The Correspondent, September 1994

POTUIIENT Tbe Official

of the Foreign

nts'CIub of Hong Kong

September 1994

Armstrong Vines

Chugani: The editors slug it out

North Korea:

communicating with the Kims

l

,

l

Dorothy I端rkbride: a

portfolio

THD CORRESPONDENT September, 1994

2

THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS'

Le1ter:s to ttre Editor: FCC International

CLIIB

4

2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong Fax:868 1092 Teleplro0e: 521 lill Carl Goldstein Presid€nt Simon Holbertoo First vice President Doroth]' Rl'an Second Vice President

-

l\ essage frorrr

ttre President

New Club president Simon Holberton gives tlre story behind his promotion

5

Correspondent Member Governors

Barside

Elanterr

The art of wine listing

Paul Ba.vfield,

Ìfarcus W Brauchli, Pbillipe Le Cor¡e. Diane stormont, Hubert \¡¿n Es, Nury Vittîchi, Hans Vriens, Mike we stlake

The largest consumer packaged goods company

in the rryorld

6

Indonesian response to an FCC protest

Joùrnalist Member Governom Paul Moonel, Francis Nloriarq' Associate Member Govemors

.,,

6 a

Sec,?¡ary. Pattl Mootle)'

Comittee 1-O

7-2

At ttre front

line

Communicating with the Kims of North Korea

Membership Committee Cottuenor': Hubert Van Es E¡¡an, Keith Shakespeare M¡kc westlake

:IIeübeß: Kevin

a6

Con¿r¿ro,: Nury v¡ttachi lllenbers: Marcus W Bmuchli, Ronald Ling F & B Comittee Co n tt e ttot' : Plrjllipe I-e Corre lleiltbers: Kevin Egan, Athene Cho)'

Canorr

Fodder

Pictu¡es and members' perks at

Entertainment Committee

Wall

Lunchlines Vodka tonic: Moscow's new man in Hong Kong

comittee

Treasurer: Dorothy R)'an Carl GoldsteiD, Simon Holberton, Keith Shakcspcare

... and committed to Asia.

Ì\¿fedia lìdatter:s Dogfight at the OK Corral

Co,¡¿r¿ror. Hrns vriens JferzDers: Paul Ba1'fìeld, Marcus \v Brauchli, Philippe Le Corre, Fmncis Moriarq

Finance

Obituan:5r Goodbl'e to Lynne Wilson

Athene Choy, Kevin Egan, Ronald Líng, Keith Shakespeîre

Professional

For tfre Flecord

FCC

20

a

new

exhibition

FCC People The literary fortlÌne of associate member,

Comittee

Dr Ian ìfilliams

Huben Van Es, Bob Davis

Publications Comittee Cjn ue n or : P aú Bay fte'ld ,l,letnbeß: Francis Moriarty, Hubcrt Van Nùri vittachi, TerÐ' Duckham, Simon Twiston DaYi€s (Editor)

22

The Correspondent EDITORIAL OFFICE s¡mon Twiston DaYies, Edilor Marion Bourke, Assistant Editor 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong Fax:868 4092 Telephone: 527 lill @ 1994

TIre Coffesþondell is published monthlv b¡' The Foreign corespondents' Club ofHong Kong

PRODUCTION & PrintinB Fourth Floor,

l5B weltington Street, Centml, Hong KonB

Tel:521 7993 Fax:521 8366 Publlsher Ian Harling

Marketing Director Katie McGregor - ì it'rrrlr l)rrorrg DTP Artist T¡rev T-ec.

KRAFI-CENERAL FOODS INTERMTIOML

Cornprolrrise

Social Affairs Half century knocked-off in style

26

Portfolio The classic works of associate member Dorothy

Kirkbride

3()

Soapl>o>< Asia s media comes lrnrler thc microscope

3L

Fur:ttrer: R.eading The fruitless, brutal war in Bosnia

FST Line Design

PHILIP MORRIS GROUP OF COMPANIES

Kratt General Foods (As¡a-Pacific) Ltd,

24

the Foreign Correspondents'

Club ofHonB Kong Opinions expressed by write rs ¡n Tbe Corresþonder¡, are not necessaril)'those of The Foreign Conesponclents' Clttb

Pr:e-pf ograrrrrrred Does the ABC add up?

