The rich l$ere alwsays ídle À[ota¡
they're healthy too.
Deu. oh deaq
please
dont think
we're being critical of the
more affluent members of our society.
It's just that many of them have cottoned on to
a new
healthcare package from BUPA.
\f,/ni.n
provides a level of cover so comprehensive that
many of them will never have to fork out for the jolly old doctor again.
Q,lit" to
simply, BUPAGoId is a one-stop healthcare package
fit in with the needs and lifestvle of high income
eamers and top
achievers (plus their families) who frequently ravel around the world.
Tttir Ir because
BUPAGoId offers access to superb
treatment from the finest hospitals.
By th. most skilled doctors and Specialists. During the times which are most convenient to you.
I !
Fro- th"
ì
heal
U.KJs largest and most reputable private
thcare organisation.
And
that's not all. Because with BUPAGoId you'll find
protection so comprehensive that it includes excellent overseas cover, emergency evacuation and even matemity cover.
Of .ou.r., this type of protection isrit for every Tim, Dominic or Henry.
So it
isn t bottom dollar.
But th. finer things in life,
never are. Are they?
The most comþrehensiue healthcare under the sun
Please send me more information on BUPACold.
Name Company Address
.{
Tèlephone number Pletrse nore
I am an existing
fl
UrrOa"..
l-l
Co^p"nycare member
Send to BUPA Linriteel. l7l8 SLrn Hung Kai Centre, Cloucester RoaJ, Hong Kong
r CONTENTS CO\¡ER Year of the Horse As the Year of the Snake rolled in 12 months ago, The Conesþondent quoted Chinese fortune-tellers as saying that previous years of the snake have seldom been tranquil. They said the Year of the Snake was deemed to be good for couþs d'etat. From Manila to Budapest,
TTIE
FÛREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLIJB North Block, 2 l¡wer Albert Road, Hong Kong. Telephone: S211511, Fax t8684092
President
-
Sinan Fisek,
First Vice-President
10ffi n[[
-
Paul Bayfeld,
$econd Vice-President
-
Correspondent Member Governors Robin Moyer, Peter Seidlik, Bob Davis, Michael Shuttleworth, Steven Vines.
Associate Member Governorr Wendy Hughes, Bryan Lloyd, Saul lnckhart, Dorothy Ryan.
Club Managen Heinz Grabner, Club Sûeward: Julia Suen.
È t-
Contacl: Paul Sham, Læal Præ Frar* Wingale. Overseas Press Telephore: 8æ-¡ß33 Cab|e: CONO.IFAD HONGKONG Telex: 73595 CONHK HX
l{ir
Chlc.gp
THD C1NNH¡PÍTIITtrT Editor: PViswaNathan
Eurcpe A.¡rtr(Ln
Mlbn
Conlacl: G€oræ M Ammerlâan Telephore: (31 )-0æ-2771 01
Contacl: Amy Li Telephoæ: (39102-865405
Cabler CONOTRÂD AMSTERDAM Telex:15081 HKTDC NL Facsìm¡le: (31 !0æ-æ8529
(39102-86571s Cab|e: KONGÍRAD MILAN Telex:333500 HKTDC I Facs¡mile: (39)-02{60304
Atl€n3
Yqk
Contact: Patr¡c¡a Nystrm Conlacl: Sarah À¡onks Telephore: (1|312-726-4515 Louis þ8le¡n Cable:æNOfRADCHICAGO Teþphoæ:(1)-212-838-8688 Telex:728335 HONG KONG CGO Telex:710 581 6æ2 HKIDC NYK Facsimilet(11312-72ê2441 Facsimile:(11212-838-8941
Conlact: Shawki Sal¡odd¡æ Telephoæ: (30' )-724-672314/5
116ll¡!
Tænio
Conlact: D¡am
Coôtacl: L€e Me6ter
Contact: J@qún Ma6lre Telephoæ: (34)-3-21 762-50 ANerphore r¡ght seryice: (34)-3-2r7€6-54
Patteræn lewþre.111214-74-8162 Cabþ: HONGTRADS DALLAS leløx:62279520 Fa6imiÞ:11121+7426701
1$Ang.l6
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feleptþre:(1)-41&36G3594 Cable: CONOTRAD TOfiONfO Telex: 06218056 HKrDC TOF
Facsimile:(1!41È366-1569
V¡lW
Conlact:' Parela Bollmley Teleplþre:('1).2í3€22-3'194 Telephore:(1)S04-685-0883 Cable: CONOTRÂD LOS ANGELES Facs¡mile: (1|604-681{093 Facsim¡le: (1)-2'3€131 490 Cof,tacl: Daniel C.
Telex: 219591 GRAD cR F acsimilet (30 l.1-7 24 -8Y22
ã!rc.br
r)
Austala Sydilt Conlact: Dcirglas Chan
Stodöolm Contact:
lngem Bonnier
Telephæ:
(46F08-1 00677
(46Þ08-1 15690
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Conlact: Lore
BNher
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Cabl€: CONOTFAD FRANKFURI Telex:414705 COFRA D Facs¡mile: (49f0æ-7451 24
ldrnbül
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Mildle East
Çr /
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Contacl: Mr- Faro¡ Raad felephone: (971 4) 665950 (9714) 660664
T€lex: 2æ27 HKTDC CN Facsim¡le: (86)-0i -500-3285
David Thurston, Saul Wendy Hughes
N¡goyr
l¡ckhæt,
@The Correspondent
Facsimiie: 052-962-061 3
O¡k¡ Contact: Yæhilùs Uerc Teleptþæ: (gl |06-344-521 1 C€bl€: CONNOmADD OSAKA T€lex: c/o Tokyo HKTDCT J2691 Facsimile:
7
Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those ofthe Foreign Correspondentsr Club.
(81)fi -347-0791
Shrrlgh!l Codacl: Oickson Leung (86)-21 -2641 96 (86)-21 -26s93s
Tel€x: 301 75 TDCSH CN F aasimile: læ121 -? a7 47 a
EDITORIAL OFFICE: Unit B, 18/F Harvard House, 10S111 Thomson Road, I{anchai, Hong Kong. Telephone: 58387282, F ax:
SlnglDoro
f
8387
262
The Correspondent is published monthly
1!lÞrl
Correspondentsr
Conlacl: Viv¡a YarE TêleÞhore: (886!0'2-705-9333 felex: 23288 OUANTA Fa6imile: (886f 02-705-9222
PRINTLINE LID,
Cor¡tacl: David
Tel@tæ:
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Hong Kong
El..E Trade Development Council
Treasure Art Collection
REMEMBERED YESTERDAYS Anthony lawrence, arrived in Saigon, all the newsmen who usually congregated at the Continent¿l Hotel asked him what he was supposed to be doing there. Vietnam, they told him, was not much of a story. Remembering that eiperience three decades later I¿wrence says, 'TVhen you assess anything to do with the fate of Vieûram or its people, the reality turns out to be twice as gruesome as any forecast." About all that advice he received at the Continental in 1958? "Ifs like recalling an age of innocence." I
TECHNOI,OGY "New technology baffles pissed old hack", is how
the British publication, Priaate Eye portrayed
the
relationship
be-
tween many journalists
and computers.
In
a
new column starting in The Corresþondent this month, technology writer Francis Pearce says that old hacks can sometimes baffle new tech-
Kevin Sinclair who has made
nology, for a machine will not know, unless it
more than 60 reporting trips to China wanted to find out, during a recent visit to Qingdao, how much it cost to load one container on a ship'at that upto-date and iryrposing container port. The figure he rvas given was unbeliev-
is told so, the difference between "therapist John
Smith" and "the rapist Smith". 10
John
ably low. Thus began an unusual-
Contact: Andy Lim Telephore: 65-2937977 Telex:40125 MEPLAN Facsim¡le: 65-2962670
ToLtD
@
REPORTING CHINA
Contact: Mr, O Esk¡ Telephore: 052-97í -3626
Cåble: MAFKEÍS DUBAI Telex: 46361 MAFKET EM Facsimile: (9714) 6671'14
K
Publications SubCommittee: Paul Bayûeld (Chairman),
exr ggto
Tel€phoæ:
VLnil
Editorial Supervision:
Contacl: Boger Chu Telephone: (86)-01 -500-2255
Cover desig¡: Peter'Wong; Ptroto montage: Basil Pao
Back in 1958, when the then BBC correspondent in the Far East,
Karl Mlson, David Thurston, Cynthia Hydes.
