The Correspondent, March - April 1983 by The Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong

THE

,N#ﾃ右ﾃ､

March

April

1983

IHT

Style comes øl:i.ue ø,t...

'i#EEã

GflRRESPflNDENÏ

HELP TO BEAR THE BURDEN .This is your magazine. lt is produced to keep Club members informed of what is going on around the FCC, in professional realms around the region and to keep in touch with former members who are now scattered on every news front on the globe. To succeed in th.ese aims, The CORRESPONDENT needs the support of everyone. The magazine is not aimed solely at journalists and newsmen, lt is meant to enterta¡n and inform all FCC members. But despite appeals for assistance, the work involved in producing the magazine (and it is a great deal of work) falls on only a very few shoulders. Help is needed to keep The Correspondent afloat. ln recent months, the publication has taken on a new lease of life. lt is livelier, more readable and comprehensive. lt goes not only to every Club member, but to hundreds of members overseas, to every press club on five continents with which the FCC is affiliated, to virtually every visiting newsman who comes to Hong Kong and to professional journalists throughout the region. As such, The Correspondent is a product of which we can be proud. lt has gained the Club kudos in other press clubs around the world. lt has helped put our new premises on the map. lt has

Tbe Grandstønd Gríll

Beef at ìts best

Sberatr¡n's Grandstand Grill offers the best U.S. Prime Rib ctf Beef, carued from tbe uagon at your tableside. Tbe Grandstand Grill is er¡ually renotuned for its excellent selection of sea foods, flambé specialities and sucb fauorites as Spit-Roasted Cbicken, Boneless Roast Quail on uild rice, Roast Rack of Spring Lamb, and a bost of otber dishes, superbly prepared and imaginatiuely þresented. Tbe Grandstand Grill ís utbere busíness þeople prefer to meet and cline.

For reseruations call Samuel at 3-691111 pxt. 1443

Slreraton- Hortg Kong Hotel SHERATON HOTELS & INNS,WORLDWIDE NATHAN & SALISBURY ROADS. KOWLOON, HONG KONG TEL:3-691111

sparked widespread interest in Club affairs. Still, more help is needed from members, both journalistic and associates. Holiday photographs of members in exotic places, promotions and movements of FCC members in their jobs, details of books which have been published (or those which are about to be), marriages, births. movements, personalities. .. the copy potential is endless. And on the professional news side, there is also ample room for copy to fill the pages of the club magazine; who is at what war or conference or disaster or seminar. Many of us are professional communicators. lt should not be too much trouble to knock out a few lines for our own magazine. On another front, there is also room for aid. lt costs money to produce a quality publication. A lot of money. This income

must come from advertising or the publication will once again slip back into the doldrums. lf FCC members feel it is worthwhile to reach the people who matter in Hong Kong and Asia. they should ask their advertising. public r:elations or marketing staff to consider The Correspondent as a potential vehicle. All correspondence and queries in connection with the magazine should be addressed to the FCC office, attention The Correspondent. All telephone calls should go to the Club manager, Heinz Grabner. Remember, the magazine is your Club publication and we need your help to make it a success.

very great improvement on what it was like a decade ago. Indonesian nationals working for Indonesian publications feel the iron heel of censorship and official displeasure far more than foreign correspondents. One man who recently fell foul of the authorities was llasan Suraatmaja, editor of the banned Muslim paper Abadi.

It's an unfortunate regional trend

HARASSMENT AND FRUSTRATION DOG

He was charced with

possessing. state

secrets. Not with disclosing or printing secrets, just possessing them. Under this Catch-22 law, it is an offence punishable

by seven years in jail to "possess"

state

secrets.

One interpretation

of this is that

reporter may ask a source for details of a story and if the source is forthcoming and discloses what the government considers to be a secret, the reporter is, i¡rso facto, guilty.

IIONGKONG: And even here at home there have been a few rumbles about the refusal by the immigration authorities to allow an "information officer" of the Palestine Liberation Organisation to land at Kai Tak. The man, Australian-based Ali Kazak, was here to spread the Palestinians side

of the story about what the latest situation is in the Middle East. It was to have been his fourth visit.

But the luckless Mr. Kazak found himself on the next flight south when he was refused entry. Supression of news dissemination or an intelligent move to defuse possible trouble? People were varied in their views. But at least

Hongkong, re-

to give both sides ,of the story, which is very different from the situation in many other areas in the porters were able

region where the press is coming under continuing heavy pressure.

CORRESPONDENTS Correspondents and reporters throughout the region have come under increãsrng pressure rn recent months,

T,'å'"'å åiH have shown themselves to be touchy about their in-

and that is Mr. Lee himself. There is no way a Cabinet minister would have taken this decision without Mr. Lee,s

TIIE PIilLIPPINES: The ham-fisted military censors apparently set up themselves a committee aimed at ovèrseeing the work of the local press. It seeml thcy. did this. without bothering to get

powers-that-be.

It's all part of the news craft, but many .observers feel that pressure is mouqting in countries throughout the Far East. In a recent book on human rights

been able to get this to the bureaucrats and d the reins of power in

was

Hongkong. Elsewhere, the press is under

SINGAPOßE: The

Singapore-based

Foreign Correspondents' Assoìiation of Southeast Asia has expressed its concern

about the refusal of the island-republic's government to allow a correspondent to continue working there. A renewal of the work visa of Far Eastern Economic Review bureau chief, Patrick Smith, was refused. Association leaders described Smith as a journalist of calibre, honesty and inte-

grity

words which appareitly meant little -to the Singapore iirimigration oflì-

cials.

In a letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs_ ,and Culture, Mr. Suppiãh Dhanabalan, the FCASA said: - aWe would point out that at a time when the Government

of Singapore is implement-

ing,policies designed to dcvelop the re-

The state of the art in Thailand can perhapg be judged by an apology pubIished in the Channei 3 telei,isiol hõuse mqgazine- which _ The Correspondent prints with no further comment .- .

Tho Association asked for an exusual contempt which the Singapore Government reserves for those newsmen with whom it disagrees. fn other words, it was ignored. Observers in Singapore pin the blame for the refusal to renew his visa stories concerning the arrest and detention without trial of political opponents of the Government 0n one man. "You can't one long-time there is only

who has the

based on self-interest:

help he can get.,' his failure to cultivate en, f was never very

Over-zealous officials jumped on their high-horses and set óut - after local Manila reporters like the 7th Cavalry after Geronimo, according to one Manilâ source,

They pulled in 29 reporters, 25 of them women, and posed a variety of

questions which, in ihe context of

Îiti-

pino life, could only be considered threatening. "Why do you write to agitate the mind and inflame the passions?" was _one query put to young girl reporters by stern-faced officers. "Do you realise that you might be used wittingly or unwitfingly b-y the subversives?"

two grave errors on the cover of

the

December, 1982, issue. ÍOn the occasion of His Majesty King -Deóembei

"Don't you think your writings make heroes of the very people the military have such a hard time with?"

