The Correspondent, August 1992 by The Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong

Happy Birthday Mr. Lawrence

CONTENTS

an COVER STORY

THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS'

CLUB

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Pres¡dent - Steve Vines Second Vice President - David Thunton

Correspondenl Member Governors Bob Davis, Daniela Deane, Crl Goldstein, Humphrey Hawksley, V.G. Kulkmi, Catherine Ong, Claudia Rosett, Hubert Vm Es

Journalist Member Governors William Barker, Stua¡t Wolfendale Associate Member Governors D. Gucia, L. Grebstad, S. Lockhart, R. Thomas Professional Committee: Convenor: H. Hawksley Members: H. Hawksley V.G. Kulkami, C. Rosett,

NEWS AND VIEWS

South Africa: All is not lost The outgoing consul-general to Hong Kong, Pieter Botha, on his country's rocky path to reform.

Russiars eye on Asia Vladivostok, closed to the outside world for over 50 years, has started to emerge from its big sleep. Boris Yeltsin's special adviser on China and the Far East, Valery Boutov, talks about Moscow's plans for Russia's Pacific Rim city.

Keeping an open mind on the future of Russia South China Morning Post foreign editor, Richard Vines, interviews Sergei Khrushchev, abouthis father, NikitaKhrushchev, and the collapse of communism.

Free information does not come gratis Fred Armentrout on the need for a Reprographic Rights Organisation in Hong Kong.

Obituary: Majorie Ravenholt

Wat's up in Angkor

S. rùr'olfendale,

C. Goldstein, J. Friedlmd, D. Deme, C. Ong, R- Thomas

Memb€Ìsh¡p Committee: Convenor: Y.G. Kulkami Members: B. Davis, D. Grcia, C. Coldstein, L. Grebstad Entertainment Comm¡ttee: Convenor: W. Buker Member: S. Wolfendale

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THE CORRESPONDENT Editor:

Anthony Lawrence: The voice of Asia Karl Wilson talks to the BBC's former Far East correspondent who turns 80 this month.

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THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

South Africa: All is not lost outh Africa's consul-general to

By Karl Wilson

Hong Kong, Pieter Botha, always made it a point never to beat around the bush.

lf a journalist rang up for an interview he readily made himself available, answering questions with a frankness that often surpised many of his interviewers. After three years as Pretoria's man in

linuing despite the fact that the key players President F. W de Klerk,

Mandela and Zulu leader Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi - are not talking directly." As for the violence that has gripped

Asia, Botha is leaving the colony for Singapore to open up South Africa's first diplomatic mission in the island

described as dull. When he left South Africa to take up his post he left behind a country where the outer walls of apartheid had started to fall away. African National Congress Leader Nelson

million blacks should eventually be given

the right to determine their own future.

Three years on South Africa has undergone dramatic change. Mandela is free, the ANC and South African Communist Party are no longer banned organisations and the whites have accepted, some reluctantly, the inevitability of black majority rule.

Despite the fact the consititutional talks, known by its acronym of Codesa (Convention for a Democratic South Africa), have all but broken down, Botha is still optimistic about the future. Speaking at a Club luncheon on July 15, Botha said: "The talks are still con-

Botha said. "President de Klerk had been given an overwhelming endorsement to continue with his reform programme. ln May we were on the verge of concluding Codesa ll which would have produced a new constitution and

came obvious that it was not so clear-cut and power was not simply

going to be handed over." Botha said Codesa ll should not be seen as a failure. "We reached agreement on the type of political system with a strong bill of rights, majority government, one man one vote, free judiciary and free press in fact most of those things Western -democracies believe in," he said "So

paved the way for a new government

government which would have reflected the aspirations of the majority for the first time in South Africa's history. a

"Codesa ll gave us an outline of what

verysimplequestion: should he goahead with his reform policies which will eventually see power placed in the hands of the black majority. The answer was a resounding yes. Over 80% of the country's white registered voters turned out and 68.6% gave de Klerk their blessing.

"After the referendum there was a great deal of euphoria in the country,'

the United States, that would reflect the views of the regions. The ANC saw this as being a white minority veto. The government countered by saying that there is no part of South Africa in which the whites have a majority. What the government wanted was a house in which tribal interests

constitutional reform.

made and feared they were entering an

could be catered for.

had a lot of support. "lt is clear the ANC has become very concerned about this and this is borne out by the personal attacks on President de Klerk. They are also worried about him developing a constituency in

lay ahead and where we were going.

cefiain pafts of the country, Botha said: "There is no point in blaming any one particular pafiy as they all must share their pofiion of blame." So what has gone wrong? Ealier this year President de Klerk took the biggest gamble of his political career when he asked the country's white minority to give its answer to a

option but to continue down the road of

result it had tended to be a little too strong during the constitutional negotiations. The ANC felt the government was hardening its attitude and this has been borne out by some South African commentators. "The dilemma is this: you have the ANC where elements within its ranks fear the progress the government has

nificant in roads internationally - an area where the ANC had traditionally

settlement.

Pieter Bothe

conf ident after the referendum and as a

when you total up what had been agreed to and what had not there are only a few matters which were in dispute." There were three areas in which agreement could not be reached. The first was the government's belief that there should be a second house or

Chief Buthelezi

the government and the ANC had been fighting a war for 50 years, suddenly you had a situation in which they were sitting down discussing a constitutional

Mandela was still languishing in prison, the ANC and the communist pafty were banned, violence gripped the townships and the white minority looked on, wondering where it would all end. Shunned by the international community, South Africa, despite its economic clout in southern Africa, had to change. The country's five million white minority, often referred to as the white

that their days as absolute rulers were numbered and that the country's 28

promising their people there would be a hand over of power from the white minority to the black majority. lt be-

"When you consider the burning issues internationally you can see just how much progress we had made in South Africa. Considering the fact that

tribe of Africa, had to accept the fact

sider that for years they had been

"You could feel the change in the air," he said.

state. A keen rugby and cricket fan, Botha's

stay in Hong Kong could hardly

agreement that didn't suit them. And that is understandable when you con-

Perhaps all of us, white and black, were over optimistic considering the road we, as a nation, had travelled in the last three years. "The ANC, I believe, moved too fast and left their people behind. "lt became obvious that within the ANC the more radical factions were concerned about the agreement the

black communities." Botha said that despite the obvious set-backs the government has no

"lf I have to be critical of the govern-

ment I would say it had become over

senate, similar to that which exists in

ANC was about to enter into . lt is my

view that the ANC anticipated with drawing from the talks before Codesa ll took place. This view was endorsed by the fact that the industrial action we are now seeing throughout the country was planned in April. What you see taking place in South Africa today is a scramble for positioning by the political groups for the final constitution which will regulate the political life of all South Africans for centuries to come. "The stakes are high. The ANC realised that after the referendum President de Klerk was becoming increasingly popular. He was also making sig-

\ <S

f How do you stop the township violence?

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

- l

THE IMMIGRATION CENTRE

the tribal differences that exist within the country. "lt should be noted also that neither

A møssive

Yes

The second area of disagreement was the percentage of entrenchment in

the interim constitution. The government insisted that a bill of rights be entrenched in the constitution. They wanted it entrenched by 80% - in other words 80% vote would be needed to lift the entrenched bill of rights. The ANC rejected this but seemed to be considering 751, The third point concerned devolution of power.Local tribal groups felt they

wanted a say in their future as far as cultural matters were concerned and that they were not prepared to be dictated to by central government as far as local policy is concerned. Botha said an agreement was within sight when the ANC pulled out of the negotiations and began its mass action.

"This is something for which I ar'l very critical of the ANC. I believe that you can only go forward through negotiations where ideas are exchanged. All sides have their own concerns. They also have to look after the interests of their constituencies. "The blacks want power and the white minority seek some means of protection. By that I mean they want a government that is regularly tested at the polls and not one man one vote once. This is an area where there has to be some meeting of minds. The ANC has to

for

Klerk

accept the fact that negotiations are about give and take. lt doesn't make sense for the ANC to say it believes in the negotiation process but at the same time say mass action is about forcing the government to meet ANC demands. "As far as I am concerned if you don't get what you want you go back to the negotiating table and back again until an agreement is reached." On the township violence, Botha was critical of all parties - Mandela for not being able to control radical elements within the ANC, Buthelezi for not being able to control the excesses of lnkatha and the government for not curbing the excesses of the police. Botha pointed out that the violence in black townships was limited to certain areas of the country such as areas around Johannesburg and some pads of Natal. Judge Richard Goldstone, who headed

a commission of inquiry into the violence issued a repoft in May in which he

blamed much of the violence on rivalry between the ANC and the lnkatha Freedom Party. Judge Goldstone, whose appointment to head the inquiry was backed by the ANC, said he could find no evidence of secret government involvement. Botha said that the violence in South Africa had to be seen in the context of

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

Mandela, Buthelezi or Presidentde Klerk condone the violence,"Botha said. "The problem is on the ground where somehow control has been lost to the more radical elements. "Even among the security forces there are some rogue elements." When looking at the violence, Botha said he thought the ANC made a fundamental mistake in 1990 when it insulted the Zulu king. At the time lnkatha was not as united as it is today. "The Zulu's are an incredibly proud people and tend to be conservative. The ANC which is mainly dominated by Xhosa felt it could push aside the opposition," Botha said. "But that has not been the case. The

violence in the townships is based on political and ideological and traditional

antagonisms between the Zulu and Xhosa.