Kory
way to the horse and, according to clairvoyants, mankind is heading for a lively and high-spirited period, except in matters of state and politics where tempers may be frayed. We have 12 months to figure all that out. Meanwhile, two FCC members teamed up to produce this issue's cover.
Irene OrShea.
Journalist Membe¡ Governors
Hong
from Nagorno-Karabakh to Tiananmen Square, the year has witnessed much turmoil. Now the snake has slithered away to give
for
and on behalf of The
Foreign
Club, by:
Unit B, 18/F Harvard House, 10S111 Thomson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Telephone: S83872
82l, F
ly frustrating dialogue between Sinclair and Chinese officials.
Iætters
Recounting that experience, Sinclair says many cadres, especialþ the older ones, simply cannot see why they have to discuss anything \Mith a foreign journalist. L2
My favourite eateries
'World's greatest
fishhead
curry
L4
16 Where are they now L7 People
ax: 18387 262
Managing Director: P Viswa Nathan, Operations Director: Debbie Nuttall,
6
Staff Party
Cartoons
6 16 It was in the cards 20 'f"heZoo
Stop Press
ú;'l Printed in Hong Kong by Kadett Printing Co.,16/F Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong.
Staff members of the Club gathered at the Prince Court Szechuan Restaurant of the
Prince Hotel, Kowloon, on January 6 for
their annual dinner.
19
Video Club
2l
Crossword
22
LETTERS
THE 7OO
IVhy two sets of rules?
If,5 CALLEÞ ÞRINKE.R/s 6RAMP
ON November 1, 1989, our president, Mr Sinan Fisek, and
changing the policy of issuing
payment reminder notices in the first place or not reintroducing it now. Notices signed per-
honorary treasurer, Mrs Dorotþ
jointþ signed
LETTERS
BY ARTHUR HACKER
a
sonally by the honorary trea-
circular to members expounding the virtues of the $1.4 million computer system that has come between us and our friendly staff. It said, "rest assured . . . No member will be turned away without a drink or
surer are now sent out to each defaulter immediately upon posting his/her name on the
a meal
-
Ryan,
notice board. Would it not be more sensible for a notice to be sent out, say, two weeks before posting rather than after the posting, so that the need for posting, in many cases, can be
or a club tie, umbrella
or Christmas cards
-
simply
because he or she forgot or lost his or her membership card."
Whether or not our club really needed such an expensive system itself remains to be
explained. People who know computers tell me the system we bought is suitable for a supermarket and something
avoided?
The Nov. 1 circular reminded us, '\ve are first and always a club and the FCC is like a second home to many of us." Iæt us then avoid measures that seem to be constituted to humiliate members.
( tü
Y
u
\
much cheaper could have met the needs of a club of our size. But that is a matter I will leave to experts.
What I would inquire here is, why, despite the abovequot-
ed assurance, many members are being told firmly by club
RitaJ. Reid staff that the card is certainly computer" will save us space required to place an order at and reduce workload for the bar. accounting stafi may be right. The statement in the Nov. 1 But our club is not the first to circular that "the powerful
new
Jockey Club, Sports
reduce workload for stafl let us reintroduce the system of
THE CORRESPONDENT
present it only afier drinking and eating at
HK$1 000 is offered for each essay published.
Submissions should include captions and brief text providing background information on the topic of the essay. Picture captions should also include, if possible, essential technical information such as lighting conditions at the time of shooting and how this was used to the best advantage, type of film and equipment used, apefture opening, shutter speed, etc. Each essay should consist of no less than six photographs (8" x 10" prints for a black-and-white and transparencies for colour).
or a meal at the bar but
No other club with plastic cards, including the
our club, demands that the card should be pre
posting members without
more members than sented when ordering a
drink at the bar. So, what is the rea-
son for our double standard? Secondly, a member can be trusted
if
non-payment of bills. As a result of the present policy of notice, an unpleasant situation and acrimonious exchange of words between certain members and Club governors took place not too long ago at the
at the restaurant can't he or she be similarþ
basement bar. I understand that a long time ago, when we did not have a full-
bars?
time manager and a powerful
Thirdly, how does this
computer, members were notified in writing well before they were posted. And payments did come by return mai1. Now we have a full-time manager, nearly 100 staff members and a "powerful new compute/'. I will find it hard to believe that worldoad is the reason for
trusted at the double
standard improve accounting, stock-taking, administrative duties - the
I
agree with Mr
Roger Thomas (Lnr-
Vernon Ram and the city reviewers captured forever colleagues, conflicts and cuisine that have made Asia one of the
contribution
MY wife Tyne and I appreciate very much the copy of The Corresþondent of October '89 just received. It
on the 25th
anniversary's
was delivered to a temporary
reservation list, to the hotels
permanent
and restaurants listed on many
address is as below. My greatest disappoinhnent was that we could not attend the 40th anniversary as I am
of our expense accounts, the
address.
Our
one of the early members in
China 40 years ago and am proud of that fact. Please do express our best wishes to all FCC members for a big and evenfful 1990 year.
memories
ing around press clubs in Toþo, Seoul, Saigon, Taipei, Manila, Hong Kong and New York, and I've never seen a bet-
Tbþo to Rue
ter record of the times than
from No.
Shimbun Alley in Catinat in Saigon.
and enjoyable newsbeats. Since 1952, I've been hang-
1
book brought back thousands
of
world's most exciting
'A long journey to the glorious present" by Barry Grindrod and the articles by
The Corresþondent: 40 Years in Hong Kong.
AI I{aff Cornell University Ithaca, New York
Russell Spur¡ Tony l¿wrence,
A.L. uPat' Pafrerson
4700 Williamsburg l^ane, #195
TellFax
l¿ Mesa, cA9204l
(619) 589-9361
Best record of the times
tD The actual cost of the comþuter system is considerably less than $1
THE 40th anniversary issue of
million.
arrived. What
The Corresþondent has just
LETTERS The Corresþondent welcomes letters on any topic, whether or not it has been covered in the magazine. Al1 letters must be sent to the editor at Unit B, 78/F Harvard House, 105-111 Thomson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong (Fax: 8387262) and bear the name, address and telephone number of the writer. l,etters will be edited for clarity and space.
a magnificent
At last, ã natural, intuitive computer drawing tool is available
can
notiffing members before they are "prominentþ posted" for
the November circular?
FEBRUARy 1990
computer system that
Club, Hong Kong Club, which have
many virtues cited in
6 nm coRRESpoNDENT
rule is an insidious piece of legislation. It is irritating and
the restaurant.
Photo Essay
with two sets of rules for the use of cards i.e. present the card before ordenng a drink
A token reward of
Nov '89) that the new
unnecessary to demand that the card be presented before placing an order at the bar. I suggest that the bar rule must be brought in line with the restaurant rule - i.e. the card needs to be presented only when signing the bill. I also suggest that now we have this expensive, powerful
go hi-tech, yet it is the only one
invites professional photographers and other camera buffs to send their best selection of photos on any subject of their choice for this new feature.
rERS,
to the historic
archives of foreign correspondence inAsia! F'rom the front cover montage, where I found my name
Bestwishes from Pat
q'¡-F¡r:r'r¡
F-Ei'YÈ+
Now, the dreamed computer drawing tool of artists and designers is available from Toppan Moore. The Easyl graphic pad lets you enter and edit your ideas on a computer screen with your pencil, on an ordinary sheet of paper. When you draw on top of an Easyl, thousands of pressure sensitive points translate your strokes into an accurate image on the computer screen. Just draw as nature intended and view the results on the screen. The drawings can be saved, printed or transferred to a typesetter, slide recorder or videotape.
Toppan Moore is now offering this graphic pad of choice at an introductory price of $3,000. Check it out today. Call Toppan Moore on 5- 8335627 to arrange a demonstration.
TOPPAN UOOnE HETPING BUSINESS r
5/r . cHrNA
(EK)
LTD.
MnNaGT INFORMAIION
UNDTRWRTTERS CENÌRE,
88 GLOUCESTER ROAD, WANCHAI, H
K
EL 5-8335ó27
Designed ond Produced by foppon Moore Advertising Dept
THE CORRESPONDENT F'EBRUARY I99O 7
REMEMBERED YESTERDAYS
ANTHONYI.AWRENCE
REMEMBERED YESTERDAYS geants and corporals under the French, traitors enriching themselves". You could have felled me with a feather. How was a woman like this able to
Vieüram?
penetrate the government information service, and spread her anti-Diem message from the very office of the president? Something to do with family connections perhaps, or some long-standing obligation. And perhaps what she was telling me was not all rubbish?