Bhumipol's 55th birthday ,on 5, 1982, Channel 3 inténded to honor and show respect for our beloved King

by placing his picture, along with a mes-sage of best wishes, on the cover of our magazine which was distributed on December 1,1982.

-of the left side which is the

Beech, who recently retired.

. Beech, one of the most respected of American newsmen ever to havè worked in Asia, was frank in his viewpoint that he had received information -from the CIA and that this information had been among the mo-st accurate of that he had

got during the long years he spent II

'TlleìnGlB ':' . .: '. ' 1

covering the war. Others on the panel, held at the Universitv of Sourhern California,_were a one-time CIA emplovee in Saigon,'entitled Frank $It_gpp, and tw'o other CIA analysts. The panel üas - in

America.

America âbout the way

aroused

which

akin to self-flagellation.

Red faced military chiefs had to cx-

enough

to decline such an invitation.

"On that,

indication, of

am prepared to give you

odds.of l0O to one against," one cynical

Manila newsman commented.

The no-nonsense approach to .tol'gh handling of the press in Indonesia is not likelylo relax iñ the forseeable future. lt is, however, a

INDONESfA:

to have tried to put things back into

been

Meanwhile, the argument on the subject contitrues to rage among American media people. Nobody else seems to care.

reporters gained information and whether some oi these leads ican intelligence and defence agencies

ofrcers who sought press move will be

es.

the role of the CIA in Vietnam. Th" panel was chaired by former FCC member and long-time. doyen of American cbrrespondents in Asia, Keyei

Soul-searchìng

side

respectfully Maiesty the of . the kinqinsulted by

The-question has once again raised

much interest in the news industry

force4 to anstver questions. They had merely been invited to go to an army building to have "an exchange of views.t' One wonders wbat would have happened to any individual reporter unwise correct

itself following a panel discussion on

"Vietnam Reconsidered, Lessons from a war" and

plain that the reporters had not

public as an international coñlmunications centre, we are surprised and disrnayed that it should resort to what in our view is a retrograde measure." planation, but this was treated with the

D¡d CIA use newsman in Vietnafn?

official authority.

a¡ound the world, British author Chirles Humana (a common figure ar.ound the FCC _bar during his frèquent visits to Hongkong) said that in all of Asia there were only two outposts of true freedom. constant pressure. Some recent examples

the

express approval."

ternational images. And local reporters in many reqional centres have found themselves, onè way or another, at logger-heads with thê

One was Japan. The other

"Also incorrect on the cover of

journalists resularlv British British

ity of how he uses the information

deciàes the information is'valuable and genuine, what does it matter from where it comes? That is the opinion of many people who cannot fathom the American soul-searching and sense of assumed guilt that is adopted by- many United States newsmen and wõmen about getting information from their nation's premier intelligence orfanisal tion.

for many years was involved is a hangover from Watergate. are pure as the driven snow,

h,o

Yes, he said. Of course he had got information frcm CIA sources during his years in Vietnãm. \ühile Beech said he was well connected within the in_telligence agency, he denied that he was ever paid by the

CIA for

anything.

In his 1977 Beech as one of received informal to get correspon

y C

published in the Beech said that he often founrl himself ouzzled about the accuracy of information he was givcn. He iaid he agonized over whether he was being set ub. Beech, who chaired tbe panel discussion, first puzzled at why hc had been asked to d it was my CIA connection," he said. "If so, although I cefainly wasn't the only one with

sources.

are

briefed uflËrEu by Dy rnrer[gence intelligence omclals officials and ánd see nothing wrong with this at all. What-use they make of the m, in exactly the samó way as-it is

to call them for information all the time. They were always. helpful.

almost

"Some of these people who question the morality of using information gained from a branch from the US government make me see red. "They don't mind getting the opinions of student leaders and religious freaks and anti-government people, but they object to getting information from men whose professional training is to gather and evaluate intelligence information."

Taipei spokesmen give visitors an unblinkered look

Enjo

TELLING THE

TAIWANSTORY The Taiwan Government periodically arranges press tours to

ÌRADE MARK REGD

the island which are arranged on an imaginative basis. The trips show newsmen many aspects

of life on

the island. But with their typical efficiency, the Taipei Government lnformation Office make the visits pay off in benefits for themselves in addition to educating visiting newsmen about trends and progress on Taiwan. The visiting party usually is made up of a widely varying group

people.

ln addition to reporters from Hong Kong, regional correspondents from news magazines and Hong Kongbased publications, there are also reporters from other regional centres such as Japan, Seoul or Singapore and a healthy contingent of correspondents based in Taipei. The parties are accompanied by

lilii:.:i:iri¡ii.iiiii MI:i::

i:i ii i; |: |: |:

'::t:,.:::::t::::::

liiiiiiiiiiiiii¡ /i1ll:it':iii:ii :l:::l:ll:ll!!!::lr:::r:..:::.:. ',

"Coke" and

trãItËr

.:lr:.: !:r:::::::r:i:r:::

'::.'':::::::::|:|:ii::l|:x;:::|:|:|:::::::I

are registered trademårks which ¡dent¡fy the same prodùcl

of the

Coca-Cola Company

BIO officials, senior Taiwan government politicians and bureaucrats (such as the minister for tourism, science of agriculutre) and by Taiwan diplomats and officials who are back in the homeland for familiarisation trips. This benefits all concerned. The visiting reporters get indepth knowledge of progress and problems. Not only do they get the benefit of official briefings and piles of statistics and background documents. but they can quiz the Taipei-based newsmen for the real story. On the other hand, the Taiwan officials gain an idea from the visiting correspondents of how the island regime is viewed in other territories. The full and frank exchange of views

cut across all official channels, especially after the nightly feasts in which toasts are drunk before, during and after every one of the 12 courses of a traditional banquet.

A number of FCC members were on a recent look and learn trip to Taiwan. Raymond Tai, the Deputy Director of Taiwan's lnformation Office (left) shakes hands with John Hardie as does Tourism Minister Yu Wei as the immortal Lawrence Tsang, Taipei TIME-LIFE man, looks on.

The trips give Taipei correspondents, who sometimes tend to become somewhat insular after years in the country, a glimpse of how others see the political set-up on the island. This helps them, especially the freelancers, when they are thinking what story angles might appeal to regional publications. The cross-fertilization of ideas between the varying group

news-

men, the GIO staffers and the government officials is beneficial to all. Most importantly, it shows the correspondents on the trips what is going on in Taiwan.