Es,

32

FCC Faces A beauq' and her beast Cover illustrationt Tbe Edifor b)- Robin Vhyler

-

Miller Brewing Company

September 7994 TÄE É :t

&

CoRRXSP0ilIIENT

To the

'z+

Editor

\

FCC

International Saul Lockhart's Swan Song

in the

June issue of Tbe Corresþondent liras inspired me to write from deepest Tuscanywhere Steve Fallon and I are

ensconced until Octobcr.

'Why doesn'ttlae magazine make better use of the extensive network

of former and current

members

living awayfrom Hong Kong? I think it would be quite interesting to haye regular page of news from the press outside Hong Kong, both in the form of short briefs and longer features.

The international network of correspondents is huge. In Eastern Eua

rope alone I can think of David Brauchli (Prague), Chris Pommeroy (Prague), Adi and Dinda Ignatius (Moscow), Paul Erhlich (Moscow) and

Ann Brocklehurst (Bedin).

Perhaps it would be an idea for

the Club to write directly to all the absentee members as well as to other foreign press clubs.

Then, of course, there are the foreign bureaus of all the media with a presence in Hong Kong. Couldn't the Reuieu, Reuters, AP, AFP or the AWSJ - to nam€ but a few - send out the word to their staff¡ Perhaps you could have

a

People

section listing those members who either switch jobs in Hong Kong or

which have relevance to Hong Kong and its future.

For instance, although the print media is largely in private hands and is free, television and radio are still state controlled.

So when the former goyernment

- elections were held in Maydecided that the opposition was getting too much favourable publicity it simply ousted scores of journalists deemed to be "biased".

Then there is the test case of a former govemment spokesman who is suing a Dutch correspondent and two Hungarian newspapers for libel.

Basically the charge is that the local papers reported some "off the record" information given to the Dutch journalist, which the spokesman now claims was misquoted.

On a lighter note, I had the opportunity to work out of the offices of the first financial paper in Eastern Europe, which had been resurrected after four decades. (I was also the

fore being booted out by the Chinese

govefnment.

Also while in Budapest, Steve was

on th€ founding committee of the Hungarian International Press Association. He contacted the Hong Kong,

Seoul and Bangkok FCCs for their Articles of Association or Constitutions for use as a model for Budapest's.

You might be interested to know that Hong Kong's was deemed to be waytoo long, boring and dated. Bangkok's was used as the model.

Incidentally, fellow journalists are

more than welcome to visit the Art Nouveau mansion which houses the offices of the Hungarian International Press Association and the local Hungaian Press Association.

London-based IFR Publishing.)

The paper was staffed by a bizane bunch of young journalists who were trying to come to grþs with the mechanics of modern capitalism and the wilyways of stock and bond markets.

Correspond ent couldn't agree nxore.

(It might provide good fodder for sourcing orrerseas news.)

ers

For two years Steve and I lived in Budapest where all sorts of changes 'were occurring in the press, some of

communist papers.

who had formefly worked for the

In particular, the editor of the wife of a

English section was the

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.

Canoil

Best regards,

(Tbe editoriøl tean1. ¿tt The

But more interesting were the stories of the older editors and writ-

Alike for both seasoned professional and

Michael Rothschild (4r 43)

Eastern Europe correspondent for the

move/get posted to other territories?

THE CoRRDSPoNIIDNT September

correspondent who was based, among other places, in Beijing, be-

We tuould nxost certøinly uelcome contributions from FCC rnembers and associøtes - corresþondents alike tubo øre currently øbroad.

And a- People section ís a grønd ideø. Pleøse send in your new þostings ns soon 6rs possible. As for contctcting øll ouerseas members, tbat could tøke some time, but tlre Publicøtions Cotnmittee tttill giue it E[l sorne tbougbt

-Ed)

Canon Hongkong Trading Co., Ltd. 10Æ.,

Mirror Tower, 61 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel:739 0802

Enquiry Hotline: 59O 9666

rillt

Jardine Gonsumer Electronics

@f fEÍil

a Jard¡ne pâciric business

A presidentialmessage a-ppointed FCC President Sirnon Holberton the circrlrrìsta-rìces of his sudden eler.a-tion_

NTeuzl;z

In your cups

e><plains .æ¡*s

,

Clutr rrlalaager Jettrro Lee-l\4atrone)z descril>es ttre creation of the perfect xzine list.

1.t".Ð*,û þ/

consider his change in status. This we did at a spe-

with which business folk

cially convened meeting on July 22d.

