The Correspondent, October 1990

ocToBER 1990

The man o sold Van Gogh

Pos" -,ยกnday lvforning gg0 Septemb er 23,

1

Club to begin fund for ill correspondent launclยกerl '1ft .-

will be ' 'qorciBn Corresp^''

ยก\1.' aooeal

but I am sure there arc

'"ould likc to hcl-

The man who blamed the Greeks

CO

The Swire Group

ABSENT member Ted Dunfee is fighting back against a crippling disease that left hini

in Thailand; FCC members have responded generously to a fund to help finance Ted's 4 incapacitated

ÎIIE

rehabilitation.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB North Block, Road, Hong Kong.

Tblephone:521 1511 Fax 8684092 2

l¡werAlbert

President - Paul Ba¡deld First Vice-President - Peter Seidlitz Second Vice-President - Saul l¡ckhart Correspondent Member Governors John Andrews, Bob Davis, Peter Gwgnne, Robin Moyer, Chris Peterson, Claudia Rosett, MichaelTaylor, Steve Vines

Journalist Member Governors David Thurston, Stuart Wolfendale.

Associaûe Member Governors Ken Ball, W'endy Hughes, Peter Humble,

Dorotþ

Ryan.

Professional Committee: C onu e n o r : P arl B ayñeld, Memben: Peler Seidltiz, Peter Humble, Saul l¡ckhart, Dorothy Ryan,

\{endy Hughes, Peter Gwgnne, Stuart Wolfendale, Michael Taylor, Bob Davis

Membership Committee: Steve Vines, John Andrews

Social Committee: C o n0 ¿ n o r : D or othy Ry

M e mb

e

rs

:

aî,

GETTING down to

it - a pieeating

contest snapped by Bert Carlson reflects just one slice of US life that he and colle4gue \ry-ayne Nickum €ptured on camera during their six-month

travels across America. Other Carlson camerawork can be seen in this month's photographic essay. 1G17

Michaell aylor

Video Committee: e n o r : D avid, Thu¡. ston, Members:Dorofhy Ryan, Ken Ball, Paul Bayfield

Co m

Publications Committee: lLtckhar f , Menberc:Patl Bayfield, Bob Davis, Wendy Hughes, David Thurston, Stuart Wolfendale, Ken Ball C o n u e n o r : Saul

Michael Chang is a rising star in an increasingly cosmopolitan and timeless traditions blend with

Club Manager: Heinz Grabner Club Steward: Julia Suen

I.f,D CMNDSPüUIETT Editon

a

single

in

better

shape. Which

is just one reason

our

service has as many fans as Mr. Chang's.

Asia

Chinese, and Clare Hollingworth

(above) has had her fifth work isfs memoirs - published.

-

a

journal-

18

"¡/hywith the Asian cast of mind. Itwas allthe fault of the Greek philosophers to come to terms - Aristotle, Sophocles and Plato - who laid down the foundations of Western thought almost 2,500 years ago, he claimed.

L2-r3

Ron Knowles

9/F Grand View Commercial Centre,

ten Asian lands are dedicated to

the returned to the FCC this month to give Western thinking fails his views on

is international, bringing the world

purpose: helping you

book, a guide to understanding China and

t4

Memben: Mike Smith, Saul l¡ckhart, Jo Maylield, Margaret Bryan, Jim Shaw

EDITORIAL OFFICD:

on each flight, cabin attendants from

bers during a visit to the FCC.

FORMER President Derek Davies

Cathay Pacific. Every flight we make

closer to our home, Hong Kong. And

THE AI-ÌTHORS among us have been busy. Kevin Sinclair has produced his 1lth

Food and Beverage Consultation Group: C¿r¿¿øor: Chris Peterson,

world. Where east meets west, modern ways. This is the world of

THE MAN who sells Van Gogh, Christie's auctioneer Christopher Burge, explained the secrets of his trade to mem-

Pacifi c

Direclories,

29-31 Sugar Street, Causeway Bay,

Telephone: 57? 9331;

Fu:

Hong Kong

890 7287

O The Correspondent Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those ofthe Foreign Correspondentsr Club.

The Correspondent is published moothly for and on behalfofThe Foreign Correspondents' Club by:

PRINTUNE LTD Unit B. 18/F Harvard House.

101111 Thomson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Telephone: 838 7282; Fu:8387262

Mana$ng Director; P Viswa Nathan OperatioDs Director: Debbìe Nuttall Printed by Kadett Printing Co, 16/F Remex Cenlre, 42 \[¡ong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong

l.etters From the TheT.oo

President

4-5 5

10 22

New Members Griphos Video Club

tt Photographs

The photograph of Clare Hollingsworth on this page and the photograph on Page 11 are published by permission of the South China Morning Post.

CLUB NEWS NE WEEK after the appeal went out to help absent member Ted Dunfee, a total of HK$140,000 was sitting in the special FCC-Ted Dunfee

Dunfee fund tops

his condition. For example, he seems to

Fund account at the Bank of Credit & Commerce.

be able to recognise some people.

What is certain about Ted, who is only 38, is that he is going to need a great deal of rehabiliLation and speech therapy before he returns to a semblance of normality.

their

chequebooks almost simultaneously, 180 club members donated sums ranging from HK$25 to

Quick-drawing

HK$25,000.

Though Ted received a compensatory

Ted was evacuated to Vancouver by stretcher from Bangkok on Canadian Airlines on September 29. His parents, Enid and Don Dunfee, of British Columbia, who

payout from his company, which, through

its medical plan, also paid his medical

have been by his bedside almost the entire time of his illness, accompanied him with a nurse. Ted's wife and youngest child will follow him to Vancouver soon.

(The eldest is already in Vancouver, living with Ted's sister.)

"The trip was uneventful," reported Ted's long-time friend Ashley Ford of the Vancouuer Prouince, who called through the information to anxious colleagues in Hong Kong. Ted was checked immediate ly into (Vancouver's) University Hospital, where he will undergo testing by a team of specialists.

Ashley reports Ted is still "on a trach, but his arm movements are getting better."

For the past five years, Ted was |he Asia

Magazine correspondent based in Bangkok. He was stricken by acute viral encephalitis four months ago, most probably contracted while on assignment on the Thai-Burmese border. ffthat disease wasn't bad enough, his condition was complicated

$t 40,000

Ted Dunfee: in need of help by a series of strokes. As a result, he lost the use of his limbs and nearly all voluntary mobility functions. He has also had a tracheotomy to relieve breathing difficulties.

After months in intensive care, he was taken off the critical list and moved to a private room in September.

An exact prognosis for Ted is impossible. The feeling among those who have seen him in hospital over a period of time is that there has been an improvement in

expenses until August 31, Ted, his wife and two young children are going to need financialhelp.

Members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) have raised HK$60,000 to help settle his outstanding medical bills and other expenses.

The Foreign Press Association in Beijing responded and announced it was starting a collection among members.

If you are reading this in Hong Kong and have not yet donated, a cheque drawn in favour of the "FCC-Ted Dunfee Fund" would be greatly appreciated. For those of

you reading this story outside Hong

Kong, a bank draft in Canadian dollars in favour of Têd Dunfee would not go amiss.

(Please send the cheque to the FCC and we'll forward it directly to the Dunfee family in Vancouver.)

Ted's address is: 12225 Gardiner

Street, Crescent Beach, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4A3CB. Tel (604) æ12255.

r

Saul Loclihart

I

WONDER why the committee wastes postage sending out notifications of professional luncheons to the general membership when it is painfully obvious that only the'insiders" are going to get seats.

Having failed to obtain seats for any poÞ ular speaker before, I decided to phone as soon as the notification of Iæe Kuan Yew's lunch a¡rived. I was told quite properly that booking would not open until 10 a.m. on October 5.

On the dot of 10 I phoned and got the

engaged signal which persisted until 10.32, When I got through I was, of course, told that it was "fuIly booked" as has happened on every previous occasion.

Not only was it fully booked but there was

FCC Christmas cards, featuring the MurrayZanorupanting of the club's premises, are available from the office at $30 for a packet of ten. Christmas creeps up on us all, so now is the time to buy your cards without barely pausing on your way to the bar. It can take so much out of the misery oflate shopping.