What kind of story was that? Anthony I¿wrence was the BBC correspondent in the Far East between 1956 and\974. He recalls one of his earþ encounters with Vietnam. IE"TNAM and the
"Nonsense", they said at the American and British embassies. "Diem is doing a
great job. A million refugees from the communist North have been resettled; thousands of hectares of the Central
Vietnamese never seem to be out of the news.
Yet there was a time when things were different. When I arrived in Saigon in 1958, just as the Season of Rains was
starting, they asked me what I was supposed to be doing there. The story was dead. ments and the final departure of the French?
I tried to explain. I
said I
wasn't interested in Vietnam; I
was on the way from the Singapore base to Laos where
elections were pending, and I
My words aroused kindly I had been illadvised, they assured me. Laos embassy where visas were issued and (they didn't even bother to lower the voice) Bangkok also is the black market
ladies smiled, their coiffures cunningly
for I-aotian currency, those beautifully
that stage, Nothing for it but to hang
for sale. Please call:
Z. AÉIMAD Pakasia Industrial Co. Tel:544 0227,5412439.
Fax 854 1135
8
ruB
coRRESPoNDENTFEBRUARY
the other two of the family trio, Brother Nhu and his Tiger l-ady wife, though highly objectionable as human beings, were corrupted not so much by material greed as by love of power, which is common enough in politics. Shortly before he was assassinated
I
(and they were almost certainly right) that Ngo Dinh Diem would lose the war if he stayed much longer, so they persuaded the army generals to throw him out
and kill him. And what they got after Diem was far worse. But, as I learned in the next 15 years, when you assess anything to do with the fate of Vietnam or its people, the reality turns out to be twice as gruesome as any forecast.
I recall again those couple of days in Saigon back in 1958, years
spent
before war got into its stride. Before the exhaust of the big army trucks polluted the Saigon flame-trees, before the casual-
ty figures moved into
the thousands, with familiar faces suddenly
missing. How it went on and on, year after year, when the enemy blew up the American billets and the floating
restaurant and fired the rockets into the
squalor; that in fact
go via Bangkok. Bangkok had a
Also some selected carpets
was an honest man in his limited way and
to be scrapped. I remember that interview because it lasted well over two-anda-half hours and even then I got away only because he had to take an urgent phone-call. For some reason they hadn't switched on the lights; his sharkskin suit gleamed in the dark as he went on and on, ramming into this foreigner that he, Ngo Dinh Diem, was the only man who had sufficient grasp ofhis country's prob lems to be able to solve them. The Americans became convinced,
ing; that all I was see ing was painted-over
Anyone could have told me to
For repairing and washing of all kinds of carpets and rugs.
regime turn rotten. But in Vietnam in those days of the earþ'60s it was not a process of personal decadence, of Marcos-type plunderings. Diem himself
people had abused the government directives and lined their pockets and so it had
the urgent voice of that woman guide kept repeating that all this meant noth-
compassion.
PERSIAN CARPET EXPERT
his prayers."
remember asking Diem what had happened to his land reform programme. He said sourly that some evil-intentioned
beside me in the car,
unrepresented in Singapore.
designed 50 kip notes from which the
arranged unconvincing trips into the countryside to prove howwell the government was doing against the guerrillas. It's a strange experience, watching a
whispered vitriol
because the Laotians had an office there where I could pick up a visa, whereas Laos was
ing after the visiting journalists, and a Madison Avenue public relations man
Highlands turned into farmland. Yes,
crowded markets. It was a scene of wellbeing and rural prosperity. But dripping
was travelling through Saigon
although the 'Western embassies still
maintained a bland optimism, manyVietnamese could hear the first rumblings of catastrophe. People no longer asked why on earth you had come. Now a much larger information department was busy look-
there is some corruption but Diem himself is clean - a dedicated Catholic, gets up at half-past five every morning to say The following morning we all assembled very early - the serious, stocþ president, officials, a few newsmen. The sun cast long shadows across the palace grounds. Sirens screaming in front, the motorcade roared out of the city and south across the great Mekong Delta, land of glittering waterways, ricefields stretching to the horizon and colourful,
Hadn't I heard about Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva agree-
lined up two hours before the presidential cars arrived. The lucky recipients of landleases took their goodies without smiling. Soon enough Ìve were in our cars again, roaring back to Saigon. I never saw that woman guide again; she wasn't around when I returned to Saigon two years later. but by that time,
on the slant.
No point in changing arrangements at
around Saigon for 24 hours, collect the visa and then fly on to the l¿otian capital, Vientiane. Nobody in the BBC l¡ndon office was much interested in l¿os elections. I had that uneasy feeling newsmen know when they're in a place where nothing's happening, with poor connections to the out-
side world. A noon stupor was on the
She was good-looking in a stern, aquiline way, and quite efficient in explaining next day's times and rendezvous. It seemed the president was going down into the Delta to hand out leases to deserving peasants, as part of
his great land reform programme. An earþ start and back for lunch. Then eyeing me carefully she gave me her own line of propaganda, talking rapidly in French and much of the time repeating herself as if the stupid foreigner might
the next morning to go with President Ngo Dinh Diem on a visit to the countryside. A government guide would call at
otherwise miss the force of the message. So I found Vietnam a peaceful place? she asked. (Her long-suffering laughter haunts me after 30 years). Peaceful? "I tell you, Monsieur, this place is on the verge of an eruption simply seeking the nearest volcano. The government here is evil and abominable, full of corrupt bureaucrats, time-servers, sycophants. The people are suffering, they are oppressed, tortured.
the hotel to explain the arrangements.
The army generals are nobodies,
broad Saigon streets under the gorgeous flame-trees, on the elegant villas; the cafe
terraces. Traffic was largely bicycles. Nobody hurried. Amazingly came a phone call from the Palace telling me to be up at fìve sharp
1990
ser-
the whole of the Delta was simmering
city, before the Tet
with revolt.
offensive and the dead littering the streets.' I hear them asking in the Continental: "But what have you come for? There's no story''
I tried
a judicial,
non-commital attitude; that only made
her talk more
pas-
sionately and faster. Inevitably I came to wonder whether there mightbe some
thing in what
was saying,
to
It's
an
age cence.
she see
recalling
of
inno-
T
things more from
her point ofview
The official programme went well
NEXT MONTH
Robert
enough but the cold
formality of it didn't suggest Diem was a figure. Somebody told me President Diem placing his bare foot on the bronzæ figure of an elephant - the the peasants of the syrnbol of strengfh - during a ceremony in 1956 at which members of the village had been population pledged loyalty to him.
popular
Elegant Berlin and the Wall - then
THE CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY 1990
9
-LUDE: EAGLE HILL & SOLSTAR CONSTRUCTION. EUFOACTIVIDADE AG. CABVOEIRO CLUBE
MAJOF COMP¡'
TECHNO LO GY
'
CABVOEIBO GOLF & COUNTRY CLUBE '
Ø
z I E
When old hacks baffle new technoloE Computer technology is making a profound impact on everyday life - not¿bly on the information industry, where itis becoming a powerful creative aid.
6N
tionship between many journalists and the increasingly complex tools of their hade. Iæaving aside the invention of the printing press, there is little new about 'new technology' in publishing. Reuters was receiving stories from across the Atla¡rtic by telegraph in the 1860s; Othnar Merganthaler created the linotype hot-metal type setting system in 1884, which is still used on a number of newspapers woddwide, though their number is shrinking. The modem and the data line have superseded the telegraph; and computerised digital typesetting systems have reshaped the economics of publishing; but that is not what baffles old hacks' - whatever their state. When new technology is introduced, jobs change and old skills fade - or at least, they appear to. Some disdain new technolory; others regard itwith trepidation, while a fewwelcome iL Iike it or not, a broad range of technologies has been introduced intojournalism from telephone gadgetryto computers. ff journalism is any the worse for that, then people, notthe equipment are atñull 'When itwas common for reporters to telephone their stories to a papei assembling copy pyranid-fashion in their heads was ahandy skill.Itstillhelps, butthe ability to move blocks of text around on the screen of a microcomputer before sending
it
typed down the telephone line
is
and word-processing software but these are not much good unless you can type reasonablyfasL Slipping away from a source brieflyto
make an 'urgent phone call can some' times be more acceptable than brandishing a note book. Who is to know - including the person feeding you the lead - that you are calling your home answering machine to make afewbrief notes? Back at the publication's office, electronic page layout systems may cast-off copy automatically but it still takes desigu skills to putapage together effectively. It is certainly a mistake to think that
new technology can substihrte for people
fewer eyes scan the piece before it is turned into film. Howlers that should be spotted atanearly stage can getmissed thatway. What should happen is that the article receives its copy a¡rd depthediting and then goes clean to typesetting once only. The savings come from time and
)
E
o o
Ø
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o o o Ø vl
materials; notwages.