I believe it is vital to the Club's future thatwe continue to develop the

Duringthe course ofthe

"professional" activities of the FCC; that we invite a range of speakers,

meeting a consensus was reached that the president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club needed to be a working journalist. A wellintentioned suggestion that the Board redefine Cad's status by fiat so as to allow him to remain a "correspondent" was not seen as being either

tenable or credible. It is to Cad's credit that he said he Simon Holberton: neu boy on tbe block

f thought it might be appropriate I to set out to members the circumstances under which I have become

president of the Club and Carl Goldstein has relinquished the post.

Before doing so, however, Iwouldlike to place on record the Board's sincere thanks to Cad for the serwice he has rendered to Club over the years, and during his tenure as president this year. 'W'e all regret the need for him to step down and admire the equanimity with which he dealt with the issue.

'W'e are all pleased that he has accepted the Board's invitation to remain on the Board where his good judgement will continue to inform our decision making.

Carl came to the Board in earþ July with news that he had resigned from the Far Eastern Economíc Reuieut andwould take a position with a Washington-based consultancy dealing with China in earþ August. Although he would remain in Hong Kong, he thought the Boardneeded to

would have voted against such a suggestion himself had he been asked.

The continued occupation of our premises - at a so-called cheap rent depends upon our status as a club for the foreign media. It is only proper tltale a member of the foreign media

represent the Club's interests

to goYefnment and the community more widely when the need arises.

'Søhat

makes the FCC

also

ally think everybody has 2O/2Ovision?

Are they saving on the electricity?

I refer to the dunderheads who

print menus and wine lists in

fepfesenting a broad spectfum of views, who can make an intelligent contribution to our understanding of Hong Kong and the regioninwhich it

coffee-coloured ink on cream paper.

And then they tum down the lighting

plays such a vital role.

Later this year the Club will host a forum on press freedom in Asia. This conference will bring together lead-

menus and wine lists because I believe these should be carefully constructed and not entrusted to a semi-literate typist who cannot decipher the head

ing journalists and publishers from the region for what is hoped will be two days of lively debate and discussion. The idea for this conference was firSt raised by Cad when he was

waiter's handwriting.

first vice-president to Philip

Bowring. The Clubwill joinwiththe Freedom Forum, a US foundation devoted to the media, to stage the conference. Members will be notified in good time about the conference programme and

It is only proper tÍrat a rrrerrrl>er of tkre foreign

all are welcome to attend.

In closing,

rnedia represelrt tfie Club's

let me say that I plan to

interests to go\zeflirrì-ent

continue the good work

bequeathed to asand ttre corrìrmlnity fnore me by my sociation with predecessors. the news mevrzidely uzhen ttre As for my own dia. Together belief about with the best need arises. the Club, I barintownand think thar good food, it is the Club's role as a venue for above all the FCC must remain a place where people with shared interests discussion and debate about social, economic and political trends in m€et to pursue them in a friendly Hong Kong, China and the region atmosphefe. more widely that makes it a Place @

special is its

ave they never heard of "contrast" or "claity"? Do they re-

wantto

be associated.

for further effect.

I'm having

is

a

bit of a moan about

Producing a well-balanced wine list both an art and a skill. When creating

such a list, study should be made of the sales history of

wine within the

estab-

lishment and attention should be given to the past andpresent sryles of menus.

Wine lists shouldnotbe 'static' as they

were when they were mainly to befound in starchy hotel dining rooms.

Such places were often presided over

by unapproachable,

humourless

tail-coated maitre d's who would have been better employed as bailiffs.

Wine lists should change with the

times. They should reflect trends, set fashions, all whilst stocking a few old favourites and making a profit.

As menus alter with the market and/ot the season, so too should the wine list. It should cater for as wide a range oftastes as possible.

The answer, of course, lies with the restaurant management not ordering what it likes, but purchasing what others will like. That's not always easy,

but why should it be?

There are those diners who will always trust to the house wine, so

that should be a good quality, value-for-moneyproduct that will happily accompany most dishes without stripping the enamel fromyour teeth.

Many people are cost conscious

they don'tparticularþneedto drink - first growth claret, they just want to

a

know, without any fuss, what, they can get for under $200.

More thought should also be given to the fact that not all diners wish to consume - or are capable of consuming an entire bottle of wine unassisted.

-

Allwine lists shouldinclude acou-

ple of half bottles. Butwhy stop there?

The house wine, at the very least, shouldbe available bythe glass, carafe andbottle. And again, why stop there?

A glass of something sparkling is often appreciated by the lone diner.

A profit is not a bad thing but the astronomical pricing - or plain avarice which only permits a selected few -to sample the delights of some bubbly can b e averybadthing indeed.

