.'

Harvard, Columbia and Sorbonne mark mile-stones in his scholastic career. Boston-bred Karnow has the advantage of the ability of conver-

sionals. Undoubtedly, Stan

good."

REALTY

professionals.

tinction.

diverse stories,

A EUROPEAN OWNED & OPERATED COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN LEAVE FLATS

covering Indo-China. It was a professional's ve¡dict on three other

of turbulent North Africa as his background, Karnow found Asia

for his

and

well-info¡med, painstaking and effective correspondents among hundreds of American newsmen

Karnow now 50,

a

sources

CALL us

Meet you personally lnspect your apartment Maintain close liaison with your sub-tenant

roDAy AND HAVE No woRRrES wHrLE you',RE AWAY

5- 458205

RM BO4 INTERNATIONAL BLDG., 141 DES VOEUX RD., H.K.

12 The Conespondent, March I

9 76

13

About those Ground Rules A

number

of

occasions have

watching

-

will be kept anonymous. to encourage a free-

arisen recently which called for use of restrictive ground rules by correspondents and journalists. There

This is done

appears to have been some confusion, which should be clarified.

In general and as a matter of policy, newsmen are opposed to

up

official status of the source, but not

to the full light of

by name or title. (Thus, "a senior American official" or a "British diplomat," etc.) Normally such backgrounders are intended to brief

publicity.

Attributions, when made, are to

correspondents on what is going on but not in a way to indicate policy

flow of information and ideas which otherwise would rapidly dry

if

subjected

restrictions on full freedom to report on what is being said - and who said it. However, zll recognize that there can be situations when protection of sources is necessary,

"diplomatic sources," "observers,"

or position.

"China watchers," or other suitable cloaks. Some agencies bave refìned

monly used for sensitive briefings

even vital.

and forums in Hong Kong often are done under restrictive ground rules.

These usually are:

There is an unstated code in Hong Kong that members of the diplomatic community

cularly those

and partiengaged in China

-

their designations almost into

a

code.

Interviews, press conferences,

l. Background.

Attribution

may be made to the nationality and

2. Deep background. Com-

where opinions and personal analyses are being given. No attribution

be made to the source although some reporters will use a vague appelation such as "a whatever may

China watcher said" or "a close observer of Chinese affairs stated."

Irì general, the reporter is to t¡eat

such info¡mation as though he him-

self had divined it, as his

own

knowledge.

3.

I

Off the record. Not only is the source unidentifìed, but the mate¡ial itself may not be published.

This is one of the most abused ground rules. It does a reporter little good to know something he cannot publish. Quite often it is merely a dodge for the source to continue to hide information. It does have a use when a source is giving a piece of information which, if properly followed by the

reporter, may lead

to a truth else-

whe¡e.

One rule that reporters insist

upon is that the ground rules

be

clearly stated ¡n advance and not be changed during the course of an interview or briefing. Many a newsman has simply walked out when a

source clutched and suddenly decided to switch the ground rules.

On the Move Tony Marks and his wife, Jacky,

held a farewell to their numetous friends at the F.C.C. on March l.

Tony leaves to take over a higher post in Sydney.

Philip Wardle of Reuters Miss Monique \#ong in

wed late

February, followed by a reception at the home of Bureau Chief Alan Thomas. Another of ou¡ bachelors gone. The list seems to be getting smaller all the time.

The Press Foundation of Asia has moved to suite 9-C of Hyde Centre, 223 Glouceste¡ Road with new telephones: 5-734387 and 5-734388. Also accompanying the move are the Hong Kong offices of Media magazine. PFA's Alan Chalk-

l"y,

alias the consul-general of Amnesia, is reported on the mend after a hea¡t attack. You can't keep a good Dutt down.

OfÍ-Duty Magazine switched its offices one block this past month, to 10th Floo¡ of Tak Yan Commercial Building, 30 D'Aguilar Street.

Phone ¡emains the same: 5-231141 . ,A great deal of sport has been had with the name of our goateed photographer, Hubert Van Es, who prefers

to be known

as Hugh. He

objected to Hu and to Hugo. Now he tells us that he was credited as

Umberto Van Es

in a

Spanish

publication and Huynh Van Es in a Vietnamese newspaper. The one that has him baffled is a Greek

Xlov Bàv "Es. "It's okay," said Hs Van Es, "they all

newspaper's

paid good money."

Ílhen former U.S. hesident Richard Nixon was milling with crowds in Tien An Men Square in Peking, a UPI photographer snapped

this pic. lUe are curious qs to who owns the microphone. IÍ Nixon's secretary hod possessed a reach like that, the tale of the missing section of the llatergate tapes might hqve been believeable. vacated by the late Mr. Lai because

Bobbles

the Politburo decided not to pro-

We'te amazed at this story. The headline in the Hongkong Standard on March 8 declared: ''Eygpt to get huge US corn supplies." The story noted the sale of 500,000 tons of wheat and flour. May be the sub was just trying to get our ear.

UPI ran a wire photo of a laughing former U.S. P¡esident Richard Nixon shaking hands with China's new acting premier, Hua Kuo-feng. The caption read: "The laughter was due to Mr. Nixon's remark that Mr. Feng had a very

tight grip." Mr. Feng, of course,

is

well known; he is temporarily standing in the job of premier

mote Mr. Ping because he irritated Mr. Tung. (It's okay, though, subs for the local papers didn't catch the booboo either) The Star ran a good story on a European cop who got "bashed"

during a hawker embroglio on its March 2 front page. A paragraph was tacked on the end which may go down as one of the most intriguone-paragraph news items in

ing

history: "Police at the scene were also looking fo¡ a monk who

allegedly hit a woman on the head with a cup when he failed in an alleged attempt to rape her." And in the middle of a near riot by 50 hawkers, too.

The Club has hosted a number ofbackground and deep background

briefìngs which have proven most useful to correspondent members.

At these, the ground rules

4$

i,:':

violations during feannine Siniscal, ønother view.

14

are being

clearly laid out in advance and scrupulously adhered to. Any violations will result in correspondents being banned from future such meetings.

Fortunately, there have been no

the past

year,

thanks to the high standards ofprofessionalism among the correspondent members.

WANT ADS We're now in Central!!!

RAY CRANBOURNE Photography

No. 30 Ice House Street, first floor, Tel:5-248482 Professional quality processing and black-and-white printing.

The Correspondent, March 1976

FOR SALE 25-foot pleasure junk "Easy" outboard, available immediately. Approx. HK$9,000 or offer. Mooring at Tai Tam available if wanted. Contact Kevin

with sail &

Sinclair 5-620161.

LARRY BURROWS. brilliant book of phot os, COMPA SS IONA TE PHOTOGRAPHER, is available at the Club office. Published by Life Magazine after his death, the book includes images caught by Burrows' camera from Angkor Wat to the Bengal tidal wave to Vietnam.

Special to Club members at HK$45.

15

Europe

were n caPitals as if theY y excePt ThursdaY

r..-=; Lufthansa v German Airlines