On one recent tour, FCC members were accompanied by senior GIO men, government ministers

including the Tourism Minister Yu Wei, Taipei-based correspondents, Japanese-based reporters, lndians, senior defence and intelligence officers and diplomats about to be posted overseas who gained a different slant on their own country through seeing it through a foreign viewpoint.

All in all, it is a practical and sensible system that gives participants an unblinkered look at life in Taiwan. K.S.

-l

--'l

Dear Sir:

I would like to make a few observations about the - not all of them complaints - but I would like to make these comments anonymously, only for the reason that I think by doing so, they may be present Club

viewed more objectively.

I think we have been marvellously lucky to obtain a lease on the new premises, and the use of space and the

associate members. Besides their money, they also bring in some variety, so that all the talk isn't about deadlines and Vietnam and what it was like covering this riot or that disaster. I enjoy all that talk immensely, of course, but I occasionally like word of the world outside journalism, and the, associate members can help provide that. Still, when only ten per cent of the club's members are journal ists, lt ¡s going to be diff icult to retain the original character of the club. I am glad you to see that new memberships have been suspended for a while and I hope the club will proceed very cautiously in expanding its membership. (l must admit that I speak as one who has proposed more than his share of associate members; it is hard to turn down friends who ask. Some sort of annual quota system, perhaps?) ls it possible to recruit more journalist members by making membership more attract¡ve to them? Cheaper

That's what

decorations are quite nice. The FCC now is indeed a handsome club and no doubt will attract a great many more prospective members. I wonder, however, if we aren't in danger of losing that splendid atmosphere that made the old FCC a comfortable, friendly and interesting place. lt is perhaps too soon to tell. but I get the feeling that the new club is more businesslike and more business-oriented than the old one, and I'm not sure I'm going to like this. I would hate to see the club become "The Central Bankers and Financiers Club (incorporating the FCC)." Of course it is inconceivable that that we would ever be able to have such a grand club without the support

say....Letters

monthly dues? One of the problems, as I am sure you are aware, is that many of the organizations that employ journal ists have been driven out of Central by the high rents, to loathsome places like Ouarry Bay and Tai Koo Shing even Aberdeen, I have heard - and the bankers and P.B. men now f¡ll the barstools formerly held down by respected newsmen. Would any sort of shuttle service

for these banished journalists be practical? The restaurant. Again, perhaps it is too soon to make a judgment, I but haven't found the new restaurant to be up to the standards of the old one, either in quality or variety of

RONK STILL ON REFUGEE BEAT Numerous journalists have made the tortuous three-hour trip from Manila to the refugee camp at Morong on the Bataan peninsula where thousands of Vietnamese, Laotians and Khmers are prepared

for a new life in the western world. But none of them have stayed there as long as has former FCC member Don Ronk. The former editor of The Asia Magazine is now working as one of the instructors at the camp. lt is a role into which he fits easily because few of the teachers. doctors and social workers at Morong can have experience with the homelands of the refugees which match that of the veteran A merican newsman-turnedteacher. For many years, Ronk lived

and travelled widely in Thailand and lndochina. He saw f¡rsthand the

political developments which have since led to the continuing tragedy of the refugee saga.

DON IN MORONG

During his years in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia before coming to Hong Kong - Ronk was an eyewitness to the saga of lndochina's agony. Today, as a teacher at Morong. he is still making a valuable contribution. The camp holds 12,OO0 lndochinese. They have

come from refugee staging areas all over the region and Morong is a

stop-over for them on the high road to freedom. The refugees at Morong are the

lucky ones; they have been guaranteed resettlement overseas and their stay at the processing centre is to prepare them for the changes they will find when they begin to settle in the west. Most are going to America, Australia, France, Germany

or Norway.

to Khmer farmers

and

Although he is no longer

Ronk and other instructors teach them not only languages but such basics as how

mystery

Vietnamese f isherfol k.

use western-

style toilets, a subject which is

writing about it, Ronk is still very much part of the continuing story of lndochina which he covered for so long.

food. or service. The menu particularly offends. Why, for god's HOTEL REGAL MERIDIEN HONGKONG

HOTEL REGAL MER I DI EN HONG KONG

AIRPORT

With the compliments of 20th trloor, Far East Consortium BuiÌding, i21, Des Voeux Rd., C, HongKong. TeI:5-420264

sake, must each manager throw out every blessed dish on the old menu - including what must be a great many established "club favorites" - and start all over from söratch? lt is like reinventing the wheel. Why do it? I can remember when some of the club's dishes were as good as anything to be found at any restaurant in Hong Kong. They were reliable standbys and became staple items on the menu. Where are they now? The great spareribs, pecan pie, chicken-in-the-basket.

mulligatawny soup, and on and on. Do our

tastes

really have to be turned upside down every time we get a new man running lhe kitchen? That's not the way restaurants build a reputation. Please restore some of the popular dishes from the old club menu. The old waiters surely could provide helpful guidance in this area.

And why - WHY? - must we have a menu in French like every so-called "elegant" hotel restaurant in Asia trying to justify gouging customers $100 for a $40 steakT This is "class" I can do without. (Continue to Page 22)

Old Asia Hand lan Brodie (ex-Daily Express man '60s1 writes to us from his home in Topanga Canyon outside Los Angeles that he has been busy covering the visit to the US West Coast of the Oueen and the Duke of Edinburgh. It was a lively assignment. writes Brodie, who now represents the London Daily Telegraph in the western United States. lncidentally, he says, the new lce House Street premises as illustrated in The CORRESPONDENT seem

in the Far East during the eventful

splendid.

It's a pity that lan will not be around to split a bottle of wine on the balcony; he says that pressure of work will probably prevent him from making a Far East visit this year.

That's our loss, because the affable Brodie was for many years one of the most experienced and incisive observers of the wars, tensions and trends of Asia. Many will remember him for his remarkable scoop at the dawn of ping-pong diplomacy in which he scored a magnificent coup by becoming the first British reporter into China since the Cultural Revolution. The Express, with its typical flair, headlined its front page with Chinese characters which may have proved somewhat bemusing to British readers but which to those who read Chinese plainly said: "The Express in China." Today, of course, anyone and his brother can go to China and it is sobering to recall that only a decade ago

was

newsmen a forbidden land.

It's different on the DailY

RAGA SHIPBROKER WITH SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY It was the first meal I had ever taken with Chandroth Hari Raghavan, although we have been drinking friends for longer than I care to remember. I asked him to draw a picture of me -

Vines learns about VDTs f rom the SCM Post

foreign affairs editor David Chen. The Doyen recently reached the milestone of 77 years and to mark the occasion friends threw a lunch

at his favourite restaurant, the Hilton Grill. As wife Ann looks on with amusement, Richard Hughes puffs on a Hughes-sized cigar a friend sent from the Philippines as a present.