Regrettably, fair-priced wine lists are farity, especially in Hong Kong. ^ Even so, I knowwhere there's areally good one. @

Readership sur:vey: the highlights and accessories (357o). liked and disliked about Tbe ComeReading hablts: It was gratifiying sþondent. On the upside there was tlre 199 4 Corresp ondent readership sur- to see that 42% of respondents had "news about interesting Club memvey. The response rate was above aver- read most of the articles in the last bers and oldtimers" and "subjects that age for surveys of this kind and many of three issues of t}re magazine and 5oo/o do not apper in the public press" of respondents shared the pleasure and "travel articles". Manypeople said the comments were illuminating. there was nothing they disliked about Anyone interested in the vital sta- with at least one other person.

Socialising: You DO socialise. the magazine. Others, however, said tistics of Tbe Correspondent should While 43o/o of respondents said they they didn't like the "old boy stuff' contact meat52l-7993. dine out in the evening more than and travel.

Here are the highlights: ' Income: 7l per cent of respond- twice a week, 32% dtne out once or tüith such opposing opinions the editor must have the wisdom of Soloents eaflt more than HK$500,000 per twice a week.

Sex: This was a question that mon. It can therefore be no surprise annum and 3 5 per cent eafn more than caused some realproblems with27% that one respondent most liked Simon HK$1 million per annum.

Spending: The most popular choosing not answer. Should there Twiston Davies (the editor).

K. McGregor, marketlng director, items on our shopping list for the have been another option?

Your corunents: Most people The Conespondent. next six months were propefty @ abroad(J2% of respondents) andPCs took the opportunity to saywhat they Lucky Ilrøut results on þøge 25

TnunL you to those who spared I tne tiÁe to complete and retum

September 1994 laÊ, GoRRDsPolfItEIlT

n____n_,.7

L-r-l^S

tsLltr

Publish andbe datnned In rnid-sllrnrner, follolving Indonesia's closure of tkrree vzeeklSz journals, the FCC a-ddressed a- letter of protest to the Indonesian consulate in Hong I(ong- For the record, trere's the IndolÌeslart resportseDear Sir, In reference to your lettet regard-

ing the closure of three Indonesian publications, please be informed of the following: The press system in Indonesia, first and foremost, is a subsystem of the national system. It means that the

press must conform to the national system, and is dedicated to the national interests.

Since the era of the New Order, the national development of Indonesia has, unquestionably, recorded big achievements in all fields including economy, social life even in national stability. Along with an openness on economic policy, the government has voiced a need for more openness in the press and media.

The government was forced to

revoke the pub lication of T e ruþ o magazine because the content of its publi-

cation did not reflect the reporting principles of "a sound and responsible press".

The revocation of t}¡e Editor weekly magazine was for purely "administrative" reasons. The'managing director, editor-in-chief and manager of Editor magazine, who established t}l,e magazine under a publication licence dated Jwe 22, 1987, had been inactive since'1989. Thus a person whose name did not app€ar in its licence managed the publication. On several occasions the Government issued written and oral warnings to Editor to fttlfil, the requirements for publishing a mag

azi'

ne, and to exercise pre ss

freedom according to the rules and regulations, but Ed.itor failed to do so.

Lynne Wilson

THERE'S ALWAYS

A STORVAT THE

HONG KONG TRADE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

T]¡,e Detik tabloid had its licence rvoked because it had misused the original licence and shifted its contents from detective and criminal sto-

ries as had been given by the government to general and political issues.

After consultation with the Press Council, it is with deepest regret that the publication licences of the three publications have been revoked.

All of us hope thatnewpublishing licences will be issued to enable the concerned journalists and press to work again.

Thank you for your attention.

Rahaju Daryatrrc ConsuVlnformation S.

Consulate General of the Republic of Irrdonesia

Ge47 - rse4)

L¡rrrrre \üúzilson passed av.ra-y onJul¡z 22rtd, just a short tirrre

after the tragic dea-th of krer krusband Iam. iFed iftrornas rerrrernl>ers a vyornarr of talent .qzho brightened rrrany a gloorn;t Hong l(ong sor-rnd studio. f I-¿

ynne wúsonwasavotce; ason, weU-modulated voice with just ahint ofthe distinctive Canadian burr

tllrat sepatates Canuks from their American cousins.