4

rHB coRRESPoNDENTocToBER

There are various other FCC items that would make excellent gifts for friends, oÍ, if you re in an indulgent The club has on o ,

T-shirts ($50 and $33), ties ($37)

and cigarette lighters ($4). All these items are decorated with the design of the FCC coat

1990

Lee enters the lion's den CTOBER IS proving to be a particularþ active month for the club.

The luncheon speakers have been many and varied: Dr \Milliam Miller (SRI International); Derek Davies (former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Reaiew and former FCC President); Christopher Burge (Christies auctioneer and the man who sold Van Gogh); Anatoly Nosko (Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of the USSR), and coming soon (October 26) Singapore's Prime Minister læe Kuan Yew. Mr. [æe will be entering the lions' den, given his views on the way the press should cover Singapore and press freedom in general. And given that Lhe Far Eastern Econornic Reuiew and the Asian Wall Street Journal -bothbanned in Singapore - are based in Hong Kong. Ofcourse, Mr læe's record in dealing with difficult

situations has shown that the lions will

have to be well prepared. Mr læe retires as prime minister in mid-November and takes up a'Junior" cabinet role.

His visit has aroused unprecedented interest . . . and all the 190 tickets were sold within 10 minutes when they went on sale on October 5. I have been consulting my colleagues in an effort to avoid disap-

But many of the hungry lions can't $et in pointing those who were unable to secure tickets.

We hope to have found an answer to the problem well in time for his address.

Also held this month was the first in a series of FCC seminars. Jointly sponsored

by Commerzbank and the FCC, the seminar looked at "the economics of the new European House and the consequences for Asia". The main speaker was Anatoly Nosko, mentioned above. The next seminar, which will be in November, will look at Asia's emerging markets, with particular reference to India.

Early in October the FCC launched a fund for FCC absent memberTed Dunfee.

For the past five years, Ted has been an Asia Magaziø¿ correspondent based in Bangkok. He was stricken with acute viral encephalitis four months ago, contracted while on assignment on the Thai-Burmese border. Ted's company paid compensation

LETTERS

LETTERS

a

CLUB NEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT

waiting list of 50,

Considering that attendance was resficted to members and spouses, I put it

to the committee that itwould be physically impossible to take enough telephone calls to fill the main dining room and build up a waiting list of 50 in the space of 32 minutes.

Seems we stand a better chance of gettins a place in the queue for a new block of ¡ats t¡an getting a seat at the FCC!

I

John Bull

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you and other club officers for continuing to send us the Corresþondent.

After an active 50 years in the Far East and Hong Kong the receipt of the Corresþondent is a real tonic to boost an otherwise continued boring

future.

We would appreciate your publishing this letter in the hopes that some of our many friends will drop us a line.

Cq.nadian Sailinç is seeking a cor-

respondenl familiar with international maritime container shipping. While we are a weekly magazine format publication, we would require one monthly contribution of a round-up in capsule

form about maritime and maritime related activities in South-East Asia.

We normally hear and learn about

the major stories, but require some one with a deep understanding of your area of influence and a knowledge of maritime shipping.

Yours sincerely, AL. "Pat" Patterson 4700 Williamsburg LN, #195

Cønad:ian Sailings Ross R. Blakely

I¿Mesa, CA9204l TellFax (619) 589-9361

Editor & General Manager,

As an active member of the Montreal Press Club, I am writing to seek

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3Z 1S3 Tel: (514) 9374639 Fax: (514) 937-4250

4634 Ouest Rue St.

Catherine Street West

your assistance.

Iæe Kuan Yew Picture: Singapore Ministy of

Information and covered his medical bills until the end

ofAugust.

The FCC of Thailand rallied around and raised money to settle his outstanding medical bills and airfares to Canada. The Hong Kong FCC has sta¡ted this fund to help Ted pay his bills for rehabilit¿tion in Canada.

A letter of appeal went out to Hongkong-

resident members, but absent members can also make a donation by sending a cheque to Hoìrg Kong, payable to the "FCC of members in Hong Kong have come up to me and said they didn't know Ted but would be contributing: "It could have been me."

- Ted Dunfee Fund". A lot

The food and beverage consultative group þhew!) met for the first time over a convivial beverage. The group dealt with some members'complaints and looked at some food ideas for the future. One thing that became clear is that if someone has a complaint about cold fish or something they should do so at the earliest opportuni-

[l to Heinz Grabner so it can be dealt with immediately.

Another story this month is on the Hong'kong Press Club (page 19). This one is for the nightowls: the place to go when

the FCC closes (2a.m.). Not being one of these of course, I wouldn't know. But in the interests of knowledge, I made several exploratory trips at around that time and

found a very worthy bolt-hole.

At the end of this month the FCC's contract with Viswa Nathan's Printline for the production of The Conesþondenf ends.

Printline has been producing the magazinefor three years and has done a super job. In future the production will be han-

dled by AsiaPacific Directories.

Ron

Knowles will continue as editor.

I

Paul Bayfield

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 1990

5

CLUB

NETMS

I\ew printers for FCC HESE ARE times of change for The Corresþondent. Following the appointment of

a

new editor

Ron

- has last month, the Board

Knowles

- new printing contract to the awarded the partnership of Mike Bishara and Vonnie Bishop, who founded their Asialine company about nine years ago and three years later launched AsiaPacific Directories.

Mike Bishara and Vonnie Bishop write of former editor Viswa Nathan.

We /irst came in contact wi,th Viswa Nathan in the early 1980s, a cowþle offreelance writers desþerately trying not to look like the oueraged hiþþies we were. Scraþing a dollar or two out of writing for four years in Southeast and East Asia does not leaue you conditioned to imþress editors with your ability to turn out good busi,ness coþy.

He listened without comrnent (always a dangerous sigù, then shuffled among his

fiIEWYNDHAM HECUTIVE

TIIE WYNDHAM UECUTIVE

DESKDTARY

POCKETDIARY

HK$200.00 Specially developed and designed for the desk of the busy executive. Black bonded leather cover, includes fi nger-tip information on -

TIK$IO.OO

The matching pocket diary with a black bonded leather cover.

Includes General Information Section; Cities Guide to 29 Asia/Pactntc cities; 1.28 pageDiary Section with weekly

General Information Section ; 'Business Travellers' Guide' with 21 major city maps; Diary Section with year and forward planner. 58 weeks with a week-to-view; 4 colour \Øodd Atlas; detachable Address Directory

Yes, I wish to

ring binder,rlncludes

-

18 plastic section dividers; business card holder and zip pocket; fold-out year planner;

week,'week-to-view' diary section; 4year calendar; international public holidays; General Information pages include Int'l I.D.D. chart, weights and measures conversion factors, world time chan and weatherguide.

58

club atmosþhere.

other statistical material, but what they all

But Bishara is determined to t¿ckle the loss that the magazine has made since it was launched and has some firm ideas how this can be remedied "Robbing the till to support The Coruesþondent does not make a lot of sense," he says. 'AtAsiaPaciÍc Directories we have a sales team who spend their days selling advertising into the four trade directories and one yearbook we own. They are about

The Coruesþondent boil down to is this reaches 3,000 of the- eatingest, drinkingest, sportingest, travellingest consumer

to be let loose on you.

magazine enhanced the form of cama-

Membership Book Update To: The Foreign Correspondens' Club, Ice House Street, Hong Kong

a6

makes a lot sense.'We can regale you with market surveys, readership profiles, and

"Advertising

in

The

Corresþondent

junkies in Hong Kong.

'Add to that the half-dozen free-loader readers for each copy, and an advertisement in The Corresþondent starts to make a lot of commercial sense."

Bishara promises: "\Me will be intro-

ducing a number of packages that will cater to all from the HK$500 supporter to the corporate

budget."

I

(cutoutmd mdl)

ORGANTSER rrK$450.00 with

-

raderie, with all its attendant bitching and whining, that is þart and þarcel of a true

and forward planner.

THE WYNDHAM UECUTIVE Crafted in top grade calf skin

þaþers and gaue us the sofiest cornmission the rise of the þhoto-coþier i,n aaailable indwstry or such similar story. We were grateful.