OLD SEA DOGS

Some old datelines were recalled when travell-

ing scribes Alan Whicker and Gavin Young passed through town recently.

Whicker was on the Oueen Elizabeth 1 1 to do one of his incomparable documentaries which, when it reaches the screen. sounds as though it will be well worth viewing. Another noted seafarer, Gavin Young. swapped ocean tales. Young, oÍ Observer fame, wrote the highly-acclaimed Slow Boats to China travel book which told, masterfully, how he travelled on 23 different vessels from London to Canton. Also around the table were FCC members Anthony Lawrence, now engaged on writing a history of a Far East shipping line, and Kevin Sinclair, who has written a book on salvage in the china seas. Not to mention Dick Hughes who has himself made many an Asian passage. What was the main topic of conversation? Not suprisingly, the sea.

When he was a sub on the foreign desk of lhe Times, Richard Vines would often work on stories about China. For the past 10 months, he has been in China working on the subs desk doing stories on Britain. This reversal of roles came about after he was invited to spend a stretch on the Peking-based China Daily.

For 10 months. he was one of seven foreigners helping provide English-language and technical expertise to the Chinese staff who put out the paper on the People's Daily presses. Vines reports on his 1O months in Peking: "Harold Evans had just been sacked from The Times and it looked as if the paper was in for more trouble when the London-based Thomson Foundation asked me if I would like to spend a few months in Peking. "Of course, I said yes. "l had travelled briefly in Thailand and Burma. but never to China and I was anxious to go. "l d¡d not know quite what to expect on the China Daily.

expected it to be a change from The Times and that certainly proved to be true. "The Chinese methods of collecting and copytast¡ng news are rather different from those on a western newspaper." Still, Vines says he had a good time in China, worked hard and learned a lot. He also got married, to Yu Wei-wei. a foreign liaison officer. They honeymooned in Kunming, then had a second honeymoon in Hongkong when Wei-wei arrived to join her husband for her first visit outside china. While in Hongkong, Vines dropped into the SCM Post office where he had a brief encounter with the new technology that British unions still forbid in Fleet Street. What did he think of VDTs?

Rather like newspapers Different.

China, he

said.

he tried but found it impossible and said he would prefer to draw me f rom memory. I'd like to be able to draw a word picture of this man from Kerala,

lndia. His black piercing eyes fascinate me as does his charming, slightly crooked smile and his shiny bald head. Most women find it irresistible and have to pat it - so do l.

Raga's day begins

at 5:00 or

5:30 every morning. He performs his ablutions and they take him a little longer than the ordinary man, but then Raga is not an ordinary man. Part of his morning ritual includes shaving his head, something he has done since his days in Singapore, when it was necessary to disguise himself in order to çt a job as a clerk. The Japanese forces had occupied that city and they wanted

him to draw cartoons of Japanese soldiers bayoneting Winston Churchill and that sort of thing. But they only offered $3 a picture and for that he couldn't even get a bowl of rice. Another possibility was washing a mountain of bottles at a hospital, which he didn't fancy, so he escaped by jumping into a d¡tch with some coolies and put one of their hats on. By the time he had to go back to the Labour Exchange, he had grown a beard and shaved his head and the

official didn't recognise him. He got a job.

But I

digress

from

Raga's

morning ritual. First he shaves his face with a sharp blade. I assume he then polishes his head, but he refuses to answer that question. When this is finished, he meditates for an hour, sometimes two if he has time. Meditation is an essential part Raga's life. His philosophy of life is in part that we are al I criminals,

living in an enlarged Tower of London and that we are all condemn-

ed.

He reckons that once we have accepted that fact, we can get on

with living, and try to

reduce

everyone's suffering.

His philosophy began to take shape when he was a young boy in Kerala studying Sanskrit.

That was 1951 and everyone in Rangoon. Raga knew where to get what they needed and now he knew what to do with it. needed everything

His excellent knowledge of the English language was invaluable. He had decided, in 1930, that he must learn to speak English. He used to copy the English newspapers until the wee hours of the morning. He poured over the dictíonary and

talked to anyone who would speak English to him. Then one day in

Bain has changed Raga's life

twice. Once, in Rangoon, where he had a small flour business, he needed to go to the bank. Although he hadn't much money, he had a chauffeur named Charlie who drove him to the lmperial Bank. When he came

out he saw that it was rai ning very heavily and spotted two European monks dressed in saffron robes sitting on a bench. He asked them if he could drive them somewhere and they accepted his offer. And this was the way that Raga met one of the most important people in his life - Karl Tennyson, a man of then 82 who wæ born in Latvia and who had been banished from Thailand where he had lived for 20 years. He and his younger friend, Karl Ludwig, a German, had been suspected of spying by the government and been forced to go to Burma. They lived in a compound which belonged to the

Attorney General of Burma. The two monks invited

Raga into their Ashram and offered him tea. While Tennyson and Raga were talk-

king, Ludwig left the room. He returned with the Attorney General and introduced them. The Attorney General invited Raga to a garden party the next day and that party changed Raga's life. He met the cream of the crop of Rangoon - ambassadors. political figures and dozens of important, influential people.

Singapore he was invited to the house of a man named McGrath. At the time, Raga was working

an armament supply officer - a highly dangerous job, since he had to inspect the explosives and there were as

no guarantees attached. McGrath was the Labour Superintendent and he and Raga frequently played chess together. One Day - Raga remembers that it was raining - McGrath invited him to his

home. Raga felt embarassed since he was wearing rather shabby clothes, but he went along. On the way they talked of various things; McGrath asked him what sports he played and Raga rêplied "Only manly ones: hockey, cricket, football, badminton," and added that he had then little time or money to enjoy those things. Raga is nearly 76 now

are no lines in his

there

face. He drinks

only one whisky - White Label, which

he thinks has something to do with his youthful appearance. He works as a ship broker and is constantly on

the go.

Why does he like the FCC? "Because I like people", he replies. "People are like a huge university if you tune into them properly. Here in our beautiful new club we have three floors: ln the basement is Hel l, where

I lose my

money; the ground floor - that's Earth, where you meet new people, and. upstairs - that is Heaven, where I can't get in".

THE WHAT IS BATTER. .

BARTERING is, simply, the process of exchonging products ond services you produce for products ond services you need.

WHAT IS BARfERCARD. . . BARTERCARD is the modern woy of Bortering. A unique new concepl, computerized to enoble you lo trode your Excess lnveniory, Excess Copocity or Excess Time for other goods ond services you would olherwise hove lo buy with cosh.