o
The spellchecker programs included in many word-processing software packages lay a minefield for individual writers who neglect their own abilityto pick outlit-
z l o
erals. A fellow technology correspondent
based in Hong Kong recently admitted coming within a hails breadth of sending
ts
E E
u o
o
J E
mis
ing. If anything, new technology should be used to enable staffto be more creative and reduce time wasted on repetitive work. A reporter's golden prose can gò through the entire preprint process without ever being put on paper if it is sent by modem down a telephone line and into a computer memory. The fact thatit is not retyped should mean that no errors are added to the story but it may mean that
takes to go into print. There's quite a dif-
ference between 'therapist John Smith' and the rapistJohn Smith'but a machirie
E
l a o o o J Ø
ô
has bæn a joünalist for 15 yffi witlì a two yeü break to study eoginæriag in the IJI( Now baæd in Hong Kong, he wites for a nmber of regional publiøtions, mainþ about tech¡olog]'.
tr E
z É
=
u ô u = E
õ J
U
r tr
o
Iu
a
o l J
temptingprop.
o
Appþi.ng basic skills to new technology
E
F
rather than letting them be eroded can
z
save a great deal of effort and allow a journalist either to get on with the job or get to the bar. As'Superwoman' Shirley Coruzn wrote, ?ou have to be efficient if you're
u c o J I
u o
Y E À
ó o J F
U
gol{ courses ,pr""J over the lengtL anJ
tt"uJtlr o{ t}r" p.o',,,in"". For tLe tennis enthusiasts I can guarantee Joz"n, o{ t"oi{i" terrni, "luts to ttitrg out tlre Boris BecLer in you. I{ Lo-".r"., yo' pt"f", th" peace anJ quiet o{ -il" u[t", -il" o{
1990
-
tLere's u or"ultL
Tog"th". -e'11 corr.rince you tLat tL" upp"ul o{ tL" Algu*e is very ,"r1 u.rJ ,r"ry ufforJutl".
Co-"
TÃNN1S 'I'he regìon boasts oue,
50
ut J see
it {or yortr"l{.
firtt elos" tennis "lubs
to Hong Kong).
Itt
"{ {ti"ttJly,
[r"lp{"I Jomestic sta# (witL salary "ornpu.utl"
Jir..ræ money anJ mortgages.
"l"tr,., *e've got that too!
enjoys Enrop"', lowest cost o{ li..ittg.
.JJitio'
"un
rates
BEACH Thn
Algo-n
tho, ó0 -iln" "lnon, "orày
*orn bn"rtiful
Jro" of
bno"hn"
and enjoys,
on auerage
"ur"hirn
o J
coRREspoI\IDEIì{T FEBRUARy
r.rJ u {"* l".Ji.rg {irrrn"iul p"opl" -}ro
o
U G
1O rrm
ir.t"rnutionrl strnJa.d
great selectio., o{
investment experts, tourism sp""i.lists
o f J
(\Ø"J""rJuy
top property J",r"lop".r, estate alents,
F
z
l+-tZ
Let me tell you atout u {"* o{ itt attractions, To tegin *itlt, tlter"'s u
It', rlro nice to Lnow tkat Portugal ir u {,tll -"-t", o{ tL" E.E.C., uttJ
Ø
A growing number of journalists in the UK are using devices such as the Cambridge 288 computer (available in Hong Kong), which weighs about two pounds and fits into an attache case, to take notes direct as typed copy at conferences, cutting out transcription. The machine can communicate with other computers and comes equipped with an electronic diary
March
to SaturJay) you can meet tLe Algu*"',
d L J
ts
Fro-
in tLe sun.
unspoilt b"u"L",
o o
goingtobelazy."
teJ to -y ho-" - tL" À1gu*". Portugal's test tept secret is a ,.rp".t place to lirr" unJ ,ny p"lect place
f
o
te true? Let me invite you to Jir"orr". tL" t"rt of th" Àlgu*" tigLt k"t" in Hong Kong. So.rnJr too gooJ to
{on. dryr in Marck you're
ts
does not know that unless it is told so. Old hackbaffles newtechnology. t
Fmcis Peaæ
0"","
U
and the creaturds name were both acceptable to his computels spellchecker.
Automatically generated word-breaks
e?)),"",,",,i1f,îrnnyï,!"r!;,,
E E
? Ø o
can cause equally comic or libellous
in th e Al garv
o
out a story about a'hrkey engineering pro jecf because the technical term'hrnkey'
withoutthe quality of apublication suffer-
"Who needs balls to bny property
300 å"g" of nunry gnor!
Thn óth Algoon Eth;L;t;on ín Hong Kong is sponsoreà by
Alg"-n
AND MANY MORE. MAJOR COMPANIESTAKING PART lN THIS EVENT INCLUDE: EAGLE HILL & SOLSTAR CoNSTRUCTION.
Magazine orÅ Lultl"or"o.
EUROACTIVIDADEAG.
O
Lufthansa
CARVOEIRO CLUBE. cARVOEIRO GOLF & COUNTRY CLUBE
REPORTING CHINA
REPORTING CHINA
by Kevin Sinclair
i
Everything secret unless otherwise specified l,ong-time FCC member Kevin Sinclair has been on assignment to China more than 60 times. Usually it is pleasant, but trying to get just the lacts from cadres unaccustomed to answering unwanted questions, he says, can be frustrating. a cost of RMB149 per container on a Polish ship which gets paid in zToty for delivery to a customer in Japan is the stuff out of which reportorial nightmares
UST as China is unique in so many other ways, the country poses prob-
lems
for reporters that
scribes
encounter nowhere else on earth. Part of these diffìculties can be found in simple figures. Statistics in China fre-
are constructed.
Is it any wonder that, after nine solid hours of such discussion, one sits at the
quently mean just what officials wish them to reveal. When an earnest news-
banquet table with local officials and
hound ventures into a government briefing office, is presented with the inva¡iable tea and exchanges name cards, he then enters an interview mode as inflexible as the court etiquette of the Tang Dynasty. He is greeted profusely. He is thanked
reaches with determined thankfulness for the brimming glass of fìery local
for coming. He is then subjected to the
facts that can show precisely how the economy is progressing gets lot more difficult when officials are not anxious to t¿lk.
'Brief Introduction'.
The 'Brief Introduction' labours the obvious. If you are in Shanghai, for instance, the 'Brief Introduction' (which
snake wine?
And that's the easy part, when you mixwith officials trying to be helpful. Attempting to exkact meaningful hard
Even worse is when the reporter is confronted with a cadre whose vision soars with wishful thinking and who
you get from a half-dozen officials in various ministries, bureaux, sections and commissions) will invariably begin:
"Shanghai
is a large city in
II
central
on its predictable course with
the
inevitability of the Yellow River rolling
is the mental Great \Mall syndrome many cadres, especially the older ones, simply cannot see why they have to discuss anything
down to the sea.
Then come the figures. Statistics in China are flexible things. First you see them, then you don't. Trying to get definite figures that translate into any meaningful form can be equivalent to going through a mental form of the Death of One Thousand Cuts.
You are given a figure (rapeseed production in Gua¡rgxi Province, for example.) The land areafor this vital economic crop might come in Western terms, acres or hectares. The weight of the crop might be given in metric measurements or in tons or in Chinese dan. The value can come in Renminbi, American dollars and production value can be expressed in real terms of 1980 values or at current market prices. Even presuming the figures are correct, trying to make logical sense out of 1,000 kilos per mou of crop at RMB52 (in 1978 prices) per bushel delivered to the
railhead at Nanning for shipment at 23 US cents per mile over 650 kilometres of rail to Guanghzhou, there to be loaded at
12
with a -foreign journalist.
,
gives vastþ optimistic estimates of production figures instead offacts. On a recent trip to Qingdao, I went on a tour of the port city's famous wharves. They are impressive, some of the most modern facilities in China. The upto-date container port is particularly imposing and with its deep berth, efficient cranes and skilled workforce it seems a laudable asset to the local infrastructure.
rr¡n coRRESpoNDENTFEBRUARy
Trying to delve into financial aspects
1990
)
25,000 ton ship? What was the turnabout time for a vessel? All these questions met with answers which were either highly qualified, meaningless or dubious. Well, how much did it cost to load one container on a ship? The manager stared into space. Then he pronounced: "Eighty yuan." This is about US$20, a price which by any standard is incredibly low. I put the question in another way. If a joint venture firm in Qingdao wanted to send a 20ft container of manufactured shoes from its local fac-
tory, how much would the wharf cost from the time the container truck pulled into the front gate until the ship with the container aboard left the dock?