"The police, who are rescruited from all over the country, have no power to stop it. "So how do you stop the violence? Do

you revert back to the bad old days when troops were sent into the townships and people were detained and curfews imposed? "No one in the townships wants to work with the police so they can't do

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import of foreign capital, technology and expertise. ln 1988 he opened the entire maritime region and the city to all Soviet citizens and moves were underway to open the city to foreigners when Gorbachev fell from power last year and the Soviet Union disintegrated. Today, Vladivostok is an open city thanks to Russian President Boris Yeltsin who is eager to see foreign investment attracted to the region. One man who is shapping Yeltsin's policy in the region is Valery Boutov, the president's special adviser on China

and the Far East. ln a lunch time address to the FCC last month Boutov, the most senior Russian to visit Hong Kong, said the task that lay ahead for Russia was not an easy one.

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anything. I personally don't know how to stop it short of getting Mandela , Buthelezi and President de Klerk together around the table and saying 'right tell your supporters to stop the killing'. "The Boipatong incident got a lot of coverage. But a few months earlier there was a similar incident in another township where ANC supporters killed men, women and children in a squatter camp. Not a word of condemnation from the churches, no security council meeting. Boipatong was not an isolated incident." But despite the problems Botha was incredibly optimistic about the future prospects for South Africa. He believes a negotiated constitutional agreement will be reached and that there will be a coalition government next Year.

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THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

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Boutov makes a quĂck call at Yelts Inn in Lqn Kwai Fong. Speaking through an interpreter, Boutovsaid:'"We still have a long way to go. But with some help from our friends in the West I believe we will

succeed." Despite the direstate the Russian econ-

omy is in, Boutov still believes, perhaps alittle overoptimistically, that the country will make the transformation from a centralised to market economy within a

year. There can be little doubt that Vladivostok will play an important role in the economic development of Russia. The city is the capital of lhe Primorsky region which lies in the south eastern part of Russia's Far East. With a population of 2.3 million, about a third of the total for the Russian Far

East, the 166,000 square km territory

used

to produce about 2.6% of the

Soviet Union's gross national product. Extremely rich in natural resources, Primorsky produced nearly 90% of the Soviet Union's mineral wealth in 1990. lt also produced, 80% of fluorite, 60% of the cement and7"/" of the hardwood. Flanked by Siberia, it shares a border with China and a sea border with Japan. The Kurile islands, north of Hokkaido, were taken by the Soviets during World War 1 1 and have been kept ever since.

As a result Tokyo has refused to sign a formal peace treaty until the islands are given back. Yeltsin plans to visit Tokyo soon and the Kurile islands will obviously be one of the key malters to be discussed. Their return to Japan has blocked any formal end to hositilies between the two countries. Speculation in Japan is that if the islands are returned Japan will inject something like US$30 million in aid into

Russia, which works out at roughly US$60,000 an hectare for the Kurile lslands.

According to Boutov, the Japanese,

South Koreans, Chinese and Americans have started to invest in Vladivostok and Primorsky. The United States, he said, is to move its consulate from

Nakhodka

Vladivostok while the

Japanese and South Korean's will open consulates soon. "We have a great deal to offer investors," he said. "l know we have problems butthose problems are being sorted

"The idea behind this," he said, "is to create a special economic zone, similar to that which has been set up in China." Russia, he believes, has a lot to learn from the Chinese experiment in the free market economy. "l doubt, however, whether we could incorporate the Chi-

nese model in Russia," he said. "But I can see us taking the idea and modelling a system that will suit us." lnvited to Hong Kong by the Legislative Council, Boutov met with many of the colony's I'eading businessmen. "l think if we are to look at models for the economic rejuvenation of Primorsky, we can look no furtherthan Hong Kong,"

said Boutov. "Where we can learn

a lot is how

Hong Kong developed its relations with

China. I think this is very important in terms of how we approach our relations with Beijing." Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, there had been a mushrooming of trade along the border with China. "We hope

this will be allowed to continue

and

out."

develop," he said.

He said plans were underway to open a stockmarket in Vladivostok and a study

"Our future lies with Asia and I be.lieve we have the resources which will put us back on the map as Russia's window on

was being made on creating a greater Vladivostock which would incorporate the entire Primorsky peninsular.

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

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Keeping an open mind on the future of Russia Sergei Khrushchev was 29-years-old when his father, Nikita Khrushchev, was ousted as Soviet leader in October 1964. To many he was a man ahead of his time. A man that, despite his arrogance, saw the need to make fundamental changes to a system which had failed to deliver the promise of a better life to its people.Nikita Khrushchev may have sowedthe seedsfor his eventual downfall when he attacked the excesses of Stalin during the 20th Party Congress in February 1956, but to younger Party members he gave them hope for a better future. As for Sergei Khrushchev, a young rocket scientist at the time, lfe went on despite his father's downfall. South China Morning Postforeign editor, RichardVines, spoke with Sergei Khrushchev about his father and the collapse of communism during a recent visit to Hong Kong for the launch of Asia Inc. He also took time out to address the FCC.

RICHARD VINES: What was it like on the day your father was removed as Soviet leader? SERGEI KHRUSHCHEV: How could I

any bloodshed. And it was all done by a vote in the Central Committee. That, to my father, was a very big step forward in our country.

forget such a day. lt was lunch time and my fathel came home early and told us he had been deposed in what amounted

What was your father's mood on

to a bloodless coup. I remember

father saying it represented one of the most significant changes in Soviet soci-

ety since the death of Stalin. At first

didn't quite understand. My father looked

at me and said "l'm alive". lt was the f

irst time a Soviet leader and party leader

had been ousted without a struggle or

Now in countries likethe United States presidents are elected every four years. Some are re-elected and others aren't. lf you are not elected, it is no great

tragedy.

that day? Was he sad or was he

ln the old Soviet Union, power was

angry? I don't think he was angry. He was sad more than anything else. His dismissal had come as a great shock to him. All his life he had worked for the

everything. You came to power and you stayed there. There was no clause in a constitution which determined how long you stayed in office. My father said, many times during his 10 years in power, that he should retire. But it is one thing to talk about retiring and another to actually do it.

betterment of the party and the country. Then, allof asudden, everything stopped. He was no longer needed. lt was like stopping a train when it is going fast.

The years that followed your

Boris Yeltsin ... an American-style politician. father's fall from power were spent in isolation. How did he react to that especially since the man who succeeded him, Leonid Brezhnev, was

his protege? Yes, he was what we used to call a non-person. His name disappeared from

papers, his pictures came down from office walls and no one was game to mention his name in public fearing they would be overheard. All this was Brezhnev's work. He

feared

what my father had tried to do and he (Brezhnev) wanted to make sure the country was put back on an even keel, so to speak. Back to the good old days whenthe partysaid jumpand you jumped. I think Brezhnev was aweak man. He knew my father well. After all it was my father who brought him step by step to

power. Obviously Brezhnev was worried. He had to prove to everyone that he was right and that my father was wrong. Not wanting to go back to the good old days of Stalin where people simply disappeared overnight, Brezhnev

played a more subtle father was ignored.

game

That, at least, is one of Mikhøil Gorbqchev ... influenced by

Nikits Khrushchev .., a man beþre

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

Leonid Brezhnev ... tried to turn the clock back.

my the

explanations for what happened. But there are others ...

What did your father think of

Brezhnev's rule? My fathe/s demise,

if you like, was all

about power. On the one hand he was trying to reform the system but at the same time trying to keep the hardliners at bay. ln the end he lost. His attempts at reforming the indus-

they look buses, taxis or trains. He was not successful in changing that one though. The opposition against such a move was fierce.

Your father's speech to the Party's

20th Congress in 1956 in which he denounced the excesses of Stalin

trial and agricultural sectors were dumped

came as a great shock to many of the

over night. ln the 10 years my father

old guard within the party but to

was in power people sensed a loosening of the shackles. lt was his dream to give ordinary people back their dignity

such as Mikhail Gorbachev, it gave them new hope for more cultural

many ofJhe younger party members,

and self respect. He wanted to make life better for the people. All Brezhnev managed to do was to wind thè clock back where the bureaucrats grew fatter and the people's lot became worse.

freedom, economic flexibility and social justice. What would your father have thought of Gorbachev

That may be so, but when your

really don't know. lt is interesting to note that the reforms Gorbachev introduced followed closely some of the reforms

father was in power there was still a privileged elite? Of course there was but privilege during my father's day was limited to a few. Brezhnev, on the other hand cre-

ated a whole new class of privileged people.

For example, my father would not permit the building of special houses for bureaucrats. He even tried to change the regulations governing the use of state cars. He told party officials that in other cou ntries government off icials drove themselves and if they could not drive

today?

It is impossible to take a political figure from one epoch to another.

my father had tried to introduce. a man of the moment. ln my father's case he was too early. Your father's rise and fall has Obviously Gorbachev w as

been well documented and now we are seeing him viewed in a more favourable light, not only at home but internationally. What are your feelings on that? I

am happy to know my father will be

remembered as

reformer and as

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

someone who tried to limit the arms race.The arms race back in the late 1950s and early 60s was nothing like it is today, or should I say was. Both the Americans and Soviets wanted to limit their nuclear arsenals and even stop production. At the time you were only looking at 200 warheads ... not 20,000.

knows how to get publicity. He goes to America, for example, and says it may be possible that some prisoners of war are still held in Russia. lt makes headlines and people talk about him.

So what you are saying is that Yeltsin is more of a showman while Gorbachev was a man of substance?

Since Gorbachev came to power we have seen tremendous changes in what was once the Soviet Union. The Soviet satellÂĄtes have gone their

own wĂ˘y, Germany has

Yes. Gorbachev knew what he had to

do. He was committed to reforming all aspects of Soviet life. Yeltsin plays on

rhetoric.

been

reunited and the Soviet Union is no more. As a former Soviet citizen,

how do you feel about what has happened to your country? I have mixed feelings. Here in the West you talk about the collapse of communism. The talk is mostly ideological and without any real understanding about what has really happened inside the old Soviet Union. For me what happened in the Soviet Union was not the collapse of an ideology but the realisation that the management of the country's economy, in other words, the centrally planned economy

had become a total failure in every respect. So Gorbachev tried to change

the system. He had some successes but he could not break away from that centrally planned mentality that existed in the Soviet Union and in the end the cou ntry disintegrated. Of course, it saddens me to see what

has happened because we grew up believing we were Soviet citizens.