Viswa also gaue the FCC its /irst regular edition of a club magazine and built its reþutation by reþorting a diuerse range of stories for the disþarate (ofien desþerate) club membershiþ. The qwality of the þublication for us was the way in which the

The new team: Back row (from the left) Peter Luk (art director), Mike Bishara, Lesley Fok (traffic), Aubury Ng (computer operations), Raymond Choy (office manager), Laurie Ma (sales), Kenny I-eung (sales) and Derek Elmer (sales).

Front row: Ing¡id Gregory (sales), Lily Ip (sales) and Vonnie Bishop.

order the following units:-

! Wyndham Desk Diary/ies _ It- n Wn¿nam Pocker Diarylies _ ! Wyndham Organizer/s _unirs !

m

unim @HK$200

Plus my name/inirial @HK$18 00 per

00

Toal HK$

units @HK$30,00 Total HK$

@HK$450.00 unit

Total HK$

TotalHK$ crand Total HK$

(maximum L0letters)

Sent in your update?

If you haven't here is an easy.way to do it.

Bt.]T DO IT NO\4I.

31,

I99O

NAME

GIVE¡I MEHBERSHIP

NUMBER:

}IEMBERSHIPSTATUS: CORRESPONDENT: WIFE'S/HUSBANDIS YOUR POSITION

IN

NAMES

NÀTIONALITY:

JOURNALIST:

ASSOCIATE:

NAME

YOUR ORGANISAÎION:

NAME OF YOUR ORGANISATION:

OFFICE ADDRESS:

Maíl orfat Couþor ta: OFFICE TELEPHONE NUMBER:

No.2 LowerAlbertRoad

HOJVfE ADDRESS:

HOME TELEPHONE NIJMBER:

Fa* 868 4092

Account No.; Please

S

The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

Name:

CLOSING DATE OCTOBER MEMBERI

telephone

collected at Club office

Signarurer

when units are available to be

THE CORRESPONDENTOCTOBER

7g9O

7

PRISONER AT THE B

PE O PLE

R

Farewell Teresa

Shor:t inq

Menrs 5rÐn Êl¡EjiË¡g tjlÆ.t 4rÐ-shot individual l. Huanq Shi Pirrq (trhirra) 3?3 (new Asian record). p- Kiftì Gwang Ch'rl Korea) 347, 3. Hano Hc,ng Seunn-Fv Seung-Þyo (s Kareå) 383t 4. Ji Ëar¡g (China) 3Bg,5. =a) 387.

Rorrg Hui (Ehina) 387, 6. Kim Man Ch'rI (N Kc'rea) 364

(N

Zhang

ílBY'Cr

n1658 eê5ep9ø AFtr ËSI¡A59 GMT SEP ãø AFF' ëEø9ø3 GMT. SEP 9IA

Practice makes perfect

WIT reviewer, raconteur, columnist and general all-round (defi- The object of this page is to prove Stuart wrong -- to nitely all round) nice bloke Stuart Wolfendale confessed enliven lhe Corresþondent with shafts of malicious mirth, recently that he had not been able to embark on a proposed reg- wit and gossip. By all means protect the names of the guilty but let us have your contributions of the editorial follies ular Corresþondent column of well-honed malice overheard at the FCC because (a) he wasn't at the club frequently enough, -and business bunglings that don't find their way into print, and (b) there was so little inspiration for him in the bar gossip or the unconscious humour that is the product of eaveswhenhe did showup.

The first reason is a shame on him; the second a shame us

all.

(herheard A: I've got that awful, ticklish

]_H

on

dropping.

Drop your items into the Corresþondent pigeon-hole at the I FCC. Anonymity will be preserved.

BY ARTHUR HA¿KER

E ZOO

fungus that attacks your genitals.

B: That's

nothing. I've got

ITlS AGAINS'T

$100,000 of shares in the South China Morning Post.

CLUB RULES

To WEAR A HAT t IN THE BAR .., SIR.,

*** A: That Harrison Salisbury fel-

OLLEAGUES gathered at the FCC to say fond farewells to Board member Teresa Gibbs before her departure forAmerica last month.

Teresa, a Correspondent member governot has returned to her homeland in the US after spending several years in Australia ancl Hong Kong.

She is pictured above with Peter Brindisi, of Jewellery News (left) and Charlie Stark.

Our picture (right) shows Teresa sharing a joke with Ross Way, director and chief executive of the Kangaroo pubs and restaurants

low knows nothing about China.

I

chain.

All he has done is retrace the Long March.

B: Well, that's quite something at his age if he did it on foot.

q

A: No . . . he did it on typewrit-

v

ersl

L

A: Did you hear that

t------/,

CAAC

described the Guangzhou airport crash officiaþ as an "abnor-

mal" landing? What a stupid euphemism. say that. Have you experienced some of their "normal" landings?

B: I wouldn't

A:

Wanted

John Andrews cut nicely

through the semantic rubbish about the refugees when he was on RTHKthis morning.

B: Yes. I'm not anti-semantic, but I think we should get rid of the semantics with the refugees.

Writer/sub-editor to assist editor production of Hong Kong's leading

in

food,

wine and travel magazine. Duties will include writing occasional interviews,

I rllB coRRESPoNDENT ocroBER 1990

promotional stories, in-house copy and sub-editing.

Salary negotiable according to experience. CallAdrian Bonds on 521 3461

Shape up

at the H

e

alth

C

THE Health Corner located in the base ment has been reorganised to improve the workout facilities in what is probably the only fitness centre in Hong Kong with unisex sauna roomandjacuzzi. nd av - Frid av'

or n er äå

;:Jä"å';"

"'o,

rï;#

"

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 1990

9

I NE\M MEMBERS

PE O PLE

VICE-PRESIDENT and General Manager of UPI's Asia-Pacific division, Arnold Zeitlin has been admitted as a Correspondent member. He comes to Hong Kong from a three-year

Bob edits a paper the news at your fin

spell as managing editor of \4/orld Paper in Boston, where he was previously the bureau chief for Associated Press for

CC JOURNALIST member Bob Howarth has become the editor of the world's first daily braille news-

10 years.

- Braille Post.

And Bob's working colleagre and fellow

paper

Zeitlin has also worked as a correspondent in Manila, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Personal finance consultant

FCC member, Joel Houplin, has played a major role in the technological wtzardry That has made the braille publication possible.

Bob is the editorial technology and

Angela Ngai, who works for the Standard Chartered Bank,

training manager at the South China Morning Post, the publishers of the Braille Post, andJoel is his deputy.

The SCMP was approached by the Hong Kong Blind Society earlylastyear and asked if it would be possible to produce a daily braille newspaper. But the task of selecting typeset stories from the SCMP's ATEX editorial network and cleaning them up to be downloaded through a telephone link was too timeconsuming and labour-intensive.

The Tiananmen Square massace of June 4 1989 and the demands that made on the Posf's system to meet the clamoring pleas of other Murdoch newspapers throughout the world, inspired Houplin to write some clever options and exchange

is a newAssociate member.

So is Jeanny Li, a Macauborn, British personnel manager with the chemical company, W R. Grace.

Reuters chief sub-editor Allan Redditt has joined as a Correspondent member.

Redditt's career with

Reuters has taken him to Portugal, Seoul, Brazil, London, Bahrain and Nicosia over the past 13 years.

Director of Nautilus Shipping and Trading, Earl Ray-

mond Forsyth, has been admitted as an Associate member,

Editorial director of the

book publishing company, Asia 2000, Jan Krikke, from the

Netherlands, joins the FCC as a

Journalist member after six

years as a newspaper correspondent in

Toþo.

Canadian

Kelly

McPar-

land, a new Correspondent member is the Hong Kong bureau chief of the Financial Post in Toronto.

McParland was, until July, the features editor at the Hong

Kong Standard. He earlier

four years a reporter with the

Robin Piers Lynam,

worked as assistant editor of the Gemini News Service in

Toronto Star

l¡ndon

magazines in Europe and Asia,

doner now f¡eelancing in Hong Kong, has been admitted as a Correspondent member.

and before that was for

Contributor to a variety of

And old faces seen around the bar Back for the fìrst time in yearswas Lorna Stauss (now

board member lan McCrone.