ALTERNATIVE

Why Spend Gash ... When You Gan Trade I TR/ADE FOR EVERYTHING WITH...

No cosh chonges honds, only merchondise ond services. And wiih BARTERCARD you don't hove lo trode with lhe porliculor business from which you received goods or services. lnsteod you Bortei"with o locol ond internolionol network of member businesses. . .like

o Borter Bonkl

receive Trode Uniis (l Dollor:l Trode Unit) in your occounl when someone borters wilh your business ot your prevoiling selling price, be it wholesole or retoil. You con then spendthoseTrode Units for other goods or services your business needs olso ot their prevoiling selling price.

You

\ ì

You con therefore hold onlo your cosh, os olmosf everything is ovoiloble with BARTERCARD: Computers, copiers, cors, oir trovel, restouronts, hotel occomodolions, controctors, ond clothing, lo nome but o few. BARTERCARD keeps you¡ cosh free.

A TYPICAT EXAMPLE. . . You ore the owner of o men's clothing store ond lhe Borter Exchonge Syslem refers o mon in lhe printing business to you for clothes. He purchoses $500 worth of cloihes with his BARTERCARD in exchonge for 500 Trode Unils.

You ore then oble to buy 500 Trode Units worlh of prinling or 500 Trode Units worth of ony item ovoiloble in the exçhonge. And your octuol cost is $250, your wholesole ìnventory replocemenl cost of the clothes. THE BENEFITS OF BARÍER.

o Borter Exchonge System octs os your broker, publicizing your offerings ond putting you in touch wilh other firms who need whot you hove, ond hove whot you need. Through our Trode Brokers, we ore constontly exploring new morkets for you.

o Borter

Exchonge System becomes on oclive distri-

'butor for your producls or services through lhe internotionol borter bonk's computerìzed cenlrol cleoring house which guorontee your trodes. Our computerized listing service ond periodic bulletins odvertise you.

Borler Exchonge System impr,oves your cosh flow by. selling your product ol prevoiling prices. Your

octuol cosh inveslment

is your

Exchonge Sysfem ollows you lo use existing inventories, representing cosh you hove olreody commìtted, to buy goods ond services you need. We moke these unproductive ossets profitoble, thus, giving you liquidity in o stognont morket.

o Borter

o Borter Exchonge Syslem generotes new profits since we increose soles wilhout increosing fixed expenses.

o Borter Exchonge System provides detoiled slotements eoch month showing lhe purchoses ond soles by your compony for the previous month. All occounts ore reconciled on o doily bosis.

wholesole or

produclìon cost. You spend your products ond services ond keep your cosh.

Your

Servi

êS... ACT r{OW. .

I om interested to receive more informot¡on

lf you own o business, write or coll our office todoy to see how THE BARTERCARD ALTERNATIVE con

help your business. ll could be very profitoble.

BARTERCARD. Nome Position

Compony Address Telephone

BARTER EXCHANGE WSTEM,^, 131 1-13

HANG LUNG CENTER, 2.20 PATERSON STREET, HONG KONG.

TEL:5-771851-3 TLX:83175 HKBRO HX

Institutions peculiar to Nippon

THE PRESS "CLUBS''

Press Club System in Japan" . . . only to conclude that "today's press clubs seem to restrict the people's right to know rather than protect it." The rise and fall of one of the

more controversial institutions peculiar to this country are described and analysed in a thesis which Kazue Suzuki submitted earlier this year to obtain a Master of Science degree in journalism and mass communications from lowa State

university in the united states. Suzuki interviewed a number of

our

Press Club members

his

research and has donated a copy of the thesis to the FCCJ Library. At onlY 122 mimeographed pages it is easy reading for any foreign correspondent wondering why theY must overcome so many barriers before getting access

to primary news sources in Japan.

It also may help you understand

compete with the Japanese press clubs for access allocations at particular news events, the FPIJ has represented the foreign press corps, a task which could not be handled by the FCCJ because of its membership structure. Whereas FCCJ is made up of individual members, allowing for multiple representation of the same company in case of a vote, FPIJ membership is on a company basis, with one vote per company and individual correspondents recognised only as company representat ives. Besides representing the foreign press in allocation negotiations, FPIJ has also been trying to increase our general access to news sources in Japan by opening up Japanese press clubs

to foreign correspondents. A significant breakthrough achieved in May 1980 when the

was

Did you know that "as of 1980. nearly 12.000 reporters representing

papers and broadcasting stations, and awareness by the government of how to use and in

into about 400 press clubs nationwide"? Those are the figures Kazue Suzuki obtained from various sources. The number of press clubs may be even higher. There are no comPlete statistics available, it seems. Another surprise is the fact that the pre-war press clubs in Japan not only fought the government, but often also their own editor. They sometimes functioned as a sort of trade union while the actual news gathering was done on a "lone wolf" basis rather than in the present groupie

Foreign newsmen have often been baffled by the "club" system of reporting which is a feature of Japanese newsgathering. Many have complained that the "press clubs" are used not to help newsmen but to restrict information to a favoured few. In this article, reprinted by courtesy of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Gebhard Hielscher of the Suddeutsche Zeitung of Munich, looks at how the controversial clubs developed. Hielscher, who speaks and reads Japanese, has lived in Tokyo for 15 years.

why, back in 1960, the FCCJ membership felt the need to form our own Japanese-style press club called "The Foreign Press in Japan" (FPIJ). Since then, whenever we have had to

informative chapter on "Press Clubs in Modern Society." lt is the period of high growth also for the news-

165 newspapers, news agencies and broadcasting companies were organised

OF JAPAN

"The oldest press club in Japan the Diet Press Club - was formed by reporters who demanded access rights to the f irst lmperial Diet of November, 1890," writes a Japanese researcher in a study entitled "The

he forthcoming shortly But back to the thesis on Japan's own press club system.

to apply for membership in the Kasumi Club (as is necessary in the case of the Naikaku Kisha Kai, the having

Cabinet Press Club, where only those foreign correspondents who have obtained the status of an "observer member" may attend the press conferences given by the Prime Minister or the Chief Cabinet Secretary).

"The Clubs become part of the decision making process on the part of the Government A dangerous mixture of privileges and self-control."

The editor of a weekly paper in the lsle of Man (the speck of land in the lrish Sea) has been sacked for writing an article which apparently upset Britain's Trade Secretary Lord

to a situation where information of a sensitive nature becomes increasingly difficult to have led

Cockf ield.

use. The danger of "collusion"

dismissed from his job as editor of the lsle of Man Weekly Times after

The journalist, Bill Dale, was and

manipulation has become very real. though there are few actual legal restrictions to news gathering.

the paper ran a story about Cockfield

that this monopoly was not created to lock out the foreign correspondents.

