THD
GOreSPOIUIIENT The Official Publication of tbe Foreign CorcesĂžondents'Club
Getting the bigger picture: Photographer Eddie Adams Nasty Business: The daunting task of business
reporting
Gatcia's travels
THD GORRESPONIIDNT August, 1994
Lelaer:s to ttìe editor Side orders for the catering depaftment
ï}tE FORTIGN CORR¡SPONDENTS' CLUB
4
A rrressa-ge frorrr
ttre president
A preview of the FCC conference on press freedom
2 Lower Albert Road, Hong KonB Telephone: 521 75ll Fax:868 4O92
President
EBarside tranter
Carl Goldstein Simon Holberton Second Vice President Dorothy Ryan
-
Fitrt Vice President
Club managerJethro Lee-Mahoney on the price of crime
-
Cotrespondent Member Govemors Paul Bayfield, Marcus W. Bmuchli, Phiilipe Le Cotre, Diane Stormont, Hubert vm Es, Nury Vittachi, Hans Vriens, Mike Westlake
6
U S. foreign policy for China and Southeast Asia;
the lonely life of opposition in the Lion City.
Joumalist Membe r Govemoß Paul Mooney, Fmncis Moriarty Âssociate Member Govemoß Athene Choy, Kevin Egan, Ronald Ling, Keith Shakespeare
NIastJa business FCC member Ray Heath of tlj.e Soutb Cbina
Post
SetetarV: P^tl Mooney Professional
Entertaiment Comittee Conùenor: NvryYilÎ'achi
L2
Morning
the daunting task of reporting business in
7-6
uzodd a series
of personal insights by associate
member David Garcia.
A lion
not led by a donke¡r
Former BCC co¡respondent Mark Tully on why he left the Corporation
20
Social
affairs
Members at play
22
Getau.aJr's A jaunt to Tahiti
27
with Edward Peters
l\dedia rnalfer:s 'ülhere the press should tum in times of trouble.
Fax:868 4092
@ 1994 The Foreign Correspondents' Club ofHong Kong Opinions expressed by write6 in Tbe Cotresþondeut tre not necessarily those of The Foreign Correspondents' Club
tfre biq€ler pictul:e
Garcia's The first in
The Correspondent EDITORT¡,L OFFICE Simon Twiston Davies, Edito¡ 2 I¡wer Albert Road, Hong Kong
Get;ting
The photographs of Pulitzer-winner Eddie Adams.
I.a
Members: Malcvs W. Bmuchli, Ronald Ling F & B Comittee Conuenor: Phillipe Le Corre Members: Kev'n Egan, Athene Choy Wall Comittee Hubert van Es, Bob Davis Publications Comittee Conuenor: PãulBayfield Members: Fnncis Moriarty, Hubert Van Es, Nuri Vittachi, Terry Duckham, Simon Twiston Davies (Editor)
l5ll
oi
Hong Kong.
Comiltee
Conuenor: Hans Vriens Meffibers: Paxl Bayfield, Marcus W BÉuch.ti, Phì-lippe Le Cone, Fmncis Moriarty Finance Comittee Tre a s u re r : D or othy Ry aî Carl Goldstein, Simon Holberton, Keith Shakespeare Membership Comittee Conuenor: }IubeftVanßs Members: Kevn Egan, Keith Shakespeare Mike WestP¿ke
Telephone: 521
Lrrnct¡-lines
2a
ObitarafJiArthur Hacker says goodbye to Paul William Dougherty
TIre Cotresþonder¡ is published monthly by
The Foreign Conespondents' Club Hong Kong.
Mercedes -Benz ZUNG FU A Jardine Pacific Business (Distributor for Hong Kong and Macau), Bonaventure House, Leighton Road, Hong Kong. Tel: 895 7288
l22CantonRoad,Ts¡mshatsui,Kowloon.Tet:735 llgg.ZungFuCarparkBuilding,50PoLoiStreet,Hunghom.Tel:7646919 SOUTHERN STAR MOTOR CO. (Distr¡butor for South China), 40th Floor, Central Plaa, I I Harbour Road, Wanchai. Tel: 594 8888 EASTERN STAR AUTOMOBILE LIMITED (D¡str¡butor for East Chinaì, 1zth Floor, New World Tower ll, 1I Queen's Road, Cenlral. Tel: 52ó I051 NORTHERN STAR (IIANJIN) AUTOMOBILE LIMITED (Distributor for North China), 20th Floor, New World Tower ll, 18 Queen's Road, Central. Tel: 52ó 105 I MERCEDE$EENZ AG, BEUING LIAISON OFFICE 20th Floor CITIC 8uildin8, 19 Jian Guo Men Wai Dajie, Beijing. Tel: 5oo 3o5l
of
PRODIJCTION FST Line Design & Printing Fourth Floor, 158 Wellington Street, Centml, Hong Kong Tel: 521 7993 ßax: 521 8366 Publisher Ian Harling - Katie Mccregor Marketing Director DTP /A.rtist lfe, Lienn¿ Duong
-Joey
3a-
Book
rer-iev¡¡
From Malan to Mandela by Karl Wilson
32
FCC Faces The Dutch Minister for Couth and Cultu¡e
Cover photograph: "Untouchable" by Eddie Adams, courtesy of Kodak
Augusr 1994 TÃE coRRxsPoNItElfT
Radio waves
To the
Editor
Courtes). of RTHK the FCC hacl a- fe.wz prizevtinners in a recent NTesz York radio. colaapetition:
---=,
t
RTHK struggled to the top of the heap recently in the Big Apple when it picked up two prizes at the New
A síde order I
reading bave teallY enioYed
ing more for'W'on Ton Mein without the noodles. Frompersonal experience - and many will bear me out I have an
ebration when he carried off the
noodles usually comprises about six 'W'on Ton dumplings plus noodles
ices Category for his Christmas quiz, Tbe Battle of tbe Tai Pans, w}ricn'
the price structure is understood. u, o n.. u r.u,
$: :ï;ï'i,'f.,i'ånll and we had every two 1'ears ;;; Are I.i.ti.n ut ¡erni's for somelftime' so it sa ;i;;;. Ionger oPerating? r'e' realll' are ,ittítt. n*t"se they as is the FCC' rää.i'*'.rt't for money are looking at ii"rft. ptitt levels we fancy' expecting not î.,ri., or.o"rse' catering' øourntet-stYle o trouble i*oul<.l trot have take n the I had not if to write at this length iopp.n.¿ 'ecc
to order vegetable cutlets at
within l0 minutes of reacling ,i.l ìä,rrto't.l,trl'tolumn When I asked for 'mashed potíltoes in place of chips ' I clìtlets come was tolcl that vegetable mashed wanted I and if chips with notltocs I mtlst order l'rom the side orcler section and pay extra l duly oaid extra as I accept that "policy is policy" ancl the staff cannot take mal'ters into their own hands. In passing' I nrt¡st comnrencl all FCC staff as they luve been l-relpful, cheerful and attentivc at all times. Howcver, it does seem strange that catering management at the FCC had dccreed that a ctlstomer cannot repl:rce chips with mash at no cost rvlrile, at the same time the Club mana¡¡cr slrv fìt to criticise Bemi for inflexibilitl' and "¡rortiot.t control" and an "r¡nnamed establislrrneut" for charg-
Club member Martin Clarke of Radio Three gave the government broadcaster the most cause for cel-
- Ton with explanation for that. Won
while plain Won Ton dumplings comprise about eight to 10 durnplings which are made of shrimp filling and are more expensive than noodles. The above is standard practice and
For rnany )'ears
York International Radio Competition and figured amongst the finalists in the clrrrent affairs category.
There is usnallyno need to go "off the
menu" as there are two prices for the same items. I know I'm female,
-
like to weight-watch and love to order lùØon Ton dumplings with no noodles. Likewise, Bon Appetit! Sharon Evans
In addition,
Susan Kaye's
77rz's
Rougb Magic starring club member BarryBakker took the bronzemedal in the Best Special Drama section.
Martin Evan-Jones pointed out that this involved beating an Amerjcan
production featuring Holll.wood veternJason Robarts.
RTHK feathers were further
l(rai) about wife beating in Hong Kong n-rbbed shoulders with the likes of the BBC andAustralia's ABC in the final of the Social Issues,/Current Af-
@
fairs category.
deligbted you baue enjoyed
Lulro support Berni Inns; I exþect tbey 6rre too. Of course you uill recognise
tba.t tbe comþany nc,¡tu is not tbe comþa.ny of 25 yeørs øgo, but r,ubat
is? Trust House baue becotne THF,
and. tulco knotus ubat became Kardomab Colfee Houses ?
of
As to tbe W'on Ton, (tbere uere no add.itions), my comþlaint uas tbótt I did. not ctþþroue of pøyment for tbe
remoual of an ítew. One tbing is sure, tbe inciclent u,tlticb you mention - in tlce case of tbe FCC it tttould. baue been' an errot", in tlse case of Berni it Lucts þoliq),
Aþpetit!!
Claus.
Fi le (engineered by Kerry Kam-Kwok
tbe colutnn ancl euen more clelighted to learn that you øre one of those
Tres Bon
raised money for Operation Santa
preened when Jenny Parkes' Asiø
Jethro fesponds: |m
gold medal in the Community Seru-
¡@
Neu's¡t'ET
Alike for both seasoned professional and budding amateur photographer. With a combination of superior Canon optics, innovative lens design, precision auto-focusing, advanced electronics and total flexibility, Canon EOS cameras put you a step ahead in your quest for perfect pictures.
Seminar NewsNET is holding three half-hour sessions on September 12
to explain what its new on-line information seryice is about and how to hook up to it. Attendance is limited to 40 people per session and is on a first come, first served basis. Members
only, please. Those interested should sign up on the FCC Notice Board to reserve a place. The three
sessions will be hetd
at 72.OO-I2.JOpq, 6.45-715pm and
7.30-8.00pm Room.
in the Wyndham
@
Canon
Canon Hongkong Trading Co., Ltd. 10Æ., Mirror Tower, 61 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Tel:139 0802
A presidentialmessage
The price
Club president Cad Goldstein reckons there has l>een rraore trappenirìg at tkre Ch-rb during ttre hot srtrrÌrnel: rrronths than rnan\z rnerrrl>ers l>elierze.
he summer doldrums. People
priate to Asian soil,
in the streets walk more slowly,
and others would journalists' first responsibility be to national cohesion and stability? Or is society best served by roþust comment and clashing convictions? And just how important is freedom of the
the easier to bear up under Hong Kong's moisture-laden air. Anybody who canhas taken off to Europe, North America, somewhere Down Under, anywhere that's more comfortable
Lee Kuan Yew maintain? Should as
than Hong Kong. Under such conditions, life at the
press anyway? .We
Club shifts into lower gear.... Now hold on, actually quite a lot has been happening here in the last couple of months. (Some of which happened during my own absence on a month-
who will include opposition journalists, pro-government editors, and independents - can cast some light on these issues. There will also be plenty of room for audience input. Besides journalists, with their obvious inter-
long work/holiday.) Is it that most journalists are too dedicated to their jobs to leave? Or too poyerty striken? At any rate, the professional life of the Club has carried ofi at a respectable pace during this part of my term of office. We had luncheon sessions with Gerald Segal of London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, speaking on the PLA, and American professional Michael Mandelbaum talk-
ing about Bill Clinton's Asia policy (lack thereof is more like it). Then there was Chee SoonJuan of the Singapore Democratic Party. He took an energetic stab at convincing the audience that his party's name is not an oxymoron on the order of military intelligence). We also had a BBC
hope our invited guests
-
est in these matters, many associate members should, as press consum-
\ùlze're a-lso rrror.ing a,lread szittr plams f<>r a rrrajor tuzo-da;z conference on A.sian press issr-res to l>e treld in early Decernl>er-
ers, also have valuable insights to
film on Australia's aborigines, Brian Barron's last piece of work before
contribute
moving to cover the mean streets of New York City. We're also moving ahead with
some of the individuals involved, plus keynote speakers to be invited, will be
plans for amajor two-day conference on Asian press issues to be held in
eady December. Síith substantial financial support from the New YorkbasedFreedomForum, we're going to
invite some 30 leading editors and journalists from around the region to discuss the role of the press in developing and developed Asia. Is the belief that the press should help keep government and business honest a'Western conceit not approTnD GoRRXSPoI{DDNT
August 1994
It
.
can only help the Club that
of sufficient import to attract regionwide press attention. This forum is part oT a broader effort we're making to place the Club at the forefront of press related issues in Hongkong and around the region.
It doesn't take the proverbial rocket scientist to figure out that the Hong Kong-based media is facing challenging times in the years ahead. It's very much in our professional interest
to do what we can to confront attempts to muzzle or intimidate the
cflme o
when the Chinese authorities sentenced Ming Pao journalist Xi Yang to 12 years in prison for an innocuous piece of reporting about interest rates and gold sales. Or when the Indonesian government shut down three respected publications, putting an end to aperiod of relative openness for the Indonesian media. (To which first vice president Simon Holberton in my absence wrote a letter of protest to the Indonesian consulate. They at least responded, unlike the Xinhua approach, though with less than convincing arguments about violations of licensing requirepress,
of
as
ments.
Leaving aside such weighty matters, we mustn't forget that the Club is aplace for people to eat and - perhaps more important drink. To that
end general manager Jethro LeeMahonèy has made a good staÍt at reorganising the kitchen, upgrading menus, making the service more user-friendly. He's also takenthe leadinpushing forward some needed improvements to the Club's physical attributes, par-
ticulady improving our observance of fire and safety regulations. Badly needed storage space is being constructed inapart of the Albert Room, and renovations to the kitchen will make it more efficient and habitable . I'd like to thank those members who responded to my call for volunteefs to sefve on various board subcommittees. Among the stand-out volunteefs areJoan Howley and Wendy Richardsonwho, on behalf of the "Ministerof Fun", NuryVittachi, haye taken on considerable grunt work in planning future events. Before her recent fall, which necessitated a brief stay in
hospital, Clare Hollingworth also took the time to giye her advice on our
ongoing effort to improve the work foom.
@
Club r\arlra.ger Jettrro Lee-À/Iahorl e),/ irrrze stig ate d ant alterrlra-tirze lifestyle to tkrat of ttre Àzla-in F9ar. He found it.wzantirìg-
f t'r . l,n.r.
funny otd iob this. I mean, are no set nours, no clear
instructions andno shortage of bosses. Some members never see me, believing that I am a figment of the Board's imagination; there are some members who see me so often.theybelieve that I live in the building and sleep in the office (no comment needed, thank you). rüØell, I do spend plenty of time in the Club, but I also manage to get out and about. These excursions make me aware of the sort of choice and standards of service that members may expectwhen they are not using the Club's
facilities.
I
also learn of the cuffent
trends and fads in the marketplace, by which I mean restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels as well as other clubs. An important aspect of this great thirst of
mine for information is comparative pricing, amongst other things. I recently visited Stanley and a spot of luncheon in the Old Police Station. In 1983 the Antiquities Authority saved it for posterityanditis now an offence to mar or scar the building in any way. Sadly, however, theAuthority didn'tlaydown
thought I'd have
any
des
about the activities therein.
If you've ever worried
as to whether or not it is socially correct to put bread in your soup, you'd freak
out here. They actually put the soup in the bread. Ye s, they serwe an excellent
New England Chowder in
a
hollowed-out bread-roll. Actually it's not that new an idea bread has always been an integral part of the meal in times past. In fact, the drinker's 'toast' originated as a piece of baked bread placed in the
Iftrese e><cursions rrrake rrre ayzare of ttre sort of ctroice a-nd standards of sen¡ice ttrat rrrerrrl> ers rraa)r e><pect -when ttrelz are not using tkre Club's fa"cilities. bottom of abeakerto collectthe strong dregs. And French peasants stole a march on Italianpizza-makers by serving food on a slab or trencb of bread; the really ravenous diner who ate all the food and then consumed the'plate'
was labelled a 'trencheman' by obsefvant Bfitish travellers. Meanwhile , the Old Police Station is
agreat deal of metal, wood, linen and leather and lots of those little designer lights that always make me think that had they had bought a bigger lamp in the first place, they might have been able to see what theywere doing and save some money. l};:ad a bottle of beaujolais and a beer whilst munching through some spare ribs and a burger. As I was sipping my coffee, one of the cooks sat at the next table and chatted, not to me, but to the occupying couple; I thought
this displayed a sort of
selective
chumminess.
There was a hint
of
arrogance
amongst the senior staff but not, thank-
fully, the junior.
I
suspect this was
because whilst the juniors were just a
tad nerwous, the head waiter and his pal clearly thought that my sort (not properþ designed, you see), couldn't afford to be in their restaurant. líhen I got the bill I readily agreed - $S¡2. "Ye Gods and little fishes," as my old Granny used to say - "More money than sense!" Ah well, I'll soon make up for it; I'm going to have a bite at the Island Shangrila. I guarantee I'll feel no pain when the bill comes. No matter what I eat and drink - someone else is paying!!
prettily, if bittily, designed. There is
@ Angusr 1994 TÃE
GoRRESPoilDENT
--T-I
I
i
Apocalypse now or later? Dr Gerald Sega-l of Lorrdon's Internati<>rl.a,l Institr,rte for strategic studies addressed an FCC lunckreon in Jubt. Ndictrael lVfaclse¡r recei¡¡ed a lor-rd and clear nlessa-ge of doorrr-
f I
f or
Gerald Segal's lunchtime
speech at the FCC on the People's LiberationArmy's role in China and the
"people are looking afterthemselves". Nowhere is this view more true than in the PI-A,, half of whose three
region could be summed up in one phrase it would be "Apocalypse possi-
million members are engaged in
ble, but not likely".
who freely admitted his figures were only "guesstimates".
According to Segal, we are.living through "the death of one intemationalsystem andthe birth of another". Segal spoke at length, but it must be said he displayed a great deal of knowledge and wit of a scholarþ nature which made it an interesting and informative performance. The problem was that the subject matter lacked order: "China is frankly, in terms of government, a mess" he announced, adding that the PI-A. was no exception. Segal, however, did disclaim some of the wilder conspiracy theories, like the one which has the Chinese gov-
ernment using mass emigration to destabilise the rest of the wodd. This, Segal said, "assumes too much coher-
ence" (coherence, along with chaos, was one of the most-usedwords of the
speech). He prefers the more down-to-earth explanation that, as China becomes a market economy,
non-military activities, believes Segal,
These non-military activities range
from the trivially-benign such as run-
It seerns that altkrougtr he offered insights arrd general pointers, tre could not l>e sl2ecific-
is going on in China affects how the PLA. deals with the outside wodd and here the outlook is both confused and not very hopeful. Part of this is the conundrum on which Chinese foreign policy is being built.
First there is the dislocation of power. Thenthereis the awareness that China will have to challenge an outside wodd on which it is increasingly dependent for the trade that is making eyeryone - including the PI-A, - rich. If all this seems confusing, it was, at least in part, Segal's fault. Though interesting, a lot of what he had to say was incidental. It seems that although he offered insights and general pointers, he could not be specific. One general point he made was
that the decentralisation of power within the PRC which affects the ning restaurants in London to the dangerously comic like the ransoming of Chinese fishing vessels. "Even by Latin American standards, what's going on in China is bizarre in the extreme," said Segal in a tone that seemed to express both exasperation and admiration. The point is, however, that what
-
armyasmuchas anyone else would result in a weaker Chinese- foreign policy "whoever replaces Deng". The example Segal gave to back this up was the current crisis on the Korean peninsula. "China doesn't really have a gteat deal of power there, " he claimed. Then he issued what might be construed as a warning. Firstþ there
was a sharp criticism of the Americans. By allowing the Koreans to
THE ZCO
BY ARTHUR HACKER
{
w
{
EAT AT
\
o-G
WO NG,S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
./,,
thumb their noses at the intemational community, the Americans had effectively
"accepted proliferation". This, said to a key part of wodd order". This, in turn, could effect how crises in other parts of the region are dealt with when they occur in future. And, as if all this was not bad enough, he reported that London's Foreign Office is concerned about a war between the Mainland and TaiSegal, caused "fundamental damage
wan before 1997. As a consolation, he offered the viewthat China did not have the power to win a war though it could "make life very difficult". IE TtrD CORRf,SPOIUIENT
August 1994
Sin gapore' s other
politician
p^rty, Dr Chee Soon Jr-ran, addressed ant FCC hrnch recentl¡2, E,d Peters !\zas on hamd to record the lack <>f dranrrlia,-
\ùú.tren the leader of Singal?ore's opposition
fryou want an idea of Singaporean lpolitics, take a look at the - for want of a betterword - opposition. Dr Chee SoonJuan heads up the Singapore Democratic Party. Unfortunately, in his shiny blue suit he looks more like the new boy who's just been picked on in the playground and still hasn't noticed the 'kick me' sign stuck on his back. There can be no doubting his
comes difficult to sustain,"
But developing that political structure is not going to be an easy task. Chee continued: "In Singapore, information is hoarded and manipu-
lated by the government. There is hardly any debate on issues. And the government does not believe it can do any wrong.
courage or intellect, however. Chee's reasoning for political change in Sin-
So far, so t>ad. One
gapore was well ordered, equable, utterly reasonable, and delivered
alrrrost e><12ected
with the intellectual strength of
was sacked from the University of
strrieking Lee I(uan -l-ewv, garbed in
doxzn frorrr ttre dining
declared. So far, so bad. One almost ex-
roorn ra-fters- Etut it
ideas.
".We have developed our economy at the expense of our political system, and to me this is sheer folly," he said. "For too long we Singaporeans have mortgaged our freedom for material gain. As a result we have a political culture that is dangerously underdeveloped, without a stable political foundation based on democratic principles, so long-term economic progress be-
The third requires a little more thought though, with some cunning
and q.ittr talons
mation andlrad to put his house up for sale to pay court costs. To be declared bankrupt would have debarred him from standing for election again. And no, he had not been put up to all this by the CIA, Chee pected a shrieking Lee Kuan Yew, garbed in flapping black cloak and with talons extended, to swoop down from the dining room rafters. But it was not to be. Instead, Chee went on to explain some of his
"The first two are relatively easy.
fla-pping black cloak
Singapore. He was th'en sued for defa-
and it. "
szas not to be. "The government tries to justify
it
is practicing Asian democracy. But saying there is an Asian democracy implies that there is a Western democracy, which then begs the question: \ùlhat is Asian democracy?
"'Well, only Indonesia, Malaysia
and Singapore have not seen
a
little panache, you can achieve
If all else fails, Dr Chee added, change the one manlone vote system. People aged 35-6O are more important and should be given more political clout. "W.here does all this manipulation end? The beautyis that it doesn't."
e><tended, to sszoop
its control of information by saying
thriving democracy. "It's a secret I'll let you in on. One: pay very little attention to the written constitution. Two: let the people know that you can be arrested and detained for over 20 years without ever letting you go to trial. a
Of course, you need a real-life example so get a citizen still a - or better throw him member of padiament in prison, and let him- rot. Three: constantly amend the political process, so as to make sure the election results always favour you.
a.
a
university don. Teaching is - or rather was Chee's profession. That came to an end after he challenged Lee Kuan Yew's governing party, for which he
tanned gtaffä artists? Chee thought there was. "If there is anything anyone can learn from Singapore it is how the ruling party is able to disguise what is essentially a dictatorial system, as
For all Chee's speechifying, however, there appeared to be no fire in this belly, no passion in his words, no lust for change in his heart. Perhaps it was his recent battles
and the smug complacency of the electorate that knocked the stuffing out of him. If anyone is to get the better of the Old Man of Lion City, they'll have to be tougher, wilier and a damn sight more determined.
a
At the moment, this doesn't seem
change of government in the recent
too likely. Dr Chee is not quite the Second Wind he would like to see himself as - more like the 'Mouse that Snored'.
past. " So is there anything to be learnt from the litter-free Lion City with its
@
fragrant public toilets and well August 1994 TÅE
GORRDSPONDDNT
gether this patchwork of connected transactions, might be available to explain them is a joke. This bleak story is even grimmer
Nasty business
for those who, unlike the SCMP or the Economic Journø|, aÍe taot a regular vehicle for company notices, and so must pick up the stories as best they can. We should eYen spare a thought
Ckrina, Hong l(ong and ttre rest of Southeast Asia containsorne of the rrrost secretilre societies in the vrzodd and reporters orl l>usiness rnattefs fa,c.e a danrnting task qztren tryirrg to produce a-ccrJfa-te a"lrd anr.alyt.ical -vrzork- Ra).
Eleattr, ttre busilr.ess editor at tkre SoutVt (]b irza
n4c>
rrtirtg
P<>s
t
descril>es tkre struggle-
ways fair game for controlling share-
holders, who will be lookingforguidance from the newspaper. If one fact is misplaced, one calculation incorrect of one assumption faulty, then telephone calls and letters
will surely follow. But before directors, PR peoPle and stock exchange officials who take
a more than passing interest in the results of this process which sadly passes for financial communication
in
Hong Kong reach for the telephone, they should consider not the glitches, but the nightly miracle which brings the corporate actions of this town to the breakfast table. If the aYerage company director
was confronted with the standard method of communication in Hong Kong - the official advertisement and had to sum it rip, draw conclusions and write a report in less than an hour, the result would be yet another valium addict. The strange way in which Hong Kong companies go about releasing
- late at night, and through classified advertisements means that the most important telinformation
magine the average middle manfI ager in Hong Kong, com ing to the end of a longer-than-avera.ge day. After almost 12 hours on the job most
of it has been spent on the run,
companies whose domicile stretches
from the
Nethedands
to the Cook
Islands and Bermuda, and eyentually,
Hong Kong.
It's now Il.3O at night and our
trying to meet a series of unbreak-
tired executive has exactly
able schedules. Then onto his desk drops
half-an-hour to read, comprehend and summarise this porridge of jargon. But, of course, this is no middle m ttaget, this is a Hong Kong re-
a
large
and complicated document. It has been faxed in four pieces because it is too large for the standard A4 format. It is written in heavy legal jar gon.
The "wheretofors", "hereafters" and "howsoeyefs" are part of an impenetrable descrþtion of a series of labyrinthine share deals which involve TEE CoRRDSPoI|ItENI
August 1994
porter facing up to the nightly rigours of financial journalism. Inevitablythis deal, and the other four or five which might arrive in similar fashion within an hour, will involve the great, the powerful, and not necessarily the good.
These deals usually mean that large blocks of shares, perhaps even control, has been moved around, or that significant plots of land have beentransferredfor gargantuan sums. Then, adding to the intellectual pressure already bearing down on our
unfortunate late-working reporter, there is the knowledge that the interpretation of this legalistic nightmare
withwhichhe or she is nowwrestling will be on the front page tomorrow. It will be read by the insiders and the merely expert, as well as by the idly curious. Just as daunting is a responsibility to the minority shareholders, a|-
ephone numbers on the office computer are not those of key bankers,
for the foreign correspondents and wires who are forced to do what looks like the hack job of following up the local press. There might be some excuse for sticking to this bizarce midnight run when takeovers or other exceptional transactions are involved. Once the deal is done, then information should obviously be released as soon as pos-
sible, and it can be the nature of corporate affairs
with journalists. !Øhat more could financial rep orters want? Surprisingly, some of the reporters want less. Some companies, having wheeled out the top brass for a few minutes, complain if they aren't in exactly the right spot on the front page the following day. But is this worse than the treatment described here by "Frustrated of Quarry Bay"? "Writing about Hutchison is the ultimate in nightmare jobs. If you want to write anything about Hutch, and need information from the firm, forget it. First, the press officer just laughs at you for asking. He then asks for the questions to be faxed. He then ignores them. That's why journalists and analysts on two continents are now united in talking
that the deals are
not finalised until late at night. Until now
the Stock
Ex-
change has hadto
So ttre rrrraj<>r cornplaint al>out practising financial j ourl1alisrrr in IJong Kolag has to l>e al>out cornrnllnica-tion in general-
approve the final wording of such aî announcement. But that process is now ending, and the ads will soon hav€ to be regulated by the lawyers. Theoretically this should speed up the process. But, inevitably, as the
it will actually slow it down
lawyers, without the comfort of the Stock Exchange stamp of approval, will insist on one last read to make sure all is in order. But the same process is all too often applied to the regular release of company profits. In a market like Hong Kong a raft
down Hutchison's telecom business. " For some, however, the late-night process of placing corporate an-
nouncements in the papü is not without its merits. Gareth Hewett, deputy business editor of the SCMP
is only half-joking when he argues that it gives the Post an edge. We get the ads, we are experienced enough
to do a competent job of intefpfeting them, so we get figures.
a
free run at the
senior executives or top flight ana-
of exceptional and extraordinary
Having been weaned on Lon-
lysts, but the typesetters who process the copy. In their ranks are angels who will give reporters some idea of
items in the profit and loss accounts is inevitable, but once again, there will be no chief financial officer, nor a company secfetary, to explain the
don's developing system, and after almost two decades of corporate reporting, I largely disagree.
when they might expect the
ap-
proved copy to arrive. Often there is no-one else to turn to. Sometimes there might be advance warning through a press release, but in too many cases the contact numbers at the bottom ring endlessly, unanswered.
correct method by which the journalist might compare like with like Of course, there are exceptions to this amateur dissemination. Some of .
badlywritten
the Hongs and the bigger banks actually behave like corporations in other business centres. They give newspapers advance notice ofthe date ofthe results, release figures in plenty of
tors who have actually pinned to-
time, and callpress conferences. Some even have one-on-one backgrounders
The release itself is frequently so as to be misleading, and the idea that any ofthe company direc-
Arrgrrst 1994 TÃr
CORRDSPOIYIIDNT
What would be wrong with releasing full financial figures in the
to use you
hour before the Stock Exchange
journalist.
opens, as they do in London? The Stock Exchange information system would have to cope with car-
rying full text, butwhere's the problem with that in 1994? ltwould give the entire financial community all day to study, analyse and comment. The reports tlaaf appearcd in the
press the following day would have
the benefit of considered opinion, not late-night, deadline beating. Companies would get better coverage, for the instinct of journalists, having already written the story, even only in its barest form, is to move onto the next challenge, not to return to yesterday's tale. The change would not be without its disadvantages. Company directors faced with unpleasant results, of pfesenting obviously massaged profits, would have to spend the whole day dodging calls from keen fepoftefs. Public relations execLrtiyes would be forced to give real advice to their bosses. It would have to go beyond "Stay away from the phones". The better practitioners would welcome the chance to run a properly constructed release pfogfamme the fees could go
-
up.
as a PR tool," comments one senior and experienced financial
Sometimes, journalists have
little
sympathy for those whose phone never rings. "There are too many reporters who don't ask the right questions and don't really understand the subject. If you have credibility and experience, people will come back to you," says another reporter who has no difficulty opening doors at the very highest level. But pity those who have to cover
Chinese companies, with'H' shares or 'B' shares. Penetrating tlre maze of
national investors as fair
a
view
as
possible about events.
do not suffer the problem, can read on
as
\"\ %^
with suitably contemptu-
ous smiles.)
'When
offinightmare. When the right man does arrive at the phone, he is invariably so jndoccials is
trinated
a
in the idea
that information is se-
Once they are regularised there
what the conversation was really about
.
No problem with published
in-
formation, though. The first batch ofac-
formed? Certainly there is a bland-
counts to be issued
ness about much of the financial
by'H'share companies has shown lev-
"CEO's never phone you back, or you wait two years, and then they want
of a favour these heroes and heroines are doing the country by giving inter-
whingeing by gueílos. (From here Cantonese speakers
is the risk that the public relations machine will take over. The UK financial press may have more information than it once did, but is it better in-
thusiastic.
dering in English. But why do the chairmen of these meetings not quicklysumup the points made those who are not bilingual?
'l'he Ercnrl-N,latic (ìNI'l'givcs )¡ou a
Never assume, however. The Allied Group recently escorted an SCMP
rcscrve. Ancl if yorr nced to knclu'u,herc )/ou stancl in another timt:
feportef from what it said was a private meeting, even though most of th€ opposition press was well repre-
z()nc,
els of disclosures sented. agreeably high. The bouncerwas most sternwith Trouble is, many' the offending gid who had let in the intruder. He assumed that Tim analysts don't beIieve what has been disclosed. The biggest hurdle to be faced by
Hong Kong's financial journalists is going to be how l-o treat
re
alocal company press conference is held, the initial remarks are usually in English. So is the first question. No-one presenthas anyproblems. AII are, or should be, sufficiently comfortable in the language to be able to understand exactly what is going on. But th€n, a rigorously correct reportef switches to cantonese, and the event never switches back until a gtueilo manages to get a question in. Let's assume I am wrong, and some local reporters really are floun-
it rvill tcll vou th¿ìt too. In fact the onlv uncortaintv is u,hich of
thc trvo moclels to choosc: srccl lncl golcl
rtr
solicl
113
ctrat yellorv golclÌ
Charlton, young and boyish looking, was effectively deaf to the insults. 'Wrong.
Mr. Chadton does very nicely in Cantonese, and don't try switching to Mandarin either. He knows all about communication.
@
ETERNtrI \ltclrtl ol trrc
TIIE C0RRf,SPoNIIEI{T August 1994
POWER
Hong Kong has to be about communication in general. Same as everywhere. There are also particular complaints, which can be regarded by those who
cret that even the vaguest of answers has to be dissected for some clue as to
reporting which should not be imported here. Views on how accessible the big names of this town are to journalists vary with perspective of the observer. Singaporeans can't believe their luck. Others are less en-
KNOWLEDGE
So the major complaint about practising financial journalism in
that, like imperfect stock markets, imperfect informatiorì systems throw up opportunities.
The downside for the press is
information from China, be it economic or commercial. The penalties of being too zealous have akeady been made plain. The safe way of covering China today is on a Xinhua pass, but that system is stifling to the many professional, keen and courageous reporters in the territorywho are still ready to slip across the border and come back with the story. China should rcalize how much
Slltrc llii6
Sole Agent and Service Centre: Desco (HK) Ltd Tel: 369 1221
Getting the bigger picture Prize-vrzinrring ptrotographer Eddie Adarns r\zas in tovrzn recentl¡rHe talked to l\dichael llzlaclse¡r al>out snapping at ttre front lines a-nd elselrztrere.
r! þ
youngster, he bought a projector for $ 3 and a co py of Hop ølong C øssidy. He then charged an entrance fee of a
US
penny to his makeshift cinema on a blanket in the bacþard of his parents'
p
ooi. Adams' mosr
famous
cedes the point. "It conveyed more
to the arfü-war
a
young, veiledJacqueline Kennedy at
I-rphotograph is the one which
it
hangs in the main bar of the FCC and shows a South Vietnamese general shooting a Viet Cong at point blank range. It won him the 1968 Pulitzer prize. Talking about it, Adams explained why he left war photography. "It got to me. I felt helpless. You could only photograph it and hope that the picture did some good." Thatparticularone did ithelped swingAmerican public opinion against the war. Even Hugh Van Es, who takes a different political view to other people's rnilitant anti-war stance, con-
movement a lot," said Van Es of the
the funeral of her husband and captured the widow looking beyond her
photo.
situation.
rf,D
CoRRf,SPot{DEt{T ,A.ugust
1994
really contributed
But for Eddie Adams, it was part of a process thatwas too much and aÍterthe Vietnam'VØar he concentrated on what was to become known as glamour pho tography. He said he becameapaparazzi because "it was easy. I got paid more money. It's sad, but I sold out."
But even before he was photographing the horrors of the Vietnam '$Øar, Adams was in the running for a Pulitzer prize. Covering the biggest story of the time, he took a picture of
The picture was nominated for t]¡le 1963 Pulitzer but Adams lost in what he was later told was a tied vote to more dramatic pictures from Dallas. He modestly disclaims any particular talent in getting the shot, saying it was "onlybecause I had abiggerlens inmy bag than anyone else". The story of Eddie Adams is woven around images and the press from an early age. He was always fascinated by movies and recounted how, as a
house. This generated enough money for him to buy a stills camera and at the ripe old age of 12, he went professional. He specialisedinweddings and sold the photos on to the hometown newspaper, the since-clos ed Daily Disþatcb in Kensington, Pennsylvania, where, he fondly remembered, "they got to know me as a little kid walking
in with a 5x1O picture".
Joining the Marine Corps afterhigh school, he was sentto Kofea as a com-
bat photographer. "That didn't last very long," he says with just a hint of regret. Still, the experience was invaluable andhis cov-
erage of the war included the truce talks and Marilyn Monroe's visit - an assignment he describes as "pretty dangerous, the worst part of the war". August 1994 rE,j, ConnxsPoilllDl{T
Then, after a spell at the University of Pittsburgh, it was on to another
war, this time in Vietnam. In fact, Vietnam is one of 13 wars that Adams has covered. Not that he reckons covering wars takes much talent, "Photographing a war is the easiest thing in the wodd. You can close your eyes and aim your camera," he says. He is also highly dismissive of the view held by some that the press deliberately lost America the Vietnam War. "They weren't trying to prove anything," he says of his then colleagues, a handful of whom are now FCC stalwarts.
il? B,{NY,{N
LUXURY SPA RESORT A
Mentu OfScln Hatilt
è Rmrr lunnnno¡al
BANYAN'I'REE PHUKE
f
For funher informarion
In those pre-television days the ethos of war reporting was different, although some things do remain the
h
same. "The cameramen used to go out
BANYAN TREE
(into the countryside), not the corre-
NASUCBU EVERCIìEST
the rest who covered Saigon". The only writer he
i3onyan Jtnn
OPENS ltr\
SEP'I EMBER ]994
t
spondents.'!Øe'dkeep each othercompany andwatch each other getblown away," he says of that period and the 40 or so photographers who he described as "front line versus
J6n
TREE
pleasc call
or
fu
numbers
lisrcd beìorv
76uÂe/ ìsn)/
BANYAN TREE BIN,I-AN OPENS IN
ÂPRIL 1995
BANYAN
I
REE
/'us/ a resorl þr
MALDTVES VABBINFARU
counts amongst these brave
OPENS IN
men is Peter Arnett, now
NOVEMBER 1994
famously with CNN.
In between bouts of
your 6o{y
would hop all over Vietnam. The motto of the day was, "If we're lucþ we'll get amR&R, this trusty band
bushed". Adams admits that
9/'t a sanc/uoty /6e
f"t this was eady on in the war, before the sick humour started and kidnapping
sou,f.
ffi
meant death. The memories of this earþ time are cleady happier than those that came later. By the way, to that member of the Club involved in an unrepeatable anecdote Adams related and claims to have photographed, my silence can be bought for a few bottles of wine.
@ rEE coRRXSpolfItEI{T Augusr 1994
Under the shelter of the Banyan Træ resl com6 mther
øily
to a soul.
That's
because an essence
of rranquiliry
peruades rhe air at the Banyan Tree.
From the quiet elegance ofìts private villas to its contemplatìve wate¡courts and gardens. From the serenity ofits superbÌy Ìandscaped 18-hole golfcou¡se to the therapeutic comforß ofits spa. And, when your surroundings exude such peace, there's
a very
good chance rhat some
ofit will filter inside
you.
Making free atr the
Frorn hole to hole In the
first of a- series of contrit>utions, a-ssociate rrrernl>er Dan¡id. Ga_rci. ta-kes rea_ders o1a a- journe¡z to sc,rre of tris 1-ìore rorrra-ntic xzork pla_ces.
Take Beirut for example. During the late sixties and the eady seventiei
itwas known as the paris of the Middle East. I was there working for an oil company as a commercial diver. It was
a one- day Y alhalla. Casinos, outstand_
ing restaurants, beautiful
beaches, great snow skiing, cultural sights, yon name it, Lebanon had it all,
Then, all of a sudden
Wfftäîåîî:î:fåï?ü,î during the fifties, myfather (who was
also a rathole specialist working as a petroleum engineer in various garden spots all oyer the planet, particularþ the M iddle East ancl North Africa) useå to pack up the family for surfing safaris
down the Baja peninsula
in lower
California. These were the days when there were no roads south of Ensenada, only
dirt tracks marked by broken down vehicles and dubious signs indicating ranchos in the area. In my teens I foilowed the same
routes, impressing my friends with
my knowle dge of far off spots in un_
marked areas trayelling throughout the Baja Peninsula and to the Mexican mainland as far south as Guatemala and east into the yucatan peninsula and British Honduras. Then I was drafted in the US Army and sent to the ultimate ¡athole of ali, awaf zone. It really doesn,t mattef where you
to brighten up but the ruminants of other visitors still can cloudyourvisuals
- the East Europeans and the Russians. They sure like their grey cement and had a tendency to put them in plain sight of a really nice beach.
bang,
unrest, hatred and confusion reigned. No place for the likes of me. I finished my education and founcl that not too many pe ople were all that inspired about hiring a Vietnam vet so itwas o
they,
willing
i:Tl:: åxotic
Thus began my professional and self-imposed career as a rathole spe_ cialist. I wanted out of the States and on to newer frontiers. After Vietnam
you r annual membership fee
barked on a new career - iron ore trading. Could this be worse? _ The other day I was travelling home from work listening to the radið
and over 100 f¡ne gifts can be d¡fficult,
and these cosmic-sounding chimes permeated the air. On comes one Bill Poftef on a "Yellow River Odyssey,,. Has this here guy really been to China? To hear him tell it, the place is a wondedand of pleasant and cosmi_ cally lifting advenrures. I know many people who travel and work in China and none have ever made it sound like ole Bill. After neady 13 years of hus_
tling in and out of the people,s Repub_
IJpon retr-rrning to the States after a. prolonged rzisit to Vietnarrr I encountered another forrrr of ra-ttrole; ctra-os, Lltarest, hatred and conft sion reigned. NTo place for ttre likes of rrre-
Uponretuming to the States after a prolonged visit to Vietnam I encountered another form ofrathole; chaos,
places.
night.
_
gone. 'Whoosh, like a giant vacuum cleaner sucked out all the good pats and left this shell. Vietnam also had, and still has, its share of beautiful locales. But once again you find yourself sunning on a picturesque beach and the next day you are being shot at. Now that the waris overthings in Vietnam are starting
what could be worse? After foufteen years of travelling to garden spots for the oilman, I em_
lic I must have missed some-
thing
But,
some-
-,M-,
wit
t
where. I have to find this guy and get the name of
you can
his travel agent. China does have its share of
interesting locales and, of
course, the mines and the steel mills seem to gravitate to
Q*s
them.
The thing about travelling to China is that you always come out with a story which usually involves
-"\
your food, accommoclation, transport
and adventures that occur with just about an¡hing you do there. - In future articles I will do mv besr to take you through various ratholes I
have travelled to, in no particular chronological order, basically when mymuddled memory can retrieve the experiences (usually with the aid of
Tequila or some other decent inebriat-
ing liquid). Sray tuned for further ventLues in
wonderland. f,]!
ad_
Welcome to Club Beward, a new scheme that offers a variety of impressive gifts and benefits to Diners Club cardmembers. lt's just one of the
exclusive privileges that Diners Ctub cardmembers
have come to expect.
J
i;ij
As you get one point for every dollar you spend with the Card, you'll soon have enough pàints
l: : fl "" ::
ï
:",".[*
l,
]î,'
Ilì
frequent flyer miles and fly free with Northwest
fut
to claim your choice of free gifts from Club Beward.
li"ii:: ; I ",;"i î":;,
crystalware to exotic holidays. you can also choose to waive your annual membership fee. Or, if you prefer, convert your Club Beward points to Worldperks@
Ð
;
@ Nuæ
Airlines and KLM Boyal Dutch Airlines. And, because there's no time limit on using ., your Points, you can exchange them fór gifts or privileges however and whenever you wish. For more information, please call our Customer Service Hotline at 860 lggg anytime, day or night.
A lion not led by a donkey Follovzing a- rnassirze shake r-r12 of ttre BEiC's corporate stftrcture and a reassesslTtent of goa_ls, \zetera11 cofrespondent À4ark lFull;z ha"nded in his resigna-tion. He g.a_ve his reasons in Lorrdorr' s fn clep erz¿le tz t tt rz S zzn.clct1t ne\\zspa-per- His .r¡ieuzs could t>e seela to tranze relerzattce for all large rrredia orga-nisa-tions -
È
s
Out, the BBC after J0 marvellous years in its service because I could
not sign what amounts a gagging
great deal of change ahead but we won't have to embrace it at the speed we have had to over the last 18
clause. If I wanted to continue work-
months."
fI
ing then I would have ro keep my views on the Corporationprivate, even though since last year they have been
vety public.
My timing might seem odd. The Government recently announced that the BBC is not to be privatised. The licence fee is guaranteed for another 10 years. That is good newsfor allwho care about broadcasting and those like me who have questioned the changes taking place within the BBC. It has to be said, however, that no one took the threat to the BBC's char-ter very seriously. 'When the Corporation's management was aclopting, with enthusiasm, all the management medicine the Govemment was trying to force down the thloats ofdoctors, teachers and po licemen, it was hardll'likely to be rewardecl with a death warrant. But it
But that assurance will not be enough to revive staff morale, which is surely the crucial problem now. Morale will onlybe revived if the management is able to persuade staff that they are listening to their concerns.
These are based on years of experience of what actually happens in broadcasting, experience that few members of the board of management deep- rooted commitment to public serwice broadcasting. have, and
a
a
Unfortunately, John Birt has made
bad
staft
here
He has said that "above all, staff are concerned about redundancy." This has been the Director General's view for some time.
I
believe
it to be a dangerous
the management wants to make peace.
half-tmth. Of course, the staff are concerned about redundancy, but many of my colleagues are, I know, insulted by the suggestion that they are only worried about their own ftiture. They have very real concerns about the impact of the reforms on the quality of programmes and on the BBC's tradition of excellence. If the management does not acknowledge those apprehensions even exist, what hope can there be?
The BBC Director General, John Birt, for instance, has said: "There is a very
The BCC management should also realise that staff are not just there to be
wonld be chudish to deny the BBC management their moment oftriumph.
It is more appropriate to look to the future. Now is a time to make peace-peace between the management of the BBC and the staff.
In
the
many euphofic statements issued in the past there have some hints that
TIIE
C0RRDSPONItENT
August 1!p4
talked to. They want to express their views certain that those yiews are given
barrier to communication. Many mid-
consideration. During a recent strike, one senior manager was trying to convince a
strate that they are on the side of the bosses and so the message becomes even more rigorous than the Board of Management intended. That also
group of journalists that the BBC's position was reasonable. He asked why no one turned up to the meetings he had called to explain the management's
point of view. A journalist replied, "Because )¡ou are not interested in hearing our point of view".
The BBC's latest annual report com-
mits managers to hold meetings with their staff at least once a month. It is to be hoped theywill be somewhat more productive than those which have been held over lhe past- year. The BBC management always seeks short cuts to communication; glossypublicationswhichinfuriate the staff, a honse magazine known as Praucla, and one-day seminars to give PR men opportunities to 'motivate' groups of staff. Some staff see these as a bad joke and others as an insult to their intelligence. Nor have some of the seminars given much comfort to the members of the Board of Management, who usually grace them towards their end. At one recent seminar a staffer stood up on behalf ofhis group and said: "I have no questions.
I only want to make a statement. 'Sle
are lions led by donkeys." This style of management which has come in with the reforms is also a
dle managers seem an-xious to demon-
means the decency which should srrrell' still characterise an organisation such as the BBC goes ollt of the window. I don't want to'personalise the afglrment but I can't fesist giving one example of the carelessness of BBC midctle management. The Corporation's annual report makes much of the number of awards the BBC has won this year. By great goocl luck, and much hard work b¡' ysnsrsa Harrison, the producer,
a
prograrnme I presented
This was put even more succinctll' by another journalist who , after a managet had tried to explain the virtues of performance-felated pay to a group of staff, stood up and said, "that's a char-
the Radio Academy aclclress in which I appealed for a dialogue between the BBC's management and the staff. It has not taken place. l,et us hope thatwith the charter assured it will now, so that the realreason the BBCwins the next chafter is that the public wants it. E
ter for toadyism". Ayear ago I was privileged to give
"The most distinguished
coffespondent" Along uzith the at>or¡e a-tticle, ttre Irzclepenclettzt <>rt Sttrzcirzj,t fan tlae follo.wing tribr-rtes to lVla-rk Tully.
won one of those awards. I was
not informed that I had been
invited to the award lunch. After the annoLrncement of the award, I was not even informed by my management that I was one of the winners, let alone congratulated. With the present mistrust between
middle management and their staff, the concept of performance-r'elated pay is particularly dangerous. In a letter to Tb e Guctrclian, the veteran journalist Chades \ùØheeler wrote: "The
trouble with performance-relatecl pay is that it tends to reward obedience, discourage non-conformism, and to put too much power into the hands of middle managers."
r Tully's resignation
was
described as "terribly sad" by Sir Alasdair Milne, a former BBC director general. "He's the most distin-
guished correspondent, known woddwide, that we have," he said. "His speech last year about the
way the BBC is being mn underwrote general anxiery at the BBC. People are being kicked out in the most extraordinary way. Recently there were reports that the BBC had saved millions of pounds. Well, you
can do that by sacking 5,000 people but then you have to replace them.
"Losing people of great quality
like him is not an exercise I would indulge in myself." Gillian Reynolds, chair of the Brit-
ish Radio Academy Festival where Tully made his now-famous speech last year, also expressed regret: "I'm vely sorry. I've missed his reporting but it was obvious he was being sqneezed out."
She confessed admiration for John Birt but said the heartwas being torn from the BBC by his reforms. "I admire him for sticking to the plan as he saw it but I deplore its impact on staff. A generation-and-a-half of expertise has been lost." [@
August 1994
TÅD,
Ted's new wig It started innocently enough. Back
Getting to know you There's a new line-up in the Club's front office, and the girls recentþ posed for this
l.4:arciage
happy snap. Frorn Left to Riglt /; Shidey, receptionist; Sarah, membership secretary; Karen
lines
Long - time (now absent) memberEdVan Kanwho was based here in the sixties and eady seventies as a,cameÍamaî
En, executive secretary/assistant to general maîager; Sophie, functions co-ordinator and Amy, receptionist.
for NBC news and ITN, returned to the colony with his companion Madeleine Van Hagen and son Eyerard @orn in Hong Kong 22yearc ago from a previous marriage) to go for a "third time lucky" in the mariage stakes. The couple were married in Hong Kong on July 6th. Seen with the Van Kans are Hubert and Annie Van Es, who acted
as
in the eady-seventies associate member Ted Thomas found himself travelling to London on a monthly basis. Pining for the ambience of the FCC he was led, more or less willingly to the Wig & Pen Club in The Strand-which old Fleet street hands will know is not more than a No. 5 wood and a No. 3 iron awayfrom the Street of Adventure (a.k.a. Fleet Street) itself. Theywere awelcoming lot at the \Øig & Pen in those days, and still are. "There's a temporary membership card, sign it but don't put a date on it, " said Patrick, the doorman. "And come here for the rest of your life," added Richard the barman. Very hospitable, thought Ted and
wondered why Hong Kong's FCC didn't make it equally as stress-free for visiting London hands. For the next 30 years Ted used the
¡Ë t:ù *:å
t.
,''rr ,
M icb ae I Lìntern-Smítb and a.t tlre Hong Kong Wíg gatlrering a.t tlre FCC
\üØig
&
t
^*.,
ñ
fr ie nd
U
Pen
Pen regulady,
-¡*/
al-
though the original tempo-
Ieft tu rigbt: RogerJackson
rary membership card is looking a bit dog-eared and
"Gopi" Gopalan
Pete¡ Robers and
limp these days
Friday evening of every month at the
According to Ted the synergy between lawyers and scribes is some-
FCC.
"Althoughwe are unable to issue a temporary membership card that will
thingworth developing in Hong Kong. After all the two callings have a lot in common.
be good for twenty years, we can promise that you'll meet a few
Thus was born "The $Øig & Pen in Hong Kong", which meets on the last
ple,"
witnesses to the happy event. Hopefully Eric's last.
of Hong Kong's more interesting peosays Ted.
.TRETITS
úl
Erratum
+ ilt9
zÈ,
The oldest swinger
f"l
For All Your lnsurance Requirements
sometimes surface to hauntthe Club's
whether individual or corporate.
What did the normally sedentaryArthur
. Corporate - General . Peter Humble/ Ceoffery LunB
Hacker think he was doing when he wielded this stick in 1982?
Contrary
to the informa-
tion in the August issue of 7åe Correspondent, t]J.e list price
of Stefan Riesner's Cbinø Auant-Garde is $325. Club
members, however, can benefit ft om
a 2O%
discount reduc-
ing the price ro $260. For more information, please call Margeret Lo at 516-3196 and give your membership number.
THE C0RRESPOMIENT
August 1994
Obituary LYNNEWITSON Lynne (47), widowof Ian Wilson, passed away onFriday,July22nd,in Prince Rupert, B. C., Canada, after a courageous battle with oyarian cancer. She is survived by her son Nicholas (15), father and brother Graham. She will be greatly missed by all her friends in Hong Kong and elsewhere in
the world. A full tribute will appeu in the September isste of Tbe Corresþondent.
f'r[
Please call us to discuss any of your ¡nsurance requ¡rements,
rapidly maturing members. However, some questions remain unanswered.
,Ef
'li& 9- I'FÊ ^t b
From deep in the archives of The
Corresþondent arcient pictures
itr -, TE
t
. Life - lnvestment. Mike Carroll/ Fiona Wilson . Personal - Medical . Bobbie McCraw /Eric Chan
14
Contact us at:
Tel:865 3228
/ tax:865
2386
Stu W¡lliamson chose Elinchrom. ÉËltEEËiä;EF^É À B
MOLLERS' INSURANCE GROUP
rF E :F rfi tù E {+
s()l
g
ft # ffi :
EãÉ:s03 3082
å 4
!
EillE:512
2952
:1I fl 3iu I'* n*f '*1"^,",,i
rË
"'-T.,.,,.,,", 8ehgtr4
August 1994 THE C0RRESPONIIDNT
Snob heaven Ed Peters packecl his sqzirrrming trluaks, l2olished urp leis Ray Bans, ancl todcllecl off to :fa.laiti_ Flere's q¡h¿r_t he f-ouncl-
Q
ñ
È
e've had truth in advertising
- now for truth in travel writing. So to be blunt, chief among Tahi
ti's many attributes is the fact that it commands definite snob value. Any bugger can go to Boracay. Tahiti may have put the cash in cachet, but it,s worth it. Remember too, it,s French. Perhaps that has something to do with the snob value. palm trees waft over sun-kissed beaches and do everything else the travel agent promises closer to Kai Tak, but around Faaa (supedative name for an airport) and its environs there's a distinctly Gallic air.
Unl'ortunatell' hou,ever, -I'ahiti has suffeled the indignity of being invaded by gangs of American honey_ mooners ("Gee, isn't that sunset like
an out-of-bod¡' experience, sor-ta?',), and tramped beneath crocodiles of Japanese tourists. Antipocleans gurgle towarcl rhe all-in, clrink-all-you-can
resorts. Thankfully, it,s at least
be_
vond the bounds of the Eurolollt. yet, where other idyllic locales have succumbed to the invading tourist hoards, Tahiti has merely risen above the comrnon herd with true Flench hauteur.
Take the beach. It,s become
a
trar cller's aphorism that the gllests you see on the hotel beach display swa¡'ing bellies and other pro_ tubelances which would be better covered r.rp and not wagglecl about like trophies. Cut to the beach on Moorea. No loungers (chairs, that is), umbtellas, or hovering waiters. A strip of sand, a cluster of mangroves. and a stra). co_
connt shell or two. A little wav
off_
shole, unrefined merriment, unintri¡-
ited G-strings, upenclecl bottles of Hinano beer as a young islander and
Cotttintterl rnt frr.qe ) i
August
1
(.ontitntctl l)otn lttrgc 22
two girls stood s\\¡igging ar-rcl giggling, n'aist dcep in a sca that was as clear alìcl fl'esh as their fìrces At inten'als olle \\¡oltlcl slosh ltsh<¡re ancl scurr). ofÏ for ¿t relill. It r,v:rs a ricliculor.rsll' carelì'ec scene Yup, Tahiti's
still sex¡-
.{ strip of sancl, ¿t cl|-rstel- of m;r1l¡3rc)\/es, ancl ¿t str¿ty cocol-ìLlt shcll or t\^/()Take the restaltrant. Ur-rimposing, loc¿rtecl miles from anl..where, a husl¡and ancl wife affair Front of house is run b1- Le monsieur. Ribulous, obese,
ebtrllient, a grin cfeasecl rouncl his wine glass :rncl a welcome word for e\¡eq-olle . 'l'he r,vine list? Of course. A table-i Possibll'. Perhaps, he emphasisecl, in ts,'ent). minutes or so. A
clrir-rk beforehancl? Assr-rreclll' A waiter came
-
irncl went. Mon-
sieur returnecl. Profuse ltpologies Some mole rninutes rve nt bl'.
Preventing the whole operatioll from sinking iuto the Pacitic is ñIaclame. F-ort1' oclcl.
Beltortcl tbe boutlds of tbe
through
sr-tpre mel1,
eleg2ìnt, exquisitell. çei¡..t...t ancl garbecl, encl-
BatlJirlg in a
sea. as
clear anclfi'esb (ls theirfttces
lessl¡- efTicient Now briskll'sauteeing in the kitchen, then calculating a bill, her pencil fl1-ing through the fìgures, finalll. gentll' prising the cogllac bottle frorn le þatro.,i.'s gr¿'sp. A husbancl ancl wife operation. The sterco humrncd ancl lizards flickerecl ovcr the matting rvalls. In all sense s, it was a clelicious meal. Elsewhere the tricoleltr trickles, policernen in kepis clawclle over a
micl-shifi coffee in the hotel fol'cr, and the arÉaot is, well, argot Coulcl tlre Côte cl'Azur have slippecl a conti nent or two-i 'l'heloux got it w1'o11g ilr his THE C0RRf,SP0ilDENT Augr-rsr 1994
Polyuesian vclltlrre. His tt'aclitionnlll' amllsillg aucl acerbic pen cleYeloped a split nib as he paddlecl the Pacific, onllz çe-ittg to rights when he reachecl H¿rwaii, a familiar corner of
his native countr)' which he allowecl himself to label Par';rclise Perhaps poor health leacl him ofÏ colrrse, or malte being hunchccl up in th¿rt cauoe rlade him unnsualll' analll' retentive. Ilut he sneerecl at Palreete ancl its cock-e1'ecl colonial adlrirristration. He bitchecl abor,rt the prices ancl wl-rinecl about the arrogar-rce of the bureauclats. Br-rt viervccl
¿r
Etroktut
Hong Kong pelspective
,
he
s¡ils scafcely justified Schoolbol' French worked wonders, ancl Lan Kwai Fong conlcl clo with adjusring irs
prices Tahitiwarcls. Taxi clrivers, albeit pricel.even when the)- consent to use their meters, ha\¡e been known to rouncl prices clown to the nearest convenient figure. Separate ancl cann1. the islanclels are, aloof ancl greecly
thel'ain't. Tahiti: there is little to colltpare with it this sicle of Guacleloupe. Inconvenientll' situatecl, getting there iuvolves going via either -A.r.rcklancl or Tokl'o. Either wa)' iu'olves so suclden a crossing of the International Date Line that one can even be forgiven asking the legenclary clumb tortrist's question: "\ùØl-rat clay is it, ant'wa1-?"
¡æ
O n ly Cathay
Pacif
ic
has
an all Rolìs-Royce powered wide-bodied fleet, ìncluding the
747-400. Which is why we can
fly more non-stops to and from
our
home in Hong Kong, the heart of Asia. And with cabin attendants from
0 Asjan lands, we stop at help you arrive in better "ft
/l Arrive in better shape.
nothìng shape.
Your
Shoppirg List The FCC offe¡s members and theirguesrs (Hong
Kong
ancl
New
Territories
only)
a vast range of items at attractive prices.
The following is a lisr of the wonderful fhese wines may be ordered from the Club, billed to your account and delivered to the address of your choice. Only complete cases may be ordered under this scheme To place an order please send or fax this compteted form ro rhe Ctub u"¿
SAVE
value-for-money goods currently available from Reception.
lUl0 N EY Coffee Beans ready
for
$lI0
}Vl
Polo
IYIh." a iournalist is arrestecl W ¡",,.o wnlre on assrgnment,
Shirt
$90
Country Chardonnay, 1993. $66 ($792 per case)
Shor¡sleeved
August Sebastiani, California
sizes from S to XXL
-
Sweaters
citric flavouts. Thls family-owned company operates wineries in Sonoma and
Lambswool
Woodbridge. Chardonnay is at the forefront of their sucess with so-called 'fighting'
V-necked in light blue, red or purple.
varietal wines which offer higher quality together with competitìve prices
Telephone
$190
Cards
$ 100
Stored value in your wallet.
Chardonnay, I992. $84 ($1,008 per case)
Leather
Collavini Italy The first DOC Chardonnay to be produced in Italy comes from an area
known
as 'Grave del
Frìuh' stretching from north of Ventce towards rhe
Wallet
$f 50
Soft black leather with
credit/card spaces and penholder.
Umbrella
borders of Austria and Yugoslavia The Collavini family has been making
FCC
wlne here for four generations This example has
Gold logo on navy blue background.
a
lovely bouquet reminis-
cent ofgolden apples and freshly-baked bread,
Large'goll type. Gentleman's
Gour^.
],*¡¡.o¡.u
MAcoN
!rt
(Batttery not supplied)
1995Diary-DeskandPocket These may be pre-ordered
wines are often llghter in fruit than Beaujolais The
i
rustic quality sults cheese and spicy dlshes. Serve
I slightly chilled
H.K.
a
($l,l16 per
in Ocrober.
Poster
$I00
to brighten any wall.
FCC AUG R4 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1993. $93 McGuigan Brothers, Australia
TBA.
An lJove-Hongkong picture
FCC
This Bin 4000 is
$170
Macon Rouge, 1992, $73 ($876 per case)
Although produced from the Gamay grape, these
SUPERIEUR
Watch
Leather strap, unique design.
Caves Syrdicales, France
ùelouìgoqne pmuru,p-*.,
$f40
FCC AUG R3
case)
Lithograph
level lt is produced to be enj oyed young and slightly chilled
$f,OOO
by Murray Zanoni, a highly
Letterca¡ds
A number of organisations are pre-
with legal aid and freed journalists have said: "I think it saved my life. " Others have cited improved, conditions, an end to beatings or other abuse, the dawning of hope. Though we believe it is well worth the effort, it would be cruel and dishonest to say we really have the answer. The journalists still in prison, some under long sentences, indicate otherwise. The best we can do is try to help - and pray it makes a difference. In a siclebar to this repoft is a list of a dozen international groups that put a spotlight on abLrses against journalists, hoping authorities will back off when they know the'wodd is watch-
I0
1. Organisations in the sidebar list indicated with a (+) are members of a Toronto-based activity known as IFEX. Information reaching IFEX through member groups triggers a
2.
ororganisations canturn. The ICRC
a situation and alert free press and/or human rights networks to do the same.
tfoops. A journalist's own newspaper,
operates quietly to locate prisonefs, asceftain conditions and pfovide what help it can. United Nations organisations that should be considered include the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Geneva, the UN Educational, Scien-
agency or station can be his of her best
Organisation
3.
tific and Cultural
Postcards
Name
FCC No.
AUG FCC AUG FCC AUG FCC AUG
Wine Ref: FCC
Full order value:
$
Fu1l address for delivery:
No. of No. of No of No of
Cases Cases Cases Cases
mittee, in a meeting in Hong Kong last October, stressed that the vallre to China of Hong Kong could be lostif its free press is stifled. 'SØe believe, and stated, that economic success and a
free flow of information are
tions and authorities can exert. In some cases, leaders may have no regard for wodd opinion and can't be reached.
However, those with global aspirations who ignore wodd opinion must know that at some point theywill pay the price. If even just one journalist remains in a cell, we must do what we can to help. In enough cases, that help has made a
difference.
Arlìcle 19+ Lancaster House
33 lslington High Street London N1 gLH, uK Iel:14471)287 9292 Fax: (4471) 713 1356
Full colour card of the Zanoni FCC Print.
Tie
Tel No.
CIub
Toral Price $ Total Price $ Total Price $ Total Price $
A perfect gift, available in blue or red. (Gift box $10 extra)
$150
Canad¡an C0mmiltee t0 Protect J0urnal¡slsr Suile 205, 490 Adelaide St West T0r0nto, 0nlario. Can¿dÌan [45V ] T2 Tel: (416) 867 1638 Fax: (416) 867 1034
C0mmillee l0 Protect J0urnal¡sts {CPJ)+
Compact
Discs
$I00 each
a. Music from Middle Kingdom
b. Subversive comedy Postage
Stamps
12lF, 330 Sevenlh Avenue New York, NY 10001, U S A Tel: (212) 465 1004 Fax: (212) 465 9568
Freedom House 120 Wall Street Nelv York, NY 10005, U S A Tel: (212) 514 8040 Fax: (212) 514 8050
lnlernali0nal C0mmillee 0f lhe Bed Cross Press D¡vis¡on -'Hol Line' 19 Avenue de la Paix CH-1 202 Geneva, Switizerland
Iel:
/.22) 734 6001 Fax: l22J 734 8280
lnlernati0nal Federal¡0n 0l J0ürnal¡sls (lFJ)+ Blvd Chalemagne 1 (box 5) B-1041 Brussels Belgium Iel: (322) 238 0942 Fax: (322) 230 3633
lnlernati0nal Federal¡0n 0f Newspaper Püblishers (FIEJ)i+ 25, Bue d'Astorg Paris 75008, France Tel: (331) 4742 8500 Fax: (331) 47 42 49AB
lnlernalional
Reporters S¿ns Fronlieres (RSFf 17 Rue Abbê de I'Epee 34000 l\¡ontepellier, France Tel: (33) 6779 8182 Fax; (33) 6779 6080
PEN +
9-10 Chader House Buildrngs GosY/ell Road London ECl lM 7AT. UK lel \4471) 253 3226 Fax:14471J253 5711
lnternali0nal Press lnstilule Spiegelgasse 2/92 A-1010 Vienna, Austna Tel: (431) 512 90111 F¿x: (431) 512 9014
Press Foundalion ol Asia P0 Box 1843 l\¡aoila, Philippines Tel: (632) 598 633 Fax: (632) 818 9720
W0rld Press Freed0m C0mmillee (WPFC)'11600 Sunrse Valley Dr
(lPl)*+
Reston, VA 2209l. U S A Tel: (703) 648 1000 Fax: {703) 620 4557
Most values
Signature: This
oÊfer is
for August only
¡t:*fC
Freedom Fighters $2 each
so
intedinked that throttling one will lose the other. It is true everywhere. I hope someone was listening. For now, resorting to the groups listed here will produce pressure to supplement that which local organisa-
Folded cards, with envelope,
of the Zanoni FCC Print
Wines by the case delivered to you
High Commissioner for Human Rights
who might be approached. The Wodd Press Freedom Com-
global alert to J0 or more organisations which, it is hopecl, will issue their own protests. Groups indicated with a (*) do much the same and also operate a joint Funcl Against Censorship administerecl b). the Wodd Press Freedom Committee which makes modest legal aid grants in cases where journalists would otherwise go
issue a protest or otherwise publicise
faster. In Hong Kong, for example, the Journalist's Association, the FCC and
(UNESCO) in Paris and the UN itself in New York. UNESCO has an internal group to handle individual cases of abuse. It should be contacted through the Director-General. The UNHRC now has a special 'rapporteur' on freedom of expression who has indicated willingness to take up individual cases. The UN in NewYork has just named a
should also be pressed to lodge strong official protests. Though essential, none of this is new. On the international scene, though, there are some new or, atleast, less well-known things to be aware of.
ing. Typically, upon receiving a report, those authorities will veriry facts,
similar organisations are front-line $40 per
adyocate. Government authorities
unfepresented. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneya also operates a hot line to which families, editors
Local groups can get into action
collectable limited edition.
rich, intensely flavoursome red with typical alcohol
news meclia come Lrnder attack, the
parecl to help
Always useful to carry. FCC AUG W2
or or
'Who can help?'Will big questions are: it do much good? The answers are not altogether satisfying.
various colours and
Excellent with seafood and lightly-spiced dishes which combine well wirh its crispy
*siÁ3;,:1¡::l--
,{s rrla-n¡r parts of tlae s/ofld l>ecorne e\zer rrlofe dangeroLrs, Dana Elullen, e><eclrtive director of ttre Núzodd Press Freedorrr CorrrrTrittee, gives arì. Lrl2date on q.h.ere threatelaed or jailed journalists <ran turra to itr tirrres of tror-rl>le_
per kilo
grinding. Why pay higher prices? FCC AUG
Pray it Írrakes a difference
Atrgnsr 1994 THr, coRRlsPoNItDNT
Paul Willi arrr Doughe fiy (1938 1994)
Reciprocal Clubs
Cambodia
Japan
ing methods.
\üúrtren GIS refused to a-llouz trirn a. credit in
tkre yea"rbook, he str-rck his narne in ttre inde><.
proved by an Italian meal rather carelessly eaten. I ended up by being given the honeymoon suite. What it is to have friends in high places. Paul later achieved a boyhood ambition by
becoming editor of the
Australian Playboy
thunderstorm in Manila the day before .
Butitwasnot quite what he had ex-
The receptionist greeted me with awe. "Are you sure you're Mr Hacker?" she kept asking. After I finally convinced her who I
pefs.
a
she
He went to New
I was whipped
York where he worked for various tabloids be-
to allow
him
a credit in the yearbook, he stuck his name in the index. He was a massive man, somewhere arowd 6' 4" in height and weighing 20 stone, when he wasn't on a diet. Three years of GIS was enoughfor Dougherty. He went toJapan where he worked as a foreign correspondenf for t}ae Aus-
trølian Finønciøl Reuieu, before becoming a press secretary in Gough Witlam's government. I was in Australia on holiday in 1974, and arrived at the Koala Motor THE CORRESP0!{|¡EI|T
Augusr 1994
away by Paul for a few beers (14 or 15 if I remember correctÐ and
lore returning to
Aus-
tralia. He was an enormously capable journalist. Last year he was di-
returned to my hotel eady next morning. I
agnosed as having a braintumour. Aftertwo operations he
was shown to my room only to find a total stranger asleep in my bed. I was suffered a relapse and died of a heart told by the receptionist that, as I had attack in Melbourne, 2 July 1994.
not reappeared since the morning, He is survived by his first wife, they had let my foom to someone Robyn,fourdaughters,safah,Bridget,
else.
Susie and Lulu, and his widow, Susan
"I was called away to the Prime Duncan, editor of Neu Idø. By an Minister's office." I told her indig- ironiccoincidence,hisbelovedpussy
nantly.
"Oh, you're the one," she said
in
Int'l
P¡ess Centre
14 Snaregade DK-l205 Copenhagen
'r:45-t-t3I6t5
T: t-213-469 8t8o
K
23lF, Dusit Thani Hotel 946 Rama IV Road Bangkok 10500 T:66-2-2360450
Indianapolis Press Club 150 W. Market Indiaflapolis, lN 46204
France
Ti 7-377-237-6222
Societe de Gestion du Presse Club de France
Miami Int'l Press Club 1800 Club, 1800 N E (at 18 N. Bayshore Drive)
11Avenue D'Iéna 75176 Paús
MiamiFL33732
T:33-147237816 F:33-l-4O7O
\:
OO28
Australia
P¡esse-Club Munchen Marienplatz 22 (P eter'JoÐ 8000 Munchen 2
Club 18/F, Korea Press Center Bldg 25, 1-Ka Taepyong-Ro Chung-Ku, Seoul
T:82-2-7343272 F:82-2-7347712 Sadan Pubin Seoul Club
Brisbane, QLD 4000 T:61-07-229 3766 F:61-07-229 5207 Darwìn Press Club
Macau DSFSM (Clube
Brisbane Polo Club Inc. Naldham House 'Waterfront Place 1 Eagle Street
Militar)
The Journalists' Club 36-40 Chalmers Street Sydney, NSW 2010 Ti 67-2-271 2966 F:6t-2-281 4667
Calcada Dos Quarteis
T:853-559994 F: a53-712704 (Closed for renovation)
Philippines The Manila Club San Gregorio Street (cor Soùth ExpresswaÐ Magallanes Com'l Center
Makati, Metro Manila T: 632-833-3506/08 F:632-833-3506 Manila Overseas Press Club G/F, Old Elks Club Building Roxas Rlvd (cor. T M Kalaw St ) Ermita, Manila T:632- 521 9542/571362 F:632-581355
T: 49-89-26O-8Oa8
Holland Nienwspoort Inteúlational lange Poten 10,2517 Cl The Hague
Cavenagh Street
Darwin, NT
National Press Club 16 National Circuit Barton Canberra, ACT 2600 T:61-62-733644 Rugby Club Ltd Rugby Union House Crane Place
United lGngdom The Foreign Press Association I 1 Carlton House Ter¡ace London SI(/IY 5AJ T : 44-7 t -93o-o445 / 8883 F: 44-71-925-0469
T:61-2-273344 F:6t-2-2512434 The Victorian Club Level 47, Rialto South Tower
525 Collins St Melbourne,VlC 3000 T: 67-3-614 2127 F:67-3-629 2086
).-305-373-1093
National Press Club 14th&FStreets, NSí 'Washington, DC 2OO45
T: t-202-6627500 F: l-2O2-6627512 Omaha Press Club 22OO One Ftust National Ctr, Sixteenth and Dodge Streets omaha, NE 68102 T: t-4O2-345-8oO8 Overseas Press Club olAmerica J20 East 42nd Street, Mezzanine NewYo¡k, NY 10017 T : 7-272-983 4655 (Lodging) T: l-212-986 8800 (Meals)
F:1-212-983 4692 Press Club of San Francisco
555 Post St.
London P¡ess Club & Scribes 4 Carmelite Street London EC4 Y0BN T : 44-7 t-353-5 r23 / 4901
Wig & Pen Clnb 229/23O Strand London WCzR 1BA T: 44-7t-353-6864
SanFrancisco, CA94[O2 T: t4I5-775-7aOO Reno Press & Virginia Club 221 So. Virginia Street Reno, NV 89501
Int'l
Press Club Of Chicago
222W Olltario St.5O2 Chicago, IL60610-3695
T:312787-2679
(off
31À Pitr sr) Sydney, NSìí 2000
F: 7-213-469 8183
F:45-l-977673
Seoul Foreign Correspondents'
ia's ugliest, with no
Minister's office. "It's
Denmark
Korea
pected. He had to wade
there was a message to ring the Prime
Suite 334, Radisson Holllnvood Roosevelt Hotel 7000 Holll.wood Blvd Holl)'wood, CA 90028
Germany
Jangchoong-Dong Chung-Ku, Seoul T: 82-2-238-79OO/7666 F:82-2-234-3866
clothes on, in a fodorn search for presentable Bunnies. Disillusioned, he returned to newspa-
1ll4
The Greater L. A. Press Club
Euroþe
Austrøløsìø
#208,2-KA
photographs of Austral-
said.
justice. S7hen GIS refused
Chiyoda-Ku, Toþo T:81-3-3271 3761 F: al3-3271 3168
magazine.
through thousands of
was, she told me that
Mr Dougherty!" Paul was a gteat man for theories. He also had a strong sense of natt$al
sa-
fari suit whose appearance had not been im-
Singapore
The Bellevue Club 525 Bellel'ue,{venue Oakland, CA94610-5096 T:1-510-451-1000 r: |5IO-832-O219
F: 65-740 2276
FCC Thailand
7-1 Yu¡aku-cho 1-Chome
disbelief, eyeing my
Electronic Publishing Division Singapore Press Holdings 82 Genting Lane
Thailand
FCC ofJapan
suit had been slept in, after being caught in a
F:64-4-4780952
Singapore Press Club c/o Ms Salma Khalik
T:855-23 27846 F 855-23 26189
at th€ Hilton and later we went to language school together. After class we would drop into the Pussy CatBat for a few light ales, and discuss what was wrong with the teacher's teach-
\Vellington
Singapore Shopping Centre Singapore 0923
Cambodia
363 Katl Marx Quay Phnom Penh
a drink, I returned to the reception desk to demand a place to shower and change in. I was grotty - really grotty. My white safari
P.O.Box2327
#to-33/34
Asìø
of
ter searching in vain for
National Press Club
F:65-336 5581
Foieign Correspondents' Club
Inn in Sydney earþ one morning, tofindthatmy room was not ready. Af-
New Zealand
T:65-336 6885
Artl'nrr Flacker, a close professional and personal friend pa).s tribr-rte to Paul Dorrgkrer:ty, a long-tirne FCC rrrerrrt>er -wkro uzill rte\zer t>e forgotten-
aul Dougherty arrived in Hong Kong in 1967 during the disturbances. He worked for the Star newspaper before joining the Government Information Services (GIS), where he edited the government yearbook for three years. He introduced me to the old FCC
Singapore Foreign Correspondents' Assn 190 Clemenceau Avenue
F:312787-268O
Nortb Amerícø
Ca¡ada
United States
Ottawa National Press Club
The Ashford Club 10th Floor
150 Wellington
400 Perimeter Center Terrace Àrlanta, GA30346
T: 1-404-395-1333 F: t-4O4-677-OOü.
Ottawa, Ont,
KlP 544
'lfinnipeg Press Club Marlborough Hotel 331 Smith Street 'Dfiflnipeg, Man R3B 2G9
Cat Bar closed its doors on the same day he died. @ August 1994 THE C0RRDSPoI|ItENT
PLEASE
PATRO N I5 E
TH E5E
From MalaÍrto Mandela
sUPPORTERS
FCC
Bull & Bear
o*::,"r";fiÂès
Come and join us at one of Central's favourite pubs. Opening Hours: 9am-2am, Monday - Saturday;
Y
Noon-Midnight, Sunday ; Happy Hour, 5-8pm. Hearty English Breakfast served till 10.30am, Mon-Sat,
n
Traditional Pub Grub, Daily Special,
Buen Vino P,{S S -Jl
We
BAR
look forward to seeing you!
South,{frica - that is to say, the British afld Dutch citizens v/ho make up between them a minority of the population of the Union and a vast majority of its electors votes today for a new parliament. À Nationalist victory today would be a disaster. Dr Malan has chosen, for v/hat seemed no doubt strong electoral reasons, racialto fight on the worst possible field
Ground Floor, Hutchison House (next to Furama Hotel) Central, Hong Kong. Tel: 525 7436
WYNDHAT\I STREET TEL: 8t75472
G.i"d. food. t,'dl a sv¿L]r-n
*"l"o-n" await you..
CEl\TTR.A.T&
beer in a relaxing and friendly atrnosphere. HAPPY HOURS - ALL DAY SUNDAY AND 6 - 8 PM & I1 - 12 PM EVERY NIGHT
Great food, wine
Mancbester Guørdian car
ried the following editorial:
Roast Beef Sunday Lunch
\-
Wednesday, l/:ay 28, L948
Tbe
ism
-
-
and to put forward the worst possible
policy
GÆ., ON HING BLDG. (UP THE STAIRS, opposite'LOFT" lN WYNDHAM ST.) CENTRAL. RESERVATIONS: 81 01 1 62
segrega- apartheid, or wholesale tion of blackfrom white He and his friends wish to sv/eep away what little political
South China Building, 1-J Wyndham Street TeI: 526-5293 Fax 801-5006
advance the Bantu majority has made in the
Union
-
the Native Representative Council,
the three members elected to represent them
in the House ofAssembly; to stop anyfurther
THE GODOWN
movement of the Bantu into the towns; and to forbid them any scope for advancement
Closc Ir¡cot¡nters of thc Ëxotic lrrdi¡lr Kincl
-WHERE THINGS REAttY TAKE OFT-
The Ashoka
anluzhere but in the Reserves.
llrelif'l¡urJrt ¿\lìtrt,¡lllru¡rrr¡ttlelittrrrrils,¡trr,ttithYdl.'LI'.trlingServire I ììr lt) lìlì l' 'ì' I l,¡lrr\rr¡r' ,\tlt'lrtitrrslrt.lirrrlntlulll'rr.e \!r.lrljrortht'lnclttll¡rntctrrr, lrrtr!r...rr ,'(\) | ¡ìì llì tì(l I rtì 1ll()('ll,¡laa7l9 \\'r..r,'slilìtlrr,'(..ìl'i;'.()\\'r'ntll¡¡rrr\1,!(rrtr¡ì,llK,ld .rn.l ¡l'¡ ¡l ,'rr¡ l,r¡n.l rrrrv I'l,rLe ¡t (,/ìj( rr¡trr.rttS,ltl ('t¡rtÌ¡tr'rcial lhriHin¡¡, lri"\\1¡n¡ìr¡i ìiirrLl, II K, lel sql sql'1,.'ì(rl iíl5l (;'lìt)
This is not so much
a
policy
as a
neurotic
it could not be realised even if the Nationalists came into'power. The Bantu
fantasy:
cannotbe confined to the Reserves, because
these are neither big enough nor fertile enough to maintain them They cannot be excluded from the towns, because they are needed there; SonthAfrica's industry cannot
r> 7n rZ*/
.% .Øt;r.tz.Ør**l7u"t";ut
.t6rt/.7/"-Øø¡(%'l'*,%'*.2
D
GO
W N
LUNCH, DINNER & DANCING -PRJVATE ROOM-
- LUNCH - DINNER -
A SHORT TAXI RIDE FROM THE FCC HAPPY HOURS 5-7 PM, 1 1-12 MIDNICHT FOR RESERVATONS CALL
1
B-13 !?o On Lane, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong
CROUND FLOOR, HONC KONG
Telephone 52.65965
Late night supper
Frida¡ Saturday
A Çreøt Lurch-tirft¿ leø[t
a.m,
and eve's to public holidays,
M 58-62 D' Aguilar Street Lan Kwai Fong Cenlral Hong Atr ù)lite Cotrce¡tt
lt
Kong
Tel: 845-5577
fo,
from7l
g6
6Ifrz'I)i
+Jfilcl-
[-Sept'94
ttøge
for
(
Inlian) I(staurønL
Currg Loaers
\uemøtions: 5257410,'Iafo-øøøy (t Coteing
3pm Diflrer(Mon-Sat)6:00ptn 11:æ!1fl D¡ntret (SulL)6:001f,-11:00pft
Lurc[L(w{on-Sat)11:30am
as a
solution
seraice: 525 4177
57'Wynlñamstree¡
ßNercfl't{0fl81þttt
heid system and begin a dialogue with jailed AfricanNational Congress leader Nelson Mandela. Withinmonths thepillars of apanheid had fallen and Mandela was released after 27 years behind bars. The four decades of apartheid, however, have left their markon SouthAfrica... black, white, coloured, Chinese and Indian alike. Its legacywill be long and enduring but in order to understand the present
This movement
will not go by the
same
path, nor at the same spee d, in all theAfrican
territories. It will create different problems in each and call for different solutions. The outcome which is not conceivable is what
Dr Malan demands once and for all.
-
to reverse the trend
ttríhat this book tries to do provide some understanding of the problems facing the new South Africa by mixing cuff ent commentary with historic reporting lrom Tbe Guørdian's archives. From that very first editorial on May 26, 1948, to the
present day, Tbe Guardian has given wide coverage to
white man who had been in a serious The Nationalists won the election and Dr Malan became Prime Minister. In the four decades that followed South Africa became a deeply divided
nation where the minority had all the
Although half-white and halfnonwhite under its former laws, Chi nese wefe placed in aracial category all of their own ... Chinese. Japanese,
is to
Tb e Gu ardi an's editor P eter Preston in his forward to the book writes: "The Guardian, througr,q the years of oppression, did not let South Africa rest. It reported the facts, the details and the horrors." The stories ftom The Guardian, which are reproduced in the book, help to illustrate the tragic and absurd nature of apartheid. Take the storywhich appeared on August 2, 1967 under the headline: "Casualty of apartheid". It dealtwith a
bttt
entering the members' enclosure at the exclusive Turffontein race course. After years of being admitted aIl of a sudden theywere barred under a law restricting rucially mixed audiences.
yeafs.
South Africa.
- often painfully slow -
peared on September 14, 1965:' "Chinese puzzle at S. African racecourse". This story dealt with a group of Chinese race-goers who were barred from
it's important to know what happened in those 4}-odd
to South Africa's race relations is irresponsi-
pean civilisation.
i( ( ( (
individual's race, where people could live and who they could sleep with, Fouryears ago, however, the then 'W. President F. de Klerk began the unthinkable ... to dismantle the apart-
ble The one inescapable fact which domi-
ultimatel)' irresistible movement of the African peoples towards the standards of Euro-
A6d 66
Eø
put this wild stuff forward
the slow
-
AFTER DINNER
THE CODOWN, ADMIRALTY CEMRE, TOWER 2,
"Its late and had a h we havenft from lO - l2
To
nates the future of the African continent is
-
LIVEPIANO AND AMBIANCE
grow without them.
power and the majority nothing. Draconian laws determined an
car accident only to be left lying on the side of the road for an hour and ahall because the ambulance which arrived on the scene was for non-whites only. Then there is the story which ap-
on the other hand, were classed
as
honourary whites. From the absurd to the tragedy of Sharpville and Soweto and the brutality of a systemwhich treated the black
majority with utter contempt, Tbe Guardían has covered it all. For anyone wanting to know some-
thing about South Africa, its past and what the future may hold, this book comes highly recommended.
Reviewed by
IkdVilson
Tbe Legacy ofApartbeid Edited byJoseph Harker Published by Tbe Guard,ían 214 pages
'Íe[: 525 7410, 525 4117
August 1994 TÃE
CoRRDSPoIVDENI
A montbly portrait of FCC irreplaceables
Nîkon
e
il â1,
rr1 , tl
Æs t,f
.F__'
#= 1;
Hubert Van Es Member Since:
1967
Age:
One year older than last year
Occupation: Nationality: Intefests:
Photographer Dutch Too many to mention here, but one of them is weight-lifting (mainly half-pints) That good looking dude with the bags under his eyes, also known as the Dutch Minister for Couth and Culture.
Description:
NE\rySMAKER Where history is made, as it is being made, the Nikon F4 toils. [Jnfailingly, tirelessly. The F4. Good news for pros everywhere.
Pltotograþbed by Eddie Adams, courtesy of Kodak Sole Agent: Shriro {H.K ) Ltd., rSE GoRRXSPoilD[NT August 1994
zlF
Centra Hong Kong Te 524 5O3l
l
WUE,N YOU BUITO FOR THE FUTURE, NE,VE,R FORGET YOUR ROOTS.
l
Established in 1886, the Wharf Group's main business relies on long term core investment projects in Hong Kong. However, as we pursue other investment'opportunities elsewhere, such as China, Singapore and the United States, we are committed to developing property and infrastructure projects simiLar to the ones we have successfully completed in Hong Kong over the last 100 years. It is this
simple philosophy of always remembering our roots that we tell our investors all around the world.
\체HARF Cont창ct numbers: The Wharf lHoldingsJ
Ltd
879
3388
.
Wharf Cable 611 6868
.
Omni Hotels Asia Pacihc 738 3232