During his 7957-66 Hong Kong stint as Reuters bureau chief, he was the club's number cruncher in 1961 when the club moved from Li Po Chun Cham-

and moved to San Francisco in 1984 where Joe became an

Strauss Doúbet). Those of you who have been around long enough to remember the early days around the Oval Bar

international marketing consultant and Lorna joined the

bers to the Hilton Hotel,

with the likeable Joe: not often two life members get married. l¡rna was in town showing her new boss, Wells Fargo Bank's vice-president for public relations, the Asian scene in her new position as the bank's

SPOTTED around the FCC bar

in

September was former

a

move that is regarded as saving the club from collapse.

Retired now to Wanaka, New Zealand (near Queens-

town on the South Island), where he runs the Alpine

I¡rna

in Sutherland House will

be able to place that new surname

China British embassy.

BBC television product Philip Rees, a new Correspondent member, was former-

ly a current affairs producer with the BBC in l¡ndon.

Another new Correspondent member, Hans Vriens is a correspondent for NRGHøvdelsblad in Holland.

After spells with Reuters in the Netherlands, Chicago and

burgh, Pennsylvania, where

Passing through Hong

Joe settled after his departure

Kong very quietþ and visiting the FCC for the first time was Ramiro Acevedo, La Hora's (of Santiago, Chile) bureau

membership.

Senior director of adminis-

tration and public relations with Japanese Airlines, Hide-

chief in Mexico

of the

based in San Francisco.

ber) C.P. Ho put out some special publications for the 11th Asian Games.

C. P. entered journalism under Ian at Reuters. Moral:

ended up as business editor at

1O ruB

the British Council as a cultural secretary with the South

a

public relations counsellor

Kong to help Hernad Media

Be nice to those cub rep'orters!

New Associate member Martin Davidson works for

London, Geoffrey Cornford has been posted to Hong Kong as a chief sub-editor with the agency. He has been admitted to Correspondent

News Service, Ian was in Hong

publisher/editor (and mem-

San Francisco Chronicle. She joined Wells Fargo in April.

In town just enough to scout the talent and reclaim a spot at the bar was head-hunter extraordinaire Peter Bennett, formerly with Boyden & Associates in Hong Kong, now Boyden in Sydney.

Also in town for a while was Frank Wolfe, a former photographer who took to invent-

a Lon-

Joe and Lorna met in Pitts-

from Hong Kong and Lorna

lhe Pittsburgh Post They were married

coRRESPoNDENT ocroBER

1990

Gazette. in 1982,

ing cameras and is now design consultant.

City.

I

ki Hitosugi, has been

admit-

ted as an Associate member

FCC.

I

programs for the system

-

programs

which could also be applied to the transfer of stories into braille.

But it took a young trainee journalist on the Post, Lynda Chung, to prompt the SCMP management to realise the possibilities of appþing Joel's wizardry to a braille

newspaper. Lynda wrote a thesis for a social sciences degree after studying the information needs of Hong Kong's 15,000 blind people. She concluded that radio, and more obviously television, did not meet the requirements of news-hungry blind people, and that the answer would be to provide the columns of the Posl in braille.

SCMP management gave its support

Supervisor Fred Leung checks the Braille Post with his fingertips, watched by (from the lefi) Bob Howarth, John Cowley and Grace Chan, director of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind. for a test run in August with the blind society, which has its own braille production centre headed by blind supervisor, Fred [æung. He proved so adept at conquering the procedures that the test run went live on the second day.

Lynda, who has been seconded to Bob Howarth's department, now spends about 45 minutes before 9am each day running programs to copy selected stories into a special braille story queue. The selections

cover most home news, wire service

SEE HOW IT1S ALL DONE MEMBERS WILL IIAVE a chance to understand the Braille Posf production technlques in November when they are to be demonstrated durlng the annual conference of the ATD( Australian Users Group at the Excelslor Hotel in Causeway Bay. The sessions on Sunday, November 25, s'ilt be opened to a number of FEC Corres¡rcndent and Journallst members at a fee of $49O, which íncludes coffee and lunch.

The conüibution of Indianaþolis

Sú¿rtravel editor, Corþ Richmond, will probably be of particular interest to FCC members. He will head a session called'Road Warriols -The I¿ptop Users' Guide to the \Morld", in which he will give e>çert advice on the use of laptops and dial-up

links to keep correspondents in touch with their offices.

Application forms will be posted on the FCC notice board. Bookings close on November

9.

I

leads, features, letters, business and sport

- often totalling more than 20,000 words of text- which are then loaded to a special PC that compresses it all into one file.

Fred læung then dials into the system and downloads the compressed file on a

special US Robotics modem. This

modem, not available in Hongkong, was a personal gift to the Braille Posl project from Patrick Purcell, the publisher of The Boston Herald. After Fred passes his disk through a fast braille conversion program the material is fed to a highspeed printer which produces 800 pages an hour of raised dot braille text on both sides of special paper. 'lhe Braille Posl pages are then ready for collation and mailing to its subscribers before noon, and, thanks to the efficiency of the Hong Kong postal service, many of them get it on the same day.

The paper already has one overseas subscriber - a 26-year-o1d woman doctor in Madras, who was blinded recentþ General manager-director of the SCMP, John Cowley, said the company hoped to be able to reach a larger number of blind readers in the future by producing I a Chinese braille edition.

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER

1990

11

Asia? It's all Greek to me, says Derek Davies he ghosts at the feast were Aristotle,

Plato and Sophocles, and all three might well have thought they had cause to feel aggrieved. It is well known that Derek Davies is no respecter of reputations.

Indeed, the former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Reuiew was introduced as "a scourge of governments" - one of the few honest roles left to journalists these days.

But the poor old Greek philosophers were copping the blame from him for Western

,I shall write , to the Far

misconceptions about Asia.

This is not a hasty conclusion, either, Former President Derek Dn iee €nþ]ã a chat with FçC Board member Dorothy Ryan before tl¡e luncheon.

Davies confided, as the FCC's luncheon guest speaker on October 5, that it had dawned on him gradually during 30 years close acquaintance with Asia.

Lady Muldoon and a knotty problem

The tradition of western

thought developed from the Greek philosophers had not provided us with a

clear view

I

N TYPICAL EASHION, Derek Davies began with a flurry of jokes. The following is the pick of them.

During his period as Frime Minister of New Zealand, Sir Robert "Piggie" Muldoon was hosting a dinner party for a number of

diplomats, politicians

and bankers at his official residence.

There appeared to be some

delay in the arrival of the fìrst

course, so an impatient lady Muldoon left her guests to see what the problem was in the kitchen. There she was confronted by a distressed chef, who explained that he was unable to prepare the turtle soup because

he could not kill the turtle.

"Every time I try to cut off its

Asian

mind. It had given us a distorting prism.

"They have instituted a

cast of mind which does not help Westerners who come out here to understand what is happening,"

Communist Threat" - a monolithic menace. The response was the emergence of

tioning and the process of antithesis and synthesis - a method'Tery foreign to the part of the world we live in and work in".

"a whole variety of states which went

He

explained: "The

T

morning."

12 rryr, coRRESpoNDENT

ocroBER

1ee0

a moral animal, making

to be wearing borrowed ideoBut over the past 25 years there had been a "progressive dumping of these imported ide-

significance of the Sino-Soviet split of

absolutes which they tested ques-

anxious

"Don't be silly," she replied.

"How do you think I get the Prime Minister's tie on every

logical garments."

1960, all this was perceived as "the Great

orifice, whereupon its head shot out and tady Muldoon looped a string around it. "There you are.

Now get on with it " she ordered.

The dinner was a great success and afterwards the formidable lady returned to the kitchen

vrth the turtle?"

ologies of Cold War Europe while they were throwing off the colonialist "yoke",

The Greek philosophers tended to erect ideals and

thinkers in this part of the world did not treat man as

"No," insisted the chef. "It is we who should thank you. How on earth did you learn that trick

style line-up of states and confrontations." Yet it had an element of comic opera about it, since the'protagonists appeared

he said.

through probing,

Sophocles

Story: Ron Knowles Photographs: Ray Cranbourne backed by the Soviet Union and China.