It is at this point that the

The system has this effect for us, but

now a peer.

trouble started - because some of the features of the wartime press clubs remained influential in the postwar system, too: "The editors' control of the clubs, the protection of the prestigious press, and 'the passive attitude of the reporters - satisfaction with transmitting the given news.' " And though the Occupation policy originally encouraged the re-

it applies in the same way to Japanese

This disgraceful sort of attitude towards a journalist is more typical of that behind the lron Curtain than in a country that prides itself on being the home of liberty. Lord Cockfield should remember he sits in the House of Lords, not on the Supreme Soviet. The National Union of

It is against this background that the editors cooperated with the government to control the often unruly press clubs. The so-called "press club reform" of 1942-43 "changed the structure of the press clubs from individual-based to company based," writes Suzuki. They became "mere mouthpieces of the government."

Kasumi Club at the foreign ministry,

effect abuse the press clubs for its own purposes.

and his decision to over-rule a monopoly commission decision. The noble lord, it seems, is a close friend of the owner of the paper, one Henri Dor. Cockfield complained that while on the lsle of Man he felt he enjoyed "a protected degree of anonymity." Dale's offence was evidently not to extend this degree of anonymity to the former taxation department official who is

fash i on.

with the blessing of the Gaimusho, formally agreed to admit FPIJ members to all press conferences (as distinct from briefings) held at that ministry, without FPIJ members

ARROGANT DICTATES

of fast growing

truly independent news reporting, the "Red Purge" of 1950,

emergence of

directed against journalists suspected of communist or socialist inclinations, resulted in another alliance of sorts

So the system has its own basic

problems, even without going into the question that is the higgest headache for us: the limiting of access to members, resulting in a monopoly on news gathering for the clubs. It should be noted, however,

non-members, such as freelance or magazine reporters. To put it a different way, we can count on some Japanese support as we try to overcome the exclusiveness of the Japanese press club system. And even within the clubs themselves there is a growing number of people who real ise that something is wrong with their system. The time is ripe for some

changes.

IINIDTHD FCG ------'t

HOTü TO

between the "government" (in this case the Occupation authorities) and the

editors and management of big news organizations for the purpose of control ing reporters. Thus the postwar pres clubs, rather than returning to their original status of considerable freedom of action for the individual club member, turned out to be little more than somewhat liberalised modifications of the wartime system. "The dilemma of the press club system became conspicuous after 1952" (when Japan regained her sovereignty). observes Suzuki at the end of a most

Journalists is said to be concerned about the case. I should hope so.

t-----

l.li¡i

¡irllr

ln practical terms this that any FPIJ member with

means

a valid

press card may attend conferences

given by the Foreign Minister after the cabinet meetings on Tuesday

and Friday.

Currently FPIJ is negotiating for a similar arrangement with the Director of the Self Defence Agency and it is hoped that the terms of an agreement on this unprecedented venture should

Cut out the card and

stick it in your wallet.

The address is: Foreþ Correspondents' Club 2l,ower Albe¡t Road (Corner of Wyndham Street,

Old Dairy Farm Building) Telephone 5-211511

fr ætbT

fr"

AtÆ m

Y1¡

trw

H 'F

+Ë

Ðt

¿l ffi Él

BT[llt$ CAtt

FOR INSTITUTE

OF JOURNALISM The need for an lnstitute of Journalism seems to be the key to any thinking in regard to any objective view of radio, television or print in Hong Kong today. At a time when the Financial Secretary, Mr. Brembridge, is reminding us to tighten our belts it seems unthinkable that we are spending one hundred and twenty three million, seven hundred and sixty two thousand dollars on Radio Television Hong Kong. Our society prides itself on its laissez-faire, free-wheeling, commer-

cial atmosphere, therefore it seems particularly strange that a large

proportion of the broadcasting in Hong Kong is left to a costly Government department. I am not going to ensnare myself in the areas of standards and taste, but I do feel strongly that broadcasting provided by RTHK should be left in commercial hands. The money saved could establish the very necessary lnstitute of Journalism.

has often been said that the

Government requires a mouthpiece, and hence the necessity of RTHK.

Sir Philip Haddon-Cave has already taken steps to modernize and update the Government lnformation Services, but surely a broadcasting unit to service the commercial stations would

fulfil this

requirement.

Mr. Dennis Bray has praised the television documentary section of RTHK, and here I am happy to agree, but this vital enrichment of

our culture could be encompassed in the lnstitute of Journalism under a film-making section. This could

San ùIis - a rcal friend The beer rõu made a lvinner

provide a very necessary training ground for both TVB and ATV. Education Television. a very worthwhile and important part. should be placed under the authority of the Education Department; again there should be a direct link with the

lnstitute of Journalism. Much has been said and written lately about the standard of pronunciation on our English channels, and I believe that as Hong

ümilill$ . lllAlll]lt$ . will]lt$ Kong is still under the authority of Britain we should expect high standards of spoken English. I am not adverse to American accents but at a time when many are complain-

ing about spoken English in HK it seems a shame that a proven

educational tool - television not used as a guideline for our easily influenced youngsters.

I also believe that the

Govern-

ment should use that old HK weapon, money, to ensure that high standards and ethics are maintained! lf the code set by the Government is broken, then fine the company concerned!

At present, RTHK

has two

Chinese and two English channels, and rebroadcasts the BBC - interspersed with local Chinese programmes - on a fifth channel. lf we switched to a commercial operation the format could be altered to suit

the Government's requirements.

might have a stat¡on operat¡ng two channels in Chinese and Engl ish, or perhaps merely one. lf we look to the examples of America and Australia you can easily comprehend the multitude of possibilities, and by that I do not mean merely a multitude of frothy pop stations. As a starting point we should merely allocate the existing frequencies to new commercial sponsors. ln conclusion, may I praise the Hong Kong Association of Journalists in their endeavour to improve their professional status. I am sure that an lnstitute of

Journalism would meet with their whole hearted approval ! " The opportunities to achieve this dream is available and would be to the benefit of Hong Kong. This in turn would help to provide a much closer link between the commercial world and our media. Perhaps it would help eliminate that dreaded phrase "l do not trust the HK media." Roger Thomas

NOT THE RETIRING TYPES Old pals Ronnie Ling and Charlie Smith have both, officially, retired. But neither is exactly what you could call the retiring type and although Charlie left UPI several years ago after a long and distinguish-

ed career and Ronnie claims he has departed from his advertising responsibilities at Ling McCann Erickson, both men seem st¡ll to be fully occupied. Except when they get together for a game of golf, lunch or a drink in the main Club bar.