But,
One of the
underþing difficulties of getting to the truth in China
China." This is a fact the reporter already knows. But the Brief Introduction by the Responsible Official must ro11 inexorably
of how the berth works proved difficult.
How many containers were moved a year? How long to unload a fully-laden
I
protested,
this seemed an
incredibly low price. Was he sure it was correct?
"Eightyyuan."
This must be the lowest in the world. How could a port into which hundreds of millions of yuan been invested charge so little to handle goods? Surely this meant the port must operate at a loss. Was it sutr Veteran China traveller Kevin Sinclair during one of his visits to Xiamen.
sidised by local or national authorities?
Into the briefing room came a more
ures," he demanded. Because, I
senior official. Much discussion. "Eighty yuan".
explained, I did not believe the figures given to be right. And if I merely accepted the fiction of 80 yuan per container, it
I continued to query this impossible figure, more a dream than reality.
would make the entire story
Other officials entered the room. I rephrased the question several times. Eventually, to get a fìgure that must surely be known to hundreds of shipping agents all over the world who do business with the busy port, I managed to ascertain that the 80 yuan figure was the nominal charge to handle an empty container for a local company which was owned 100 per cent by a Chinese state company. Well, how much for a full container?
Much discussion by what was now a room full with officials. The local junior cadre from the Qingdao Foreign Affairs Bureau was by this stage working himself into a state of righteous wrath.
"Why do you not accept their fig-
Qingdao's ,i
I
port
on
facilities look totally
ridiculous and unbelievable fi ction. After much argument and discussion, the team of cadres came up with another
figure. This worked out at just over 100 yuan a container. I persisted in asking specific questions, putting to them a hypothetical case of how much it would cost a Hong Kong investor to ship a container to the port. Finally, they admitted that the new figure was also wrong. Foreigners had to pay 30 per cent more than Chinese shippers. Why? This questions threw the Junior Foreign Affairs cadre into total rage. He wagged his finger at me and demanded:
"Why do you ask these questions? Other
journalists come here and accept what they are told? Do not ask these questions." I was later told that this figure, and
others
I
had been given, were totally
wrong. But what is a reporter to do when the entire management of a major piece of China's infrastructure is questioned for
more than 20 minutes to get the basic price of their services and the end result is still in doubt?
When talking to officials an¡rwhere in China, all financial statistics hinge on two dates. The first is 1949. Before this, all was darkness and despair, in official view, and this is used as the base for figures. The other vital date is 1978 when Deng Xiaoping unveiled his new economic policies which scrapped much of the Maoist fantasies and allowed freer rein to industry and agriculture.
Lately, there has been a third date by which to figure economic production figures -June 4, 1989. The "turmoil" - to use the official terminology - is being blamed for much economic slowdown and the summer of 1989 is all set to be a third major signpost for future statistics.
One of the underþing difficulties of getting to the truth in China is the mental Great Wall syndrome. Decades of suspicion have left a legacy that remains still. Many cadres, especially the older ones, simply cannot see why they have to discuss anything with a foreign journalist.
In most non-communist countries, information is free. A civil servant can talk about anything which is not specifically branded confidential. In China, things work the other way around.
Everything is secret unless he has been specifcally told he can discuss
it.
t
THE CORRESPONDENTFEBRUARY 1990 13
MY FAVOURITE EATERIES
EATERIES
World's Eeatest fishhead curry
the table and spoonfrrls offlufff sûeamed rice were plonked onùo them, followed by'spicy gravy, curried vegetables' aod several crispy, baked popp¿dums.
Fishhead curry, a dish that originates from South India, is now a meal unique to Singapore. Mike Smith and Singapore-based FCC member John Mallen made a tour of the island republic's Little India district to find the most authentic fishhead curry. They found Banana I-e,aL Apolo quite acceptable.
The idea is. that you eat straight off the banana leaf using your fngers. The custom
is to eat only with the right hand. One's left hand is used for other things which we do notneed to go into. Now, eating a hamburger or taco with your fingers is one thing, but a wet curry is
something else entirely. A
practised performer can do it without soiling three fingers beyond the second joint plus the end of a thumb. I am told by believers that fingereating
Author, cook and doomed fish. Ri.ght: A, satisfied customer,
OU
might, unless you are a retired policeman or hospital
Singapore-based FCC member John
administrator, find Singapore by nightratherbland. There's a choice ofper-
Mallen.
haps three or four interesting things to do of an evening. Eating well is one. The others do not matter.
There's some marvellous food to be had in Singapore: spicy Hokkien fried noodles; plump white Hainan chicken with hot chilli dip; clay-pot baked rice with brisket curry; Nonya cuisine, which is a blend of Chinese and Malay; big fat chilli crabs.., but there is one meal however, which is unique to Singapore. Nowhere in the world can they make it as well as they make it there: fishhead curry.
There are, of course, a few restaurants in Hong Kong which advertise this specialty. The Singapore Club, and the Melia Merlin Hotel, both in Wanchai,
offer their versions, which are simply awful. Not only do they not know what a curry should taste
ordered chilli prawns and pep per crab to enjoywhile the fish-
marvellous.
Australian Associated Press. Happiest as a roving correspondent - he had an enviable string of reporting assignments in Iagos, Dares-Salaam, Paris, Washington, Lon-
is tender sweet, and enhanced by the
I know in lfung Kong is Woodlands in
vegetables. It is surprising how much meat there is in a fishhead; probably more than a quarter of the total weight. Of course you do not eat the brains and eyeballs, just the flesh around the neck and cheeks, which
spicy currygravy.
Tsimshatsui, and thaf s vegetar-
Banana tæaf Apolo is one of half-adozen South Indian restaurants along Race Course Road in Singapore's Little India district. All are popular with the locals for fishhead curry, but Banana Iæaf Apolo is usually more crowded with Indian-looking patrons than
ian only. There are probably others inside the restaurant warren of Chung King Man-
restaurant
the others; a good sign. Singapore-based FCC mem-
ber John Mallen and
reach.
visited Banana læaf Apolo recently. A
other presented a big chopped-
up fishhead complete with
glossy poster of a gent with an ele phant's head, another of a chap who looked normal except that he was bright blue, cracked formica table covers, cheerful greasy-vest-
bones, brains and eyeballs.
An authentic fishhead curry consists of a single large fishhead, intact and about one or two kilos in
ed waiters and a heady, spicy aroma all contributed to the
weight, half-immersed in a bowl of spicy hot but sweet curry gravy. Red Snapper is the fish usually used, and in the curry you can spot egg-
restauranf s Indian ambience.
We ordered ice-cold Tiger beers. Frestfy washed (we hoped) banana leaf mats were placed on
FEBRUARY 1990
sions. South Indian cuisine is
much hotter than Northern, and uses different and more powerfrl spices. They seem to get to those taste buds that North Indian curries cannôt
I
G
tail pa¡ty in the main ba¡. After almost 30 years as a foreign correspon-
plant and ladies'fingers, among other
like, they do not even know what it should look like. In one I got half-a-dozen small fishheads in a curry stew And the
Scooter moves Down Under
head was being prepared. A couple ofbeers later the bowl offishhead curry arrived atthe table, mournful fish eyes peering over the surface. It was all Fishhead curry originates from South India, not North. Virtuaþ all of Hong Kong's Indian restaurants are North Indian. The only South Indian
fishhead
14 rrrB coRRESpoNDENT
enhances the flavour of the curry, just as a Big Mac would not taste right if tacHed with a knife and fork. From the kitchen, I selected a fishhead of medium size, a little over one kilo in weight.'We
I do not know why there are not more South Indian restaurants in Hong Kong serving authentic fishhead curry and other dishes. They would make a lot of money... from me anyway. Perhaps the cuisine is just too hot and spicy forlocal tastes.
Ær well, as they say in France . . . 'One man's fish is anotlrerman'sþoison."