In the West, which failed to see the full

head it retreats into its carapace," he moaned.

"Give it to me," Iady Muldoon demanded. She set the creature on the edge of the kitchen table and jabbed her thumb into its anal

to thank the chef and his team.

Muldoon . . . \À'ith his tie on.

of the

Aristotle Plato

ologies".

However, "because of these Cold \Mar circumstances the western theorists, operating in the Greek philosophical tradition, started painting labels on countries in this part of the world and pigeonholed them

round the other aspect of the European political spectrum . . . fascism, military dictatorship, and so on."

Davies cited South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and then the Philippines.

comfortably as friends or enemies, and bad mistakes were

The result was a ring of US bases .War around China. "Thus the Cold had

made.

"The countries concerned never reaþ quite fitted into the

almost imposed on East Asia a Western-

moral choices with ideals and absolutes in the background . . . theywere more

to set up

stable societies in which man is not seen as a moral integer, but as a social animal with

against a colonial power? That message was ignored.

"Another message that was ignored at some future cost was the telegram dispatched by Ho Chi Minh, who was so inspired

few years ago. Deng was will-

dence to the Philippines that he

But the states of East Asia

cling on to power, to sacrifce all

messaged Washington asking that Vietnam be incorporated

began to throw off the dogmas imposed or adopted by the Cold

into a greater American commonwealth. The cost of that

War. Leftist states and rightwing, fascist, militarist states

mistake was rather large."

began moving towards the mid-

communistvictories of 1975, the dominoes fell the other side of

was the prospect of East Asia liberalising and opening up.

However, this did not mean the creation of the type of democracies understood by the lMest. It would, he hoped, lead to a series of states respondent to the needs of their peoples and able to protect the needs of their minorities.

It all led to the Western domino theory - but after the

the US - now US President

George Bush - standing on the tarmac at Manila airport "publicly thanking President Marcos

mate.

The region was highly politicised in the late 1950s and even more so during the 1960s, as Asian leaders

for his personal dedication to the cause of democracy."

An appreciative audience was generous in

its

applause.

Davies muses on the Greeks and their legacy-.

polit-

by America granting indepen-

any enemy of Moscow was a friend of the West and we witnessed the "ludicrous spectacle" of then Vice President of

ulti

"imbibed" the leftist ide-

friendly country which had been conceived in revolution

l¡gically the belief grew that

duties in society, and the

Stability was the

and Zhao Enlai actually messaged Washington to ask for support for their revolution, because they viewed America as a

the fence.

head of that society trying to keep a balance between Heaven and Earth."

categories. How many people in this room remember the fact, for example, that Mao Ze-dong

There was, said Davies, "a whole series of misjudgements

and mis-understandings" ical and economic.

-

dle - in the terms of the European spectrum - and there

But "pragmatism" meant a certain amount of ruthlessness.

"If principles are forgotten selfinterest takes over. Pragmatism means ruthlessness, like Deng Xiaoping, the pin-up boy of a

ing, in his determination sorts of things

to

- his own

achievements over the decade of liberalisation he presided over in China, the lives of the students, all that bright Íreedom and intellectual progress that had flourished in China under his aegis, and the careers ofthe people he put up as his stalking horses."

This left us contemplating

a

series of states which were ruthless in the pursuit of their selfinterests. It reminded him of the

British foreign minister of the late 19th century who declared that the British Government had no permanent friends manent interests.

- only per-

That pragmatic desire

- symptomatic Deng might be the key stick to po\¡/er

to of to

Cont. Page 14

THE CORRESPONDENT OC'TOBER 1990

13

f I

\MOLFENDALE AT LARGE

CLUB NEWS

A stiff atthe Board

Squashing them in

nudging somebody with ill-concealed excitement and saying: "Look, that fat

T BEGAN WITH the Power Behind The Throne over that drink too far in a Lamma bar. "I thinkyou should consider standing for the Board . . ." it said.

Though the Dewars sluicing round the ice cubes I imagined being a Governor. The sword and the egret feathered hat had to be metaphorical, of course. Hacks could not possibly go in for that sort of thing.

Nevertheless, I saw myself as a latter day Lucia Lucas from the E.E Benson novels catapulted into the town's mayorality.

Citizens would pass me in Queen's Road Central and whisper with ill-concealed

AS MANY as 40 members have enlisted for the squash ladder - an impressive display of sporting enthusiasm which belies a hitherto unsuspected standard offitness, Among them are freelance journalist David Kerr and Barbara Waters, of InfoAsia (pictured here).

As usual The Correspondent is willing to play its full part in club activities and invites all players to leave a note of the scores of their matches in the magazine's pigeonhole at the club. The editor is also happy to enliven the results with any anecdotes about games that players might like to jot down.

With the co-operation of all players, the next issue will be able to give them all an idea of how their rivals are getting on. Don't forget to submit

Nouveau. tsy popular demand, we are going to have the tradi-

there he goes a excitement: "Look Governor ofthe FCC. First came the smoke-fìlled rooms; then there was the lobbying based on a very simple argument which went "Put that on my chit, Carson." Wheeling and dealing played their part and at one point Cynthia Hydes and I became running mates on the straight-foward if wobbly platform of "One free drink in three!" At that stage of the game I left a string of hostages to fortune which still get hauled

tional Beaujolais breakfast (starting af 7.30 on November 15). But because of the vast increase in costs the wine is

in front of me.

"When are we going to start the regu-

expected to be up 8G85% on 1989 we are foregoing the traditional French week with an imported chef.

Still on wine, beginning this month, the FCC will feature

jacuzzi orgies, you promised us?"

"I never did"

T

those scores.

It's all Greek to me, admits Derek Davies From Page 13

understanding Asia.

(It was at this stage that Plato

stirred and nudged Aristotle.

"Isn't this a contradiction?" he hissed. "Our scholars of the west-

ern democracies aþþear to

just

be

þragrnatic, ruthless and unidealistic as the Asian leadas

ers." "Shussh," Soþhocles interaened. "Let's listen to the rest of his argument.")

Davies thought that the philosophers were not entirely to blame for western misunderstanding of the region. At the same time they were laying the foundations for western modes of thought there was another set of Greeks writing dramas -

Aeschylus, Sophocles

and Euripides. '"fhey were writing tragedies about tyrantkings, so inflated by pride and hubris that they def,ed

have written about such a long list of Asian tyrants who have peopled the stage of East Asia over the last three decades -

Jiang Qing, Ho Chi Minh, Sukarno, Pibul Songgram,

Marshal Sarit, Syngman Rhee, Park Cheung Hee, Ne Win, Marcos . . . And the tyrant figures are still with us.

"Deng still pragmatically clings on to power in Peking.

Kim Il Sung still surrounds himself with the ludicrous personality cult in Korea, preparing a Confucian-style dynastic handover to the only man he trusts - his own son. And Lee Kuan Yew still struts on the stage of

Singapore, also planning

a

dynastic handover to baby God.

"If the Greek philosophers have led us into some misunder-

standings of this region, per-

the gods and came inevitably

haps the Greek tragedians have

crashing down to defeat, purging themselves, the whole state and the people in a catharsis of pity and terror. These tragedies seem much more relevant than

a

the philosophising of the other

better key."

The ghosts stirued again. smili,ng "I told lou my þlays wowld long be aþþreciated, euen if my þhilosoSoþhocles was

þhy was not," he said. Ari,stotle

set of Greeks.

and Plato, looking thoughtful,

"What would Euripides have made of Mao? What a drama he could have written on that subject. What, indeed, could he

aþþroached FCC President Paul BayrteW tu ask for

14

left and

the right of reþIy at some future

I

date.

THE coRRESPoNDENTocToBER

1990

-

-

special Wines of the Month which will be served by the glass. Ifyou like that particular brand, you can order it by the case (with free home delivery). Two whites and two reds are in the spotlight The whites include a Chardonnay 1988 and a Bourgogne Aligote 1987 /89, both form France's Pere Patriache vineyard, while red wines consist of a St. Emilion 1987 /8 from Durthe Freres and a Gabarier Cabernet Rouge 1986.