[Tullt$

ilmilill$ . ililllt]lt$ . N[lt]tt$

MONKS FROM ALL OVER

mlilt$' fi[[11]l[$ . llHllllllt$ . [[Itll]lt$ ALt ABOUT IT!

READ

KWAN BACK

CULINARY DELIGHTS

The vast spread of the Soviet Union and its satellite empire is such that Pravda and lsvestia are printed simultaneously in many cities from occupied territories in the heart of Europe to areas claimed by China

The FCC kitchen is putting out some delicacies which these days over. Recently seen on the top floor dining room were Robyn and Ross Way and their guest, well known Hong Kong sportsman, poet, raconteur and businessman Joe Beckett. are attracting gourmets from all

in the Far East. To get the official message from the Kremlin to these outer fringes pages

Russian dictatorship,

of the papers are beamed up

to the heavens, bounced off satellites and beamed to the various Members

of the Monks family

from three continents recently had a reunion in the FCC. From Australia came mother Marjorie, widow of the late Noel Monks of the London Daily

Mail. From London,

daughter

flew in. Waiting for them in Hong Kong was Sarah Monks. news editor of the South China Morning Post and FCC Board member. Marjorie Monks is no stranger to Hong Kong. She lived here in the early 1950s while husband Noel was Teresa

in Korea covering the war. She

had

reunions with many Old Hands such

as Dick Hughes and others who knew the area in those days. Teresa, likewise, is no stranger

to Hong Kong. She was born

here. (Sarah was born when her parents were on another assignment in Singapore. )

When Marjorie lived In Hong Kong three decades ago, home was at the old Gloucester Hotel. Since then, buildings on the site have been demolished and rebuilt with startling regularity. The site is now the Landmark complex.

HITTING THE HEADLINES One FCC member in the news recently has been Detective Superintendent John Strachan of the Royal Hong Kong Police. As a member of the Homicide Bureau, Strachan has been the policeman in charge of the so-called

Body in the Jars

case.

The papers have been going to town over the story, naturally enough considering the bizarre details of the case which have emerged in court. The alleged perpetrator, a tax¡ driver, was said to have had a lust to kill his women passengers on rainy days and did so by strangling them. He then committed necrophilia on the corpses, all the

time filming the proceedings on video tape and taking photographs. He also took close-up pictures of the bodies of the victims and kept some of their sexual organs preserved in jars.

printing

presses.

Richard Kwan is back in town of Central News Agency. He is no stranger to FCC regulars. Before spending the past few years in London for CNA, Richard was based in Hong Kong for many years.

The electronic information also goes elsewhere . . . including to

as head

the BBC's monitoring station in Berkshire, England. Technically, it is possible for the BBC men to run off copies of Pravda and have them on the streets of London eight hours before the

LEGAT IOOPHOIES The libel laws under which Hong Kong newsmen operate is based on a British legal system the origins of which are lost in the dim recesses of time. Such laws in effect prevent the press doing its job as acting as

paper is jetted to Britain for consumption by the Russian embassy.

Not that Pravda and lsvestia would have much of a sale in Brita¡n even if they were printed in English. They consist mostly of propaganda, lies and exhortation to the party faithful to work for the revolution.

public watchdog. They muzzle the

can result in heavy fines. The London Daily Express was recently ordered to pay costs of $12,000 to a solicitor's clerk whom the paper had described as a "slippery unscrupulous spiv." Strong words, perhaps, and

Four women whose asorted remains could be identified were named in the charges against the defendant, but police patholog¡sts found bits and pieces of at least three more unidentified women and girls. The sensational case has created spectacular public interest and because he had to remain in Hong Kong to give evidence, Strachan missed out on accompanying his wine-representative wife, Maureen,

certainly expensive ones. The clerk had boasted of how he registered his car and TV set in I

on holidav. Over a beer in the main bar as the case drew towards a conclusion,

the amiable Scots investigator confided that his vacation plans will take him a long way away from necrophilia and other perversions. He plans to spend it in the highlands of Papua New Guinea going butterfly hunting. "lt wil I make a relaxing

change," he says.

olo¡inøe¡ thrl nlke ncnctr

.lu5lÉl¡.nr .rohnllcEad heolthicr, opl¡û¡.t¡. ¡llEl¡f,^

Bad news is good news, goes the old adage in the newspaper

business. But The Bulletin of Sydney, Australia's premier newsmagazine, chose to take a different tack in a recent issue and opted for a special edition featuring good news.

ROUGH WORK FOR REYES

press by laying reporters and publishers open to legal proceedings that

the name of his six-year-old son, thereby avoiding payment of licence fees. The man admitted he was a "liar and dodger" but despite this the jury awarded him generous damages.

The same man had been prosecuted - and found not guilty on charges that he had posed as a

solicitor instead of a clerk. Having managed to screw money out of the newspaper, he is now suing the Law Society for libel. Beware! Hong Kong

journalists operate under the same stringent laws.

lf you think covering a major international gathering of any kind is

tough, spare a thought for those

who have to organise accreditation and other matters for hordes of visiting journalists.

Like Rod Reyes. for instance, who was plucked from his job at the semi-official television station in Manila and placed in charge of press coverage

for the film festival.

That was three years ago and

after three film festivals, Rod is only too glad to call it a day. It is a demanding role because not only does he have to deal with local pressmen and women (Why do the foreign press get all the good stories?), he also has to cope with visiting big names from the Hollywood trade papers who tend to act more like prima donnas than do the big stars. Then there are the actors and directors who hold press conferences on obscure subjects (The Future of the Bulgarian Motion Picture lndustry) and hold Rod responsible if their views are ignored by reporters.

It's a no-win situation and after three film festivals Rod Reyes is glad to hand over the reins to someone else and return to the customary chaos of a newsroom where he can write the news instead of helping others to do so.

Bruilt$ ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAMERA

fflil|]|ffi . ll[illullt$ . mlil]ll$ Because Aberdein (ex-TVB

newsman when the station began in

the 1960s) is now on the other side of the camera. lnstead of appearing on screen

FUTURE HOLD?

as a tough and searching questioner, he is now appearing as an actor. billed as one of New Zealand's leading stars.

columns which foretell the future with astrology may place great faith in what the seers predict. . But are the columnists infallible? For what it ls worth, one of the prophets who for a half-century enjoyed the reputation of being most accurate was The Great Lyndoe of the London Sunday People.

ln Manila, he was the star of the official Kiwi movie entry in the competition, WILD HORSES. While shooting the film he broke his nose during one of the

Former Hong Kong newsman

Keith Aberdein had to take a bit of leg-pulling from old friends during the recent Manila lnternational Film Festi va l.

action scenes. "Acting is a tougher way of making a living than reporting," he commented wryly. Among former FCC members covering the film gala was Sol Jose Vanzi who is now back home in her natìve Manila running ABC's logistical back-up. So is her husband, Vic Vanzi, the affable giant (6'6" of good humour) who once manned the Hong Kong UPI desk and who now freelances.