I
dent r¡tith Reuters, covering wars and revolutions from Zanitbar to Zanrboarga, Scooter is moving on to Sydney to take'up a job with the
don, Singapore and Manila- Scooter ended his
career in Reuters as a Chief Subeditor on the Reuters Wodd Editing Desk in Hong Kong. He was admired by colleagues as a master of the "colour piece", with an ability to conjure up, with the most delicate of touches, the sights, sounds a¡rd flavour ofthe occasion. As an editor he had a hawkish eye for detail. One ofthe last great eccentrics in Reuters, Scooter's passionate, if ill-informed, love of gadgetry was a constant source of amusement (arid, sometimes irritation) among colleagues in Hong Kong. His pride and joy was a programmable telephone which had a hopelessþ scrambled memory. A call at home in the mid-
dle of the night could only mean one thing: Scooter was trying to get tbrough to Inndon. His sense of humour on more tha¡r one (rccasion landed Scooter in trouble with his editors.
"Observatory here sighted bright light in east " read a famous message he once sent from the
Washington bureau to the New York editing desk at Christrnas. "Most gtfl yr checks." Exhaustive checks a¡ound the world revealed nothing. Editors were not amused. Born in England of Jewish-Welsh descent, Scooter seems destined to stay for many more
TOP:Lavell receives a parting gift (two T-Shirts) from füe trCC's secondvice president kene O'Shea, and, ABOVE a parting¡ word from the club manag¡er, Heinz Grabner, witressed þ
Annie van Es. -Photos: Hubertvan Es years inAsia- He has keptin touchwith the Old
Country by hming-in religiousþ to The Archerc on the BBC. Nobodywas more crushed when BFBS radio station in Hong Kong took the pro gramme offthe air. Named Scooter for his resemblance to the famous Muppets' character, Graham !\ras perhaps the most lovably scruffy Reuter hack in Asia. He had the baffling ability ø look dishevelled even in a threepiece suil Few believe Graham will not be back in the FCC. His friends await the inevitable phone call from Down Undel almostcertain ùo come some time between midnight and 5 a.m. - ANDY
BROIVNE
I
TIIE CORRFSPOIIDBNT FEBRUARY 1990 15
tn DÔGMEAT
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\AIIERE ARE THEY NO\4I
OBNOXIO{JS, AND DEGKAÐING çÔN4 ÒF ¿0r1r1ôN AD¡l¿ftrN.
being killed when undertaking a dozen hairy news assignments,
SHUI THE
TIME magazine's in-house journal FI{./, devotes a pageand-a-half to the crumbling of the Berlin Wall with special
ù00R.
emphasis on the reporters who
recently discovered spirituality.
rASS THE ilPP-EX EI4ITY ^NÙ'THP,I &q6 ôF ¿RISP( -
JÉEEEZL. CANT YOU AT
SCHI,IU¿K
JNR.
w,uLD
LEASI
t,u
-_..
?.
\
?
astounding good luck
to the first murmurings of his
tr
their own special assignment. Jim Bell a former Hong Kong
READING (again) Theodore
as the wall was
going up.
I'll leave it
the New York Times. They had crossed paths in Chungking in
pre-war days and White
"The first
an eagle
Walk in there any evening (except Sundays) and you are among friends, many of whom you might have seen just a few hours before at the FCC. Some of the pichrres on the wall also look similar to those which adorn the walls of FCC. Creations of Arthur Hacker. There are also many others by another FCC member and founder of Galleria d'Arte, Jon Benn.
Galleria d'Arte, started as an art
gallery last April, is the new passion of former FCC manager and long-time member
Mike Winslow. During its eight-month existence as an art gallery, visits by gen-
FCC as far as I can discov-
Chungking
MAIIY golf-playing members of the FCC will head for the Canlubang course in the Philippines this April to test their skill aeainst media people from other parts of Asia. The occasion, Carlsberg Media you guessed it,
the
street. actual crete
The
stinting in his
con-
praise.
wall
I
"Tillman Durdin", he
Bell at Brandenburg Gate,
said,
CIO
Benn and Winslow at Galleria d'Arte
uine art collectors were few and far between. So,'Winslow a¡rd Benn teamed up to introduce a new marketing concepl i.e. create an opportunity to enjoy fine
arl
fine food and fine beverages all at once. The idea is thatwhile only'artlovers'may visit an art gallery, the new concept will help bring art to others who do not claim to be art lovers but might buy a painting
Carlsberg. According to Carlsberg's public relations manager, Derek Currie, the
Carlsberg Media Classic which started only last year has already caugþt the interest of gotr-playÍng media people from
Hong Kong, the Philippines, îhailand
uled for April 6. Last month FCC Golf Society members met C.arlsberg Brewer¡/s general manager, F. WiûrSeidelin, and Derek Currie, to discuss arrangements for the competition. FROM LEFT: FCC GoFSocieþ handicapper Ross Way, Event
organiser Ed l(hee, F. WithSeidelin, Derek Currie, and captain of FCC Golf Society Chartes Smith. - Photo
1990
Ray
C/atboune.
or two if they see them.
Thus, Galleria d'Arte is no longer just an art gallery but a cosy bar and speciality
restaurant where art is a sideshor¡¡. If the pasttwo months are anyindication of how
the future will unfold,
it
seems that the Ben-\Vinslow partnership has found a winning formula that might make even hrrkeys lqarn to soar like eagles. For, says Winslow, "we've sold a few pieces of art since we relaunched with this new con-
ceptin Decembe/'. Benn is a sculptor and art dealer and \üinslow has been in the food-and-beverage business for nearly a quarter of a century. Starting with the US navy as a cook,
\{inslow was stationed in Japan for four yèars and then moved to California to manage the officers'club. In Hong Kong, he worked with the Sheraton for two years before joining the FCC n 1977. His most
recent incarnation was in Guangzhou where he was food-and-beverage director
of the China Hotel, the most profiiable hotel in the Middle Kingdom. There he managed a dozen restaurants including one that specialised in French cuisine.
Galleria d'Arte, by comparison, is a modest venh¡re, but a place where patrons can feel at home and play even a game of dice with Winslowbetween his disappearances into the
kitchen.
I
"was
one of
taking (AFL
and, possibþ, from Singapore and Malaysia to participate in this yeat's competition sched-
coRRFSpoNDENT FEBRUARy
er) was un-
across
remember
April date for Carlsberg Media Classic
16 rsn
Germans did string barbed wire
came later.
HongKong.
b¡
thingthe East
never a member ofthe old
'ù/as
when you work with turkeys," reads a sign on a wine shelf at Galleria d'Arte at 44 Robinson Road, Mid-Iævels,
Classic is organised
(though
the story:
TIS DIFFICULTTo soarlike
the
presi-
greatest cor-
dent) George Meany to see
respondents ever to report inAsia, aman of such great integrity that even the Chi-
the wall. He
it up said 'I'll tell
looked
and down and
In short, BritishAerospace knows what itrs doing,
flinched when they
Jim Wild in Bucharest.
D
ANOTHER old Hong Kong friend surfaced via the Publisher page inTime a couple of week's ago when a wizened,
white haired correspondent called James Wilde was featured as Tirne's man in Rumania, The last time I'd heard of Jim was in Beirut. Iæbanon is
lied to him." Where are the Tillrnan Durdins of today now that we need them?
D
known in Hong Kong in the early '60s. Many a maiden-
Jim was a member of the FCC board in 7977 rvhen he was director of Voice of America in Asia at that time. Now at the relativelyyouthful age of 66
head was forfeited and many a
he is a graduate student at San
hangover conceived during
Francisco University
the notorious rooftop parties at his Wanchai apartment, That was before Wanchai became a very respectable
I'm still struggling for my
Treat Boulevard, Concord CA
hangout for advertising and
94518;
PR agencies.
mustbe crazy!
an old stamping ground for
"Wild James" as he
I
was
was appalled to see that
James has got reþion in his middle life, and can only ascribe his
aircraft - commercial and military - British Aerospace controls a widely diverse network of manufacturing and commercial enterprises,
place with the mouthwatering name of Treat Boulevard in one of Florida Keys.
didn't
urionlabo1."
of
JIM MILLER writes from a
nese government officials
build this with
As well as being Europe's largest manufacturer
Among the commercial aircraft produced by British Aerospace are the BLe 746 ( 100 seater, short haul passenger aircraft ), BAe 725 ( the worldrs best selling mid-size business jet ), the ATP ( Advanced Turboprop ,64 seater ) and the Jetstream 37/41, regional turboprops. British Aerospace designed and built wings fly on every Airbus airliner.
you one thing.