Shewas one of thathappyband of actors and actresses who spent untold evenings and countless sunny

weekends in the dark smoke-filled film-dubbing studios of Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, Po Hwa, United and a dozen other dungeons, churning out English-language soundtracks for Asian movies in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. For all

I

know they're still at it.

Lynne could provide

donna. 'What set };;er apart was the fact that she could act.

She and her husband Ian, a talented fìlm and videocamera newsman and war coffespondent enjoyed a close and mutually supportive relationship, and whenever his frantic schedule allowed

it, Ian would join her in the dubbing studios supplying a gruff baritone, the perfect counterpoint to her crystaklear delivery.

Though Ian's R&Rperiods in Hong Kong were necessarily short-lived, he

voice for

anyone, from a punk to

a

pre-pubescent street urchin, from a husþ diva to a temperamental prima

coming on top of that must have

shattered the

life of their son,

Nicholas, who recentþ returned with his mottrer to Canada from a long exile in London. To him we offer our sincerest condolences. shall miss both Wilsons.

'We

*

selflessþ sacrificed his leisure to be with his wife in the gloomy, airless dubbing

"shouting in the dark" as he

Toasting Lynne's memorywere Hugh and

-

used to call it. These were moments of great joy for both of them. AII of their many friends were saddened at the unexpected death of Ianwhat seems only

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

o mojor force in world trode you'll find we've olwoys got o good story to tell: no podding, no puff ond bocked by occurote, up-toJhe-rnoment figures ond stotistics, Nexttime you receive one of our press releoses, give if o good once-over, You'll soon see whot we meon, Or contoct us if you need detoils on ony ospect of Hong Kong trode,

To absent friends On Friday, July 29tt\ a small group of Lynne Vilson's friends gatlrered at the Club Table to remember and remlnisce about her. Tlre evening ended with the famlliar FCC toast "To Absent Frierìds".

sflrdios a

a few months ago. Lynne's death

AnnteVanEs,JohnGriffiths, Saull-ockharq

.Vancouver

Jeff Domansky Tel:685-0883

,ViennaJohannes Neumann Tel:533-9818 .Warsaw Slawomir Maiman Tel:496.081 . Zurich Walter G. Pielken Tel: 28lJl55

Ted Thomas, Rex and Barbara Ellis, Kenneth Cheng and his daughterVickie,

andBobDavis

Hong Kong Trade Development Council

E3ã

We Creote Opportunities

HeodOffice: 38thFloor,OfiiceTower.ConvenIionPlozo,4

HorbourRood,Wonchoi;HongKong. Tel: (852) 5844333 Fox: (852) 8240249

advertisers clon't object to," he contintred, somewhat obliquely. "After 1997,

might we substitute Communist Party

S

!)

for advertisers.

"Everything depends on who the power players are ... Deng Xiao Ping is old and ailing ... At the moment, no leader wants to look soft."

A tough government does not need legal methods, according to Armstrong.

Psychological tools of flattery and bullying and commercial pressure could inflnence the press after 1997.

\è' s'

Dogfight at the OK Corral It uzas ttre confrontation lrze had all been vzaiting fof an FCC set-to l>et-vrreela ttre S<: 4P, ¡tre St¿ttzda.rd anr.d ttre ExpressSo, trolrr did editors .A'rrrrstrong, Ctruga-ni and Vines frìea-sure up? in Hong Kong?", Soutl¡ Cbina Morning Post editor-in-chief David Armstrong opted to sink his teeth into new-

Èq_

,o'

^-o*',/

agendas, intrigue and f{ioo."

I I self-interest marred a debate on

the future of English-language newspapers in Hong Kong at last, real journalism.

-

Dog-fighting has beenillegalinHong

Kong for a while now, a fact that was apparently lost on the FCC organising committee who chose the suspect future ofthe English-language press as an excuse to let the teffitory's three top Roúweilers off the leash.

Asked to address the question "Do (liberal) Englishlanguage newspapers

comer the -Eøstern Express' alleged unproved sales performance.

Here's how the two issues are related: According to Armsffong, the debate motion raised three points; the language and its influence on the size of the English-language market; how many English-language papers the market could sustain; and finally, whether it

could be expected to continue as we know it, or be forced to change.

"So far this year the market has (grown only slightþ," he said. The latest offtcial audit of the Posf shows a steady increase in sales over the last six months.) "That growth is not enough to support athirdpaper, " saidArmstrong,

leaping seamlessly from the stated to the real point of the lunch. " tù(/'e have been monitoring sales by 100 hawkers across Hong Kong three times a week since February. These

TIIE C0RRf,SPOlfIt[NT September 1994

acconnt for about l0% of total street sales andtheirsales areinthe 500to 600 range each day. No matter how you massage these figures you still come to avery smallnumber. There

for

is

no market

a third English-language paper," he

concluded.