And still on wine: WeTe had many requests for wine and cheese evenings so the first one will be on Wednesday, November 28 from 7.3G9.30pm. ffthis is a success, we hope to make the wine and cheese evening a frequent event.

Circle November 9 on your social calendar. This is the evening the FCC is holding its first charity party. The object is to raise funds for Father l¿ncelot Rodriquez. Father l¿ncelot, runs the Catholic Relief Services in the Portuguese territory and for the past couple of decades has been at the forefront of help for the disàbled and mentally retarded.

There will be food stalls featuring Mediterranean dishes spread throughout the club. As usual different music will fill

the club on each floor. The Ruff Justice Band (all lawyers from the legal department, would you believe?) will be playing in the main dining room, the Triangles from the Royal Regiment of Wales will hold forth in the pool bar and there will be a Disco wailing in the main bar.

Club regulars will be pleased to learn that the "ala catte" menu in the main and pool bars will be changed every two months for greater variety a gain of one month. Rest

lar Carlsberg-sponsored Thursday night "Did!" 'T[hen?"

'The night you fell over the free-standing pot plant" He was right about that, though not very precise. It's that damned fern in a two-ton pot which skulks between the video sitting area and the tables, and I fall over it on alternate days.

Every time my face rushes to meet the Canton floor tiles I say to myself, 'Tlrhat a bloody sillyway to fall over."

Well, after the election there wasn't exactly a gushing of gloi,re. The victory head-and-shoulders snapsh oT in The Corresþondent was taken straight off the mortuary slab. As a governor, I had to book into every celebrity speaker lunch from then to the end of the millenium and "The steak a week lastTuesday was overdone, what are you going to

I

Heinz Grabner

a

morning.

I

do not widely appreciate

either.

Anyway the reasoning behind this eclectic bit of timing finds its roots in the days of Vietnam when the Board was apparently drawn from the characters in the first chapter of The Honourable Schoolboy andnone ofthem could be trusted not to be pissed after 10am.

I do not know how fervent Methodists like John Andrews, devout abstainers like Dorothy Ryan and neo-Amish followers

I

Grabner entered I *itn a spurt which suggested that he had just reviewed the crack Waldheim brigade of the Saikung Boy , Scouts like Bob Davies feel about this as a reflection on their moral self-control, but the rest of us feel that it would be marginally

tions anybody's sense of public spirit. And believe me, nobody on that rust-bucket is

almost

But worse - the actual governing -

\¡¡as to come.

a spurt

weeks ago is an¡,thing to go by, it must be

It is not widely

in

immediately.

-

Waldheim Brigade of the Saikung Boy Scouts. "Gott! I luff zissþyme off day," he volunteered. They sáy he doesn't sleep much. If the pigeon I ate upstairs two

appreciated that the FCC Board meets at eight o'clock in the

do about it?" input

Grabner

Grabner entered with a spurt in his step and a smile on his face which suggested that he had just reviewed the crack

better to be called up for Operation Desert Shield than to get out of bed for a Board.

I say this with a particular passion, living, as I do, on l¿mma. My personal problem that is, I agree, but nonetheless the 6:20am ferry from Yung Shue Wan, most of it in darkness and with the vegetable ladies and the British Council hundred-

weighed

-

assured, old favourites will remain.

gweilo dozing off the end of the bench is a governor of the FCC." Another reason for the brutal timing of these meetings may be Heinz Grabner, the manager. A half-hour before the last one, I sat at the board table in the Wyndham Room, palpitating, debating whether to be sick and waited upon by two young ladies with water.

bucks-an-hour teachers, severely ques-

guiþ

conscience.

It would be a breach of collective respon-

sibilty to describe how other members of the Board enter the meeting, so I will.

Wendy Hughes has the fresh btttpuzzled look. Peter Humble kick-slarts his lungs.

Peter Seidlitz is enragingly continental in his off-the-cuff insousiance. "I may have

been up all night, but its never going to show," he doesn't quite say.

Saul Lockhart seems momentarily stunned that he has to start putting arguments so early, but he doesn't flinch from it.

Chris Petersen comes in very much like I do, shaking off

three layers of sweat and rolling in a quiet grumble till he finds something to stick his teeth into.

llugþes

-puzzled

When David Thurston isn't bemused he frets about where he has parked his bike. Claudia Rossel rightly joins us with the smile of a social worker visiting the psychiatric ward. Ken Ball comes in fresh off a decent night's sleep and ambushes us with a wine and cheese tasting series.

The President bounces in sometimes a

moment or two tantalisingly late with a sparkle in his eye as though he's just come from . . . oh, you know It's all so fresh, so disgustingly fresh. I want it shifted to lunch-time when they're all pre-prandialised and what I say won't sound so stupid as it does through a hangover. I also won't be inviting 15 other peo ple to look at me whilst am I having difficulty holding a coffee cup with both hands.

r

StuartWolfendale

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER

1990

15

-r I I

PHOTO ESSAY

A journey across America ERT CARLSON is one shutterbug who takes marvellous photographs for a lMng. - but39,notnow the Hong Carlson,

Kong-based

Asia-Pacific regional manager of Canada's

and set out on a journey across America to capture on

film the people and their lifestyle, their adventures, their achievements and their joy.

Carlson and

Nickum

financed their travel by selling

national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, began to develop an interest in cameras and

copies of the pictures they took of events and contests all

photography quite incidently in his early 20s. "I started to use a camera as a tool in my university work", he recalls.

With that early encounter began a passionate interest in

west to the midwest.

photography. Then, as luck would have it, came an equally enthusiastic camera buff, Wayne Nivkum of Texas. The pair set up a mobile darkroom

over the lancl from the far

At the end of that sixmonth odyssey they had gathered an entraordinary portfolio containing 25,000 negatives. A selection of them has since been published in the book, Amber Waues of Grain.'fhe pictures on these pages are chosen

from that

A l-ook, Ma!

I

book.

À Beauty rounds the barrel.

*.-A All-American pie-eating contest.

V Oooops!

íEã¡

-¿q I ¡i^'r

t\

-+--:à-:::,'+.

- a¿-' ¿'.á

A The stable temptress strikes!

16 ruB

coRRESPoNDENT ocroBER

À Chicken-flying contest.

1990

 The unsung hero.

CLUB NEWS

Seminar success HE first of the FCC's series of seminars, held shortly before The Corresþondent went to press, was a major success - not the least for the magnificent food which followed the business session. Hats off to manager Heinz Grabner and his team!

About 60 people attended the Octo ber 11 seminar,The Econornics of the New Euroþean House: Consequences for

Asia, which was chaired by former

Cheers: FCC members John McDougall, Ronnie Ling and Charlie Smith toast Sing Sheng (second from the right) with the Hacker cartoon in the bacþround.

A LMOST two decades ago, Charlie /| Smith, Sarah Monks (now in L I New York) and Ronnie Ling

the læe Gardens Hotel, thanks to its then general manager Sing Sheng. Sing, who is

one of the stalwarts of the Hong Kong

founded an informal Friday luncheon

tourist industry, retired from the hotel and is now a director of the company's International Group.

To mark Sing's retirement, a drawing was commissioned from Arthur Hacker (a long time member of both the FCC and

group where diplomats, government ser-

vants and business people, particularly China Traders, could exchange off-therecord vie\¡/s with members of the Fourth Estate. About half the membership is from

the Friday group) which Sing promptly hung in the alcove where the group

the FCC.

Four years ago the lunch found a permanent home in the Pavilion Restaurant in

meets.

T

FCC President Philip Bowring, editor of. the Far Eastern Economic Reuiew, and sponsored by Commerzbank.

The speakers were Juergen Pfister, who heads the economics department of Commerzbank, Frankfurt, George Oleksyn, senior manager of operations

with the Hong Kong Trade Develop ment Council, and Anatoly Nosko, a member of the board of the Bank for Foreign EconomiÇ Æfairs of the USSR in Moscow.

A full report of the seminar will appear in the next issue of The Corresþondent. A second in a series of semi.

nars - ás¡ø3 Energmarkets, with Sþecirtc Emþhasis on India - will be held T on December 4.