SEVENS CE LEBRATIONS

WHAT DOES THE Readers

newspaper

But even he was not always correct.

Our Man in Fleet Street tells me that Lyndoe recently wrote a memo calling for the store to deliver him a new supply of copy paper and stationery. lt was not needed because the day after he penned the missive the seer was called to the great zodiac in the skV.

In the news business... For 132 years the

news agency

networks.

founded by Paul Julius Reuter has been the leader in bringing the news to the general public and to the business community worldwide. ' Inwarandpeace, througheconomic boom and recession, on man's triumphs and tragedies - Reuters stands for speed, reliability and continuity. Reuters now employs more than 3,000 full-time staff in 70 countries, including more than 550 correspondents, to bring in and disseminate the world's news, round the clock. Using the latest developments in computerised technology, Reuters distributes this news through the one of the world's largest communication

Reuters is also the the principal sup-

pìier

KOWLOON

economic and financial infor-

mation to the international

business

1st Floor,'Kowloon Centre,29'39, Ashley Rd.

community. Over 13,500 subscribers to the Reuter Monitor in 68 countries use

(A few doors from the Bank of America Building.)

compact video terminals to obtain up-to-

the:minute information on prices, news and economic data. Instant access to money, commodity, bond and equity market quotations and the news that affects them is available at the touch of a button. The service has recently been introduced to the shipping and oil markets as well. In business, essential news must be reliable as well as fast. Reuters sets the standards.

aaaaaaaaaa aaaa aaaa a a a a a a a a a a aaaa aaaa a aaaa aaaaaaaaaa a aaaa aaa a a aaaa

aaaa aaa a aa aaaa aao a a aaa

Wo¡ld ma*ets as fhey move Limited, 5/F., Gloucester Tower, 1l Pedder Street, Hong Kong,

The Cathay Pacific-Hongkong Bank rugby Sevens were celebruted in style. Newsmen from 20 countries attended the biggest reguby festival in the world annual sporting bonanza and David Bell of Cathay threw a memorable parry for them ín

the Club's main bar. Top: Barry l4)halen of Hongkong Bank gets the taste of the Íestivities, local and visiting scribes, Mike Keats gets into the spirit of things. Above: Local lady îollowers of the-sport with the world's doyen of rugby photographers, Peter Bush of New Zealand Truth, one of the many visítors who dropped in at the Club.

Em'. RESERVATIONS: 3-684027 & 3-684029 50 years of fine dining in Hong Kong's oldest European restaurants.

KWAN COMING Veteran designer (and new Club member) George Kwan has set uP his own company, George Kwan & Associates Ltd. The 42-year-old desinger, is also the representative in

Hong Kong of the San Franciscobased Colour 2000. Before he set uP his own company, he was the creative director and the general manager of the division of the DHL lnternational Lrd.

Se¡vice.

I used to think that the service in the old club was exceptionally good (except for the indifferent bartenders). lt is much slower now

perhaPs because

of teething

problems - but do I also detect relaxation of our standards?

NEW MEMBERS NEW MEMBERS

Freelance

Arrivals and departures (although few of the latter) bring new blood into The Club. Recent additions to the membership list include the following

Susan M. Earle Producer

RTHK ASSOCIATES:

CORRESPONDENTS:

Chan See Meng Manager

G. Klaverkamp Asia Letter Ltd.

Dominion Securities Tradition (Asia) Ltd.

Gerrard N. Raven Sub-Editor Reuters Ltd.

Managing Director

J. L. Battenfeld

Stasch Radwanski

Deputy News Editor United Press lnt'l

Company Di rector/Partner Academy One Films Ltd.

Michael Lam

John Chan Dr. John K. K. Chan's Clinic

Associate Producer CBS News

Reinhold L. Ulf I

kea

Francis C. Powers

Could be. Booking.

This is extremelY frustrat¡ng these days. To have to book at least a week in advance is annoying - and of course there will alwaYs be the correspondent member who asks, "if this is the correspondents' club, how come a corresPondent member can't book a table?" I fear this class war is going to

heat up, but I don't see how it would be possible to establ¡sh any sort of

segregated facilities for journalists without causing resentment. But maybe we could trY. . .? Noise in the main bar. I don't suppose there is anY reduce the noise without also to way destroying some of the "ambiance" of the interior (covering up the tile

floor. or installing a false ceiling),

lf that's the Price we have to PaY, then l'd just as soon have the noise.

Otherwise everYthing is fine. Love the pool tables, love the downstairs bar, love the sauna and the juccuzzi. Congratulations and a vote of sincere thanks to all those who devoted so much hard work to the

big move. Aging Asia Hand

A corresPondent member

Helga Lanzendorfer

David J. Goddard Chief Sub-Editor Reuters Ltd.

Director Asia/Pacific Seavex Ltd.

Patti

Ross

Managing Director

Ulrika

Wesslau

Ross

& Ass. Marketing &

Freelance

Promotion Co. Ltd.

JOURNALISTS:

Joan V. Stettler Managing D irector Beyl, Boyd & Associates (FE) Ltd.

Mabel Auyeung Managing Editor

Communication Management Ltd.

Paul Ravelli

John Beatie

Contract Manager Dragages et Traveaux Publics

Deputy Sports Editor & Chief Sub-Editor SCM Post

YOUCANDEPEND

Stephen J. Terry Denton Hall & Burgin

Henry M. Parwani News Editor

Commercial Radio

Got a story

Paul M. Baran Sub-Ed itor Business Traveller

to tell? Tell

Michael J. Moore

Write to the

it to

us.

Sub-Editor SCM Post

Editor, The The Swire GrouP

Elizabeth M. Moroom Freelance

Correspondent.

7á

- 'r rrN\\l()\\t l-'.,.'rrrrt tt t"lt' )\\ lN: I \( )\ ìt

¡\l^l'À\

ll l\

When you'te travelling in Asia staywith friends... ...yoflr friends at \("e¡'da\ Ð"unr lnternational -Asia/Pacif ic

For further information and reservations, contact any Holiday lnn or our Regional Director of Sales, c/o Harbour View Holiday lnn Hong Kong, TST PO Box 98468, 70 Mody Road, East Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: 3-7215161. Telex: HX 38670. Cable: tNNVtEW. . llrlqir,l(,ru(j

;rall'rriillk