They
CORPORATE COMMT]NICAITONS
H White's book, In Search of History,I came across his tribute toTillman Durdin, then of
to him to tell
lVhere the menu includes art
not
have made that ugly barrier Time bureau chief, later went on to head the Bonn bureau and arrived in Berlin virtuallv
PE O PLE
in
WHEN THE UK'S TOP MAI\T]FACTf]RER OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT WENT LOOKING FOR PROMOTION THEY CÁ}fE TO
-
Corporate Communications of Hong Kong as its Public Relations representative in 1988.
while
Olevels. Jim would welcome old FCC friends, His address: 3651
Tel: (475)
BritiSh Aerospace Commercial Aircraft appointed
674 8916. He
He is also in touch with Jim Bennett for any old chums who
mightwish to contacthim.
I
CREATIVE COMMUIVCATIONS AT CORPORATE COMMUMCATIONS LTD.
Corporate Conmunlcatlons Ltdt6l3 Hutchlson House Central Hong Kong TeL8680077 Fax:8106781 TTIE CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY
T99O
L7
IT WAS IN THE CARDS to a Exiled Royals of just Hope Reforms "
STAFF' PARTY
by Mike Smith
cou
pe
himself
and weaE goes
explains who lit¡ Albania
s
Continuæd,
would-be rulers, t]te ing place in Eas very least to end
St¡
are unent
to refurn family in
t must have dress rehèarsal. could mea¡ finally
a promrn n descent.
for Transylvanì4 aftr cluded marriage; di
was a
just
a
founding of the Transfigu.ration, a herè on this snowy lowed her to take Mother A-lexandra. And, for
first of, charming ;-Baker,,is un-ki
exander,
it could
on his kingdom for O¡r the face if situation may seem
g-asu8 l--¡^^ D. -
Says Exiles de,monstration in communist revo
læt
Again recentlv in East Eu¡ooe have inspired ?xrtain known and-Albanian forces lo resume the campaþ of slanders againsl nrrr enrrntru " he said. "But, æ ou¡
Ooe
cannot succeed i¡ He also said tb¡ yea/'of the r omic plan, the same tir "economic au
dust¡i¿
emanded wel ,ce last sum¡
unconfirrred
because,
with one of the Eumpe, about-t
.! milliq¡ s
peoplg
old. press hæ
by Western
of source of peås8ots,
penomt of the
said
annual staff party
Staff members of the Club gathered at the Prince Court Szechuan Restaurant of the Prince Hotel, Kowloon, on January 6 for this annual dinner. More than 100 people attended the party fromT p.m. to 11p.m. Each staff member received aprize, drawn by raffle. ABOVE LEFT: Yam læungWah (centre) wth Ng Yuk Ping (lefr) andl-eune Yee Mui. ABOVE RIGIIT: Wu Man Chung and I¿i Koon Yuen.
th
e was caller century, tl
-B
to waste. I\ a remar
der
Ved
t-bl
meland Ron the major ¡
it
ENCI See WA& Pakil surrender pc onarcb. Zahi Vlac Isla
¡d U.S. offiq on Feb.67
Sher¡a¡d¡ad mona¡cl
&re,;
_. tne s trcanü in t bad hotisekee
lrY¡trg rtr €'xre m Ileana uras educated to
childhood
she says, are of being told
18 mn
coRRESPoNDENT FEBRUARY
H.ll.
King ol Rûnania.
Ki¡ìg Ferdinud wæ born Aug. rss, aod succeeded to the thron€ Oct. rq r9¡4, alÞr the d€th of Kilìg CåroL In ¡893 Prirìce Ferdindd (as hc therì was) married the b@ûliful Princess Marie of Edinburgh,
a øusin of King
George V.
RùDmia's declaat¡on of war
agaißt .Àustria {A,ugust 1916),
@u t spe in
stisfectioì¡
6. Slríctly is not a
'Balkan State, and held aloof ,iom the Balkm Leågue ¡n the war agaiNt Turkeyi r9¡2-J.
my edúcation.'
yal. Her earliest
CICARETTES
1990
Ko.m(
Iar Ia¡ can
D
&H O.WILLS
BRISTOLJT LONDON
I-EFT: Mak YuenEan (far lefi) and Irene Mak wit¡ Cheung Kwok Wah (centre). ABOVE: Mimi Mario.
TIIE CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY 1990 19
VID EO CLUB
STAFF PARTY
THE video library, located just off the Pool Room bar on the lower gfound floor, is open: Monday to Friday (Noon- 2.30pm and 5pm - 7.3Qpm) and Sahrrday (Noon- 2.30pm).
The The The The The The The
FEBRUARY RELEASES Dead Bang: starring DonJohnson Nigþt Moves: starring Gene Hackman
The Canterbury Tales
I¡k
andWu Man Chung. Sittine,Yu Ka Sing, Simon
633 Squadron
Fletch Lives Funny Farm
'WiC.
ABridgeToo Far Dancers Doctor Zhivago
Hancock:The Bedsitter Hancock-The Bowmans
WithoutAClue Working Girl
Elcid
Hancock
You Ruined
Carolann Cocktail Dead Men Don't \4'ear Plaid Death before dishonor Defence Play Desert Rats Die Hard
Fellini Satyricon Gandhi
HelloAgain
GungaDin
HerAlibi
J
Jewel in the Crown ¿oL &5 Jewel in the Crown ø¿L È8 Jewel in the Crown ¿¿L $11
How to Beat the High Cost of
DistantThunder Dog DayAfternoon
Jewel in the Crown aol. 7?-14 Jezebel
Innerspace JumpingJack Flash
Enter the Dragon
IGgemusha
Iaurel& Hardy
FairT¡ade
Keylargo Khartoum Melba
license to Drive Lnggage ofthe Gods Mash Micki and Maude
Beaches
Fatal Beauty
Milagro Beanfeld
Brideshead Brideshead Brideshead Brideshead Brideshead Brideshead
ProjectX
The Sca¡let a¡rd dre Black
Red Heat Renegade
TheThirty Nine Steps
MidnightRun Mike's Murder
BELOIV: Iæslie
(Íront)v¡ithYt Ka Sing (l¿l) and NgYuk Ping.
I¡k
No.
lwithaBullet
NoWayBack
Circus
Moon overParador
10
Stand and Deliver
14 Going On 30
St'aightTime
A Fish Called Wanda All Night lnng Arthur 2: On the rocks
Moonstruck Moving My Demon lover
Beetlejuice
Orphans
BeingThere
Outageous Forh¡ne
TheJanuaryMan
Benny and Friends
Personal Services
The Lost Boys
BennyHill Beverþ Hills Cop Big
Revenge ofthe Nerds (Nerds in Paradise)
The The The The The
Offence Presidio Principal Running Man Squeeze
TheTaking ofFlight84T The Untouchables The Untouchables The Untouchables
Tucker
Fawþ Towers - Basil the Rat
91/2 Weeks
Fa¡¡ltyTowers
AMan in l¡ve
Fawlty Towers - The Kipper &the Corpse FawltyTowers -The Psychiatrist Ferris Buellerrs Day Off
and Passion
CIASSICS Anastasia
1990
Big Business BigTop PeeWee Blazing Saddles Brealdast atTiffany's Caddyshack Caddyshack 2 Crocodile Dundee Crocodile Du¡dee II EverythingYou \{'anted to Know AboutSex
ADTJIÎENIRTAINMENT
I¡ve
2O Tl¡B CORRESPONDENT FEBRUARY
Pla¡És, Tr¿ins
-
The Germans
ãdAlbÍiobiles
Ruthless People
MUSICAL
Revisited uol.
7
Revisiteð, Revisited Revisiteð, Revisited, Revisiteð,
2 3 4 5 6
a ol. a ol.
uol. øol. aol.
Cry Freedom Dangerous Liaisons Defence ofthe Realm
-
SCIENCE FICflON Blade Runner Dune
E.T Moontrap The Entity
Chinatown
-- Columbo goes to Guillotine
-
Fiddler on the Roof Imagine Moonwalker
Emma Empire of the Sun Finish Line Flowers in the Attic From the Hip Godfather þart 2) Gorillas in the Mist Handgun
High Midnight Hold My Hand Irm Dying
SPECIAL TEATT]RFS Aust"alian Animal Mysteries -National Geograþhic Comic Relief Live - Nati.onal Geograþhic Dive to the End of Creation
- National Geogaþhic Quest for Eternity Geograþhic Etosha, Place ofDry Land -National Geograþhic
Egypt
-
-National
Humpbacks
{he
Gentle
Gian|s- Natioøal Geograþhic
In the Shadow of Fujisan
Soulman
Hostile Witness Ironweed Jack the Ripper Jean de Florette Julia and Julia Ught of the Day
Spiüinglmage-A
l¡ve &War
I¿stTribe of Mindanao - National Geograþhic
SafÂri 3000
Scrooged Short Circuit
SilentMovie
-
Kíller Klowns Retribution
-Broadcast News
No Sex Please, lVe're British
II
Jaws Jaws the Revenge
Bitter Harvest
Nadine
The Dead Pool The ElecticHorseman
TheManhunþr
-i
lI-I3
COMEDY
Survival Quest
HORROR
Adam Autumn Sonata Backstage
Between Friends BetweenTwoWomen
.-
l¡ve
AWorldApart
BrightLight, Big City
Monty fothon's Flying Circus &10 Monty þthon's Fþing
Purple Rose of Cairo Return ofthe Soldier
WhenTime Ran Out
Barfly
CiruslT
lastTemptation of Christ Murder of Mary Phagan
UTU
DRAMA
Mona lisa Money Mania Monty þthon's Flying Circus 14 Monty þthon's Flying
Godfather HappyValley
Wall Street Weeds When I Fall in
A Case of Libel A Cry in the Dark
1
Living
TheWooden Horse
MyLife
7¡hs7.e\g,7.ehs
Russkies Some Kind of Wonderful
The Da¡rcelsToudr
Tam Shiu Lin.