One of the best little hideways

by Nigel Armstrong O DRAW comparisons between

the FCC and the Press Club, beyond recognising that both establishments have a reputation for being

the venue for major media boozing sessions, would be a trifle foolish. Each has its own distinct personality and goals, and apart from some fairþ recent cross-pollination of membership, they have each been blissfully uninterested in, and unaffected by, the activities of the other.

One thing the Press club and the FCC have in Common, however, is the verywel-

come patronage they both received from one of Hong Kong's most celebt'ated governors, Sir (now Lord) Murray MacIæhose - or Jock The Stock, as he is casually referred to by Press Club alumni of the day. Sir Jock officially opened the Press Club in 1973 and it was through him that the FCC later got the palatial premises it enjoys today on such reasonable terms.

In the days before the category ofJour-

nalist member was introduced by the FCC, the Journalists Association decided in an act of supreme confdence to open a social club to cater to the needs oflocaþ employed journalists.

It started out in a first-floor hole-in-thewall in a decrepit old Luard Road building which was later demolished, rebuilt and

now houses the squaddie's friend, Joe Bananas.

Fil^^oocú^il S*nrüo*u

Flushed with the success of getting Sir Jock to open the premises (and he reportedly turned up uninvited and unannounced on at least two further occasions just to get away from the pomp and circumstance of high office), the President and all his Men filled the place with dedicated lushes and decided it was time to

expand. Actually, Press Club lore says Madame President had been eying a near-

by site on Lockhart Road for some time and, to get around the inability of the Board to come to any sort of decision, quitely signed a lease with the new landlord and presented the prevaricators with

Lloyds Bank services and expertise available to individuals through our offrce in Hong Kong.

For further details contact Graham Donald 8232I32/t36/266 Admiralty Centre, Tbwer 1, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong.

2901-4

the fait accomþli.

The move, in 1979, to the third floor of 175 l¡ckhart Road was very nearly the club's undoing. The ambitious new clubhouse boasted, among other things, a cinema and offices for club members along

with the all-important bar facilities. But a year the club's huge and unmanageable committee, faced with mounting debts and a sudden massive rent increase, had relinquished a large portion of the club to the (old) Front Page restaurant.

within

18 rrrp

coRRESpoNDENT ocroBER

1990

The newly furbished club is pulling in new members.

Photograph: Marc Fallander

A lengthy black period followed, during which the club teetered on the brink of closure - its survival dependent on a handful of hardened drinkers too stubborn to admit defeat (or pay their bills in many cases). It was during this time that the Journalists Association connection and the goodwill of most long-time members finally collapsed.

Things could only get better

- they cer-

tainly couldn't get much worse. Some

very unpopular decisions were made by a new streamlined committee (mainly "pay your bill or don't come back"). The Dragon Lady, or Pip Gray, as the manager is sometimes known, took the place by the scruff of its neck and brought a healthy dose of no-nonsense Geordie common

probably see quite a few familiar faces, as a growing number of Press Club members are also members of the FCC. Joining fees and subscriptions are very reasonable. Anyone who earns more than 50% of his/her income from the media industry (which in Press Club parlance includes advertising, PR, graphic arts, printing, et) can currentþbecome a full member for $400. Associate members pay $600 to join. Monthly subscriptions are $200.

A big incentive to join is the 50% discount on drinks signed on a member's account. Non-members can buy books of bar tickets, but pay full bar prices. This not only encourages non-members to join, but

also takes the strain off members who

sense to its operations.

Lack of cash, few members and

a

rapidly deteriorating clubhouse were the main obstacles. But slowly the punters came drifting back. A full lunch menu was introduced. The club became a darts venue of some note, and the expanding Wanchai office development disgorged lifts full of suits and ties into Lockhart Road every day looking for a decent pint, and ample lunch and good prices.

Over the last couple ofyears the club has enjoyed a period of unprecedented popularity and stability. Three months ago,

after much deliberation, the committee decided to sink a lot of carefully hoarded cash into an ambitious renovation project.

Which brings us up to date. And the reason for this missive. Those of you who remember the Press Club of old will be

staggered by the changes. Those ofyou it have been missing out on one of the best little hideaways in town. Next time you're in the area, drop in. It's a members club like the

who have never heard of

FCC, but there are facilities for non-members to buy drinks and food. And you'll

would otherwise have to foot the bill for a whole evening's entertainment for a party ofguests.

Bar prices are ludicrously cheap. Members pay $10 for a pint of draught Carlsberg or San Miguel, spirits are about $7 and house wine is $10 per glass.

The club recentþ introduced a Corporate Member category. Any company can apply to have up to five members of staff as signees on the corporate account for an initial joining fee of $2,000 per company.

Monthly subscriptions are $200 per signee.

So, the next time the FCC bar closes and

you're wandering around Central in the small hours looking for a friendly media hangout, grab a cab to darkestWanchai and see what the Press Club has to offer. We're on the third floor of Capital Building at 175 l¡ckhart Road and we stay open until 4:30 am Monday to Thursday and until 6:00 am on Friday and Saturday. Sunday \Me stay at home and nurse our hangovers - or have a fortiÍ¡ing brunch at the

FCC.

THE CORRBSPONDENT OCTOBER 1990

I

19

BOOK REVIEW

Bid man who is always out to make a big Impression

Reciprocal clubs

The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club

The following clubs have reciprocal agreements witl¡ the FCC. This means you can enjoy the facilities at these clubs, on cash basis, upon presentation of your FCC mem-

V

AUSTRAITA 16 National Circuit.

Barton, ACT 2600

Despite the implications of the title, this new book is not a history of the FCC, rather a first novel by former Hong Kong-based, Asian Wall Street lootrnal correspondentAnthony Spaeth.

According to FCC member Chris Holmes, who reviewed the book for the Sunday Morning Posf, its main characters are members of the Fourth Estate and some of the action takes place in a fictional FCC.

The Victoria Club, tcvel 41, Rialto South Torver, 525 Collins St., Melbourne, \4C 3000

Darwin P¡ess Club, Cavenagh St., Sydney NSW 2000 Rugby Club, Rugby Union House, Crane Place Off 3lA Pitt St , Sydney 2000 REPUBLIC OF PAIAU

Palau Community Club, PO Box 598, Koror, Palau 96940 CANADA

Ottawa National Press Club, 150 Wellington, Ottawa Kip

and conducts sales in Japanese.

ident of Christie's USA and an

There is also a growing interest in Western art among Taiwanese buyers, Burge said.

Before buying Van Gogh's Irises at Sotheby's for a record price in 1989, Alan Bond was outbid byYasuda Insurance in 1987 on Van Gogh's Sunflouers at Christie's l¡ndon, so his interest in owning a Van Gogh was not a sudden impulse.

Burge conducts all Christie's major

expert

in

Impressionist and

modern art, spoke at the club on October 8. Mr. Burge is the man who auctioned Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet for a record price of US$82.5 million to a Japanese buyer last May. Fielding questions from FCC members after his talk was rather like taking bids at an auction, he remarked.

On the subject of Asian art-buyers, Burge said Japanese interest in Western artwas not new. TheJapanese have been investing in Impressionist paintings since the 1920's. Christie's has had an office in Toþo since the late 1960's

bership card.

Canberra National Press Club,

HRISTOPHER Burge, the pres-

Christopher Burge in full flight

picture sales in America as well

'

as

many of the firm's sales in Hong Kong.

He was auctioning Chinese ceramics up to half-an-hour before he arrived at the

I

FCC.

544

DENMARK

e may fudge every conceivable detail about the FCC itself but a

Anthony Spaeth has come up with first rate story that suffers not a jot as a

result. What a find this young novelist is.

Here he is deftly mailing '"lhe Life Cycle of the Foreign Correspondent (Male)."

1 Cub reporter, 2 Newly-divorced, 3 Hopeless alcoholic,

4 Old

f***,

5 On his fourth wife 6 Foreign Editoç 7 Doyen.

(constantly!),

That gives a misleadingly frivolous

set up his own, more elaborate and vengeful sting.

For those new to the feeling, it's all to do with the hell and fury of a veteran journalistwho is promoted sideways.

