The face of Xinhua
'l'he Swire Group
CONTENTS PRESIDENT:Peter Seidlitz welcomes
a host of Hong Kong diplomats to
THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS'
the FCC. Who was present? And why?
CLUB
t6-17
North Block, 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong
Telephone: 521
l5l I
Fax: 868 4092
President - Peter Seidlitz
First Vice President - Steve Vines Second Vice President - Wendy Hughes
Correspondent Member Governors Jonathan Friedlmd, Humphrey Hawksley, Gillian Tucker, Claudia Rosset, MaÍin Howell, Bob Davis, Catherine Ong, Hui Bedi, Mary Ellen Fullanr Journalist Member Governors David Thurston, Stuaí \ryolfendale Associaae Member Governors RogerThomas, F C H. rüadswonh, Peter Humble, Mike Smith
Professional Comm¡tt€e: C onlettor : Steve Vines. Mentbers: Peter Seidlitz, Hui Bedi, Stuart Wolfendale, Wendy Hughes, Humphrey Hawksley, Catherine Ong, Pauì Bayfield Membersh¡p Committee: Manin Howell, David Thurston F&B Comm¡ttee: C onvettor : Peter Seidlitz Members: Mike Smith, StuaÍ Wollendale, Gillian Tucker, F. Wadsworth, Richrd Rund, Paul Bayfield, Saul Lockhart, Lynn Grebstad Entertainment Comm¡ttee:
THE Hong Kong Govemment is so afraid of this woman's husband that it dares not even allow him to enter the
colony.
9
Irene O'Shea, Roger Thomas
V¡deo Comm¡ttee: Mike Smith, Gillim Tucker Publications Committee: C o tt e nor : David Thurston, Mentbers: F \ryadsworth, Hari Bedi, Peter Humble, Bob Davis, Martin Howell, Wendy Hughes Wåll Commitlee: Bob Davis, David Thurston ¡,
As pioneers of ultra long.haul
THE CORRESPONDENT XINHUA comes to the FCC. The gathering was off the record and invitation only . . . but the ice was
Editor: Ron Knowles
flights to and from Hong Kong,we
know how to make flights more enjoyable. From the technology of
our all
Rolls-Royce powered wide finest pilots in the
bodied fleet,
world, and service by flight attendants
from 10 Asian lands All is designed to help you arrive in better shape
Advert¡sing Manager: Ingrid Gregory EDITORIAL OFF]CE: AsiaPaci fi c Directories Ltd, 9/F, Crand View Commercial Centre, 29-31 Sugù Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Telephone: 51'l 9331¡. Fax: 890 ?287
CATHAYPACIFIC Arrive
better shape,
10-11
@ The Conespondent
Opinions expressed by writers re not necessarily those of the Foreign Conespondents' Club. The Conespondenr is published monthly for and on behalf of The Foreign Conespondents' CÌub by:
DEPARTMENTS
AsiaPacifÍc Directories Ltd' 9Æ, Grand View Commercial Centre. 29-3 I Sugar Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: 577 9331; Fax: 890 7287 Publisher: Vonnie Bishop Managing Director: Mike Bishara
--
broken.
Printed by Willy Printing Co., l3l Denick lnd Bldg.,49 Wong Chuk Hang Rd., H K Tel: 554 7482
Our
cover photographs taken by HughVan Es
Prisoner Wolfendale at Large Peddler's .Iournal
13
t9 20
show (clockwise from top left) Zhou Nan, Chen Rong Chun,Yang You Yong and ChenYu Lin.
THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
3
CLUB NEV/S
time putting ideas (and photos) together and advising the editor. Ron Knowles is leaving and the Publications Committee has appointed
From the President
Karl Wilson as new editor. I know Karl not only as a good friend, but as
Why it pays to
a
Sunday Standard. Hehas served at the
Board
magazine were better. The magazine l8 a copy to produce and send to you. Over the years this has cost the Club a great deal of money, an expenditure that we can ill afford. Our new treasurer, Jonathan Friedis costing us HK$
THE first meeting of the new Board took up the issue of the magazine you are reading now.
be concemed. The
Correspondent has
become a fine magazine.
Since Ron Knowles took over as editor and Mike Bishara's company
land, the finance correspondent of
wiches Heinz chose for the next menu.
Next time we will discuss the fïsh dishes served in our restaurants. We will visit the fish market to check where the FCC buys its fish. Another topic in July will be the cheese board. Many complaints have been raised about the cheese board. Rest assured, we will deal with that very important part of the meal. Following a trial with the products of the new Stanley bakery to sample its fresh French-style baguette, it has been decided to provide this bread for the dining room.
Mike Smith (of IBM) presented
theresults of the foodsurvey (copies of which can be obtained at reception desk). One message was clear: Members applauded the ambience
and service of the Club and are happy with the Main Bar. But the restaurants, and particularly the
4 THE
CORRESPONDENT JULY 199]
Review, and his deputy, Catherine Ong, of Singapore's Business Times, are novr' looking at ways to reduce the Club's operating deficit. The Club is living on the interest it eams at present, an unsatisfactory state of affairs, given high inflation and the uncertainties of the future. Currently, the Club's rather considerable reserves are scattered among several institutions, some of which are paying interest as low as 67o. Jonathan and Catherine hope to soon put the Club's considerable reserves into rhe
(AsiaPacific Directories Ltd) took over
production the improvements have continued. Saul Lockhart (highly experienced because of hisjob as editor ofTDC magazines) and David Thurston (the new Convenor of the Publications Committee) have given a lot of their
Penalty not a Teutonic idea THE FOOD and Beverage Consultation Group, which I chair, had its first meeting. The topic was sandwiches. We assessed the new sand-
of the Club and, if
anything, Karl is overqualified for the job. David Thurston and I agree that we cannot have wished for anybody better, I wish, however, the finances of the
advertise Derek Davies, former editor of the Review and former president said, when we restarled The Correspondent several years ago: "If we joumalists and correspondents cannot produce a decent magazine we should not bother." Today we don't have to
very competent Foreign Editor of the
SCMP and, later as the Editor of the
Verandah, do not meet expectations. One message was clear: Members want better food (Italian was men-
tioned many times), more seafood, a salad bar and vegetarian dishes. As we wait for the interior designers to come up with new ideas for the restaurants upstairs, one decision was taken: English draught beer has been introduced. Stuart Wolfendale was responsible for chosing the brand. But the Board also decided to reintroduce a penalty for table reservations not taken and not cancelled. Sometimes four or more bookings at lunch-time are not taken up. The original penalty, decided in 1982 by Howard Coats, was HK$25 for every person booked butnotcoming(therefore it is not a Teutonic innovation). The new penalty decided by the board is HK$40. Cancellations should
reach the restaurant manager 90 minutes before the time the table is booked for.
PEOPLE
Something to take the pain away to be FCC member Ewen Campbell's week when he collapsed at his Shek O home
IT DID not look like it was going
with chest pains and was rushed by neighbours and FCC colleagues Loma Workman and Steve Proctor to the Adventist Hospital on Sunday, N4ay 26. But things could only get better for the South China Morning Post's sports editor. And they did. While his partner, Teri Fitsell, eight months pregnant with their second child, waited anxiously at his bedside, early fears that he had suffered a heaf attack were discounted and Ewen was moved out of intensive care. On the Wednesday, after a series of tests, he was allowed home. The following day he bought a Mark Six ticket. On the Friday he discovered he had won more than $12,000 on the ticket. On the Saturday Ewen gave $100 to Steve and Lorna and
a further$lOO to another Sheko neighbour, Correspon'
dent edifor Ron Knowles and his wife, Marina, as they prepared to go to the Hong Kong Press Ball at the Island Shangri-La Hotel. "Buy me some draw tickets. I'm going to win the Bali holiday pnze." he told them confidently. They bought the tickets, taking care to keep them separate from their own. Sure enough, one of Ewen's tickets won the seven nights for two at the Bali Hilton prize. Proctor, Workman and the Knowles duo won nothing at all.
rO
Watch this space!
OUR RI¡D¡Ns
the hands of a professional money man-
better yield and they are working with Heinz and the committees of the Board to find ways to bring down operating costs. We have to increase revenue through advertising sales to keep the magazine running. I appeal to Associate members in major companies to follow the good example of Cathay Pacific Airager to attain
CORRES PONDENT member Brian Jeffries, former deputy
a
editor of AsiaTechnology,the Dow Jones monthly which was closed in December, has launched a new publication. li¡
lt
p
Knr
ro
AsiaPacific Space Report is a monthly devoted to the region's burgeoning space programmes and space busi-
b kq
NESSCS. MeY 199r
I.AUNCH WARS HEAT UP
AsiaTechnology was axed last Christmas, I decided the time had come to combine both of these interests. The result is AsiaPacific Space Report. " A promotional issue of AsiaPacific Space Report was produced in May, and it started publishing on a regular monthly basis this month. The publication provides news
ways, TDC and Canon Hongkong Trading to support The Correspondent with ads. We need ten companies to book ads for one year and we are trouble-fee. The advertiser has, in the FCC membership, potential customers with big spending power. Airlines and hotels and public relations companies of big firms should also consider our
magazine and speak directly to correspondents and Hongkong's journalists. New Board member Hany Bedi will spearhead the ad campaign.
Peter Seidlitz
"I've always been mesmerised by the potential of space in mankind's future and, like many journalists, I've always wanted to start my own publication," says Jeffries. "When
àril ôl Gm inrô tu inr.m. -b It n*r å-r. lô' lddiM .DG --*¡* -¿ "r* "ã-¡¡l¡* dr¡nwlo(oEú'Fùdcm Fñrb d ¡llwìllblÚ itdmld Wéhl(#dÌdoc R.or[, eiilry bsürd Mìh' øùr ekkr. Bú lh Ê6Fd ol 6¡N sloulü4 ild ffmly in rh md.rdN br oHtùr b9¡Þb l|mlptudlhtuiÉirrnatub¡lll5d bÞrffiol $iv@ &M h.o@r.3p¡G ol ¡ls tu lor6r brrbg.d ù rhs hìftr h wÚlorl@trËktuh AFil tu¡oñ&r iiM ¡'\¡/l:dÈ.dkdl6rlMbdôlñ
u (o@qbrñ {dlib ln rÐbM.Mlbqlc.æol h ug'rEæ us ffi .drdN lh edlr. illl b sr l¡b Fbrbq drbrrbùfuhshr.ltuñúhlh!ÀFqhoroFld lofth h ot USI¡¡ m¡ll¡d tiffilhwh'búd o Fd ol¡nb* (ryrirh lú h drmr bffi lb slorèM Cilm ù{lwdllúsryCdp {Gwrc)-h ndètùEoßolOñoslF¡&rry -EryeÀhf.dtull b{b Ih MEI & æ@ìn hùil€hd lb k lhl ftm b williE io&hóFbql#r&ot ilsW6m@r[G turhsfrBhhwÚbüñtu PobF
and analysis on all areas of space endeavour in the region. "We already have subscribers in North and South America and Europe as well as from many countries in the AsiaPacific region," says Jeffries. "They are mostly in space businesses of one form or another, and in financial institutions which need to keep up on the latest developments in
such areas as satellite communications."
TV
and other forms
of
satellite
Club members interested in receiving a copy of AsiaPaciSpace Report can telephone Jeffries at 577-9331.
fic
THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
5
PEOPLE
TTIE INNER CIRCLE
THIS eye-catching card was graphic designer Colin Tillyer's way of letting his FCC friends know of his recent marriage in Las Vegas to dancer Mey
The places to eat within staggering or shouting distance of the FCC
Jen.
Colin, who has keen amember of the
Close Encounters of the Exotic lndian Kind
The Ashoka 'l'hc ¡lest¡rrr¡rìL A lìor,¡l (7:0(l
| ilì '
lt)1)() p
'l.rkr ¡\n.rvs r\ Lreth'ecn
i
lì()
1979, runs a graphic design company Graphicat which was responsible for the set of six postage stamps issued by the Hong Kong Post Office last month to mark 100 years of transport in the colony. When is not creating for corporate
rlclitt' ¡rr ¡ìls
t'LrLr,
\\'ith \'¡lL't l'.rrkirrg Servicc
)
rlelic¡r,us lncli.rn lntltrlgenct' \\'c rlelivtr thL' lrì(lùlg( n.c tttr),
| rn
1
0100
l. nì
\\/c¿rtstrll tlìerc.rt5;59 1|vntlh¡nr5t,C('ntr.ìl, llK,1tì ;2'lth2l,52557lq ¡ììd ¡l\(, ¡t ()rrr [.¡ ¡rrrl ncu pl.rt t at (ì/ l; Cortn.rughL Ltrnrorcrr ial lltriltJrn¡i, lllì \\'¡ncir¡i llo¡tl, I I K,-lel Ij9l 8c6l,8el 5(l;l ( )t'E\ ,\t_t I)Al s ()t I I il \\'1,IK (()f"r,rl'J h\ I rìr,J
PLEASE PATRONISE THESE FCC SUPPORTERS
FCC since coming to Hong Kong in
nì
)-arrurnrlt
lli,\\,r,.
lrìl(nr,rtril¡,Llì
9* ØøoJ6ù*
-
ll()w, catcrs for you c¡thcr at home or for your business lunches in your office, as well for your boat partics, and, <¡f
as
t<¡rrrsc. with its pian() ambiancc at 8-13, Wo ()n Lanc, lst/F., Central
clients such as Cathay Pacific, IBM Asia Pacific Oil and the Post Office, he can be found playing drums with Hong Kong's premier blues band, Mind Your
Resefvar¡on
¡o¡
Tnp¡.s Btn
526 596515966
31 WYNDHAI,I STREET TEL: 8775472
Head.
Mey Jen is well known in Hong Kong for her middle eastem dance performances. She recently made an appearance with her dance troupe at
Fine ltalian Food NIGHTCLUB
the Lan Kwai Fong Street Festival. She
also teaches middle eastem dance and
Argentinian at the Fringe Club. In addition, she is a keen tap dancer and
132 The MalI Pacifíc Place 88 Ogeensway Hong Kong Tel: 86-800-86
flamenco dancer.
AFTER many years of indecision, journalist member Simon Twiston Davies, Sunday Morning Post Magazine writer, and Margaret Britton not the one who used to work for -RTHK - decided to get married in City Hall last month following a recent
trþ
to romantic Paris.
They held their reception for about 50 people on The Verandah. Origi-
nally no speeches were going to be
made. "But I finally had to make one, in order to get them to go home and stop drinking on my bill," said
FOR
Tel. 8771 100 19-27 \IYNDHAM STREET CENTRÀL
A VOYAGE OF DTSCOVERY
Spices at Pacific Place is creating a series of special buffet dinners each month to explore the mysteries of Asian cuisine Here the rare and chilli and extoic ingredients of the Orient coconut, lemon grass, blue ginger,- cardamom and tamarind are blended to create the classic dishes of Asia The Oceans of Asia, The Treasures of Siam, Rofnanc€ of the Rai, A Tast€ of Vletnam, Asian IJezt, to name but aleu ... Spices at Pacific Place, The Mall-LGl, one Pacific Place, E8 Queensway, Hong Kong For reservation or further information, pl€ase tel€phone us * E4J 4798.
Twiston Davies. The honeymoon was spend on the romantic South China Sea island of Lamma, where they
live. Our photo shows Simon and Maggie, withBrian Caplen, editor of Asian Business, his wife Noreen and son Daniel, and HutchVision PR man Tad Stoner and wife Iris.
,%¿ottt-) Simon Martin and his bride Vanessa
Nghadplenty ofFCC colleagues around when they were married in Singapore recently. The Hong Kong Tourist Association's Penny Byme, was on hand with Annie Van Es, Keith Coppel, Keith Shakespeare and Mary Lee to wish the couple many years of wedded bliss. Our picture shows Simon and Vanessa at their champagne reception.
6 THE
CORRESPONDENT JI.]LY 1991
A¡r-rn
', Kitchen, our specialities are nostalgia and tradition, served fresh every day.
WINE BAR €5 RESTAURANT Harbour Vieto open from 8:00 AM to Midnight fuchange Square, Touer ll, 2/F., Hong Kong. TeI: 5237003
1-l',lfyndham Street, Central. Telephone: 526 t293
INNER CIRCLE: HKÍ6OO
TTrink about it! F.C.C. members represent one 0f the highest earning, per-capita, con$tmer spending groups in Hong Kong.
(Minimum 6 insertions) Colour ads: - 7/4 page HKtl,584t 1/2 page HK13,168; Full page HK¡5,28o. Black & White:
L/2 page
HKS4,400.
- l/4
page HKf1,320; page
ÍIKî2,64O;
Full
Telephone Ingrid Gregory 577%3f
CLUB NEWS
Booking a box seat at the AGM
Government bars human rights man
SUGGESTIONS dominated business at the Club's annual meeting on May
expanded to include a box and a book. at
remarked that the decor looked good enough to her.
29.
this stage urged that the motion be put. This procedural point was, in according withnormal meetings' procedure, put to the vote President Paul Bayfield and carried on a show of
Seidlitz suavely assured her and the of the meeting that the plan was to make "better use of creative space," a touch of ldeql Home interior decoration jargon that seemed to satisfy ev-
hands.
eryone. The Board would be looking to make certain areas - the Verandah and the entrance area to the Main Bar - more
Kong managed to sink to new depths of
be spending huge amounts on these projects. One final suggestion - to do away with the computer system of billing in favour of using chits, on the grounds that it would release staff for other
Amnesty International. For those who believe that cowardice is seen at its most abject when confronted with courage, it was a vindication. The meeting was due to hear from two speakers - one of them Bo Yaing, a joumalist and writer who had been
There were
suggestions that the FCC should have asuggestions book and counter-suggestions that the Club should have a suggestions box.
Advocates
of
a book put their case
on leaming that the Board planned to institute a box. A book was better than a box, they believed, because it was
to abuse by bothersome people who to tended to write only less open
rude recommendations. They pressed their case for a book by suggesting that only entries bearing a member's signature and number would
receive attention. Members would peruse the book with interest, noting suggestions and monitoringthe Board's
An evidently impatient member
by
Bayfield then put the issue to the vote, which led to confusion among some members who thought they had just voted on it. "That was the procedural motion," the President observed sagely. "You're now being asked
to
vote on the
substantive
motion." So they did -heavily in favour.
At
which point further confusion arose as the mover of the original motion appeared to want to change his
action or inaction. A box, on the other hand, revealed its contents only to the Board. When incoming President Peter Seidlitz informed the meeting that the
mind.
construction of a box was already under
money on redecorating
'Ăš/ay, the
Looking contentedly about her,
move from the floor was
However, the meeting went on to consider other matters, among them the fears of Clare Hollingwofh that the Board was intending to spend a lot of
the
premises.
rest
attractive, he added, but it would not
duties and make ordering more flexible - bit the dust when President
Bayfield, in his last act as President, declared flatly thatit would not achieve
its
desired end.
New President Seidlitz then made sure that his first decision would be a popular one
she
-
free drinks at he bar,
$1.2 m in major capital commitments list
THE Club's operating surplus of
avoid a waiting
$694,000 during the last financial
membership and yet maintain the de-
creased
sired ratio
$6.4 million, compared with just under $5 million last year. It is unfortunate that the Board had no altemative but to increase monthly subscriptions and to decrease the allocated percentage of joining fees to the Development Fund. Our current lease now ensures the
for
Associate
year once again comprises a major portion of interest income. Gross profit also remains consistent with
nalist to 2 Associates. Major capital commitments of $1.2
previous years, the Treasurer, Dorothy
million have
Ryan, told the annual meeting.
The video club has become an increasingly profitable venture, with membership support, sale of a portion of our existing library and supply of tapes by a third party being the main contributing factors to its success. The Club has continued to enjoy a high turnover of membership. On
occasions the Board has allowed membership to exceed the preferred 1,500 member ceiling, mainly to assist cash flow, and armed with the knowledge that numbers eventually settle at
around 1480. We have been able to 8 THE
CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
of
1 CorrespondentĂ&#x2020;our-
been approved by the existing Board, with approximately $900,000 of this commitment approved by the previous Board. These improvements may be considered to bring our
by
$
1
Space planning and effective utilisa-
plans for development of the area. However we are still subject to early
requirements.
tion of the first floor function rooms require review. The Club has again been faced with the usual high staff tumover and subsequent higher salaries which, in April 1991, will add an estimated $1.1 million to our annual salary expenses (an increase cent).
of
11 per
self-humiliation on May 27. Members and visitors assembled at the FCC that evening to mark the 30th anniversary of the human rights group
jailed for almost ten years by the Taiwan regime in an attempt to gag him. But the audience was denied the chance to hear him because the Hong Kong authorities refused to let him enter the colony. Instead, it was left to his wife, Chang Shaing Hua, to represent him and thank Amnesty for adopting him as a prisoner of conscience and
Theasured messages: Cheung Ki Lo shows some of the many letters of encouragement he received in jail; also pictured are Chang Shaing Hua, Amnesty ofTicial Shahid Nadeem and outgoing FCC President Paul Bayfield.
co-ordinating demands for his release. Despite his experience, she said, her husband continued to speak out and write against injustice. Another prisoner of conscience who was adopted by Amnesty after being
held in Taiwan, Hong Kong-born
Cheung Ki Lo, told the meeting he was arrested because of his activities as a
schoolboy in Hong Kong. A postcard from an Amnesty member in Switzerland got through to him in the jail one day, and, although he
could not understand what it said because the message was in French, he gained tremendous encouragement and comfort from the knowledge that people outside knew of his plight. He subsequently received numerous letters and
postcards from Amnesty well-wishers
and was convinced that international pressure throlgh Amnesty had played a major part in securing his release.
Ron Knowles
Fund has in.4 million and stands at
Club's future until April 1997 with an assurance that there are no immediate
in
noodle, but even by its own abject standards the administration of Hong
The Development
line with present user
facilities
THERE is not a lot that we can expect from a govemment with a backbone that has the consistency of a boiled
termination of this lease should our landlord, the Hong Kong Govemment, decide that it has an alternative requirement for the premises. It may well be that future Boards may decide to investigate the possibil-
ity of purchasing premises to ensure the future of the Club post-1997.
l THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
9
CLUB NEWS
Xinhua leaders come to lunch FOR THE first time in FCC history the
Zhou Nan, visited the Club. The successful invitation involved considerable lobbying work and protocol arrangements. Xinhua wanted this first lunch to "get to know a few senior correspondents and club executives" to be restricted to about 15 people. It also had to be "off the record". The invitation list drawn up took into consideration that one correspondent from each region or country should be Xinhua Director,
present.
The group
was made up
Swede, Steffan Heimerson
of
of
one
Swe-
dish Radio, for the large number of Scandinavian journalists, one correspondent from Kyodo, Shinnosuke Sakai, the British representatives of Clare Hollingw orth $ unday T e le graph) John Elliott (Financial Times) and Humphrey Hawkesley of the BCC, two senior agency joumalists, Chris Peterson of Reuters and AFP Bureau Chief and formerFCC President Sinan
Fisek, Frank Ching from the SCMP and Anthony Polsky for the Sunday Standard, editor of rhe Far Eastern Economic Review and former President Philip Bowring, the former Peking Correspondent of Time maga-
zine Sandra Bur-ton, long time China specialist Dinah Lee (Business Week), the managing editor of the AsianWall Street Journøl Steven Jones, former
FCC President Paul Bayfield and Senior Vice president Steve Vines. I think the selection was as fair as
A total new team has been formed in the Foreign Department by Mr. Zhou Nan, the Xinhua Director.
o Zhou worked for Something clearly amused Zhou Nan and Peter Seidlitz, but CIare Hollingworth managed to keep a straight face.
o Chen Rong Chun is the new head of the Foreign Affairs
The FCC issued an invitation for the
Xinhua Director to address the Club
spondents are applying forvisas to visit
and
Peking.
wasmayorof atowninFujianbeforecomingto Hongkong' Chen heads the department which deals with Hongkong based diplomats and foreign correspondents.
when he thanked the FCC for
The aim of theFCCinarrangingthe lunchwasto get toknow thenewteam at Xinhua and to try to get an impres-
invitation.
sion of the new Director and his thoughts. Without violating the off-the-record
all
members
for a
the
luncheon
speaking engagement.
arrangement, it is fair to record that the new Director took, in an eloquent way, very tough and uncompromising positions on most issues which were
His answer was non-committal: "I will only speak if I have something to say, but if the times comes the FCC will get priority."
raised.
The FCC raised several points. Correspondents have since 1989 been excluded, from useful trips Zinhua Hongkong used to organise forjour-
He spoke English during the lunch
of
the translater, Tian
Xiao Yun, only during a short speech 10 THE CORRESPONDENT JULY
1991
dents. Vy'e reminded
the Director also of the importance of recommendations of his office to Peking when corre-
possible.
and made use
fairs before being posted to Hongkong. He has travelled to Europe several times in the company of former General Secretaries Hu Yaoban gandZhaoZiyang. He speaks excellent English (he studied English literature) and lists his hobby as listening to classic music.
nalists and diplomats to China. Zhou Nan said that those trips will be taken up again. One is being organised currently for Hongkong based corespon-
Story by Petei Seidlitz Pictures by Hugh Van Es
10 years at the Chinese Mission at the
UN in New York after the Peoples Republic took over Taiwan's seat in the 1970s. He became Deputy Foreign Minister in Peking in charge of Western European Af-
Department of Xinhua. He was in Hongkong previously as a businessman for a Chinese state organisation and
We asked him to support visa applications and reporting trips, whichFCC members undertake to China. His answer was polite: "Don't overestimate
o Yang You I in is the Deputy Head of Xinhua's Foreign Department.
the influence of our office." One value of the visit was that Xinhua clearly recognised the importance
of the correspondents in town and the institution we have the FCC.
-
The Xinhua Director
-
food for thought.
o Chen Yu Lin is the Deputy Division Chief of the Foreign Affairs Department (and with his colleague, K. W. Lui) is in charge of day-to-day handling of correspondents' inquires, interview and visa requests. THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
11
PRISONER AT BAR
CALI-ING C 38 8318
Sw
8
eetTalk Busine ss Tal k
MønTalk GirlTalk BøbyTalk BigTalk SmøllTalk SmootlcTalk Your way to a Sanyo N¡cam TV with the Gall¡ng Gard this Summer.
ISN'Tittime that Hong Kong's Commissioner forNarcotics, David Weeks, kicked the habit of rudeness instead of kicking local joumalists? The Commissioner behaved like a
for a fi¡ when he was quizzed at a recent press conference. Having called the conference himself after returning from a UN narcotics conference in Vienna, Weeks then derided journalists who asked questions or raised points. RTHK's David Malcolm, a good-
junkie gasping
natured model of courtesy,
got
some
particularly rough treatment from the arrogant Weeks, who cut him off several times as he tried to put apparently
might have had something new to say."
so much of their time. Their complaints about his behaviourhave gone to Chief Secretary Sir David Ford. He might well inform Weeks: "Drug abuse is a major problem in Hong Kong which requires intelligent and sensitive responses if we are to have any hope at all of checking it. "lt is a mattef of genuine public
At another stage ofhis press conference Weeks snapped the rude reply: don't really have time to explain. I have to go to another meeting." The assembled hacks were so appalled by his uncooperative manner
interest and we need to keep the media fully informed about it. "You have an important and wellpaid job and a nice hgusing allowance, plus other perks of office that the taxpayers who foot the bill for it all do not
valid and serious questions to him. He also had a go at FCC member Barry Grindrod, accusing him of looking bored. Grindrod, whohas taken an extremely positive interest in drug problems since launching his Drug Watch series in the S outh C hina M orning Post, responded: "I thought you
"I
that they united to issue their own
press statement after Weeks had wasted
Taking the Pith
enjoy. So, keep a civil tongue
in yourhead."
:ome to ,.;r aid.
At that. emotionaliy,
charged mdment,
--ar,,or'.r '
'
with
ä
.nf-.,
No Kidding! NO kidding! The above paragraph ap-
peared in the June 25 issue of the South China Morning Posl as part of
a self-justifying article written by a Use your Calling Card
to make at least three calls back to Hong Kong this Summer and your name will be entered in our fabulous
Lucþ Draw*. After all, the Calling Card is the most simple and convenient way of calling back to Hong Kong, By using our special Hong Kong Direct service (available in 35 countries including USA, Canada, UK and Japan), you can talk directly to a Hong Kong Telephone operator who speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. You
will then be connected. rWhat's more, you don't have to worry about the cost as you'll be billed in Hong Kong dollars once you return home. Hor¡to enter Just make sure you make no less than three calls using your Calling Card to call back to Hong Kong during the periodJuly 1 to September 30, 1991. Remember, the more calls
Seoul-based freelance, Bruce Cheesein defence against Korean accu-
you make the more chances you have of winning
man,
and so on.
Grand Prlze A SpecialGrand Prize ol a Sanyo Nicam TV set plus video recorder and camefa. l st Hze Stx Ftrst Prlzes of Sanyo Nlcam TV sets.
Sþeclal H.ze Fifty Spectal Prizes of Calltng Card vouchers worth $500 each. Go on, get into some smart talk by using the Calling Card this Summer. Cail
0lÍl
for details.
fDraw date November 20, 7991. All results to be announced on November 27,7991 in the SCMP, Hong Kong Standàrd. Nicam TV sets sponsored by StlftYO
A
ltt
Hongkong Telecom
HAS
the ghost of Evelyn Waugh's celebrated creation Herny Boot been stalking the corridors of the FCC? The question arises following the find of a pith helmet on the premises. Only at the FCC could someone
mislay such an item of headgear. What will be found next? A collection of cleft sticks? A collapsible canoe? When Correspond¿nl editor Ron Knowles spotted the helmet awaiting
collection by its owner at the desk of the Club in late June it had already been unclaimed for more than a week. Knowles, who has on more than one occasion left his magnificent Akubra at the FCC, risked offending the "no
wom in the Club" byelaw to have this shot taken for publication in the hope that it will jog the memory of the absent-minded member or visitor who left it behind.
hats may be
sations of "setious errors" in a report hehad written about students buming themselves to death. Prisoner invites members to invent' their own excuses forjoumalist cockups. We'll publish them in the next issue.
As examples for your imaginative endeavours, I offer the following: "I honestly thought it was a draw. I stood up to join a Mexican wave and it must have been at that moment that the winning goal was scored." "I was so wrapped up in the play I didn't notice anyone shoot Mr. Lincoln." THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991 13
->P7/ĂŽt
/ÂĄ
fl
,llrr\\ĂŹ
participants could still attend and present their idcas.
Stephen Marcopoto is a Media Publisher.
His clients deal in the business of information and to remain competitive, he must be at the forefront of the informalion age.
He considers it the rnlormation link of the futurc, substantially cutting travel time and costs
Although many of Stephen's clients are on the other side of the
In Stephen's own words, "lt's the next best thing to being thcrc "
world, their relationship is secure because Stephen has the most
The advanced communications technology that is provided by Hong Kong Telecom gives Stephcn Marcopoto and businessmen like
up-to-date telecommunications at hand. He has Hong Kong Telecom.
fiim
Recently, Stephen took part in an international media conference.
Many important guests
were unable to make the trip to Hong
Kong. Videoconferencing, however, meant that these
essential
throughout Hong Kong, the upper
Ir is this leadership that keeps Hong Kong
information technology
hard.
through innovarion the leading edge
of
;A ltlt
Hongkong Telecom
CLUB NEWS
CLUB NEV/S
FCC President Peter Seidlitz shows his
pleasure at the success of the
evening with
a
thumbs up
gesture to Pakistan Consulate
Charles Smith exchanges pleasantries with R. S. Ali Margono, information section head at the Indonesian Consulate General.
General Sikander Ali
A Diplomatic ONE of the first functions to be organised by the newlyelected FCC Board under President Peter Seidlitz was a reception at the FCC for local diplomats. 66It was a special opportunity
for people we deal with
often in carrying out our professional duties to meet the correspondents and other journalists who deal with so
Board member Hari Bedi and the white-bearded FCC veteran Vernon Ram were in good form with the Indian Commissioner, Surendra Arora.
Bedi again - this time with David J. Roads, managing director of the Dairy Company, and (centre) James Smith-Laittan, Trade Counsellor at the British Trade Commission.
InitiatiYe them and rely on them," said Seidlitz.
"I think the evening was a tremendous
success.
The atmosphere was very relaxed and a lot of good contacts were established on both sides." So pleased was he with his diplomatic initiative,
that
Seidlitz immediately announced plans for similar functions - to entertain and get to know flrgures in the public relations and business communities.
Pictures by Hu Van Es Mirza A. K. Beg, special correspondent of the Leader and the Millat in Karachi, and Nigel Holloway, business editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, enjoyed each other's company.
And Beg also found time (below) for a cordial chat
to Munshi Faiz Ahmad,
Secretary at the
Bangladesh Commission.
Eric Guyot, of Asia Finance Publications, enjoys the company of F. Chau, of Reuters, and Philippines Political Of誰誰cer Lolita Capco.
All smiles from Malaysia's Commissioner M. Shaharul Hashri (left), Philippines Consul General
Antonio P. Villamor and Munshi Faiz Ahmad, First Secretary at the Bangladesh
Commission.
Right: Singapore Commission's First Secretary Paul M. T.
Loh and Stern correspondent Stefan Reisner enjoyed a polite exchange. 16 THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 199I
The Financial Times' urbane John Elliott provokes a laugh from India's Surendra Arora and FCC Board member Catherine Ong, of the Singapore Business Times.
German Consul General Dr Eike E. Bracklo chats with veteran foreign corespondent Clare Hollingworth. THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991
17
GUEST COLUMNIST
V/OLFENDALE AT LARGE
If Lincoln had used a computer During the autumn of 1990, Eleanor Swink, Reader's Digest Editor-in-Chief (Asia Division) based in Hong Kong, gave Publications Committee Convenor Saul Lockhart photocopies of two Mike Royko columns that the magazine had picked up. Thus began a long saga of trying to get rights from the Chicago Tribune to reprint these two articles in The Correspondent. Of course, the FCC couldn't offer the enticing four-figure fee Reader's Digest does, so Saul offered "a cold pint of beer (or two or By Mike Royko Chicago Tribune he Ad for a software program caught my eye. It said: "Write better in 30 days or your money
back." I' m familiar with computer programs that correct spelling through the use of built-in dictionaries. But the ad for this program said that it would correct
"stylisticerors..."
Style. That's a big part of whar writing is about. So I stopped by the computer store to give it a test run. I wanted to see what the program would say about one of my favorite pieces of
writing.
I typed it into the computer. Then the computer printed out a critique. Here it is: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. (Long sentences can be dfficult to read qnd understand. Consider revising so that no more than one complete thought is expressed in each sentence. Passive voice: "are created." Consider using active. Usually a paragraph should have more than one sentence.) Now we are engaged (Passive voice: "are engaged." Consider using ac-
tive. See "Help" key for more information.) in a great civil war, testing 18 THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 199I
SOME might have called rhe Club Annual General Meeting e.r t r aor di nary as well. There is even a school of thought which believes that in future we should
three), instant guest membership and a hell of a lot of conviviality" in exchange for permission to publish. Fax after fax went astray but eventuall¡ thanks to Eleanor, the right number was discovered and John P. Klem, President of Editors Press Service fnc. in NewYork, responded, granting the FCC permission for ,,one-time non-exclusive reprint rights. . . for the promise of a cold pint of beer . . . " (The second article will appear in the August issue).
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met(Passivevoice: "are met." Consider using active.) on a great battlefield of that war. We
have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that
that (Delete doubled word.) nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this,
But, (Use "But" sparingly to start a sentence.) in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate we cannot hallow - this ground. The
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember (An adjective "long" is usually not followed by a verb "remember." You may need to use an adverbialformof "long" or a comma beþre "remember." ) what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather(This word usually adds linle and should be omitted.) to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which ( "That is almost always preferred in
this situation. If you really mean which," then it usually needs to be preceded by a comma. See "Help " key for more information.) they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. (Long sentences can be difficult to read and understand. Consider revising so îhat no more than one
complete thought is expressed in each sentence.) It is rather (This word usually adds little and should be omitted.) for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honoreddead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead (Usually "these" should be followed by a plural noun.) shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom andthatgovemmentof the
-
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (Problems detected: 13.) That's something. As often as I've read this speech, getting a lump in my throat every time, I've never detected
one stylistic problem, much less
13.
Shows how little I know. But I suppose we really shouldn't expect anything better from someone who grew up in a log cabin, hoofed to one-room schoolhouse and never made it to college. We might remember, though, that Abe Lincoln was at a stylistic disadvantage when he wrote his Gettysburg Address. The poor guy didn't have a "Help" key to push.
a
Copyright @ 1990 Tribune Medfu Servíces. Reprtnted by permíssíon of Edítors Press Service Inc.
call a Bizane General Meeting. About eight-and-a-half people and
The Box stops here Suggestions in a book can be openly read and pondered on by others, while
half the Board showed up, except, extraordinarily, Michael Malik, who could be seen three hours earlier,
papers into The Box are covert and even vulnerable to suppression.
standing bolt upright, banging his head against the edge of the Main Bar because he had utterly forgotten about it and had an engagement elsewhere. I do not know what he would have made of the proceedings.
browsing commons whether their
The Club
will
be going through
a
redesign project, food and beverage is in the melting pot, Saul Lockhart was
voluntarily relinquishing power and we were about to see the onset of a Fourth Reich. What did we falk about, though? Boxes, that's what. Two different types of boxes - one
for the living and one for the dead gripped the imagination of the meeting.
For the living we discussed the installation of a coyly named Suggestions Box into which could be poured bile and creativity after long lunches and short fierce cocktails. Some even used the word "restoration" as though The Box was a Balkan monarch who had been vilely deposed. The triumphal return of The Box had, ofcourse, been promised weeks before but was at that moment in the loving hands of the finest Florentine craftsman and Alitalia was standing by. Enough you would have thought for the most fastidious of complaints -
but nol There was a rumbling and roaring and standing to feet from the back of the room. They wanted not just The Box, but A Book! Indeed so passionate was the movement for A Book that for a while they did not even \'r'ant The Box at all and it was threatened with continued wood-wormed exile. A book quite appealed to me for a moment or so becausebooksaremore aesthetic around the place than boxes, but motives from the floor were otherwise.
whereas a book forever
tells to
the
masters have taken acl.ion or not.
It was perhaps fortunate that our indisposed manager had not yet been discharged from hospital because he would
only
have had to have been
returned to it.
It
was pointed out that comments
openly entered into a book on display after several hours of The Club's finest paint-stripper might give visitors an odd impression and cause Sunday Brunch-time children to be hurried past it with parental hands over their eyes. On the other hand, there is a widely held belief that visitors come into the
FCC for the dirty bits anyway and people bring in children, preferably tightly bound and at their own risk. Before matters began to look ugly between Book and Box factions an inspired Board member suggested that
we have both a Book and The Box. Well, there was tumult and acclamation for this diarchy amongst the tiny multitude. All that was needed now was a bell and a candle. The Box can be seen by the notice board under the mug shots of corporate benefactors who apply for the honour
of being parted from $15,000. It
is
agreed by all to be a thing of beauty worth waiting for. It even has a marsupial wooden pouch for suggestion slips, so tiny nobody can get a word in edgeways. It is so irresistable that one evening, pissed as a parrot, I made a postage stamp suggestion, and I am supposed to be one of the people who get suggested to.
As for a book, it is yet to be seen, though some say it is still being lovingly bound in Gothenburg. When it gets here, it will be hung in the Fitness Centre shower.
There is a widely held belief visitors come to the FCC for the dirty bits
The other box which so preoccupied some of the meeting and rather clammed up the rest
of it was the one that the
late Eddie Donoghue left us in. There was a whiff of a suggestion that we might have gone heavy on the satin lining, so to speak. Inquiry was made into the fate of the handsomely generous fund raised for Eddie's expenses before and after his death. There was just the faintest breath of a hint that Eddie's girl-friend and his
pole-axed mother might have been kneesing it up with üddlers in Dublin's best restaurants on ihe proceeds and that the Board had been chucking the stuff out for purchases of the finest mouming mink like men with four arms.
Now Christ said rhat we should let the dead bury themselves, though in those temperatures
I have never quite
understood what he was getting
at.
Certainly He and his time never had to
contend with letting the dead get themselves on air cargo. After all that, there is'not a lot left of Eddie's lund- some $15,000, it seems. When questions were put about the
actuarially correct disposal of this awesome amount, former president Hugh Van Esmade oneofhisclassical interventions at these gatherings. He suggested, with some force, that we keep the 1*Í#####g fifteen rhousand until some other poor f##*É##fh of a hack snuffs it on the patch and needs to go home and then we will get him a body bag. Now could the Meeting adjourn and go for a drink? After an hour-and-a-half, motions like this become irresistable and as the multitude strolled out, the new President inaugurated the Reich by means of an intimate comer huddle which passed several Enabling Laws, including one which says that we are no longer able to have white bread. At a food and beverage committee meeting to examine new and existing
sandwiches the double-decker turkey sandwich wasfrogmarched outof the room under armed guard. Saurkraut is now compulsory with all desserts.
Stuart Wolfendale THE CORRESPONDENT JULY 1991 19
I' l
FROM THE MANAGER
A PEDDLER'S JOURNAL LEIG HTO N W I LLG ERO DT, an Associate Member of the FCC, is a sales exective with a US multinationql chemical company.
Patriotism runs rampant while pride lives quietly off the beaten track May I spent three weeks in the United States. I had been prepared by CNN but was still surn
prised at the number of yellow ribbons on display in suburban andrural America. Somewhat faded, three months after
the war, they still projected an almost
defiant patriotism.
The workers
in
a factory in New Jersey I visited were wearing American flag pins on their lapels and flag decals on
their hard hats. Undemeath
were printed captions like "God Bless America." I wondered what they were trying to prove. One could almost feel an undercurrent of hypedup nationalism. The potential porffer and irrationality of it made me uneasy. Later we stayed with some friends in a small town in Massachusetts. They were upset with the results of a recent
referendum
in
their disrrict.
Iñ an effort to reduce taxes, the voters had overwhelmingly approved a large cut in the school budget. What really bugged them though, was that at the same time, the local church mounted
a drive to finance a renovation
and
paintjob, andhad no problem in meeting
its target of $93,000 in
donations.
Something seemed haywire. Then we to New York. Our "¡/ent in a flat in one of the daughter lives once magnificent old buildings which line the Eastem Parkway in Brooklyn. They were built in the latter part of the nineteenth century by magnates who
attendance.
The blacks are a mixed bag of AfroAmericans, Jamaicans, Haitians, and Caribbean Hispanics. The whites, for the most part, are either elderly Jews who stayed on, or liberal young professionals and artists, who do not feel threatened by the environment and are attracted by cheaper rents for relatively spacious apaÍments. There is also a community of self-isolated Hasidic Jews, and , as almost everywhere else in New York, the green-
ran the dry cleaning
ter's flat. The Jews were still there, but now a distinct minority. One elderly lady told me it is better this way. "Before we used to hold our meetings without venturing out of our own building. Now the group has more
meaning." Here there was no talk of elevated cholesterol or the dangers of cigarette smoke. The main issue was drugprecinct annex intheirneighbourhood which had been closed for lack of funds.
borders onblocks where, if amotorist from Manhattan or the suburbs had strayed, he would quickly roll up his windows and do his best to get back on one of the main arteries as soon as
black ladies discussing a recent mugging attempt on a friend. I was struck not only by the matter-of-fact way they discussed the incident, but that
possible. My daughter told me that more than once, when asking a white taxi driver to drop her off after a late ride home
from Manhattan, he would say with some incredulity "You live here?" My wife and I were naturally apprehensive about our daughter's selection of place to live. She told us not to worry. She said she felt quite comfortable there, and as long as you can see small children playing in the street the neighbourhood is okay. One Sunday afternoon our daughter took us to a gathering of a neighbourhood politicalreform group. They called
it
which
for
bourhood became predominantly Jewish. Today it is "mixed", which in this case means about 85 per cent
liberal Jews interested in reform poli-
tics. More recently it had been subjected to a peaceful takeover by
black or Hispanic.
blacks.Therewere about 40 people in
PRIDE,
stands
clean finish (524 per glass, $140 per bonle).
JULY Margaux, deep purple-red, firm and well structured, with a hint of vanilla
AUGUST Zinfandel 1986 Clos Du Val, supple, graceful, very fruity and richly textured. ($17 per glass, $2I7 per bottle). Pinot Noir 1987 Clos Du Val, the emphasis is on balance and structure which enhances the unique varietal fruit flavours of this lovely red wine. ($31
($27 per glass, $163 per bottle). Fondation 1725 Rouge, exuberant red fruit aromas with spicey and mellow tannis, plus a long and generous finish ($25 per glass, $148 per bottle). Fondation 1725 Blanc, intense and complex aromas with a dominance of
blackcurrant bud, apricot, citrus and honey. Harmonious structure, fresh and strong in the mouth ($25 per glass,
Fonset-Lacour Blanc, a clear strawcoloured white Bordeaux with a distinctive floral and almond bouquet, plus a balanced taste of fruit/acidity and a
ences.
In response to popular demand we are now serving John Smith's Bitter in
per glass, $183 per bonle).
the main bar.
Semillon 1987 ClosDuVal, a well balanced, fruity, delicate and wellaged wine with a beautiful bouquet.
The long-waited membership book with updates on old and new members will be ready for collection from the club office from August first. Member Michael Becker, from Wella (HK), has generouslyôffered to supply complimentary body/hair shampoo and
($42 per glass, $247 per bottle).
Chardonnay Cygnet Napa Valley
$148 per bottle).
The next Food Theme Evening will be on Tuesday, September 24, with a chef flown in from Bangkok to supervise the preparation of a Thai buffet. We have now set aside a section for non-smokers in the Verandah Grill and the Main Dining Room. When making reservations, please state your prefer-
1989 Swanson Vineyard,
a fresh Chardonnay aroma remiscent of melon and peaches, with a hint of vanilla. ($42per glass, $247 per bottle).
conditioner for the showers in the health
comer from July
The discussion was led by an articulate professional black. There was no demagoguery. Later I overheard two
they expressed no fear. They were only angry and frustrated that they continue to be subjected to such indignities. the When the business part
of
meeting was completedrefreshments were served. It reminded me more of a New England town meeting followed by a covered dish church supper than what one would expect to find in the heart of Brooklyn. Small children played in front of my daughter's building. There was a sense of community. The other tenants were friendly and courteous. They soon figured out we were Penny's parents and seemed to go out of their way to make
1.
Heinz Grabner
related crime. The group was focusing on getting the city to reopen a police
grocers are Korean. The streets are littered, buildings in sad state of repair, and the infrastructure crumbling. The Eastern Parkway
Paul Robeson Independent Democrats. The organisation was founded years ago by
199I
recognised an elderly
shop around the corner from my daugh-
owned businesses in downtown Manhattan. When the original Wasp owners moved on to Long Island the neigh-
20 THE CORRESPONDENT JULY
I
black lady who
THE following are the wines of the Month for July and August.
Please be advised that THE Verandah - "the room with a view" - will be offering European meals, with an emphasis on Italian cuisine, in September. The FCC board is soon to approve an architect's plans
'tt, r -È>
ooo
to improve the scope of The Verandah. You can book breakfast at TheVerandah, which offers the best early-meals bargain in Hong Kong, from 7.30 am to 9.15 am.
7
{:/
f,'t' \*
Ð.-{
us feel welcome.
I
asked Penny in which direction
the neighbourhood isheaded. Shetold me the most noticeable trend is that
educated professional blacks are moving back. The white population is
remaining unchanged small but stable.
I
found that veryencouraging. THE CORRESPONDENT JULY
I99I 2I
r CLUB NEWS
CLUB NEWS
CODE
Committee digests food survey CHEWING on the results of their survey, members of the Food and Beverage Committee have produced a report which contains a number of graphs and comments on the Club's dining facilitles. There was an I 1 per cent response which showed that most of those who took the time and trouble to complete the survey form - 70 per cent use the club for lunch. Of these, 28 per cent favour the Main Bar,23 per cent the Verandah and 19 per cent the Dining Room.
However, the Dining Room comes into its own in the evening when twothirds of those who take dinner. Only one in three has dinner in the Main Bar. There are clearly many diners who are offended by tobacco fumes and supportforno smoking areas was strong. Sixty-three per cent were in favour
ideas in a rather unimaginative list include better cooking, market-fresh food, good wine offerings, creative food promotions and an improved
in the Main Bar" and another considered it to be
RANGE OF MENU
VERANDAH DINING ROOM 2l t2
50 45
76
t2
52 27
10
11
23
56 34
66 23
51 26
5
9 62 29
10 47 43
67
9 47 44
10 47 43
SERVICE QUALITY
4 32 64
3 48 49
6 36 58
AMBIENCE
3 30 67
3 46 51
36 56
7 42
7
T6
69 24
49 35
Someone has spoken for those who feel FCC coffee servings are meagre.
"against the spirit of the FCC." Opinions were sought on a variety of aspects, with members being asked to
Better coffee and "bottomless" cups are requested. The report has prompted a series immediate actions.
rate services as good, average or poor. This produced the table shown on the facing page.
of
QUALITY OF COOKING
Closer kitchen management is being applied to ensure freshness,
There is a lack of adventurism in the collective FCC palate, with Chi-
quality andconsistency ofmeals, menus are being reconsidered, a wine selec-
nese noodles, seafood and rockfish soup
tion panel has been set up, proposals are being sought for interior design changes, the Verandah is to be re-
topping the list of favourite dishes. The suggested menu innovations were
tarians to be better catered for.
5
POOR AVG GOOD
range of beers.
"impossible to enforce
respondentfelt that the idea would be
MAIN BAR
gestions to increase patronage. Other
and fresht plead members
Room, 60 per cent in the Verandah and 50 per cent in the Main Bar. One
of no-smoking areas in the Dining
A plea for "simple club food" also features prominently in a list of sug-
'Keep it simple
equally conservative Italian food, "super" sandwiches and salads. One member pleaded "No weird food; just simple club fare." There was also a demand for vege-
33 34 33
QUANTITY OF SERVINGS
opened with initially- Italian cuisine, no-smoking areas are to be introduced, and beer selections are being reviewed with draught ale already on offer.
YOU/RÉTHE- ONLY ONÉ
4t 54
VALUE FOR MONEY
WHO VOTEÞ FOR THE GREENS
6 27
\
( r¡.J
( U { \
sAVE
THE WHALÉS
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
51
22 THE CORRESPONDENTJULY I99I
I
THE CORRESPONDENT JULY
I99I
23
BABY CORNER
LETTER
Brolly poor show TTrfurk about
it!
MAY I through these columns send an open letter to the unknown person who helped himself/herself to my umbrella during the very wet afternoon of Saturday June 8.
It may be recalled that the weather was terrible and that the umbrella holder in the foyer could not accommodate the number of umbrellas used that day. Accordingly, umbrellas were racked against the wall.
F.C.C. members represent one of the hrghest earning, per-capita, consumer spending groups in Hong Kong. F.C.C. members are genera[y decision makers who decide
\4/HAT to buy for their companies.
THE CORRESPONDENT is a controlled publication, reaching all members plus their families. Complimentary copies are mailed to other key figures in the city.
The umbrella was quite distinctive, having been a souve-
nir issued by the ill-fated Hemingways Champagne Bar. Whoever removed the umbrella must have known that it did not belong to him or her and the removal of the umbrella can only be regarded as an act of theft. As a member of a club I expect, or at least hope, that my fellowclub members will behonestcitizens. If one cannot trust members of one's own club, who can one trust? If the person concemed would like to retum the umbrella to the main office, with the request that it be held there awaiting collection, I shall be most grateful, especially since I had borrowed the umbrella and it causes me some embarrassment to have to confess that I have lost it. If the person concemed is so impoverished that he/she cannot afford to buy an umbrella please let me know and I shall consider buying one as a gift to be handed over against the retum
of
the stolen article.
P. J. Ashby
The marble has arrived! Thus former member of the FCC Board Ken Ball and his wife Heather Mackinnon announced
the birth of daughter Alexandra Nonie Jane.
Our photograph shows only the top half of the tot. Ken and Heather, the FCC's tallest twosome, would need an wide-angle lens to encompass Alexandra's full 23-inch length at birth.
Congratulations . . . . . . Ewen Campbell and Terri Fitsell on the June 28. All are doing fine.
bith of a son on
Bonus overseas mailing 0f 900 copies.
PUBLISHERS' PATCH"
Thouqht about
Who's Who in Hong Kong Cornmunications 1991 3l2-page book wi¡h four rnajor categories: "Who's Who in Hong Kong Comnunications" carries extended paid listings of ll5 companies, providing 65 categories of products & services "Communications in the Hong Kong Context" includes l
l
articles
reviewing themes in advertising, public relations, publishing, desktop pubìishing equipment, atrd pdnting "Professional Support in Hong Kong" includes a miscellany of l0 different lists/key documetrts. "Quick Contact File" is a telephone finders' guide to about 4,400 companies in Hong Kong, divided into 36 categories List price: HK$215ruS$33 (incl postage) To Order: Miss Selina Nam
PU
American Chamber of Commerce GPOBox355,HongKong
BLISHERS SUPPORTING THE FCC
Tel:
526.0165
Fax:8101289
Join this list of smart advertisers who know the exact
market they æe reaching. Colour ads:- 1/4 page H.K.$1,584.
An Invitation to Space
ll2 page H.K.$3,168.
Full page H.K.$5,280. Black & White:- 114 page H.K.$1,320
.Il2
page
H.K.$2,640. Full page H.K.$4,400,
The only publication devoted to covering Space Programmes and Space-related businesses in Asia Pacific. Contact Brian Jeffries at 577-9331 for details and sample copy.
,n. O4o
the HKg2,000,000,000 market
that everyone has ignored. For details call telephone no.
577
-9793.
TINIG FILIPINO
Call Ingrid Gregory 0n, 5779331 for further information. THECORRESPONDENT JULY 1991 25
L.
GRIPHOS AbonteofspiritsdonatedbyHiramWalker
WIN A. ___majeur
138 113 108
34
l8
t36 3'7 59 ts3
articulated in the throat
are
O. "We
l12
'ö-''ãö-'4ï-';;-'iïa''ï'
well-known by reputation
N.
30 95 134 87 60
63 107 26
knaves
decomposes
3t 55 154
47 '70 42
amedicine,e.g. l5l Ianguor
G. quarts,
approximately '
J,
IHE HONG KONG TRADE DEVEIOPThENT COUNCI1
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JUNE GRIPHOS PUZZLE The winner of the June Griphos competition was John Barry Turner (5399) who wins a bottle of spirits donated by Hiram Walker.
The solution Lrne can pernaps unoerslano wny ... ¿en ls (calleoJ Jus[ a [rlcK of words, for on the principle of extracting a thorn with a thorn Zen is extracting people from the tangle in which they find themselves from confusing words and ideas with reality'
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Pamela Bottom
26 T}IE CORRESPONDENTJULY
trade.
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Vienna J0h¿nnes Neumann [el: (43) 01-533-98-18
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Zur¡ch J A Furer Tel: (41) 01-383-2950
rlvE cREATE oppoRTUNtTtES
puts SLR photogr^phy in a different light 'Níith the revolutionary Canon EOS 1000, you could say that Canon has redefìned the very concept
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Canon and innovation are as inseparable as light and photography.
It is tbis spirit of continuous innovation at Canon that
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Innovation in desþ The EOS 1000 features a highly streamlined design that ¡esults in a major reduction in parts. At the sarne time, high-precision engineering plastics are EOS 1000
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Nu Øþturc
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Innovation in operation
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