How do you view Yeltsin as an eco-

nomic reformer then?

Sergei Khrushchev Kremlin, got it and destroyed the country.

So what do you think of Boris Yeltsin? He's an American-style politician. He knows how to talk to the people. As to his ability to run a country and introduce market reforms we will have to wait and see. So far there's no signs of any successful results.

You say Yeltsin is an Americanstyle politician, but some observers would say that Gorbachev was more of an American-style politician and Yeltsin's style ÂĄs that of a traditional

Soviet leader. They are different politicians. Yeltsin can blame the Communist Party but he

Time willtell. lf Yeltsin is successful it will be good for Russia. But it is too early to pass any judgement. What do you think he should be

doing? I think it is important to have a well designed economic plan for the future developmentof thecountry. A plan which

says these industries should stay and these should go. A plan which outlines the management and restructuring of the whole economy. lt is a very big and very complex job. As far as I know there is no such plan. At the moment there appears to be no cohesion in economic strategy. For example; they went on the offensive and freed prices. But in fact it was a policy of raising prices ... not freeing

them. It is necessary to free prices, there is no argument. But how do you do that in

is still the same person who once sat in

a country which has known nothing but central planning? How do you prevent

Georgians married Russians and their

the Politburo. Gorbachev, on the other

inflation? etc, etc.

children may have gone to school in the Ukraine and decided to live there. I can't blame Gorbachev for the disintegration of the Soviet Union because he struggled right up until the last min-

believe we could have perhaps found

hand, was very different, because Gorbachev was the first Russian leader who was a real democrat. Let us not forget it was Gorbachev who introduced a free press into the Soviet Union, free elections and spoke about the possibility of granting independence to the republics. lt was Gorbachev who wanted to sit down with the republics and draw up a new union

the solution to the country's problems

treaty. He was not totally against their

of unemployment? At the moment the people still trust Boris Yeltsin. The big question is for

within the old Union structure. I think the decision to disolve the Union was a mistake ... a big mistake. When I look at

independence.

how long

As a political reformer, history will judge Gorbachev kindly. As an eco-

future?

what has happened it strikes me

nomic reformer he was a failure.

ute to hold the country together. No Boris Yeltsin saw to it that the old Soviet Union fell aparl and I believe he is doing

that with Russia today. I

having been a struggle for power. Boris Yeltsin wanted Gorbachev's chair in the

10 THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

Yeltsin talks a lot but there is very little to show for all the talk. But Yeltsin

1992

Are the Bussian people suffering great hardships because of the price

rises? Well, they want reforms. They accept

reforms have to be made. But what does it mean for the ordinary man and woman? Does it mean rising prices, the threat

...

Are you pessimistic about try not to be.

INTERNATIONAL

the

we're

all the

COVER STORY ... "ln time of war promotions came rather quickly," Lawrence said. "Anyway, this colonel friend of mine said: "Lawrence old boy you're a jour-

Anthony Lawrence: The Yoice of Asia or the best part of 20 years Anthony Lawrence was the voice of Asia. As Far East correspondent for the BBC between 1956 and 1974, Lawrence covered nearly every major event which has helped shape today's Asia. He was in lndonesia for the revolt of

the colonels in the late 1950s; he reported on a )/oung communist

By Karl Wilson

Lawrence enlisted in the army and went

peninsular.

"lt was all rather disturbing. None of us really knew what

was happening," Lawrence recalled. "ln fact, I remer{ber sitting in a cafe with a French officer, a sensible man who had been a school teacher before the war. He was particularly depressed. He said: 'lf it goes on like this we will have to pack it in'. I looked at him with incredulity and said you can't, you simply can't.

emergence as a world economic power and tried to make some

sense out of the confusion that was, and still is, communist China. And, of course, he never lost the

opportunity to report on Hong Kong and its people.

"Little did I know that the German Panzer divisions had

Lawrence may have retired back in 1974 but he didn't stop working. Books, radio and television documentaries have fol-

swept across France and were about to push us back across the Channel."

lowed. And for a man who turns

lndeed, by the end of May, 1940, the French Premier, Paul

80 this month, Lawrence has never lost his enthusiasm or pride

Reynaud, who was supposed

in his chosen profession. It was no accident Lawrence became a journalist. His grandfather worked for the Manches-

man who lived an extraordinary life and

12 THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

with Germany. On January 1, 1940, straight to Aldershot for basic training before being shipped off to St Malo just around the corner from the Cherbourg

laya for the insurgency and Vietnam forthe war. He saw Japan's

what presence. Lord Nonhcliffe (owner of lhe Daily MaT)described him once as the 'world champion interviewer'. "You know, he wasn't half wrong. I

Britain was atwar

Born and educated in Wimbledon, Lawrence left school at 18 and got his first job on the Wimbledon Adver-tiser.

Yew who was stirring up unrest among young Chinese in Singapore in 1956. He was in Ma-

on Ihe Daily MaiL "l think I decided to become a journalist when I was 12," Lawrence recalled. "lt followed a visit by my uncle to our house in Wimbledon. There was this

away-

good."

sympathiser called Lee Kuan

terGuardian and hisuncle, Arthur Lawrence, was political correspondent

Europe and it was only a question of time." On September 4, 1939, all doubt had been cleared

read some of his work and by god it was

nalist aren't you? Why don't you stay on

with the lnformation Control Unit? "This was part of the de-Nazification campaign which the allies had undertaken. For our part, we were to see that the German press and radio were put back on an even keel again. lt was a

to have represented a

"Now there was an said. ln the following years he jumped from one local paper to another and finally ended up onThe Wembley News onlhe magnificent salary of seven pounds. "l was about 27 and running the whole outfit -- subbing and editing," he said. "l can't recall whether Fleet Street was uppermost in my mind because the dark clouds of war had spread across

1992

more war-like spirit than his ousted predecessor, Edouard Daladier, called Churchill and said: "We have been defeated. We are beaten. We have lost the battle." With France defeated, Britain prepared to evacuate over 350,000 British and allied troops stranded on the shores at Dunkirk. ln one of the still unexplained acts of the war, Hitler ordered his commanders to stop just 50 miles from Dunkirk. "As the evacuation was taking place at Dunkirk, we were supposed to move

Interviewing RĂchard Nixon in Hong Kong

out and start reconnoitering the surrounding countryside," Lawrence said. "Obviously, with the evacuation taking place someone had the good sense to tell us to get the hell out of the place and that is exactly what we did. "Men piled onto boats and started to make their way across the Channel as German bombers straffed and attacked.

I remember looking up as one Junker came low overhead. lthought, this is it. But nothing happened. ran out of bombs."

guess it simply

years. I made some very good friends in Brussels ... friends who have remained friends to this very day. You know, that is what makes journalism to me so important. lt's about people. "l remember just after the war talking to a German in Hamburg and telling him how we had a rather good run up through France in bright sunshine. He said yes, we had a similar experience but we were going the other way." After the German collapse, Lawrence found himself in Hamburg and a captain

most interesting period. I met many German journalists who were not Nazis and managed to survive. They simply did not write during that horrible period. "ln fact I played a pad in setting up the famous weekly Die Zeit which still flourishes. My friend the colonel put me on to it. Told me he had a chap who wanted to start a magazine." It was while in Hamburg that Lawrenece met and fell in love with a young German lady, lrmgard, who worked for him as a translator and interpreter. Fraternisation was still frowned upon but Lawrence was determined to marry her. By 1946, Lawrencefound himself back in Wimbledon, this time at his sister's house, and thinking about trying to get a job with the BBC. "As luck had it my sister threw a drinks paĂąy for me and one of the guests just happened to be Donald Edwards, who was the head of

Back in Britain Lawrence was reassignedtothe RoyalArtilleryand stayed there until D-Day in 1944. "Life was not dull, I can assure you," he said. "We had plenty to shoot at."

ln the summer of 1944, Lawrence was on his way back to France. The DDay invasion had been launched in June and he joined the push through France and up into Belgium. "The Germans were in retreat and we had a rather clear run to Belgium where we spent the winter. I remember arriving in Brussels, amazed to see that the Germans had not touched a single brick. I was a lieutenant by then and my batman had forgotten to send my dress uniform back. So there I was with this splendid dress uniform with the local people thinking I was a general. "lt's funny, looking back after allthese

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

BBC world news at the time. "He asked me what languages I spoke and I told him - French and German. That didn't impress him much. He was looking for something more exotic. And then he asked me what Fleet Street papers I had worked on. The Wembley News hardly rated Fleet Street status. "l wrote it off," Lawrence said. "Anyway, a couple of weeks later I got a call and was offered a job. I presented myself at Bush House, thinking I would be placed in the German section, only to be told I had been assigned to the Italian section. Surely some mistake, I asked. "After the Wembley News, it was a push-over. Everything had started to fall into place that year - 1946. But there was just one thing missing ... my fiancee. I waded through allthe bureaucratic red tape and in December my colonel friend rang me and told me lrmgard would be arriving in Hull in three days timè. I met her and we married. I wasn't going to wait around." Lawrence only spent six months in the ltalian section of the BBC. He was then sent to the German section and later arrived on the 'Centre Desk'- monitoring copy and subbing.

being out there where the news was

January.

happening?" Lawrence had to wait a few more years before his break came. Although it was not through any lack of trying on

Not long after he arrived riots broke out in Singapore and the flames were fanned by communists and one young Lee Kuan Yew.

his part. He had let enough people in the BBC know he wanted a foreign posting. It was to come in 1956 when he was

"l mean, who would ever have thought back then that Lee Kuan Yew would be

sent to Washington as a back up for thê

correspondents who happened

covering the US party congresses. Lawrence's job was to man the bureau. After that it was Singapore.