All this is bliss for the normal reader scam and double scam within the Fourth duping hack as the Estate itself - hack duping press corps rest of the baying, rushes to cover cynical bets in case there is substance to the villainy after all.

Spaeth will never find a more receptive readership: not only does he take us

behind the scenes on his home patch (and in hypnotically professional detail over the con) but taps years ofbrooding

impression of the novel, but not of the disrespectful fun he must have had writing it and which he has the skill to pass on to us.

Spaeth has been writing in and about Asia for 11 years and now with this first

hatred of the press, real enmity that has been boiling over for just this sort of

about his trade that other real McCoys will no doubt writhe with contempt and

homage to Japanese womanhood and masterly personification of the Philip pines. Above all, one begs him to keep

novel captures something so truthful

vinegary indignation.

The story is awinner and should all too easily catch some film mogul's eye and be whisked away for lucrative miscasting and the stahrtory leaden rewrites.

When the Tribune is duped into running a hoax story, it sends Pulitzer-winner Ted Augenstein to investigate. Not, however, before a tidy little exchange in which he expresses miffed surprise at not having being shown the report in the f,rst place.

Comes the reply: "You know how the magazine doesn't like interference from the news pages the foreign section in particular.

"Yes, I know" Ted said in a carefully neutral tone. 'We on the foreign desk, on the other hand, have this thing about our writers actually visiting the places they report on."

Augenstein is a splendid proud crea-

ture of the old school and no sooner unmasks the imposter than decides to

2O rnB coRRESpoNDENT ogroBER

come-uppance.

The cast list that matters is as real and convincing as his FCC buffoons are sham.

Among his triumphs one counts his

tabs on the matchless Alice Giles. She is the sinew in the story and will be back to mock him if he falls short of the promise of this first work.

Other reviews may well be murderous and defensive: nothing goads journalists more than another of their talented breed quietly getting down to full-length writing and pulling it off.

It

would be a pity

if

fairness and

resilienthumourfailed them now and kept them from enjoying what Spaeth has to offer.

Certainly, anyone fancying themselves in today's fiction market should measure their efforts against something like this.

Spaeth has got it. .Published by Secker 8z Warburg (fß.90/HK$250). Chri's Holmes' book reuiew was flrst þublished in the August 12, 1990 edition of the Sunday Morni'ng Post and is reþrinted with þermission. ¡

1e90

International Press Centre, Copenhagen

14 Snaregade, DK'1205

K

GERT4AI.TY

Journalisten Club, Berlins

E

V. Kurfurstendamm 224.

1000

Berlin l5

Presse Club Munchen, 8000 Munchen 2, Marienplarz

Coming Events

22,

Professional I¡ncheon

Munich JAPAN

FCC Tokyo, 7-t Yurakucho, 1-Chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo Tel: 211-3161 KOREA

Sadan Pubin Seoul Club, #208 Jangchoong-Dong-2-Ka,

November 15, 1990

Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club, 18/F Korea Centre Bldg, 25 1-Ka Taepyong-Ro, Chung-Ku, Seoul

*

THE NE"THERTANDS

Nieuwspoort International Press Centre, Holfsingel

12,

Social Calender

f)en Hague

NEW ZEATAND

National Press Club of Wellingþn,

P.O

Box 2327,

Wellington, SINCAPORE

Singapore Press Club, Times House,390 King Seng Rd. THAI1AND

Foreþ CorepondenLs Hotel, 946 Rmra

Club of Thailmd,23lF DusitThmi

IVRd Bmgkok

November 9, 1990

Charity party for Father I¿ncelot Rodriguez's handicapped children's relief programme November 15, 1990

ll

Carlton House Terrace,

Beaujolais brealdast 7.30am

Tel:01-93O0445

Ipndon Press Club & Scribes,

4 Carmelite St., London

EC4

Wig and Pen Club,229/230 Strand, I¡ndon WC2R

1BA

Tel: 01-3536864

November 28, 1990 Wine and cheese evening

UNITED STATES

tls Angeles Press Club, Equestrian Center, Grifüth Park. 480 Riverside Drive, Burbilk, CA 91506 Honolulu Press Club, PO Box 817, Honolulu, Hawaii 96808

The Greater

January 17, 1991 Italianwine and cheese evening

Overeæs Press Club, 310 Madison AVE., Suite 2116, New York, I'{Y 10017

Omaha Press Club, 2200 One First National, Centre Nebraska 68102, Omaha

Pittsburgh Press Club,

300 Sixth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA

15222

'Fel: (4\2) 4?14M4

Reno Press & Virginia Club,22l So. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89501

The Press Club Of San Francisco, 555 Post St.,

¡lø5

Accoilodølioil Tel: (415) 7717800

National Press Club, 14th Street 20045 ^lel: (202)62-7ffiO

OR A man dubbed with a Chinese

.l.

name meaning "happiness with affluence", Kevin Sinclair is a contradic-

tion, since he claims that he has never made any money from his books.

His latest volume, produced in conjunction with his talented co-writer, Iris Wong Po-Yee, deserves to remedy this parlous state of affairs.

It is a lively, witty and

wortþ

N W., Washington, DC

* Seminar December 4th 1990

Asia's energy markets, with special emphasis on India

attempt

to explain China and the Chinese to the gweilo world, explaining the differences in culture, manners, work ethics, dress, entertainment, ways of relaxing and of course, Sinclair's special passion, eaüng.

He is particularly and

10500

UNITED KINGDOM The Foreign Press Association, l¡ndon SW1Y 5Al

Two well-known FCC members - Kevin Sinclair and Clare Hollingworth - have recently had books published. 7kø Corresþondent,inthe first of series about our own authors, gives an outline of their newworks and the people behind them.

Speaker:DavidKPLi Chief Executive of the Bank of EastAsia

Chung-Ku, Seoul

Authorts Corner

justifiably

scathing when dealing with such matters as getting about in China or doing business there, and bluntly labels CAAC as "the worst airline in the world".

Many readers will be beguiled by his guide to how the Chinese see the rest of us. As a New Zealander himself he doubtless has mordant views of his own national stereolype - poor cousins to the Australians, who get drunk even more rapidly, and constantly complain how much better things are back home, If any FCC member can afford to ignore Sinclair's book, it would have to be Clare Hollingworth, who spent more than three years in Peking as Íhe Daily Telegraþh's correspondent in the 1970s and still makes professional forays into China.

Hollingworth, a former war correspondent who won prizes for her journalism, but more importantþ the professional

respect of her peers, has produced an

Kevin Sinclair and Iris Wong Po-yee absorbing account of much of her life and career over the past 50 years - a life and career which made her a witness of many of the major news events and historic shifts that have left their mark on this century.

She also describes some fascinating encounters, including one with the Soviet double-agent, Kim Philby, who duped western intelligence for years and made Hollingworth a target for his renowned charm on one occasion, Hollingworth is on record of saying of her latest book "I'm not proud of it". But

herseffhigh standards.

Culture Shock" China - by Kevin Sinclair and Iris Wong Po-yee (Times Books she has always set

International) $87.50.

Front Line

-

Oonathan Cape)

by Clare Hollingworth

$240,

I

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Deadþ Pursuit starring Sydney

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The EOS 1000 features a highly streamlined design that results in a maior tb

15

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The EOS 1000 will open your eyes to a whole new world of photographic possibilities. Autofocus speed is the fastest in its clâss, And

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puts SLR photography in a different light

NO.5

1990

Dárichi Seimei Buirdins, Tokyo 1æ, JaPen

I

THERE'S A1WAYS A SIORY AT HONG KONG TRADT DEVE1OPTNENT COUNCI1

IIIE

b

|1

dI

q

t:

a

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1 q,f

;$

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The HKTDC can help you make business headlines every day of the year. As a major force in world trade you'll find we've always got a good story to tell: no padding, no puff and backed by accurate up-to-the-moment figures and statistics. Next time you receive

we l{ fle¡g KongTrade Development councit trade. trlE wE cREATE oppoRTUN¡tES

one of our press releases, give it a good once-over. You ll soon see what mean. 0r contact us if you need details on any aspectof Hong Kong

Anel

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9818. tur¡ch JA Furer Tel:(41)01-383-2950

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Seout