Poison Pe n
History of the World Pa¡t
RunningMær
ABOVE: Garman Ko receives his raffle prize from Heinz Grabner. BEIOW: (¿ to R)Wendy Wong, Yip Chung Ying, Yip Chung Hing and
-The
Drifter ElephantMan
The Unbearable lightress of Being Threads Three For the Road Thieves Like Us Unfnished Business
Fields Whoops Apocalypse
High Spirits
-
Prince of the City
Metal Force
(lefr)wLth Kan Kwok Fung Kan and Shirley
ewel in the Cr ow¡ aol. 1-2
My Happiest Years Unknown Chaplin The ColditzStory The Cruel Sea The Dambusters The Four Feathers The GreatEscape The lastEmperor
than Zero Masters of the Universe
Mui
I¡tters
Fb
Brotherhood DayAfter
TheThomas CrownAffair
MillionWaysto Die ARoom with aView Buster Busting
I¡ss
The The The The The The The The The The
Twins ViceAcademy
ACIION/ADVENTI]RE
HotPursuit
.ABOVE: IæungYee Kong.
The BoyWho Could
Tootsie Tough Guys
FULL LIST
Chung, Chan Wai Kung and Chan Chu Shi. ABOVE RIGIIT: I¿slie Lok receiues his rafÍle þri,ze Írom club manøger Heínz Grabner
Squeeze
ThrowMomma fom the Train Tin Men To Be or NotTo Be
ENTERTAINMENT
ABOVE Lß,YI: standingfrom Lto R, MakYuen Fan, Irene Mak, Edmond Cheung, Leslie
Pick-upArtist
Souvenir TheAccidenhlTourist TheAcorsed
Telephone TheTwo Ronnies They Still Call Me Bruce Three Fugitives Three Men & aBaby
ÁDVENTI.JRE/THRILLER
8
Someone to Watch Over Me Sophie's Choice
Experts Great Outdoors Meaning of Life Naked Gun
Floppy mass of Rubber
Spittinglmages-Rubber Thingies .Spitting Images- Spit with Polish Stakeout StarsAnd Bars Switching Channels The CouchTrip The Dame Edna Bçerience
Marilyn and the Kennedys Midnight Crossing Missing Link My Life as a Dog No Manrs l¿nd Nuts Salsa
7 Scandal Secret Honor Shy People
-National
Geograþhic
I(nkú¡n-National Geogrøþhic
land oftheTiger - National Geograþhi.c
Living Treasures of Japan
-National
Geograþhic
WeightWorkout Men ofthe Serengeti
I-ose
-National Geograþhic Monkeys,Apes & Man - Nati.onal Geograþhíc Polar BearAlert
- National
Geograþhic
THECORRFSPONDENT FEBRUARY199O
2L
THECOMIUT
A BOTTLE OF
CROSSU/ORD
CHIVAS REGAL
Compiled by Brian Neil@'1990
CLUES ACROSS 1. Sat Paul's utensils in their proper
place (8)
5. Pins could be what a top does (4)
8. Employed a second hand? (4) 9. Presents evil doers in the garden (g) 10.Where journalist in the brush sleeps? (7) 12.Master loses way but stays on
line (5)
13.Former marquee shows the range (6) 15. Cite me the wrong way - it's
enough to make you sickl (6) in ermine is not quite as
17. Chef
thick
(5)
18. Seasons
The gremlins have been at it again! l¿st month, the wrong
This month we are
1. Entries must be sent
2. Atop - or in front? (b) 3. Girl who has nothing but a piece of
rope (5) 4. I¿ser emits continuous changes (4) 6. Softly finish insect for hanging around the neck (7) 7. Hooters? (5) 11.
Queen now gets confused but is
still in possession (5) l2.Remit back to the man with the watch (5) X six footers living in? (7)
22. Seized two identical characters who became residents (g)
17.Trend journalist followed lost its
23. Ring around an apple, we
19.
RUIÆS
reprinting the clues with the correct grid; we apologise to our many frushated
to:
hear (4) this (4)
colour (5)
Repossessed - partþ by the sheriff and his men (5)
20.Nice direction is relative (S) 21.Eager to lament (4)
2.Entries mustreach the office not later than Ma¡ch 12.
C_ROSSWORD,Printline_L,rtd, 3.Entriesmustcarrythename,
House Road Hong Kong
Unit B, 18,/F Harvard
lO5-111 Thomson
crossword solvers.
Wanchai,
(7)
16. In the air in Spain? (7)
25. Points take another point, but it's unnecessary (8)
was printed alongside the clues.
tnp
14.
jumps (7)
24. Stud could disintegrate into
grid for the crossword
CLUES DOWN: 1. Tumbler loses one direction and takes another, but still manages to
a¿dress anã
thãcUb
*"-¡"..iþì,ì-ber of the contestant.
4.The füst correct solution drawn f:om the entries received will be awarded a bottle of Chivas Regal. 5.The solution and winnerrs name will be published in Zåø Corresþondent the following month. Honsl(on6felePhone
VIDEO CLUB Return to Everest
-National
Geograþhic Save tJre Panda - National Ceograþhic
The Hidden I4'orld
-National
Geographic The Living Sands of Namib
- National
Geograþhi.c
The Pa¡enthood Game -National Geograþhic The Tigris Expedition -National Geographic
The Wonderful Kangaroo
l,e Mans '87 Tennis Clinic
Marathon Man Masquerade Missing in Action
TTIRILI.ER Angel Heart Black Widow Blind Chess
Murder Rap Nico: Above the I¿w No Way Out Play Misty For Me Prayer for the Dying Predator Prisoner of Rio
Cameronrs Closet
Child's Play Cohen And Tate Cold Steel
Rampage
cop
Geograþhic The World of the Beaver - National Geograþhic Wogan On The Orient Express
Extreme Prejudice F/X Murder by Illusion Fatal Attraction In the Heat of the Night Intimate Betrayal
SPORT
Little Nikita
American Football
Man
-National
III
Report to the Commissioner Saigon
Scorpio Shadow Play Sister Sister Sleep \{ell, Professor Oliver SL Ives StiU of the Night
The Bedford Incident The Bedroom Window The Believers The Body in the Library (Mìss MarþIe) The Ipcress File The l¿st Innocent Man The MornìngAfter The Pack The Rosary Murders TheTenth Man Tough Guys Don't Dance \{itness in the War Zone
Falklands War (Ihe Untold Story)
Full MetalJacket Gallipoli Hamburger Hill
MerryX'mas Mr Lawrence Operation Daybreak The Big Red One The Hanoi Hilton Too Young the Hero Von Richthofen and Brown \ryESTERN
Bat2I
Bronco Billy lron Eagle II
Ca|ch22
True Grit
DogTags
Young Guns
WAR
Without scratching round for foreign currency or worrying about the cost.
v"$d
r¡.tn coRRESpoNDENT JANUARy
1990
'tr\$\R
U
Therds no limit to the Calling Card. Fìrom Hong Kong1elephone. Fordetails catt OlÍl¡t A
22
J U1$,N '9SAU
taon¡
cØpany
Honol(onoTelephone
p'
This is
think of
extraordinary features, it should be obvious this camera was designed with pros and serious amateurs in mind. So what's next for the camera of tomorrow? With the Canon EOS 1, You can find out today.
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CANON HONG KONG TRADING CO., LTD.: Room 1101-3 &1121-2. Peninsula centre,67 Mody Road, Ts¡mshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong