CONITENTS Sir Piers Jacobs, following aÍradrtion setby his predecessors, addressed the Club on July 18 before standing
down as Hong Kong Financial
THE FOREIGN
Secretary.
t9-20
CORRESPONDENTS'
CLUB North Block, 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong.
Telephone: 521
l5l I Fax:
868 4092
President - Peter Seidlitz
Firsl Vice President - Steve Vines Second Vice President - \ilendy Hughes
One of the few people who have visited the Antarctic and the Arctic in the same year, FCC member Rebecca Lee, a graphic desigrier and photog-
Correspondent Member Governors Jonathan Friedland, Humphrey Hawksley, Gillian Tucker, Claudia Rosset, Martin Howell, Bob Davis, Catherine Ong, Hari Bedi, Mary Ellen Fullam Journal¡st Member Governors David Thurston, Stuar¡ Wolfendale Assoc¡ate Member Governors Roger Thomas, F C H. Wadsworth, Peter Humble, M¡ke Smith
rapher with the China Antarctic
Research Committee, talks about her and the ocean voyage experiences - her that she should write that convinced 13-15 her will.
Professional Committee: Convenar.' Steve Vines,
Members: Peter Seidlitz, Hari Bedi, Stuart Wolfendale, Wendy Hughes, Humphrey Hawksley, Catherine Ong, Paul Bayfield Membership Committee: Martin Howell, David Thurston F&B Committee: Convettor : Peter Seidlitz Memhets: Mike Smirh, Stuart Wolfendale, Gillian Tucker, F. Wadsworlh, Richard Rund, Paul Bayfìeld, Saul Lockhart, LynnGrebstad Entertainment Committee: Irene O'Shea, Roger Thomas V¡deo Comm¡ttee: Mike Smith, Gillian Tucker
Publications Committee:
Sad to see old colleagues depart, friends of former PresidentSinan Fisek, of AFP, and Chris Peterson, of Reuters, put on ahappy face when they gathered
hours
of
seamless drinking", as
it
merged into a riotous party at which Paris-bound Fisek was presented with aMurr ay Zanoni litho graph of the FCC, for a farewell lunch in the Wyndham and Peterson, who is off to London, Room. It was a gentle overture to what received a pen, pencil and cigarette one of them later described as "12 lighter
I
set.
Cont enor: David Thurston, Mentbers: F. Wadswoflh, Hari Bedi, Peter Humble, Bob Davis, Martin Howell, Wendy Hughes
Wall Comm¡ttee: Bob Davis. David Thunton
THE CORRESPONDENT Editor: Ron Knowles Advertising Manager: lngrid Gregory EDITORIAL OFFICE: AsiaPacifi c D¡rectories Ltd, 9Æ, Crand View Commercial Cenlre, 29-3
Drive a golf ball. Drive a jet ski. Catch the volley. Catch
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I
Sugar Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Telephone: 577 9331', Fax: 890 7287 @ The Conespondent
Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the Forcign Conespondents' Club. The Corespondent is published monthly for and on behalf of The Foreign Corespondents'Club by: AsiaPacifi c Director¡es Ltd. 9Æ, Grand View Commercial Centre, 29-3 I Sugar Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Tel: 577 9331: Fax: 890 7287
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DEPARTMENTS Letter From The President Guest Columnist
4
Prisoner At The
22
Peddler's
Bar
Journal
23 25
THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
3
/"=
rD
CLUB NEU/S
JoHN
00
Board to reYiew Club operations to bring down costs THE FCC received a lot of good pub-
While on Singapore, you might be
licity last month when the key speaker was the outgoing financial secretary,
interested to know that the Singapore FCC has found a new home in the
Sir Piers Jacobs.
Writers Bar in the renovated Raffles Hotel. We have extended reciprocal rights with them and members of the
After five years at Hong Kong's financial helm, Sir Piers followed the tradition
set by his distinguished predecessors such as Sir John Bremridge and
Sir Philip Haddon-Cave and faced his critics with a luncheon address at the FCC on Thursday, July 18. Sir Piers appeared relaxed and enjoyed a couple of pre-luncheon drinks with the Board and after lunch even made his way down to the main bar for
drink with members. Trading jokes with many of the correspondents, Sir Piers has, in his time as financial secretary, extended a cora
dial hand to joumalists and correspondents alike, usually in the form of a curry lunch in the splendid gardens of his official residence. He seemed to be on first name terms with many correspondents. As the South China Morning Post pointed out, the toughest questions came from the Singapore girls
Board member Catherine Ong, Business Times, and Foo Choy Peng, The
Straits Times. For this month we have lined up the
Lord Mayor of London who will talk about London "The Financial City". Vice president, Steve Vines of the Observer, is trying to get the British Prime Minister, John Major, to address the club after he visits China. Steve has
No
10
We are also in the process of inviting Minister, Anand Panyara-
the Thai Prime
chun,
to
address the club. Another
speaker we are trying to get to address the club is the new Singapore Minister of Information, George Yeo.
4 THE
Td@m
C¡.II-TNc CARD r8 8318 8833 ll88
From the President
already been in touch with Downing Street.
Hongkong
CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 199I
Hong Kong FCC are welcome to drop by for a drink whenever they are in Singapore. I understand that the club has begun an extensive membership drive with some success and the club even seems to have the blessing of the Singapore govemment, which is good news for everyone. Our manager, Heinz Grabner, was in Tokyo recently to examine the running of the FCC there. He delivered a very detailed report to the Board upon
his retum on the Tokyo club is financed, its restaurants, working facilities for joumalists, staffing, speakers and membership.
Heinz spent two days at the club and we are much indebted to the help and assistance the Tokyo FCC's new
American manager, Albert Stamp. While there Heinz also sorted out the long-running problem over reciprocal rights between the Hong Kong FCC and Tokyo. Club members can now use the facilities of the Tokyo FCC by simply producing their membership cards.
The Tokyo FCC has, for the past two years, been in the black and, according to Heinz, is the result of extensive streamlining of operations. Although we here
in Hong Kong do not want to cut our services it is worth mentioning that with staff salaries having gone up by between l27o and l57o in recent years our salary bill increases at something like $1 million a year. Our treasurer,
Sut e etTal
will be looking into our own
i= llsL
k Busíne ss Tal k
MønTalkGírlTalk BøbyTalk BígTalk operations in an effort to bring down costs.
And talking of costs, the Board has decided to cut the club's losses on the video library downstairs from December. The space will be given over to working joumalists and correspondents.
The video library has cost the club more than $100,000 and we felt we could not go on supporting that sort of loss. We are currently trying work out a
deal with the video people KPS which
will give members free membership. Eddy Khoe, an architect and long standing member of the club who supervised the move from Sutherland House, has been appointed chairman of the sub-committee for the refurbishing we
SmøllTalk SmootlcTalk Your way to a Sanyo Nicam TV with the Galling Gard this Summer.
hope to undertake from this month. Part of the refurbishing will include
turning the veranda into an Italian kitchen. With the help of an old friend, the Italian Consul General Massimo Baistrocchi, we have managed to track down an Italian chef who will begin work from October. The cook h¿ppens to be the husband of the Italian Chancellor, TizianaCoccia. It will cost us a few million a month (Lire) but we don't have to fly a cook in nor do we a problem other have to house him - face. hotels and restaurants Having tastedthe food myself,I agree
with Massimo that the new veranda chef, Gabrielle Di Luca, is the best Italian cook in town. We hope to have a party, sponsored by the Italian Consul General on October 1, to introduce Gabrielle and his creations. Tiger is taking bookings now for the first week of this Italian experiment.
Use your Calling Card to make at least
Peter Seidlitz
you make the more chances you have of winning
and so on. three calls back to Hong Kong this Summer and Grand Prlze A Special Grand Pdze of a Sanyo your name will be entered in our fabulous Nlcan TV set plus vldeo ¡ecorder and camera. Lucþ Draw*. Íst Príze Six First Hzes of Sanyo Nicam After all, the Calling Card is the most TV sets. simple and convenient v¡ay of calling back to Sþecløl Prìze Ffi Spectal Hzes of Calltng Hong Kong. By using our special Hong Kong Cardvouchers worth $5O0 each. Direct service (available in 35 countries including Go on, get into some smart talk by using USA, Canada, UK and Japan), you can talk the Calling Card this Summer. directþ to a Hong Kong Telephone operator who speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. You Cail 01Íl for details. 'Draw date November 20, 1997.,{Il results to be announced on will then be connected. !Øhatrs more, you don't November 27, 7997 in the scMP, Hong Kong Standard. have to worry about the cost as you'll be billed in Hong Kong dollars once you return home. Nicam TV sets sponsored bv S4fúl|D
IIowto enter
Jonathan Friedland, and the manage-
ment
CHAN ..,-J, Ê '-ìtê
Just make sure you make no less than three calls using your Calling Card to call back to Hong Kong during the period July 1 to September 30, 1991. Remember, the more calls
A
rtt'Hongkong Telecom
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
Out of Asia for Biddulph of the BBC
ith the knack that all big organisations seem to possess, the BBC pulled its correspondent out of Vietnam the day before the 1968 Tet Offensive got under way. So, an already Africa-hardened Jim Biddulph, who at the time was officially the BBC diplomatic correspondent, made his first trþ to Asia as a stop-gap Vietnam firefîghter, filling in for what tumed out to be a year-long assignment. While making periodic stopovers in Hong Kong for essen-
tial R and R, Biddulph reckons he first saw the colony through ahaze of exhaustion that often segued into all-toobrief high living. "I really don't remember much of those early visits," he says.
After a year he,escaped the war - "That was enough for anyone" - and returned to the duller pastures of the BBC diplomatic round in London, Brussels, Washington and Moscow. However, in 1976, Biddulph returned to the territory, as BBC Far East Correspondent, for a stay that would see him through to today, even after seven years of BBC "retiremgnt". Now the 61-year-old, long-time FCC member and former President is taking up a comparatively gentle posting as London stringer for RTHK and a life in a London suburb with his young wife Rita and daughter Carrie. Down the years Biddulph sent back many of the biggest stories in Asia to the faceless BBC desk men in London,
(and of the FCC) while trying to explain the confusions of the continent. However, these days there is a sense that Biddulph finds the details of his own story as an active, scoop-chasing correspondent something of a jumble of faces and places, deadlines and datelines. The timings could be slightly out. The exact details are in need of checking. "I'm afraid you'll have to look that up," says Biddulph, "I'm hopeless with dates." Perhaps that's understandable after all those years in the
field. There have been so many big stories; so many big interviews; such a lot of countries. And all too often they were reached - in a scramble - by plane, or by boat or by train - or worse - on foot. Maybe there were too many embarkations, too many airports; too many arrivals, too many, too-long goodbyes. Certainly, London life will be a gentler pace for Biddulph, yet, you can be sure he will find a way to make it into an interesting comic turn over a good dinner and a couple of
bottles of drinkable plonk. Of course, working for the BBC gave him tremendous access and, as with all good reporters, Jim Biddulph's contacts have been the key to his success. The list of his BBC interviewees would make almost any joumalist blanch: Leonid Brezhnev, Harold Wilson, Ted Heath ("That abominable man"), Francois Mitterrand, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo (both of whom became friends, at least for a while), all of the Gang of Four, a "few minutes" with Chairman Mao, Prince Sihanouk ("a ludicrous man.
He shouldn't be allowed out loose"), Tunku Abdul Rahman, the late General Zia and Zalftkar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan, Indira Ghandi and Rajiv Ghandi - "a bloody awful politician". That's a long way fromThe Surrey Comet and The Express and Star in Wolverhampton, where he started his career. "Even so, it seems that about 70 per cent of my time as a
BBC correspondent wasn't spent worrying about the story itself. Most of my effort was expended in getting the film home, either by courier or by satellite. In the old days we even had to worry about processing the 16mm stock." Biddulph's big break came in the early fifties when he landed a job with the Rhodesia Herald in what was then Salisbury, Southem Rhodesia, now Harare, Zimbabwe. "The Herald was amoney-makingmachine inthe same way that the scMP is in Hongkong. So, if it didn't cost all Ex-president Biddulph outside the FCC
6 THE
CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
Story: Simon Twiston Davies
A fnrrr r¡f fhp Riddnlnh r r hof-SnofS IN HIS 30 or so years as a foreign correspondent Jim Biddulph has had the talent to be at the right place at
been planning for years. The island paradise was held as a condominium
almost the right time.
between Britain and France. With two gaols, prisoners had a choice between
AFRICA: "During a whole slew of riots in Africa in the mid-fifties", there was indiscriminate
the two. "They always preferred the French. They served wine with their meals," says Biddulph. Biddulph ar-
shooting on almost every Independence Day. "It was particularly nasty
rived early in the day and made
in the Congo, especially when the UN moved in." In fact, it was Swedish troops with the UN who took a large chunk out of the side of
a courtesy call on the British commissioner. When greeted by the Commissioner,
Biddulph was surprised to be asked: "How did you get here so quickly? The coup d'etat was only last night."
Biddulph's head and killed the front seat passenger in the car he was driving. "Two shells went through
He stayed for two comfortable months. CAMBODIA: The war was "bloody
the door pillars." CYPRUS: "The Turkish troops
Thai-Cambodia border you never knew if you were on one side or the other." Thousands of refugees from the Khmer Rouge would crowd the jungle trails. "The old and the wounded who had died would be left in hammocks strung between the trees. You would hear this swinging sound and look. It was very
were very scared, and troops who are frightened are very dangerous indeed." FRANCE: "Now where was I when the bomb went off next to my room? Ah yes, it was at my hotel in Paris during the student riots of '68. I had only just got to the bottom of
lift when it exploded." VANUATU: Following a story
the
on an unruly South African rugby tour of New Zealand, Biddulph managed to get down to the New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu. The trip was supposed to be little more than an exotic jaunt he had
tenifying. When you were up on the
creepy." CHINA: "'When it was first opened up some 15 years ago, China was the ultimate story, but they were very nervous. There was no residentforeignpress
corps at the time and we always and a couple of minders." The first few trips Biddulph didn't push his luck and did
exactly what he was told. "But the London office had received nothing
that much, they were willing to let me go to all the African countries as they gained independence. While they sent through almost the entire continent, most other people on paper stayed at home and worried about their bungalows." After five years with The Herald , with a brief interreg-
me the
from China for 10 years, so they were happy with just about anything." However, Biddulph was soon pressing for access even though he was still limited to 10 days at a
time. "Our main contact was a Mr Ma, who had a cut-glass Oxbridge accent and had his Mao jackets tailored in Saville Row."
SOUTHERN AFRICA: "It was such a mad shithouse that you took it all for granted. I was.once covering a story about a gãng of blacks trying to get into a Dutch Reform church. The door was blocked and
the leader of the group told the minister: 'We want to enter God's House.' The Dominie replied:'This is not God's House.It is the Dutch
Reform Church! Now get out!"'
HONGKONG: Biddulph was once summoned for contempt of
court during the Carrian trial. Apparently Biddulph had had the temerity to write in a column that "The Carrian trial continued today in court No 8." That was enough
for the judges and the AttorneyGeneral, who had declared the whole of the proceedings sub judice. "I was fined $25,000. Fortunately the paper paid it." He named his four-year-old daughter, Carrie, after the long running legal case.
press management before. "The British and French authorities had always been in the business of preventing you from seeing anyone or going anywhere.. But the Americans overwhelmed us with information. 'You want a helicopter,' they would say. 'You got it!'After a while you sat there and asked yourself what
numbackinLondon,hewassnappedupbytheBBCin196l as their man on the Dark Continent. Following a decade's next?"
as
Finally, Biddulph answered the information overkill by targeting individual units in the firing line. AndthenitwasVietnam,where,asBiddulphdescribesit, "Ipicked some small fire-bases and kept going back about once a fortnight. They got to know me and trust me, the atmosphere was "very peculiar". Although he had covered other emergencies, in Cyprus and I got to know them and used their stories to illustrate the and Aden for instance, he had never encountered American big one." Perhaps that kind of relationship became too personal. One day at the "Five O'clock Follies" press conference, Picture by Hugh Van Es BBC work in Africa he was transferred back to London diplomatic correspondent.
THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
7
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
Biddulph of the BBC
Farewell to two stalwarts
(from previous page) Biddulph was told there were six dead and four wounded in one of his favoured units. "I went up and found it
months of the year at his home base, which for the first six months was the old Luk Kwok hotel in Wanchai.
people had let on. They hadn't mentioned in the despatch that all the top echelon had been wiped out. They had
thing happening in the region. Usually it was somewhere I was not, and would have difficulty getting to." Yet there were moments of triumph.
was far worse than the information
"Almost always there was some-
becomemyfriends andthey weredead.', It was during that time that he first
Although Biddulph wasn'r on rhe
visited his now beloved Hong Kong. "Coming to Hongkong was one of the perks of the war. In those early days, for me, Hong Kong was a pleasant place to walk around in. You could buy everything you needed in ground floor shops and there were none of those bloody malls we have every-
where now." He would "helicopter" from Da Nang to Saigon airport and step straight on to a Cathay Pacific flight to Kai Tak. "Sometimes I would still have night-
black on my face and be covered in mud. I would arrive at the Mandarin and sink into a bath for two days at a time. Then, after five days, I would be on my way back to Saigon." Rightly or wrongly, Britain was not directly involved in the war and selling stories to London was something of a problem for Biddulph and his camera crew. BBC News didn't want to go out night after night with almost identical
pictures
of bombs and gunfire
and
bloody death. Even that kind of excitement has a limited value if you aren't personally concemed. Eventually even BBC World Service radio displayed signs of becoming "a bit jet-lagged by it all," says Biddulph.
"But we keptplugging away until once in
while you would hit something that would grab them." a
One story that grabbed the desk men in London was footage of an American
padre at Moming Service telling the
to go out and and "Kill the Cong." "And God says that when you see a Cong," Biddulph chortles today in a mock American accent, "you smash him! Remember, smash him!" "I had great trouble telling the office troops
8 THE
CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
immediate spot at the beginning of the
action, he was on a plane to Kabul within an hour of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. "I happened to be in Calcutta and there was a flight an hour
'I'd come back if someone could pay me the same salary as the Governor' that I had some wonderful footage of a church service. They thought had gone bonkers or got religion or some-
I
thing." After the year in Vietnam he retumed to Europe for his final stint as BBC diplomatic correspondent. Itmay sound glamorous to some, but for Biddulph the endless and appar-
ently pointless meetings in London, Moscow, Scandinavia, and France, as as long sessions in Brussels, were all too much of a good thing. "Just spending all that time in Brussels was enough to sap the morale of anyone. I used to get pissed off with conferences and meetings where the end result was just more rubbish. At times it almost felt as if we were all part of a giant conspiracy among the bureaucrats, politicians and press to make sure thatnobody knew what was
well
going on." While he worked for the BBC in Hong Kong Biddulph's patch ran all the way from Afghanistan to New Zealand; from China to South East Asia and down to Australia. Indeed, while he was the BBC Far East correspondent he reckons he spent only four
after the news broke." The Russians, of course, eventually made it clear that Biddulph and his crew would have to leave Kabul. "But they let us stay much longer than they might have because they didn
't
catch on that'we were British. Mostly the soldiers thought we ìwere Russians, as we were a Nordic-looking bunch. Then they noticed that Afghan shopkeepers were nice to us." With some prize audio and video footage tucked in their bags, Biddulph and friends were ushered out of the country.
That kind of excitement continued until seven years ago, when he was once more "offered" the BBC diplomatic correspondent's chair in Lon-
FORMER President Sinan Fisek and former Board member Chris Peterson said their joint farewells at a major
blast held at the Club on June 28. Fisek, bureau chief with Agence France Presse, who was FCC President in 1989-90, has left to take up a posting in Paris. Peterson, who started his career in journalism as an apprentice with the Oxford Mail and Times on leaving school in 1965, has been with Reuters since 1970. He has since served the agency in London, Belfast, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong.
He has left his position of chief correspondent in the Hong Kong bureau to become the chief filing editor on the economic desk in London. "My first exposure to the FCC was in February 1973 when Dick Hughes
I haven't looked back since," he said. "I joined the bought me a drink. Board
in
1989 as a co-opted member
and was elected last year." Peterson added:
"l
am retuming to
Leaving...
on a jet
plane...
ChrisPeterson (left) and Sinan Fisék.
Pictures by Hugh Van Es and David Thurston
diate past-President Paul Bayfield, who said: "We were all sorry to see them
London with my wife, Tuyet Mai, and two children, but my eyes and heart are firmly fixed on a return to the region
sometìme, somewhere." The -farewell party drew a crowd of at least 150, by the estimate of imme-
go. They were the best type of FCC people who gave genermember ously of -their time and effort to the
Club. We might not all remmember the details of the evening too well, but we will always remember these two characters."
don. Hepolitely declined, tookhis BBC pension, and soon became an apparently permanent pillar of the Hongkong press.
Since then he has excoriated Hongkong's masters in London and
FÁRIWILL DRIN[.S MR S
FISIK
FOR
Al'tD ì'IR C
[riRSOìJ
Beijing, along with the territory's politicians and would-be politicians, in his columns for the South China Morning Posr and in RTHK's 1 5-minure B iddulph Report . No doubt he will continue in a similar vein from London. But will Jim Biddulph ever retum to the territory? So many Hongkong media
folk just can't stay away, even after they have packed their bags, waved their final-but-final goodbyes and sailed away into a smoggy sunset. "Oh yes, I'd come back, if someone would pay me the same salary as the
Govemor. Then I could afford to live here and actually enjoy it."
"Don't forget us when you're in Paris. Bob Davis gives Gulsen Fisek a fond peck on the cheek at the crowded farewell.,'
"Now what can I say about these guys?" Hugh Van Es contemplates his message for the farewell card. Keep it polite, Hugh! THE CORRESPONDENTAUGUST 1991
9
PEOPLE he
even gave
handmadescarf
Brown
and Erder
a
in white Tibetan silk.
Then,
as a thoughtful final gesture, he handed out an extra one for their driver, a Hindu.
The
interview ìwas timed
to
coincide with the 40th anniversary of China's assertion ofpower over Tibet amilitary domination viewed inthe -West as a takeover. Brown and Erder were also planning to cover the elections in India.
Initially things went wrong. Their carbroke down on the long drive north from Delhi and they fretted that they would not get to Dharmsala in time. But the fault was fixed and they
ft's quicker by bullock sometimes . . . Browned off! Adrian Brown (below) puts the long breakdown delay to good use by retiring to a meadow and easing his frustration by updating his notes. He was literally the correspondent in the freld.
arrived just in time for Erder to get
some fine atmosphere shots in the twilight. The following moming they were in luck again as they filmed the morning prayers, forthe ceremony was
by the Dalai Lama himself. As they prepared for the interview, Erder noticed with dismay that the led
he image of
the Dalai Lama living in primitive, contempla-
Adrian Brown (left) and Mark Erder with the Dalai Lama.
tive simplicity in his headquarthe silvery shadows of the
light in the room the Dalai Lama had chosen was unsuitable for filming, but a gentle request was met with
ters under
Himalayas was shattered for two FCC
members who interviewed him recently.
The first hint that TV-AM reporter Adrian Brown and cameraman Mark Erder had of the modem approach of the Tibetan spiritual leader was his response to their letter seeking the interview. It was a long time coming and his acceptance gave them only three days notice but it came by fax! And one of the firstthings that Brown
being ushered into the Dalai Lama's home in and Erder noticed on
Dharmsala was his office. "It had all the communications equipment of a modern office computers, fax machine and answer-phones," says Brown. He struck up an excellent rapport with the Dalai Lama and his interview extended a full hour beyond
its sched-
uled limit. But when the joumalists tried to persuade the Dalai Lama to hop on to his exercise bike to demonstrate how he keeps fit, he demured. "It was the one shot I didn't get," Erder admits ruefully. In every otherrespect, however, their not have been more co-
host could
operative, and, as they prepared to leave,
10 THE CORRESPONDENTAUGUST 199I
From prayers to peril nly a few days after their remarkable interview with the Dalai Lama the passage to India for Adrian Brown and Mark Erder became a nightmare as they were set upon by a mob outside the home of assassinated Congress Party leader Rajiv Gandhi. They had gone to Gandhi's house to get some reaction to the assassination. Instead, they found themselves the target of the crowd's reaction. Cameraman Erder, bowled over by the fury of the assault, kept fïlming even as he went down and the crowd closed in. "I had the ^mazing experience of seeing my glasses crushed under someonets foot.tt Brown says members ofthecrowd accused them of being American CIA agents and began to threaten them. As they moved defensively along the street, he saw a politician he knew and stopped to talk to him.
agreeable complaince by the spiritual leader and they moved to another room.
"But he could see how angry they were and he didn't want to know me. I felt a blow and then there were more punches and kicks. r6At first it was nothing we had not
experienced before, but it was becoming increasingly serious and we began to realise we were in trouble. 66As we got to the end of the street a car drew up and the men inside yelled at us to get in. We crawled in and they drove us away to safety."
Erder, weighed down
by
his
camera equipment, lost a portable stepladder and other items. "At one stage one of the men in the crowd was swinging the ladder, trying to hit us with it," he said. The sinister thing about it, say the journalists, was that there was a large number of police on the scene, but not one of them made any attempt to protect them.
The Dalai Lama clearly impressed the two joumalists. "You really get the sense you are in the presence of somebody special. There is an aura about him," says Erder. "He is also an attractive individual
not remote and aloof. He has
an
-almost mischevious sense of humour
and his remarks are often accompanied by a high-pitched laugh that is like a giggle." Brown confirms his colleague's impression. "He was extremely warm, approachable and open with us. He works out in his fitness room and really looks good. He has a subtle
Erder recalls some "touching their stay when
moments" during
several elderly Tibetan pilgrims came to see their leader and broke down in tears. "He was clearly moved by the experience. The Tibetans have a tough time under the Chinese and some of
them told talesof woe.We could see that he was impressed by their resilience and there were tears in his eyes.
a screened on the David Frost show major British documentary programme. But their adventures were not over. On their journey back their car broke
-
this time irreparably. They thought- their luck was in when they got a lift with two men. "They tumed out to be a couple of cÍazies," says Erder, shaking his head in bemusement at the memory of the down again
He says he sometimes feels more like a mother fhan a father figure."
journey. "The car was decked out
The two correspondents wereamazed
by the variety of pilgrims who showed up for an audience. "There
were going through Punjab. We warned them that this was dangerous country and they should especially for Hindus
were aging hippies, college types and tourists among them," says Erder.
care. They were
with colourful Hindu bunting and we
take it off, but they didn't seem to of
like mountain verLaurel and Hardy."
"There \Mas a long, snaking queue of them going through his garden."
sions
across well."
He was also surprisedtoseethat the Dalai Lama was holding a bright red
of the route and the Punjab is like Northern Ireland littered with
Brown was also impressed by the Dalai Lama's mental toughness. "He is not at all depressed by the situation," he states. "He is genuinely optimistic and he told us that he is convinced that things will improve over the next ten years and that he expects to retum to Tibet."
Nina Ricci bag from which, like an illusionist, he produced white silk scarves and other gifts as mementoes for the pilgrims. Brown and Erder captured it all and emerged with a professionally pleasing story and a personally enthralling experience. Their film was
understanding of the media and comes
Brown recalls that "they had no idea
- constantly havroadblocks. We were
ing to make diversions . I began to wonder
if
we would ever get back to Delhi." But they did. And then they ran into the real danger of the grieving, irrational fury of the Gandhi supporters.
Ron Knowles THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
I99I
11
in-house computer hacker, has been appointedgroup systemseditorforthe love with Vietnam in particular, the five British newspapers and three Far East in general," he says. magazines inRupertMurdoch'sNews "My contract expired in 1969, and Intemational Group based in Wap- rather than return to the States, I deping, Londo4. cided that Hong Kong would be the Joel came to Asia in 1967 when he next port of call. arrived in Saigon to work as a commu- "I had a bit of money saved up and nications engineer for a subsidiary of established a company to trade in elecNorthrup. tronic components. But things went
Despite thehorrorsof
war,"Ifellin
Henry Parwani'sHongKongSøn
a
as
sub-editor.
"When the Sun folded in 1981, I joined the SCMP as a sports-writer. That job eventually evolved into my position as editorial systems guru." Joel says: "I'm very sad to be leaving Hong Kong after 22 great years, and hope to retum often. It's been a slowly atfirst,andleventuallywentto great run."
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ebecca Lee -a soul on ice
To O¡d¿¡.' Miss Selina Nam
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PUBLISHERS SUPPORTING THE FCC
Tel:526.0165 Fax:8101289
raphic designer and photojournalist Rebecca Lee looks comfortably at home in the old
Westem Australia.
that everyone has ignored. For details call
During her early visits she photographed members of the Chinese team building the Zhong Shan Station, but now she follows the researchers, tak-
telephone no. 577 -9793.
chilling
ing shots of where they are going in the icy polar region. One of the most pleasing features of her work, says Rebecca, is the friendship and openness of other national research teams in the Antarctic. She often calls on neighbouring Soviet and Australian groups working down
Th.
d*
rhe HKg2,ooo,ooo,ooo marker
TINIG FILIPINO
for
'ü/astes
in
of Greenland,
Rebecca is the official designer and photographer for the Beijing-based China Antarctic Research Committee
and, afterjoining it in 1985, has spent much of her time since in some of the world's most desolate and icy outposts.
CAN YOU AFFORD HK$20 A DAY to enhance your company image among your publishing peers?
YOU CAN then call Ingrid Gregory on 577-9331 for further information.
tion," she says. "I love the friendly spirit that prevails." But she doesn't always love the one-month each-way seajoumey. It is so perilous that Rebecca, despite her youthfulness, has drawn up a will. They usually sail down in November during the southern summer and retum after about two-and-a-half months
at
their Antarctic base. The route them past Westem Australia,
takes
calling at Fremantle, whete they spend
five days for maintenance and take on supplies.
the FCC, and sails away to the Antarctic regions to China's Great - George Island, Wall Station on King off the southemmost tip of South
walk to the Soviet Progress Station in 20 minutes, or, fly by helicopter to the
Her own supplies usually comprise Kodachrome about 70 rolls of film ASA 64 and25 and her Canon camera, says Rebecca.
Australians' Davis Station in about the same time.
almost the last any of them made. The
America, or to Zhong Shan Station,
another. There is a
Once a year she turns her back on the comforts of the warmth and comfort of the former Hong Kong ice house
12 THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 199I
off
ice house that is now the headquarters of the FCC. And so she should, for she once spent three weeks living in an herself igloo she built the
An Invitation to Space
The only publ¡cat¡on devoted to covering Space Programmes and Space-related businesses in Asia Pacific. Contact Brian Jeffries at 577-9331 for details and sample copy.
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there. Donning her snowboots, she can
"'W'e are always calling on one lot of co-opera-
-
Her
-
last journey back to China was
(Continued Page 14) THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
13
PEOPLE
It was then that she spent three weeks
living with Eskimoes in Greenland and, in addition to discovering the skills of hunting, fishing through the
(From Page 13) seas
were whipped up by furious winds
ice and driving dog-sleds, Rebecca leamed how to build her own igloo. She is scheduled to make a return visit to the Arctic next year, this time pushing further towards the North Pole as a member of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Association of China- a body that embraces Hong Kong ex-
and their ship, the Ji Di, a specially equipped scientific research vessel, did not look like it could cope with the mountainous waves. "They were 20 metres high and the
ship was listing to about 30 degrees.
It
was frightening. Everybody was scared. The crew took out photographs of their families and looked at them in the belief that it was their last chance to see the faces of their loved ones," Rebecca says. "I decided that if this is what is was going to be like, I had better write
perts. Rebecca, bom in Canton, moved to
Hong Kong as a child and still spends most of her non-working time here. It was in Hong Kong that she made her first contact with the China Antarctic Research Committee. It held an exhibition in the colony and Rebecca was appointed as its designer. She selected pictures for books, posters and brochures and found herself falling under the spell of the Antarctic scenes they
it
my will
But
and
I did."
it-takes more
than one rough passägetodaunt Rebecca. One of hèr proudestdistinctions is thatshe is among
the few people who have visited the Arctic and the Antarctic in the same year- 1990.
Have ice-pick,
will travel. Rebecca's Antarctic home is sometimes a tiny tent.
Neatly sheltered from the worst of the Antarctic winds, the Great Wall research station.
depicted.
But looking at the pictures was not enough for her. She wanted to visit this remote, ice-bound tenitory. So she applied for a job with the committee as and the its official photographer authorities had the good sense to take her on. She loves the natural wonders of the and world the poles in particular
-
is an -ardent environmentalist- who
admires the fearless campaigning work of organisations such as Greenpeace. It's a passion that shows through in her
photographic work
examples of which are on display in-the Main Bar of
Seal hunts are a feature of life in the
Arctic -- and dogs really are a man's
best friend.
the FCC.
It can also be seen in a book, Antarctic Fantasy, which she publishedthrough her own resources. It received much acclaim and in 1987 won a series of Hong Kong urban council awards. Photography in the Antarbtic poses particularly with many difficulties
- sunlight bounces reflection as the blindingly off the ice. Rebecca uses an auto-filter to counter the dazzle when shooting film, but it cannot help her overcome the problem that the Antarctic glare causes her eyes. "It always takes my sight some time to adjust when I return," she smiles.
But then most FCC regulars agree The Ji Di -- first the ice, then massive seas. 14 THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
1991
that the old ice house in Hong Kong IS
Penguins -- particularly when young -- are an amusing delight in the
a sight for sore eyes.
Antarctic. THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991
15
CLUB NEWS
CLUB NEV/S
Jill
The Fourth Estate meets the Spokesmen IFTHEREisone thingthat can be said in favour of the public relations industry, it is that they do turn up. Over 90 spokesmen from the GIS, corporations and consultancies responded enthusiastically to the invitation to come and meet
nity to use the club facilities for their press confer-
the foreign correspondents at the Club on July 17.
ment and began to enjoy
Our ebullient President, Peter Seidlitz, welcomed them, apologised for the shortage of correspondents
present (this was the day
when BCCI depositors demonstrated in front of the Legco building) and encouraged the PR frater-
heads for Europe
CHINA Travel Press editor and freelance joumalist Jill Hunt left Hong Kong at the beginning of July to head back to Blighty, Jill intends to change track by bringing her China
ences and events. Once the PR people realised that the correspondents
were not present in droves
to greet them, like true
experience to bear on the emerging travel markets of eastern Europe. She would love to hear from any of her friends who are visiting London, and her address is 5 Overstrand Mansions, Prince of Wales Drive, London SWll. Telephone: 071 6222124. The occasion of her farewell appearance at the FCC was anything but solemn, as these pictures show.
Paul Bayfïeld and
Claire Chao, Cathy Shergold and Pat Malone.
Jan Altink, Euan Barty and Geoff Styche.
Jill Hunt.
professionals they quickly swallowed their disappoint-
Wendy Hughes, Des McGahan, Kevin Ramshaw
themselves. Several of those present suggested that this should be a regular event.
The round of socialising began with the diplomatic
community. Next time round the Club plans to invite financial analysts to meet correspondents and
journalists.
No, we are not proposing to go naturist. Vrb just wish to make
it
cleæ that JK's is a restaurant with a friendly and casual ambience. Hence, casual dothes are the order of the day.
Howard Coats, Vernon Ram.
put on the to¡, hat, doupthebow
Michael Woods, Phillipa Yules
best dressed salad
tie or brush up the Þils. (You might leave the
flip-flops at home, howwer.) Not that there is anything casual about our service. You will find
ow
capable staff ready and able to cater for your every need.
And all ou¡ dishes
are
meticulousþ prepared þ our famous (þ his oab salad, you will not
master chef, Walter Gloor.
Paul Bayfïeld, Penny Byrne, Peachie Dieken
Anne Forrest, Tony Munday 16 THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
1991
SERVING
HONG KONG SINCE
I9
THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
I99I
17
CLUB NEV/S
Sir Piers bows out with grace f all the jobs in govemment
tion no less than four times, Sir Piers
the world over, that of finan-
said:
"The licensing authority for banks
cial secretary or treasurer is probably the most difficult. As the one responsible for holding the purse strings his decisions affect
in Hong Kong is the Executive Council, The process is that banks seeking
licence here have to comply with various requirements such as capital, quality of management, shareholders etc. What we do when we have all that information is take that application to the Executive Council
everyone from the corporate executive down to the streetcleaner. He engenders fear and loathing in many and is frequently the target of many after dinner jokes. His army of critics and the media are there waiting to devour him should
he err in his mission. Hong Kong's outgoing financial secretary, Sir Piers Jacobs, is no exception. In a career which has spanned 20 years, the last five as financial secretary, Sir Piers has had his fair share of criticism. lndeed, when club president Peter Seidlitz introduced Sir Piers, who 'was guest speaker at a club luncheon on July 18, the financial secretary was reminded, just in case he had forgotten, of the phone call in October '87 (the stock market crash), inflation which is now running at 147o, the airport and the latest banking crisis involving the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of Credit and Commerce Intemational. Looking relaxed, despite having to liquidate BCCI's local subsidiary the previous day, Sir Piers was in an up-
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beat mood as he followed the tradition set by his predecessors in addressing the FCC before stepping down. Sir Piers was quick to point out that Sir Philip Haddon-Cave "gave a short executive summary running to 50 pages ... without the footnotes" and that, as far as he could recollect, "Sir John Bemridge spent his time looking at
Derek Davis (former Review editor) saying how much he hated Welshmen. " The ice broken, Sir Piers got down to some serious business. The timing of this talk had not been
perfect, he admitted. He had prepared what he described as a "gay little talk" but the events of the previous week involving BCCI's operation in Hong Kong had changed all that.
Sir Piers admitted that his worst For further information please call Dennis Franco, Ann To or Sandy Lai, otherwise lill in your details in the space below and fax them to us.
Tel. no: (Australian Company No.: ACN 010 446 821)
with a recommendation. "The thing that strikes me, in the light of the events,.is that we have always maintained that there is a residual discretion. Even if you have
an institution which complies with allrequirements you should ask yourself whether you like that particular institution. "You may have an institution which complies with everything but there is the residual discretion. The question I think has to be asked is: 'How have we exercised that residual discretion and should we be a little more circum-
Story by Karl Wilson Pictures by Hugh Van Es moment as financial secretary was the phone call in October 1987. But he added: "I cannot think ofanything that hits a financial secretary werse than a
bank crisis." Sir Piers was referring to the Government's decision to close and then
liquidate BCCI's Hong Kong operations.
"It is not a pleasant experience to close a bank," Sir Piers said. "And our decision to do so was not taken lightly.
True, he admitted the Govemment had received a "lot of stick over its change in direction". BCC Hong Kong was given a clean bill of health a week earlier and then in a matter of days the
Government changed its mind.
"But as we have explained,
spect in the future'. "Obviously Singapore is a little bit more circumspect and they asked them-
selves whether they really'wanted a particular institution even if it complies with the requirements. "The events which have taken place
might well cause some adjustment in our view of the whole licensing process."
In the light of what was happening around the world with BCCI, was the Govemment not a little bit suspicious? "There was no suggestion of malpractice affecting the Hong Kong entity," Sir Piers said. "'We had support from the shareholders in the form of a Letter of Comfort and on the face of it the bank was OK.
there
But over the weekend, between Satur-
was a fundamental change in circumstances," Sir Piers said. "So we believe the decision we took was correct, but that doesn't make it any easier for people to bear." Asked why the Hong Kong authorities granted BBCI a licence when Singapore had refused the bank's applica-
day and Monday, that shareholders' support was not reaffirmed and not strengthened as we had asked.
"Faced with a completely different set of circumstances on the Monday we had no altemative but to suspend the bank's operations." Asked whether he thought the BankTHE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
I99I
19
{, authority'. Part of that may be true but I would never admit to that naturally. "I would suggest why many of us in the administration appear to have some-
"The life of
a
regulator rs an extraor-
tonomy in anyway," he said. "I believe it will work very well and we will achieve this project without difficulty." Assessing his term as financial sec-
what less authority than in the past is because the very structure of govemment has changed. Consciously and quite rightly, we have moved in the
retary Sir Piers said he thought the restructuring of Hong Kong's financial markets as his biggest achieve-
direction of representative govemment. "The profile of legislators in the legislative council has been raised. This
"The reform of the stock exchange, indeed the whole monetary side, is something which we have given a lot of attention to and, by and large, it has been successful."
has been at the cost
of people like
myself who appearthere. We are under a great deal of criticism. That is what
PLEASE PATRONISE THESE FCC SUPPORTERS
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z
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as
"fundamentally
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changed" the advice he has
the Banking Commrssroner
given to his successor is to "be far more sensitive to what is going on in the legislature".
easy to live with but I see it as an essential and necessary part of our development. "I would suggest that the responsibility of the media and legislators grows heavier and heavier also. As you have this more representative and open form of govemment in Hong Kong, it is really essential that those who are com-
menting on what the administration does should exercise a high degree of responsibility. I don't mean you should
not be critical or forceful. The press would be quite useless unless it had a sharp cutting edge ... but be fair." On the airport, Sir Piers was adamant: "Hong Kong has a very good deal, " "I don't see that agreement we have with China erodes Hong Kong's au-
And what has Sir Piers in line for the future?
Sir Piers said that there had
been
many rumours. One of the best said he was going to work for the Ming Pao.
"Obviously my friends in the press hold me in such high esteem they think that it is a natural progression that I
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secretary, but the Govemment
itself, will have to nurture relationships in the legislature if it is going to be suc-
should happen. The legislature is there to examine and probe the whole process of govemment. "It is a process which will continue in the years ahead. It's not going to be
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"Not only the financial
cessful in putting through the policies of the Government. I see in the future that the financial secretary will have to spend a lot more time on the legislature. Come October it will be avery differentbeast." And on the future, Sir Piers remains, optimistic." There are many opportunities developing not only here in Hong Kong but across the border," he said. "It is an unusual relationship in political and constitutional terms. But if we are to enjoy the opportunities, we are going to have to develop a considerable delicacy of touch and some
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Sir Piers said that because the nature of the financial secretary's
job had
finely balanced decrsron ' Jo was
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should become a joumalist, he said. To
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which veteran correspondent Jim
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T_ PRISONER AT THE BAR
GUEST COLUMNIST MIKE ROYKO
of
This is the second of the two Mike Royko columns for which reprint rights were 66purchased" by former publications committee convenor Saul Lockhart for a r.cold pint of beer (or two or three),
^ttack the airheads
instant guest membership and a hell of a lot of conviviality." A gainThe C orre spondenl thanks Eleanor Swink, Editor-in-Chief (Asia Division) of the Reade r' s Digest .
I
STARTED to feel like a beaten man while reading a list of words I shouldn't
because they might offend someone.
The badword dictionary was put together by somehing called the Multic-
ultural Management Program at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
The introductions says, in part: "As newspapers move into the 1 990s, language usage that has been acceptable in the past may no longer be acceptable. Reporters and editors must be aware of the following words, many
objectionable." Some
of the words are obviously
offensive. You don't see them in newspapers.
But "Dutch treat?" "Airhead?" And how about such shockers as barracuda, burly, buxom, dear, dingbat, ditz, dizzy, fried chicken, gorgeous gyp, housewife, illegal alien,Ivan, jock,lazy, pert, petite, rubbing noses, shiftless, stunning, sweetie and ugh. That's right, "ugh." They say: "A guttural word used to mimic American Indian speech. Highly offensive." Why not "Dutch treaf?" They say: "To share the cost, as in a date. Implies that Dutch people are cheap." Shall I proceed'with this list? Barracuda: "A negative generalisation of persons without morals," Airhead: "An objectionable descrip-
tion, generally aimed at women." Burly: "An adjective too often
as-
sociated with large black men, implying ignorance, and considered offensive in this context." Dear: "A term of endearment objectionable to some, Usage such as 'He was a dear man' or 'She is a dear' should be avoided."
Dingbat: "Objectionable term that describes women as intellectuâlly inferior. " Ditz: "Objectionable term meaning 22 TIIE CORRESPONDENTAUGUST I99I
airheads Fried chicken : "A loaded phrase when
used carelessly and as a stereotype referring to the cuisine ofblack people." Gorgeous: "An adjective that describes female physical attributes. Use
carefully." Gyp: "An offensive term, meaning to cheat, derived from Gypsy." Illegal slien: "Often used to refer to Mexicans and Latin Americans believed to be in the United States without visas; the preferred term is undocumented
worker."
in this ditzy Multicultural
Management Program. These dingbats appear to be bigots themselves. They list dozens of words -- including fried chicken -- that they
offend blacks, gays or women. But they don't include honky, which some blacks call whites, or dago, wop, hebe,
mick, herqing-choker, frog, kraut, bohunk or polack. Ain't we got feelings too?
Whether or not they like it, Ivan Boesky is a Wall Street barracuda. Chicage Bears defensive tackle William Perry, who used to be a fat slob, is
now merely burly. My wife is petite
Ugh! What a word to use Ivan: "A
common and offensive
substitute for a Soviet,person."
Jock: "A term applied to both men and women who participate in sports. Can be offensive." Petite: "Reference to a woman's body size. Can be offensive." Rubbing noses: "Allegedly an Eskimo kiss. Eskimos don't rub noses, and object to the characterisation."
Senior citizens: "Do not use for anyone under 65 . Do not describe people
as elderly, senile, matronly
or well-
preserved. Do not use dirty old man, codger, coot, geezer, silver fox, old-
timers, Pop, old buzzard."
Sweetie: "Objectionable term of endearment." I've changed my mind. This supersensitivity is crushing me, I refuse to knuckle down to the dizzy new age joumalistic
and a gorgeous sweetie. If some geezer unzips in a schoolyard, I reserve my Constitutional right to call him a dirty old man.
The damn Rooskies have aimed missiles at me for 40 years, so maybe I'll refer to a Soviet as an Ivan. I've been called worse.
I'll
continue to have Dutch-treat lunches with friends and check the bill to make sure the waiter didn't gyp me. Why not "illegal alien"? It's specific. It means an alien who is here in violation of our laws. But what's an "undocumented worker"? If I come to work without my wallet, will I be deported?
When I put together a softball team, I'll recruit real jocks, not a bunch of wimps, nerds, dweebs or weenies. And little kids have been rubbing noses and calling it an "Eskimo kiss" as long a I can remember. And that's a
long time, since
I
border on being a
geezer, a coot or a codger.
Fried chicken, fried chicken, fried chicken. I said it and I'm glad. So sue me.
Getting what The thoughts of Zhou he paid for
Why Irish eyes are
Unfortunately, by sheer around with your copy a lot FRIDAY night, as any other oversight on behalf of and cut out the best bits? night at the watering-hole, Eh? ZN: THOSE who might be won- President Peter Seidlitz, Priscolleagues and total strangyour photographers Do receive an inviP: not dering where Tony O'Reilly, oner did ers pit their wits and ungathering captrons or their own recent write to the tation the Irish wunderkind, is
smiling
getting his money to bid for
the
Fairfax newspaper empire in Australia, need look no further than his pay packet.
O'Reilly, once a dashing, try-scoring winger who delighted Irish rugby fans, was last year paid US$10,65 mil-
lion as chiefexecutive ofthe food giant H. J, Heinz, according to an annual survey of 200 company executive salaries conducted by Fortune magazine. This makes O'Reilly the fifth highest paid chief executive in the US. He gets a pittance compared to Time Warner's StevenJ. Ross, who got US$39 million. Still, O'Reilly shouldbe able to stump up his share of the
and lunch with the luminaries of the New China News
Agency.
are you expected to do them?
on any number of topics. ZN: Eh? One interlude went like this P: How much holidays do
I
did manage to you get? ZN: Eh? get along in time to catch the P: Are you a member of the Xinhua bureau chief, Zhou long leak he took a HKJA? Nan, as ZN: Eh? in the gents' toilets. As one joumalist to an- P: Do you prefer sans serif other, I could not help pop- types on news pages? ping a few questions to him ZN: Eh? P: Do you size up pictures across the vacant trough bein ems, centimetres or inches? fween us. ZN: Eh? The full exchange of questions and answers was: That's the thing like P: What is the biggest story you have ever covered? most about our joumalistic profession a pleasant chat ZN: Eh? P: Do you get good ex- and a frank exchange of experiences with our peers in penses at your place? rival media organisations. ZN: Eh? P: Do your sub-editors mess
However,
a
-
down-payment in partnership with John Fairfax, if theirjoint
i,$in!::liiïxÏä,Ï-'i the bankers who are now iîi\:i':: i:ï:äí,:i1ï Harvard Business School graduate, Warwick Fairfax.
The Fortun¿ survey
sets
Murdoch in for
the chief executives' in- South China Morning Post comes against an industry for its July l0 editorial model based on comparable figures for other company
headline Liberty Should Not Be Confused With
O'Reilly Licence. The Post gave short shrift is overpaid 300 per cent. It is something that jour- to Hong Kong's district coutt nalists on the M elbourne Ag3, judge Downey for ruling Sydney Morning Heralcl, that the Bill of Rights did Austrslian Financial Review not allow the authorities to and other Fairfax publica- detain people leaving the tions might like to bear in colony without paying their mind when discussing their tax bills. Moralising about "obligapay with the new bosses, should the O'Reilly-Fairfax tions" and "responsibilities", the editorial made a axis prevail. heads. On this basis
principled stand on behalf of the rest of us who struggle
honestly to keep the Inland Revenue happy.
Prisoner
ward
to
is looking
for-
further fearless Post editorials on tax responsibilities. I cannot wait for its comments on people like Post proprietor Rupert Murdoch, whoexploited the tax laws to avoid paying
millions
of dollars in taxes
on the vast profits generated by the Post from the time he
took over the company in mid-1987.
. . ."You just can't get quality work. It's the same old stuff," said the suited gent. "Oh, what brings about this outburst, it's Friday, relax," replied the stranger. Retrieving his briefcase from the chair, the suited gent proceeded to exhibit his
company's latest annual report, which evidently was the reason for his displeasure.
"Look at
these photo-
graphs, I could do better. Where is the imagination and talent everyone believes
is in Hong Kong?" "Yeah, there is talent here, but you got what you paid for," interceded the stranger. "Are you telling me I got ripped off?" asked the suited gent, taking a large gulp of beer.
mau lin g ? Bravo to the redoubtable
ashamedly express their views
"No. But you got what you paid for. You want glitz and great photos . without paying for it? If you want your annual report to look as good as your counterpart's in New York, then pay New York prices, and get photographers who meet the international standard. Companies are quick to ask for a cheaper price, then even quicker to complain aboutthe end product. You can't beat it. It's the Hong Kong mentality. Your report is a per-
fect example." "Humm, I suppose a little more money spent on the visual side, would be money
well spent. Another beer?"
THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST
I99I
23
PEOPLE
A PEDDLER'S JOURNAL
Hello Karl
One hot dog-and hold the courtesy!
KARL Wilson, managing editor of The Securities Journal, is the new editor of the The Correspondent. He from Ron Knowles, who is leaving Hong Kong to return to takes over
Australia.
Wilson, who has done some of the work on this issue, will be fully res-
ooo
Post
as
goodbye Ron
its for-
eign editor,
a
post
hehelduntil Janu-
can clearly recall the first time
ary 1989, when he moved to the Sunday Standard as its editor. He
someone asked me to "have a nice day". It was a few minutes before eight in the moming, some 20 years ago, in Wilmington, Delaware. I had exchanged a few words with a colleague and was alighting from an elevator when the phrase was popped. I was pleasantly surprised and smiled to
left the Sunday
ponsible for the September and subse-
Standard in July
quent issues.
1990.
He and Knowles are former colleagues
in Sydney, where they both worked Murdoch papers.
Wilson began
his
for
joumalistic career
\ililson is
also the co-author of a
myself.
book,Marcosand
It
was such a thought.
I
as-
Knowles, who plans to return to Hong Kong in six
heardwithincreasingfrequency. Ibegan to find it amusing and rather silly. Then
Australiun and later the Sydney-based Daìlr- and Sundal- Telegra¡ths. He returned to Australia in December 1984 to become the deputy foreign editor of The Ausn'aliøn. Six months later he was appointed foreign editor
months time, said
one evening around sundown I stopped
he was delighted
in a drugstore for a small
and proud to have
After completing the transaction I was on my way out when the clerk called out "have a nice day". Startled, I
thepast 12months.
fered elsewhere in the world is nothing more than a poor imitation. I entered the shop, and not knowing whether those franks were on sale to the passerby or for the restaurant, asked aman in a chef's cap standing behind a cash register: "Do you think it would be possible for me to-þurchase one of those hot dogs?" Looking at me with a ptzzled ex-
gory. I ran into an interesting example of the "enjoy your flight" syndrome on a shuttle from Philadelphiato New York. Soon aftertake-off the stewardess came over the intercom to announce that due
lot of fun and I have tried to reflect my enjoyment in the magazine," he dehave been clared, lucky in having a lot of support from members
buìiting with ideas
--
most of them publishable.
"It is impossible for
me to remember everyone who hashelped,but
I must mention a few. "I owe particular thanks to:
"Photographers like David Thurston (for his ever-alert ability to spot a good picture), Marc Fallander (for his tolerance under ridiculous
and Hugh Van
Es (for his
steadfast
professionalism in emergencies). "Then there were contributors, such as Stuart Wolfendale, who, against all freelance instincts, wrote freely for The Correspondent. Liberated of any restraint, he produced, in my judgement, some of his best work for us. It is always a joy for an editor to laugh aloud at copy as he subs it.
"Leighton Willgerodt, too, has been a delight. He has shown, I hope, that Associate Members have the skills to contribute without embarrassment to themselves or the magazine. must also voice my appreciation to Viswa Nathan, for nursing me into the job so gently in the early days, Saul Lockhart for his tireless persis-
"I
counter-manding instruc-
tenceinfollowing through onideas
tions, which he never allowed to obstruct his readiness to deliver
convenor of the publications sub-com-
as
mittee for most of my time as editor, Kevin Sinclair, who could always be
Cranboume (forhis readi-
counted on to come up with good stories and fillers, and Mike Bishara,
to oblige and his
an understanding, amusing and eter-
without complaint), Ray ness
often surprise packages)
purchase.
'Have a nice day' has been superseded by 'Have a good one'
nally forgiving publisher."
point of examining my watch. It was then that it dawned on me "have a nice day" had become synonymous
with "so long" or "see ya around." I would have hoped that by this time the American public would have beçome tired of that trite and meaningless
expression and replaced it with something else. But no. I recently retumed from a trip to the US and it seems that everyone everywhere is still constantly wishing each other to have a nice day. I even saw that salutation posted on the front of a busload of "senior citizens" parked in front of the Brooklyn
museum. It was written in the space usually reserved fot "42nd Street" or the like. The image of a bunch of old fogies on tour from the hinterlands, staring at the passing blacks from behind the windows of a bus, on which iS blazoned "have a nice day", sort of says it all. In some parts of the country how-
ever, "Have a nice day" has been superseded by "Have a good one". I don't consider that much of an improvement. I am told that among certain circles in California the word
pression bordering on irritation, he replied: "Whadayatink I'm here for." "Okay I'll take one." I said. "A dollar forty-t\ /o." My wife who was with me piped up: "I've got the two cents." That drew a blank stare. He turned and, taking ahotdogoffthe spit, reached
stopped dead in my tracks and made a
Karl Wilson
has been a
"I
Ron Knowles
"see ya around" or "so long" cate-
the American public and soon could be
edited The Correspondent for
"It
visit to New York is a hot dog. I suppose it is what you are used to, but to my mind the so called equivalent of-
The expression struck a chord with
Beyond.
as a reporter withThe Austrqlianin l97l and from 1976 to 1984 was the London-based correspondent lor The
of the Daily Telegraph in Sydney. In August 1986 he came to Hong Kong to join the South Chinø Morninþ
"enjoy" now serves the same purpose. Somehow I find that more acceptable. At least it falls into the old
to extreme turbulence she would have
sumed he meant it.
LEIGHTON WILLGERODT, an Associate Member of the FCC, is a sales executive with a US muhinational c he mical company.
into a bin to scoop a large glob of to suspend the beverage service. She went on to tell us that the pilot had asked that we keep our seat-belts tightly strapped for the duration ofthe flight as he didn't want anyone to get hurt. We were steeling ourselves for a rough 40 minutes when she concluded her grim remarks with the automatic refrain "Sit back and enjoy the flight." Under the circumstances "Don't worry, keep calm, we'll get you there" would have been more appropriate. Anyway, after two weeks of traveling in the US and getting increasingly tired of strangers telling me to have a
nice day, or wholesome young waitîesses bouncing up to my table and introducing themselves as Jane orBetty; and at the end of their canned spiel about specials telling me to enjoy my
meal, I found a welcome respite in New York. rilhile walking up 14th Street my eye was caught by a row of mouth-watering hot dogs tuming on a spit behind the window of a small deli. Now one of the more mundane pleasures
I
look forward to on my annual
sauerkraut.
"Leave off that stuff." I said, "I'll it plain." With a shrug of the shoulders he shoved it in front of me.
take
"Do you have any mustard?" I asked.
"Mustard?" he said. "You want it plain? You want it with mustard? Whadayawant?" "W'ell," I said, pointing at the empty counter, "I thought there might be some mustard here I could put on it." "D'ya see any mustard there? Where's the mustard? You tell me ya want it plain. I give it to ya plain. Ya want mustard, I give ya mustard. Tell me whadayawant." Then, rolling his eyes to the ceiling: "Incredible. I can't get over it. I ain't never seen nothing like it." Finally, catching the driftof the proper way to order a hot dog in New York , I said: "Just give me that goddamm jar of mustard over there and I'll put it on myself." That he understood. As we walked out he was shaking his head in exasperation. THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1991 25
TEMPEROR KAO T5UN6 SUNG DYNASTY
REGNED
II27.62
A STORY AT THE HONG KONG TRADE DEUE1OPIUIENT COUNCI1
9ó cENrs
HACKERS H ISTORICAL
MAP OF
HONC
KAM TIN DURING TI{E /V\ONGOL
WAR, 1O YEAR OLO SUNG PRINCESS, SUNGTSUNG,CHI, PUT HER5ELF UNO€R THE PROTECTION OF ONE OF THE TANG FAIY\|LY, WHO WAS DISTRIC'T OFFICER, OF KUNG YUAN. HE HID HER IN KAiV\ TIN WHERE SHE AAARRIED H¡S SO^J T2U,/Y\IN6. HER FATHER KAO TSUNG LAf€R ô€C^^^E EA^PERO¡.
KONG Y)
G
Do you know why Hebe Haven is called Hebe Haven or how Repulse Bay got its name? Do you know that Hong Kong's first Governor once travelled 1,600 miles on a secret mission disguised as an Arab horse dealer? You will find this and much more in Arthur Hacker's Cartographical Extravaganza of Hong Kong. Making up this fine print are a hundred amusing drawings rn elegant curlicule style, illustrating the history. myths and flora and fauna of Hong Kong. This print rs a perfect wall decoration for your home or office and a "must" for anyone who has lived in, knows and enjoys Hong Kong.
Beautifully printed in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies signed by the artist, it is available unframed for HKS300 post free from: Arthur Hacker Ltd., 4th Floot I Fleming Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Cheques payable to Arthur Hacker Ltd. ORDER FORM Name Delivery Address:
The HKTDC can help you make business headlines every day of the year. As a major force in world trade you'll f ind we've always
The print whrch measures 41.5" x 30" comes in a strong cardboard tube with protective plastic ends for safe postng.
Telephone
"A natural Christmas present for former Hong
Please
Kong residefts now overseas." Kewn Sinclair, South China Morning Post. "Treasure cfres of Hacker's findings."
lsc,n
futing
Monthty.
iËt
got a good story to tell: no padding, no puff and backed by accurate, uplo-the-moment figures and statistics. Next time you receive one
send
Signature
No. of copies HK$300 each
Send this form with your cheque to Arthur Hacker Ltd., 4th Floot 8 Fleming Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
of our press releases, give it a good once-over. You'll soon see what we mean.
0r contact us ìf you need details on any aspect of Hong Kong trade.
.
Peter . 0tozu )695894,695611,695109. Singapore Andy Lim Tel: -705-9333 . Tokyo D¿vid Tel: (43) 01 533 98 18 ' Z L0sAngeles 1661 Nagoya 02-865405
Hong Kong Trade Development Council WE CREAIE OPPORTUNITIES
(525)5724113,5724131.MiamiJ0hn 0saka Yoshihisa Ueno
) 212-838-8688
.
istopherS.f\4aengTel:(82)02-782611517 08 100677,1'15690 Sydney Slephen 366-3594 Vancouver Jeff Domansky
.
.
A TOUCHING SIGHT
THE OPTACON II ALLOWS THE BLIND TO ENJOY THE PRINTED WORD. CANON DOESN,T JUST MAKE CAMERAS
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A