---

On øssignment in Laos 1961

I doubt

I was slightly taken back. I said to my wife 'Singapore is 8,000 miles from the corridors of power and I reckon, at the most I will get in one dispatch a week if I'm lucky.'

one else," he said. By the early 1950s and with the Cold War in full swing, Lawrence had stafied to get restless. On the Centre Desk he managed to snare the odd foreign job and it was on one such job in 1953 that he started to get itchy feet. "lt was the opening in New York of the

United Nations Assembly. I thought to myself, this is for me. Why sit in London and not get any of the glory of actually

"Then you remember fragments of talk in the small hours with a Chinese

stands of great events ....

deceitful news conferences; the baking

"You receive a letter with an unusual, untranslatable stamp on it from some country without ambition. lt arouses a memory of a broad, brown river under the sun with huts along the bank where a woman braids her hair and laughs at a naked boy on a buffalo.

concrete of innumerable airports;

man in a cafe back-room with cigarette

smoke coiling in the lamplight; long,

enormous bedrooms in old hotels; the jungle." Asked about 1997, Lawrence said "lt would be hard to leave friends -- Hong Kong is where most of them live."

The consummate professional

around me it was hell selling it -back to London. This was Asia and not many people saw it as a

"Now there is a funny story," Lawrence said. " When Singapore came up

any mistakes, you get the blame. No

aboutpeople. It's all very well for someone in high office to make a decision but how does that effect the ordinary human being?" Lawrence's view on the correspondent's role is best summed up in the preface of his book The Foreign Correspondent where he wrote: thisenough, our business

with all this happening

rence said. "You had to choose the right 10% and chuck the rest. whether you could find anything better." Lawrence soon found himself promoted to "Duty Edito/' a job he found extremely taxing. "l mean, if there are

standing of how this region has grown over the years. But I can't emphasise

"The rewards are elusive and related to memories. You had this chance to travel to strange places and sometimes have a seat booked in the spectator

"l tell you what, it kept you on your toes. You can't imagine the amount of material that flowed through the desk in a day, " Law-

"But as a training ground

the father of modern Singapore," Lawrence said. "There was so much happening at the time that I felt right at home. Watching these countries develop and those people who made it happen were the basic ingredients to everything

the years has proved useful for some and people have gained a little under-

"She looked at me and said 'take it ... think of all the exotic places we can

big story and most people thought Chinese ran around with pig tails. "As far as I was concerned Asia was an ¡mportant story and I made it a point to make that story interesting to those who sat around their radios listening to the news. I humanised the story so people on the other side of the world could relate to it and, hopefully, understand a little about what was happening in this partof the world." As Lawrence neared the end of his three-year tour in Singapore he was looking at a posting to New York which he thought would be a good idea. But the BBC had started to see the value of having someone like Lawrence who had a feel for the people and cultures that made up Asia. Lawrence stayed and was posted

lo Hong Kong from where he would also cover China. Lawrence never lost a minute. "Asia was changing so fast," he said. "You

the BBC's Far East correspondent.

had the Vietnam War and all its horrors and of course the after effects which are still relevant today. You also had the emergence of Japan and the four tigers Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and -South Korea - as major international economic entities in their own right. "The region never ceases to fascinate me and in particular the ordinary Chinese whom I have come to respect and admire over the years.

His family joined him in the following

"l only hope what I have done over

explore.'

"We always had a democratic house hold and I wanted to know what our son Alex felt. He looked at me, with the wisdom of his eight years and said 'that's OK as long as I get a monkey.' " With that solved Lawrence found himself in Singapore in September 1956 as

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

or more than a

generation

Anthony Lawrence was the voice of the Far East to virtually all of the BBC's Overseas Service listeners, and for many domestic radio and television audiences too. The crisp, finely crafted "two minuters" were the stuff of Radio Newsreel. The more extensive and thoughtful reports were featured in From Our Corre-

spondent and a wide variety of other programmes that featured Tony Law-

rence as the authority on what was happening in Asia, and what brought it about. I had interviewed him a number of times for Radio Hong Kong, the station with which he maintained a happy so-

cial and professional relationship. On one occasion he was, albeit reluctantly, persuaded to talk about a book he had just written - his first venture into fiction as far as I recall- and what a minefield that has often proved lo be for people who have spent their lives reporting

fact!

Was it difficult, making the transformation from fact to fiction, I asked him. "Yes, it was," said Tony. "When you've spentyou're lifewriting two minute bursts for news sloté, or 90 second sound bites for television, you tend to feel the signoff is overdue after 200 hundred words

or îo." Tony's career as a novelist was shortlived, but his vocation as a reporter continues to this day.

living up on Conduit Road at Mid-Levels

By Ted Thomas

and was enjoying breakfast when his

editor in London called him and asked if he would do a quick two minute piece

His distinctive on-air style of clipped

on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth,

consonants and short vowels with heavy emphasis on key words, and a happy knack of treating the less compelling components as throwaway lines, always seemed to me to be underlined by a rather indolent standard Southern English accent, but if it was, it never came through. He was the consummate professional.

which at the time was moored below in the harbour just off Stonecutters lsland.

I again had him

erupted from his telephone as his chairbound foreign editorexcited bythe Reuter flash in his hand cried ...'the bloody thing is on fire!"' "And I looked out of my window," said

Some years ago

sitting opposite me in an RTHK studio on the occasion of his retirement as Far East correspondent for the BBC. By

that time he'd been a familiar voice to over two generations of listeners. He had seen war, famine, flood, riot and violent change of government in countless countries and yet retained his urbane composure and his lively questioning excitement at each and every new assignment. How had it changed over all these years? To what extent had the craft of reporting the patchwork quilt of hard news, human interest and contemporary history developed and evolved? His answer came back in an instant. "Communications," he said, "the sheer speed of communication's." Could he give an example, I asked. "Oh, yes," he said. It referred to a time when he was

"What sort of piece do you want," asked Tony, ever the meticulous re-

porter. "Human interest? Maritimenautical? Business? Educational? General news? Feature or magazine stuff?" A loud noice, not unlike an explosion

the astonished Tony, "and by God it was! You can't beat a good agency." There was talk some years ago of Tony Lawrence retiring and going back

to England to grow roses or whatever else retired newsmen do.

But we all knew that this was an unlikely scenario for an old Asia hand such as Tony. Happily that event never took place and Tony's avuncular presence is still a happy feature of the FCC either at the bar or sitting at lunch with old cronies and admirers. There has never been a more courte-

ous, kindly and helpful practitioner of the correspondents' art and craft than Tony

Lawrence.

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST

q 1992

TREIUIIS Technical Achievement Award he 1990 Technical Achievement Award for the dedolight.

Free information does not come gratis

DEDO\ryEIGERT ùù *@L" ol

We¡sd

rild CúH lot

^r^*

tie

beto,ñent oI

r"-,otry ruryr"i-Saq,í

the

4nn,g

@A,M.P.A.S.@

riters beware: Photocopy machines are gobbling up your royalties and threat-

ening the existence of outlets for your work. Not only has the information Age failed to create the ,paperless office', it has filled offices and classrooms with illegal photocopies of other people's copyright works. The end result is lost income for crea-

tors and publishers, increased

likeli_

hood of business failures by publishers,

and consequent closure of outlets for your work. Worst of all, it is an erosion of the moralbasis of copyright, which holds

that it is the author's exclusive right to control the reproduction of his or her

work and to reap the fruits of such reproduction.

There can be no free press or other

WagnêL

forms of free printed expression worthy of the name if there is no impetus to original creation and no economic vital_ ity left in the publishing business. Hey, what's a few pages, right? Wrong. Estimates based on interna_

nsc

Credits include:

tional surveys in 1gg6/g7 reckoned

"Beauty and the Beast"(Emmy Award), "Disaster Silo 7" (Emmy nomination),

photocopying machines worldwide were making between 200 and 300 billion pages of copyright protected material per year. Most of those copies were made illegally. Technology marches on ... just ask your local supplier how much

"0uantum Leap" (Emmy nomination)

My favorite source of illumination....' ln television producti0n there is litile

time or money to extend cinematogra-

faster and more advanced their ma_ chines have become in the past half_

phy. I have used dedol¡ghts under the

most d¡fficult c0nditions. They have proven t0 be my favorite source of

dozen years (nowadays two sides at a go and a colour-copy option). But let's take the high road here, pro bono publicus. Howwillthe world,s teen_ agers get an education without their teachers passing out mountains of ille-

illumination. dedolights are extremely rugged and versatile in even the most

c0nf¡ning 0f circumstances, Although they can be used for small setups,

consistently use them

to light large

sets. dedolight has an accurate beam, a

pure spread, and remarkable intensity.

dedolights allow me

to be creative

under the impossible time constraints of television.'

gally copied textbook and magazine

+ft1¡+t+

TTREMIS CO.. LTD. ËËtËÊürË 1 ffËÉË*+,ù.801 -2Ë 80I.2 KORNHILL METRO TOWER,

1 KORNHILL ROAO, TAIKOO, HONG KONG.

Tet. €ãÉ : agssror Fax. EtÊtÉ : s68s2ss

pages? How will governments keep their

massive civil service corps abreast of what the world thinks of their policies without illegally copied newspaper and magazine clipping files? How will busineses steal industrial secrets from each

use), which protects legally incorpo-

By Fred Armentrout

rated and accountable publishers from the guerrilla press of high-volume pho_

other if they cannot accumulate dossi_ ers of articles and book chapters about their competitors' research and devel_ opment projects? We're far beyond the Luddite option, there are just too many photocopy machines for authors and publishers to pullthe plugs. There's no stopping this avalanche of illegal copies. Besides, is there a literate soul left on earth pure enough to cast the first stone?

where it belongs: as a matter between authors and publishers.

The truth is we all make illegal photo_

copies of somebody's works for one purpose or another. Which is why, like parlicipants in any underground econ_ omy, we swallow indignation in favour of unspoken complicity in the theft of our own and other people,s works. lnsti_

tutional graft begins at home. Enter the RRO, full name: Reprogra_ phic Rights Organisation (a.k.a. Copy_ right Collection Society). This is a national group, representing a broad cross-

section of authors and publishers, usu_ ally with the cooperation of government

law-makers, that works for the collec_ tive administration of reprographic rights. ln simple terms:

o They survey the level of illegal

copy_ ing by major institutions such as schools,

government offices, and businesses.

tocopiers. This puts publishing back

o They negotiate

a page rate with high_

volume users of photocopiers and they negotiate a kind of amnesty payment for transgressions bringing - thereby the underground, illegal publishing in_ dustry based on photocopying into a legal, open relationship with the people from whom they formerly stole. ln 1991 , 1 7 countries had RROs and there is an international federation (IFRRO) whose members came to Hong Kong in January pleading with attendees to band together and form a Hong Kong

RRO (the first in Asia was formed

Japan last year). They promise their full support to anyone who will take up the torch and run with it. The Hong Kong Government needs a credible RRO if it is to enact a credible

revisiori to the existing copyright law (now based on the 1956 UK legislation, which the UK revised in 1988). This explains why their peter K. F. Cheung, assistant director of policy and legisla_ tion of the lntellectual property Depart_ ment, organised the event.

New legislation is expected to be

passed within the next year or so. A White Paper has been issued and

a They negotiate clauses in the na_ tional laws that empower the RRO to

comments received. pressure is mount_

collect royalties for all domestic and

try spokesmen for the government to

foreign authors and similarly insist their member authors and publisher organisations put clauses in their charters that cause members to empower an RRO to

represent their collective interests in the limited area of reprography (a hifalutin' way of saying photocopying).

o Theysetgoodfaith limitstotheamounts of free 'fair use' photocopying allowed (meaning something akin to personal

ing from information technology indus_ move and release the draft of the new law.

The problem in Hong Kong is bound to be bigger than you think, because no one believes how much is stolen until it

is demonstrated by imparlial surveys. John-Willy Rudotph, with Norway,s RRO (called Kopinor), prepared an extensive handbook which he has given the Hong Kong chapter of pEN permission to use

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

in any way that will help to promote an RRO in Hong Kong. The best way is to merely cite his five to six-year-old statistics from Norway, a country of just overfour million peoplealmost two million fewer than in Hong Kong: government administrators, ex-

cluding those in education, made 232 copy pages per employee each year of copyright protected material. Over 70o/" of them were from newspapers and

other periodicals. He éstimated that

,.,:; I

nces are

private industries engaged in research and development copy much more. ln the school system, there was an average of 1 92 pages copied per pupil per year. There, just over 97o were from press sources. Most are from books. The good news is that all of this copy-

ing, once brought into a legal trading relationship, means an RRO can be self-supporting. Again Rudolph's Norwegian figures are telling: total income collected by his RRO in 1987was US$7.5 million, split between authors, editors and publishers. Press sources alone

recovered US$1 .1 million.

For those of you who think Hong Kong produces too little in English and Chinese to protect, take heart - surveys have also found that 30-50% of illegal copies are from foreign publishers, for whom RROs typically also collect royalties.

There is no silver lining without its incumbent dark cloud. How do you find activists willing to wade through the high seas of copyright legalese so as to even understand the issues? Once done, how do they educate and unite the many fragments of an industry comprising individual creators in uneasy relations with fiercely competing publishers? Then there is the hard bargaining with government, educational institutions, and businessesto arrive at page

copying rates, preliminary surveys, monitoring procedures, and revislons to existing laws.

At day's end it's always the same answer: if you won't fight for your copyrights, who will?

There is an opportunity here for authors and editors to lead in the formation of an alliance with publishers and

government. Nobody in Hong Kong opposes the formation of an RRO

even most of the people stealing would prefer an honest way out of the morass which the lnformation Age has thrust upon us. There will never be a better time for authors and editors in Hong Kong to make a stand on this issue. We are surrounded by allies, albeit confused and/or reluctant ones in many cases. For this reason, the new PEN (English-language) Chapter in Hong Kong is calling for interested volunteers to help establish a sub-committee to act as a Hong Kong RRO secretariat until fees begin to be collected and the organisation can stand on its own.

Anyone interested in helping can contact Fred Armentrout on 526-0165 or fax him on 810-1289 during office hours.

PEOPLE ø recent Europeøn Communitg trip to Søþoa t{o C[ti futiní City to tfrose of you wfro ørriuel ftere øfter tfre u)dL soîrc mzmúers founl time to re[ø4 øt øn e4ceffent wøteingfiofe (actuaíg tfre onfg one) ca[el SfrøLu eu6, [ocotel on tfte lirst f[oor of the off ßonk of Americø íui%íng just across ftom tfre Søigon [oøting t{ote[.'Ifie pub is oamel 6y øformer Austra[ion Airforce Inte[fþence offûer (sure[g ø controliction in terms) nomzc[ IQrry Co[[isoa wfio some of you nigñt futou as tfie man øfio startel tfie Çeorge anl Dragon Pub in Jokg.rtø. ßuilu Ítor.ting tfie coffest 6eer in tozun, tñey serve e4ceffent 'I/i¿tnam¿se øs øeff as European gru6. 1Qrry is p[anning to 6uiff 20 rootns on tfre top f[oor for okiting joumo's ønl íusinusm¿n øt coffipetitiae pdru to tfie

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fioteß. Anotfr¿rgoolfeøtureistñe6tøcft"6oørl,wftereoisitorstosøitotlcønputtfteirnam¿s,ftoteßønlcontactnum6ers.Akoøaøi[ø6[eøreneztspøpers anl magazinu.Ifte popers øre usuaíy a log off (rtepenling onftþfi*) 6rt tfrot ß ø fteff of ø fot úetter tñan most ftotek in toøn. On gour ne4¡ tip to Søþoru makg sure to lrop in for ø lrink-anl ø cftat, it's tÍte ftienl[iest p[aæ in toum.

ffi irr generous LlA gnlmeasures and during huppy

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(L-R) Jonathøn Braude, South China Morníng Post; Rumhardjono, Kompas; Stefan Reisner, Stern; Karin Malmstrom and Hubert Van Es.

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

The Swire Group

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melaffortfieirlinftngffir*.'the{inø[,wfibñui{t6eñzHonSeptemíer20,zuiff6esfrawnon'T'LB.'Tfr¿øinnerui[receittea$40,000gotlmednt, secontl prize u¡i[[ 6e a $ 20,000 gotl nela[ øn[ tftirl prize ø $ IO,OOO goU melø[.

tlt0e

't, ''-t.

San

!lliqutr

:-ti

Celfu Kwan: Just in with 5.6 seconds,

Thomas Hall: Savouríng the lest drop

Dave Garcin: A credible 5,3 sec.

Eafiiúitions Ju[g søu tfie staging of two succusfuf art exftiíitions øt tfie C[u6.'ffre first (as rertizøel in tfr¿ June issue of'Ifre Corruponlent) feøturel contenporary lietnam¿se ørt.'Ifi¿ seconl øas an e4fii6ítian of lPortugwse ørtßt Artur ßuø['s øorfu. Ífte e4fti6ition uas sponsorel 6y tfre Consufate-Çenerø[ of lPortugø[.

Only

Cathay Pacific have an all

Rolls-Royce powered, wide-bodied

fleet. lncluding the 747-400, the world's most advanced passenger aircraft. Which means we can fly

more non-stops on some of

the

world's longest routes to and f rom

our home, Hong Kong. So take

the

Rolls, and arrive in better shape.

Vietnømese exhibition s hit

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

.-2

CATHAYPACIFIC Arrive in better shape.

T-

ßtoaling up

Letter from Los Angeles

ø stornL ...,

I'vng Cu[turøf Certre, [egendary Austn[ínn reel man Don ßurroøs írcugñt füs quørtet a$oss tfi¿ fraúourfor ø nþfit øt tfr¿ fCC on Ju[y 6, entertøiring ø parful møin lining room zuítfi øn eaening of top-ftigflt jazz. ßu¡ow6 wfro tume[ 64 tftß montfi, k cefeínting ftis 50tft yeør as a musici.an. It wøs eorfg 1942 ufr¿n lBurroøs, ø (Bonli scfroof60g, 6egøn lßpfoging remorfutí[e øíiIitg on fris ß-fht scfroo[ f[ute. I{e raas tfren gir)en ø ctorinet anl úg tñe enl of tfre year ftøl feft scfioo[ ønl tumel professíona[.

fræft from

øn øÍ,peø.roflce at tfre !{ong

torms and tempests seem to have dogged our every step of late. We arrived in LA at the beginning of

February, it was raining and it continued to rain, it flooded, people got swept away, people were made homeless, people died. lt was the worst flooding since records began in Southern California. The six-year drought had

"I lon't regret feouing scfroo[ eør[y íecøuse I utouí ñoøe missel so mucft if I ftaln't," soil tfie Aussie effer støtuman ofjøzz as fr¿ ma¡k ftk goffzn ønnirtersory in øfiøt can 6e ø aery risfty íushess . 'Ll'itfi ßunoøs for tfte Hong Tr.ong gþ øerc A.Ç . Ç aspon, a \assist øfro frns 6een zttitft him for 15 gears, guitorßt çeorge Çoffø ønl tfu young lrummer Çorlon \ytneßter. ßLr'rows lemarctrøtel fik equøf ø6i{itg on cfainet, f[ute, sopranØ afto an[ 6ass sø4opfrane ønl a 6ut liln't sounl tfrat way. Jopønue instrumett tfiot fooful [ifu sofletflinf out of ø tog store Ifre group's tour inc[ulel itops in SfratgfraL I(ua{o Lumpur anl Singøpore íefore ttzg jettel 6øc( to Syr[neg, zttfr¿re ßutrows fros ø perfianent spot in one of tfre citg's top pu6s. t{e øilt fr¿altine tfr¿ Sylneg ønl Me[6oume jozz futioak [ater this geor. In 7988, ßurrous øøs nam¿l one of Anstrø[ia's foul notionø[ trcasures a[ong witfr szttimtner Døwn fraser anl opera star Døme loøtt Sutfier[anl. 'I'[ [ike to uríte o úiayøpfty ønl mokg anotfrer atbum," ßutous søil. 'tsut I'm alftaÌl tñey nay spil[ oaer itto ne4¡ geor.' l{e øfrealg fras recorlel neør[y 20 afíums ønl fras uorftçl zuítfr peopte tifo fra.nksinøfio, fuþt ftng Co[c' 'fony ßennett ønl Me[ Íorm¿.

ended.

The sun shone and the usually arid Californian desert bloomed. lt was carpeted with flowers, many varieties of which people could not remember seeing before. Picnickers took to the freeways in droves to head for the desert to view this wonderful sight. All around these wild desert plains the

Wfrn

ñe

cønfin[

tfr¿ time,

ßurows' interuu [iz h pßotogrøpfry' fisfr,ing' gotf' tennis anl 6oøting.

Don Burrows

OBITUARY MARJORIERAVENHOLT I92I.T992 MARJORIE RAVENHOLT, the wife of Albert Ravenholt one of the founding members of the FCC, died recently, aged 71. She was a reporter in China for Life

a royal reception because

Ying," Albert recalled.

After graduating from

the Univer-

magazine, an intelligence off icerdur-

ing World War 11 in Asia and a close f riend of the Rockedellerfamiliy.

To name just a few things from her extraordinary life. Marjorie died on Monday, May 25, in the Swedish Hospital from complications following surgery for lung cancer.

Albert and Marjorie met while on assignment in China and were married on January 28, 1946, in Shanghai and had their honeymoon in Peking. Marjorie had worked with American efforts to try to mediate between the nationalist and Communist forces who were involved in the Chinese civil war. "lt was a hectic

time in China in those years," recalled Albert, who was United Press

lnternational's bureau chief in China

at the time.

"l'll always remember that

the

Chinese Communist army gave us

was the

only foreigner who had been to the home town of the Chinese MarshalYen Chien-

"IHECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

Marjorie Ravenholt

of Washington in 1941, Marjorie received a fellowship to attend Fletcher Schoolof Law and Diplomacy in Massachusetts, whereshe received a masters degree in inter-national law and diplomacy. After graduation she went to work for the federal Board of Economic Warfare, which was dedicated to buying up strategic material, such as rubber from Brazil, so it would not fall into the hands of the Axis powers. She later joined the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the ClA. Her duties took her to China, where her job was to help with an analysis of psychological warfare being used against Japan. When the Japanese surrendered Marjorie went to work for Life magazine. She later served on the US Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruclion in China, which later transferred to Taiwan and for three decades worked for the Ramon sity

Magsaysay Award Foundation, which was funded by the Rockerfeller family.

San Gabriel mountain range standing proud boasted the best skiing conditions for years. The amazing thing is that allthis is less than two hours drive from downtown Los Angeles. No wonder this is the most popular state in the USA. Then in a quiet and peaceful moment one evening the earth moved in Los Angeles and we experienced a Californian 'quake'. As earthquakes go, this one wasn't so bad but scary all the same. It had been difficult to decide where we should live. Most people we came across seemed to live miles out of town, for the most part because miles out of town is the only place that decent homes are available at affordable prices. Commuting for up to two hours on those renowned LA freeways seems to be the norm for many. We were having a hard enough time working them out let alone coping with driving on the right. One day I had inadvertently driven right past my exit. I came off the freeway thinking that I would find my way to my destination on the surface road. By some tricky manoeuvering and much hooting from fellow motorists I found myself back on the freeway heading back the way I had come and much closer to home than my original exit. I gave up. ln any event by then I was conscious of the fact that people can get themselves shot on freeways if some lunatic regards your driving skill or lack of it as an irritation. Our various escapades on the freeway in those early few weeks made the decision for us, we would live close to Simon's office. This meant living in Hollywood. For anyone who knows LA, they also know that Hollywood is not exactly the most desirable neighbourhood in this metropolis. However, we searched for and found a pleasant penthouse apartment with two beds, two baths, balcony with fantastic views of Los Angeles and with the most wonderful sunsets. All this for the princely rent of HK$13,000 per month. The building is called The Continental and we enter the lobby to the strains of Noel Coward enticing us to waltz to the lift. Four months later, a trip back to Hong Kong in between, I can now unequivocally state, here and now, that Hollywood is

bizarre.

I am not sure whether it is because of all the movie hype or what but there are definitely some very strange and wacky people about. Take this as an example of a normal Tuesday

afternoon trip to the supermarket. At the checkout I have a girl in front of me who is tattooed all around her neck and shoulders and she is wearing a safety pin through her right eyebrow. Behind me is a large, very well endowed black lady wearing a Madonna-type corset, bicycle shorts and suspenders holding up knee high stockings. Then, alerted by the rumbling noise of a skateboard I looked up to see a gladiator sailing down one of the aisles. He obviously wanted to remain incognito because his head was enveloped in a black scarf, although the give-away dark shades were fixed in position on top of the scarf. A cellular phone was strapped to his wrist and he was carrying his supermarket basket. Not wanting to appear to be too nosey, but curiosity getting the better of me Itook a surreptitious glance into his basket. Expecting to see something "eclectic' ( the popular word here for anything the origin of which you are not sure about) I was amazed to see a packet of cornflakes and a carton of milk. Obviously nothing at all odd about him ... but hardly a sight you would expect to find in Wellcome? The LA Press Club had suggested we join a health club if we

wanted to socialise a bit. Some of these health clubs are fascinating. We haven't joined one, we don't have to.lt is hard work just watching. Many of these clubs are situated at street level and boast large picture windows onto the street. lnside for all the world to see, the fitness fanatics of this city are lifting weights on machines, runnirfg on machines, rowing on machines, cycling on machines, doing aerobics on machines. lf there is a machine for it they are doing it and all in the window. Some of these aspiring actors and actresses are very tasty and you never know where Central Casting is lurking. There is an almost frenetic obsession in California about 'self'. People are totally absorbed in how they look and how they interact with others and they spend a great deal of their Íncome trying to make themselves fit and attractive, physically and mentally. An average Friday evening around the FCC bar would probably put many of them on the psychiatrist's couch. Talking of which, there are more psychiatrists in this state than anywhere else in the USA. There are also more plastic surgeons. You can have a face lift, a breast implant, a breast reduction, a nose job, a tummy tuck, fat taken from your bottom and injected into your wrinkles, eyelids tucked. You name it and you can have it at a price. You can even change the colour of your skin. As if this isn't enough there are numerous adult education classes offering courses about 'relationships'. Things like, 'How to meet the person of your dreams', 'How will you know when you have met the person

of your dreams', 'How can you keep the person of your dreams interested'.

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

NEW MEMBERS Singles clubs abound and from what we can gather it appears to be the only way for people to meet. There is no barrier as to age and singles'from 18 to 80 get together convivially for all kinds of activities. I was lucky to miss the riots, although from our balcony we would have had a birds-eye view. Simon had organised a business trip to Asia, we thought it a good idea if I went to

regularly wakened by police sirens and the whirring of helicopter blades. Not a pleasant feeling. Nevertheless, there are many here who would not live anywhere else. The weather is lovely and there are lots of beautiful spots to visit within easy reach from here. Social life still remains thin on the ground; we may have to

Hong Kong for a bit of R and R and he caught up with me after his trip to Seoul and Taipei. I left on the Monday for Hong Kong, Simon left on the Tuesday for Seoul and the riots starled on the Wednesday. Simon turned around and went right back, as frightening as it may be it was too big a story to miss. I stayed put. There is still tension in the air and myriads of talk-back radio hosts have got their teeth into this issue with a vengeance. The consensus is that the situation still simmers and could erupt at any time in any place and possibly with even more dastardly results than last time. Apparently 60% more firearms have been sold since the riots and it is feared that more

to go out in the evening and I have to admit that there is no

The FCC welcomes the following New Members

sneak into some singles clubs. Many people are not too keen way we would go for a stroll around Hollywood and Vine after dark. As an American friend who now lives in Phuket says

"one reason

it is difficult to

meet anyone in America

CORRESPONDENT

Masanobu Fujimoto, Hong Kong Bureau Chief, Nippon Television Network. Thea Guest, Asia Producer, BBC. Len Richarilson, Vice President (Asia-Pacific), Worldwide Television News. Sharon Singleton, Sub-editor, Reuters. Mitsunaga Tabata, Vice President News/Hong Kong Bureau Chief, Tokyo Broadcasting System. Bobby Yip, Sub-editor/Photographer, Reuters.

and in the hands of people who have no idea how to use them, never mind all the loonies. Statistics show that in the month

you have to be because you because everyone is paranoid can't trust anyone;too many nutcases, people running around who are certifiably insane". There is no doubt that there is a lot of poverty and many homeless people sleep in shop doorways. During the day they aimlessly push their meagre belongings about in supermarket trolleys. The so-called land of plenty seems to favour the haves and the have nots appear to have less than in many other Western countries. For us, I am sure we will look back on our time here as an experience we wouldn't have missed, but it is not a place where we intend to spend too much more time. Perhaps we are the only aliens living in California who don't want that illusive green card.

before the riots 11 1 people died as a result of gunfire, an average number for this town in any month. ln fact we are

Los Angeles

than 6,000 properties were looted. ln Los Angeles estimated that there are some

,000 gangs and over 150,000

members. ln the United States there are apparently more than 200 million firearms at large, many of which are illegal

Barbara and Simon Patch,

JOURNALIST

Marla Bishop, Sub-editor/Writer, Communications Management.

Jessica Carter, Freelance Journalist. Pui Hing Chu, Controller Educational Television, RTHK.

Susan Lim, Producer, Metro News. Carrie Lok, Journalisl, Wah Kiw Yat Pao. Christopher Roberts, Anchor/Reporter, Metro News. ASSOCIATE

Rik Buckley, Aircrew, RoyalAir Force. Harris Chiu, Managing Director, Levimark lnvestments Ltd. Ruby Hon, Parlner, Robert Lee & Fong. Vagn Knudsen, General Manager, Jebsen's Hong Kong. Edward Lau, General Manager Merchant Banking, Banque Nationale De Paris. Alista¡r Lekie, Deputy Head of Structured & Corporate Finance (Far East), National Westminster Bank. Robert Lellman, Managing Partner, Woods Bagot Group. Geoffrey Roome, Legal Adviser, World Wide Shipping. lan Rumgay, Managing Director, Gibson Public Relations. Paul Tse, Barrister.

THtr ZOO ( \ Superb Thai

Shop 105-8, l/F Ocean Centre

TST,Kowloon

cuisine in an

Tel:

elegant setting, with a spectacular view

.H.E.R. THAI RESTAURANT

BUT ÞARLING... E.VEN THE AUSTRALIAN5 ARE \ /EARING T H E^A./

31-702-88

HONG KONG Shop 132, The Mall

Historanle

Pacific Place 88 Queensway,

of Victoria Harbour. What

{

BY ARTHUR HACKER

fine Itq[ian fool

more could you

Wine

HongKong

Tel:86-800-86

Ifome of US Steaks & Ltve Matne I,obsters

wish for?

OpenTdaysaweek. Promenade Level, Tower 1, China Hong Kong City, Canton Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon. Tel: 735 8898.

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

Tel¿

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& LOUNGE D'Agullor 3troct Conlrul Hong Kong

TRIO'S RESTAURANT

Wo On

l¡no

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

TRAVEL

Wat's up in Angkor ne of the most exciting things

about Angkor is getting there. From Saigon the trip is two 3O-minute hops, first to Phnom Penh and then over to Siem ReaP.

The planes, however, are beat-uP, out-dated Russian jobs; turbo-props with overhead wings. The aircon doesn't cut in until the plane reaches cruising altitude and then what appears to be smoke Pours from the overhead vents; condensation

Heavenly Goddesses have been carved ín high relief at several places within the temple, Hand caresses from admirers over the centurtes have caused the shine on their sandstone boilies. The ancient religion practiced by the Khmers certainly had íts atlractions'

thick you can't see across the aisle' At Siem ReaP airport You have two

choices:

take

the AngkorTour-

ist

The cøuseway leading from the western gate to the first corridor of Angkor Wat is about one kílometre long. Oríginally the temple was surrounded by ø moat.

overnight package deal for around USg200,

y,;i:::i f#î ;{;!: ;:,:ríi1i'#å";" a likeness of King Jayavarman buílder of BaYon.

VII'

the

or get back on the aircraft.

At the galeway lo Angkor Thom ís a causeway flanked "giants" pulling on a sacred seven-headed cobra,

At the called)

(soGrand

Hotel most of the

At the end of the causeway ís the entrance to the first corridor of Angkor Wat, a Híndu temple deilicated to the

rooms were occupied by United

god Vishnu.

Nations troops.

The

military

seems to have gone up-market since my days in national service.

Angkor was founded by the legendary"Leper King" in the 9th century, and the Khmer kingdom flour-

ished for several centuries before its collapse around 1400 AD. Over 300 temples and monuments around Angkor were left to the jungle, the weather and pillage for 500 years before their rediscovery by the French naturalist Henri

Mouhaut in 1861.

Mike Smith "Cambodíana Smith" and the Temple of Tø Phrom, a few miles north of Angkor Wat. Here the ruíns have been left øs they were The Bayon, a Buddhist shrtne, has over

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

fifty

towers each is carved with

four

f ound'oiergrò*"-tt::;:::o'::,,:,:ï#:::"tre.eswíthrootstwisting

There are another 300 temples ín the vicinity of Angkor Wat. Most are iledicateil to Híndu gods such as Víshnu or Brahma, This one, at the end of an overgrown track, is Buddhist.

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

trLltr THERE'S ALWAYS

A STORYAT

MANAGER'S REPORT THE

HONG I(ONG TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Keeping the Italian flame burning ftel the short performance of our last chef Naldo Zryd, we have now engaged the already well known chef, Gabriella Erthein to run the Trattoria La Veranda

kitchen. Gabriella comes to us from Grappa's at Pacific Place where she was Chef de la Cucina at A Ristorante Toscano.

Although American born, Gabriella's love of ltalian cooking comes from her motherwhowas born and bred in Trieste. Still in the ltalian spirit, the ltalian Consulate General and Cathay Pacific will sponsor this month's ltalian week at the Club. Master chef Mongardi who

has worked as a chef in the Pappagallo Restaurant in Bologna, well known for excellence in food and prices and proud holder of one star from the Michelin Guide, willtrain our chefs and supervise

the preparation of specialties from

all

regions of ltaly. Chef Mongardi will present his cuisine from Monday, August 17 through to Wednesday, August 26 with a gala evening on Friday, August 21. The month will also see two days of lndonensian food and entertainment starting on August 13. The lndonesian Consulate General has kindly helped to bring two chefs and the band Flashback from lndones'" t?r_,f"_ occasion. This month will see a redesigned a la carte menu, with the traditional items on

one side and weekly suggestions, including appetizers, soups, fish, main

courses and desserts, on the other. This will keep the menu to a manageable size but at thè same time bring more frequent weekly changes spe-

Julía Suen *i***

Members please note, long time favourites such as Singapore fried vermicelli and sweet and sour pork have returned to the snack*menu.

For those of you who do not know Julia Suen, my loyal assistant and partner is emigrating to Canada this month and will settle on Montreal. Julia has been my right hand and conscience for

the past 10 years and I will certainly miss her around the Club. Another great loss is Billy Mak, our quiet but hard working assistant restaurant manager and doyen of the restaurant staff for 20 years. Billy has chosen a warmer climate and is emigrating to Australia.

cially geared to members using the main

Both of them are still looking for

dining room on a regular basis. And while on menus, Members will note a new cocktail snack menu which

employment and if any of our members could help, it would be much appreciated and well remembered.

will be available in all bars between 4pm

Billy Mak

Heinz Grabner

and 1Opm.

The Hong Kong Trode Development Council con help you moke business heodlines every doy of the yeor As

o mojor force in world trode you'll find we've olwoys got o good st0ry to tell: no podding, no puff ond bocked by occurqie, up{oìhe-moment figures ond stotistics Next time you receive one of our press releoses, give it o good once-over, You'll soon see whot we meon, Or contoct us if you need detoils on ony ospect of Hong Kong hode,

Gobriello Prozsok Tel: 3ó (4) '184-3398

Chicogo Jomes Yuen Tel: 72ó-45'15

Dollos Diono Potleßon Tel: 748-8162, Duboi Romzi Rood'tel: óó5950

Fronklurl Udo Kessler

. Miomi John Brogolel:571-0414, Milon Giovonno Conilel:8ó5405,8ó5745. Nogoyo Olozumi Esokilel:97'1-3ó2ó. NewYorkLouis Ep$einTel:838-8ó88 o Osoko Yoshiniso Ueno Iel:344-5211 . Ponomo Cily Anel E, Beliz Tei: ó95-894, ó95-ó'1 4 . Poris Dominique Duchiron Tel: 474-24a50 ¡ Seoul Chrislopher S, l\,4oeng Tel: 782-641511 . Singopore Andy Lim Iel:293-1977 Sfockholm Morio Peleßson'Sondow Tel: 400ó77, 115ó90 . Sydney Stephen Mok ]el: 2998343 . Toipei Tommy Tien Tel: 54ó-ó085 . Tokyo Roymond Yip Tel:3502 3254/5. Toronlo W.H, WongTel:3óó-3594 . VoncouverJeffDomonskyTel: ó85-0883. Vìenno Johonnes Neumonn Telr 533-9818. Zurich Jurg Rupplel:284-3,155

Think about

it !

F.C.C. members represent one of the highest earning, per-capita, consumer spending groups in Hong Kong.

Call Rosemary Little on 577-9331 for further infomation.

Close Encounters of the Exotic lndian Kind

The Ashoka lìt.t.runllt A l{ot¡l gournret rlt.lrt('¡h¡rts votr, n.rth \irlcil,arkrng Scrr ice l;{)l)pÌì -lll:of)pil) f¡LrAn¡r,s ArlelrrioUslntlranlntlulgt:net l\/tilelrvorthe lnrlrrl¡¡t,nretoo, L)et\\'r('rì;:lll) p.rì - ll):01) lì.nì \!c¡re¡trllthrrr'.rt;7-49!Vvn(llr.rnìSt,(cntr.ìl,ffK, fr) ;219621,;2i;7J9 l

l¡c

anrl¡lso¡toi¡rbr¡nrlncwplattat(ì./l:Corrnau¡;ht(onrrnt,rial llì; \\i,Ììcir¡r l{o¡Ll, I I K, l¡rl li()l ¡ì(,31, sqt ;(ì-1. ()t,t \,\t t_ t),\\s()F Il|l \\'It:K i()tr LrtL¡

tr\

tìr'

!.,

- I r,..,rt|,r,,r

fluiJtJing,

)

Hong Kong Trade Development Council We Creole Opporlunities

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST

1992

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

THORN RENTAIS TAKE A LOAD OFF YOUR MIND.

And now for the good news et's begin by breaking all known journalistic practises with the conveyence of some

good news (yes,

I know good news

doesn't sell newspapers but I am in a mood for recklessness). Not only are we all owners of a very presentable property in Lan Kwai Fong, which, for the first time gives the admin-

istrative staff an opportunity to work in decent conditions, but we are also on the verge of creating a first class press centre in the basement. This replaces the existing workroom and will have the kind of facilities which members have long been demanding. Journalists working in the print media will have both computers and access to data transmission services. Photographerswill have a good sized light box and broadcast journalists will have a sound proof interview room, providing more than adequate studio-like conditions fortheirwork. At this early stage in the new venture

we need suggestions about members requirements. Waste no time in letting me know what facilities you think will improve the press centre. Turning to the revenue side of things I am pleased to report that the decision to diversify our savings into a managed fund is paying off handsomely. We are now earning an average of over 1 5% on the element of our reserves in the hands of the fund managers at WardleYs. Among the new members of the Club Rt the honorary category - are the -Honin C. Patten and Mrs L. Patten. Unfor-

tunately we only saw the previous Governor at the Club during formal occasions, however, on receiving his honourary membership the new Governor wrote to say, ' I should warn you that you are likely to f ind us propping up your bar one of these evenings'. lt is rather hard to imagine the previous incumbent

taking this relaxed approach. Patte¡ has also agreed to come and speak at

\ ,/ vcR? TV?

the Club in November.

Meanwhile, at the FCC's highest

political levels there have

been

profound changes in the structure of the politburo, otherwise known as the Board

of Governors. Jonathan Friedland

being posted to Tokyo and is therefore relinquishing the incredibly influential office of vice-president to be replaced by Hubert Van Es, who, as a past Presi-

dent, can hardly be described as

stranger to the Club. Huberl scored the highest number of votes in the elections

for correspondent members and

entertainment com mittee f unction. Other

she handled it with the quiet skill which

sometimes made us forget just how competent she was. Canada's gain is our loss. Karl Wilson, the editor of this learned publication, cannot say so himself, but I am delighted to embarrass him by saying that his contract has been renewed and we can therefore take advantage of his tremendous professionalism to keep The Correspondent on the rails. The Board has also decided to give him an editorial budget so that some of our barefoot contributors can be paid something for their work. No one's going to get rich writing for this organ but at least

largest and Hong Kong's only professional company in the business, and we offer you a wide range of home electronic appliances. Everything you want for your home from a TV to a facsimilie machine, from a H¡-Fi to a washing machine is avail-

later in the year, we have agreement in principle to have speeches from the

Chief Secretary, Sir David Ford, and David Nendick, the retiring Secretary for Monetary Affairs. We are also arranging to fly in members of Burma's opposition government in exile and hope to hear from Thailand's Prime Minister Anand after he steps down from leading his second interim government. A formal invitation has also been issued to Lu Ping, the head ofthe Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing. Correspondent members are invited to a lunch on September 18 with the Government's senior information officers. This should be a very good opportunity for us to give them a clearer idea of the foreign media's requirements and for them to tell us how the system works and what are the parameters of the possible. Finally re Anthony Lawrence's 80th bifi hday. There were many tributes made

to Tony during the celebration of

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FOR INFORMATION GALL:

his

E 187 8828

blrthday hosted by the Club, it's hard to

add much more. Suffice to say that Tony is a real gent, there's not many

Call 187 BB2B for more information or visit one of

people in our trade who f it that padicular description. lf the rest of us manage to be half as good at our job as Tony, we would be doing pretty well.

our shops lisied below.

Steve Vines Customer & Membeßhip Seru¡ce Centre Shop 77 1/F AdmtralyCenlre, 1B Harcoud Road, H

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 1992

Thorn-EMl Rentals give you the intelligent solution. We are the world's

recent shopping spree in Hong Kong. She declined, saving us the trouble of deciding whether her appearance fell in to the category of a professional or

than the appearance of the Governor

usrnøtcP/AW?

made a vain attempt to secure the vocal services of lmelda Marcos during her

has

can hardly be described as easy but

vtlnSttttl? MAcatNE

we can demonstrate goodwill. We are, as ever, hot on lhe trail of speakers for the Club luncheons. We

buying a TV VCR or a Hi-Fi only to sell the lot for next to nothing when you leave Hong Kong.

DRYER ?

NI¿AT|

therefore been volunteered for the post. Meanwhile, another Club veteran Brian Jeffries will join the Board as a correspondent member. Brian had the highest number of votes among those who were not elected when the Club's valiant voters went to the polls. While these highly signif icant changes were taking place at the Club's political level, we have also lost one of the longest serving and most outstanding members of staff at the organisational level. Julia Suen, the Club's steward, has joined the famous brain drain heading in the direction of Canada. Standing on the front lines between the Club members and Heinz Grabner, her job

As an expatriate you don't

want to spend a fortune on

lel:527 13T3

Aberdeen Shop Shop G15-G17, Porl Cenke, G./F AMrdeen. H K Tel 554 6386

Tai Po Shop

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Tsuen wan Shop G/F, 98 Chung On Streel,

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Macau Shop Rua Do Campo No 48 À/acau Tel 567 Bg0

Fl/O

pensoNALLY

SPEAKING

h,r,

Drink and

-;F *

stay healthY... t was the late Lord Thomson of Fleet, the media tYcoon' the

application forms have to be returned

referred to a Scottish barber, who once licence to "a television franchise as correct: was he print money"' No doubt for vouch can and successors

residence, in Llantrisant, South Wales' 'm sure it is a marvellous place - well,

that.

ment for an English confection called

Canadian son of an immigrant

ii,

rt"it.

I was delighted to see a full-Page

Economist magaadveftisement in lhe recently for the post of Deputy

zine

Talk about a Master of the Royal Mint' I accept that I licence Ìo print money "' of the Royal Master cannot ¡e tne actual post is honourary Vfint in London: that

reserved for the Chancellor

the

for me to aspire Exchequer' lt's a bit late

to that.

Master However, the Post of DePutY

involve frequent attendance,

I've got to say that, haven't

But still, a CV could show those "áxceptional qualifications and experi-

it).

I have ence". Like most FCC Members' stretchable on printed one of those CVs ind of continthought that if CVs of all the ncluding those and advertisrelations public from the probably be could they ing fraternities) globe at least the encircle to stretched

twice. Anyway, if You want to be the boss of the Royal Mint, and literally coin in the money, you had better get moving:

not

//\

but when

the Royal Mint was first moved there' people recalled the classic advertisethe mint with a hole in the "Polo Mints middle." So, I suppose inevitably, Llantrisant became known as "the hole with a Mint in the middle." Like other FCC members, for Years, I delighted in those great big, succulent oysters from from places like Deep Bay and Lau Fau Shan, butthewater became so polluted that there was a risk of hepatitis. I can't say I ever really enjoyed them raw, but theY made a We used to bring them back in plastic bags, add shallots and herbs and things, a bucketful of white wine: ten minutes, and the dish was ready. But finally, the risk factor became too much. This came to mind because of the recent hepatitis scare in Hong Kong. I trooPed along with the rest of the family for blood samples: all was well, thank goodness (which, of course did not prevent our private doctor here sucking teeth and suggesting multi-thousand bucks worth

of other Precautions). But

reveningtothoseoysters: I cannot,

hand-on heart, remember chewing one of them: well they are rather muscular,

like Chinese female Olympic athletes' completewith moustaches. Butthewine juice in a mug was marvellous' This all came to mind because I thought

I should Pass it on to FCC members'

According to th e New YorkTimes, quoting

a paper from researchers in Georgia and Florida, sipping a cocktail while slurping oysters may protect you from

by August 28. However, it will inevitably

marvellous stew.

pronounce Llantrisant (don't ask me to

Nlkon \ ,,

It seems that this

studY aPPeared journal Epidemiolcalled originally in a not is Paft of mY ogy, which,l confess, know even regular reading. I wouldn't long a after how to ask for it, especially lunch at the main bar. AnywaY, the researchers from the Centrefor Disease Controland the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilita-

tion Services (Whewl) believe that stronger drinks may prevent the virus from enteringthe bloodstream. You louts

ÉÍ

and loutesses around the bar might like to know that previous studies have shown that alcohol can protect against bacterial infections as well. Salmonella and shigella (whatever that may be) can be kept at bay by consumption of alcohol' It seems that the alcohol stoPs the nasties from reaching the intestines' All very interesting. But that basic New York limes rePort did have this concluding paragraph: "The researchers admitted their study was limited,

because PeoPle in the studY were interviewed six to eightweeks after eating the oysters, and drinking alcohol may have distorted their memory"' I'll bet it did.

Heinz Grabner might make a note: always serve schnapps or vodka with those excellent New Zealand oysters' By the time the bills land on the doorstep, nobodY will remember whether their memorY was distorted.

I\E\rySMAKER tircressh" where history is mads-asi,-':$î-#ilï'iï,i:iîi.iilli:.tnfairingrt"

Jim BiddulPh

hepatitis. Central. Hong Sole Agent: Shriro (H.K ) Ltd., 2/F Hutch¡son House,

THECORRESPONDENT AUGUST 7992

Kong

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