This barb was aimed atanEastern Exþress claim to a circulation of 55,000 each day. But, buying demographics aside, 100 hawkers represent only 1% of

the total hawking community of Hong Kong and Kowloon. Youwork it out.

Nevertheless, the April audit figures for ttre Eøstern Express noted

aî avenage of about 54,OOO copies distributed per day, 85% of wlriclt', Exþress chief editor Steye Vines later claimed, were

sales.

"If there afe to be

three

English-language papeß in Hong Kong

after 1997, at least one of them will survive purely on the commitment of its proprietor," said Armstrong.

"Freedom of the press was once defined as the freedom to pdnt such of the proprietor's prejudices that the

been joined. If it is to do its work, it must report. "'W'e are very confident

excuse".

is going to be bigger as we move tG wards 1997. People want independent information they can trust.

"If Hong Kong is to continue to

Great, let's hear it for hard-hitting

and objective joumalism.

Chugani claim erJ tlre S tan d ør d lrad ahappy working relationship with the Chinese, which Vines later intimated

that the demand for information

be an intemational market, English will continue to be an important language.

might come dowî to the Stand,ard running stories from the state-controlled Cbina Daiþ. Andlest we had all forgotten, Vines also reminded the audience

We will continue to report the news as it is, not as it should be.

"The Basic Law would remain

of a Post supplement run in support

unsullied while producing a compliant press which censored itself," he said.

of China's bid for the Olympic Games

Vines concluded.

It may well be that the proprietor of a massively expensive newspaper

'Joumalists and editors will need to be tough, clever, highly accurate, cer-

which "masqueraded"

as editorial. t}ae 1997 handover, such moves, he said, might be

In the light of

tain their information is correct and committed to their jobs."

Next up was the Tiger Standa.rd's Michael Chugani. With more facelifts to its name thanthe average Hong Kong socialite, tlire Standard is currently riding a wave with its best circulation ever and pulling in the crucial 55,000

-

-

"ttre job of ttre rnedia is rac>t tc) retfea-t t>efc¡re ttre battle tras t>een joined."

classifieds to boot.

ln its 45-year

-

history, the paper

has variously been excused as proprietor Sally Aw's vanity number, a white

\,rittes

described as "prudent". On the other

paper they don't like. They are not that stupid.

"As long as your coverage is balanced andfair theywon't risk shutting

that we

are

might feel it prudent to antagonise an incoming power in order to get shut down. Why? Because then you'd man-

age

to

unshackle yourself from

a

loss-maker without losing face. Just one

theory.

In case you were wondering what the upshot ofthe original debatewas all three editors voiced cautious optimism and assured listeners that reporters in China had been briefed not to break the law and to be prudent in all they do.

Meanwhile, over the border UPI

entertainment and being lively in

papers in May on top of the 46 periodi-

detrate.

"Are we irresponsible? No, we are optimists," he said. "'We work on the theory that Chinawill honourits pledges.

There will be freedom of the press -the very least we can do is give them the

cals which have had their licences revoked so far this year.

stillin business, and having been able to rely on Aw as a cri¡tch for so long,

nowadays do it differentþ.

"I don't think you can look at 1997 as a time when the 'evil empire' is going to come down hard with an iron fist...

ForEnglish-languagepapers atleast, they are not going to risk shutting down a

it

is still committed to objectivity,

hand, the Expresg according to Vines,

there is no reason to believe it may lose that support in the future. Plus, the Standard is now making money.

"I believe three newspapers can survive but whether they could all be profitable, I don't know," Chugani said.

"T\e Standard has survived 45 years in Hong Kong. It has not always made money; 55,000 is the highest we have ever reached and we are now making money."

Chugani said three papers could of course survive with rich backers. But could they survive under Chinese rule?

"Things will be different... People who used to go out andtreat a story as a stgry

"It,may come to

stopped, butwewillnotstop ourselves, "

reported the Chinese governm€nt shut-down of four financial news-

elephant legacy from her father and a tax writ€-off.

Call it what you will, the Standard is

have a future

yon down. Don't go deliberately out to say they afe not good enough to run Hong Kong. Don't give them an

benefit ofthe doubt."

Vines reckons the job of the media

is not to retreat before the battle has

[Editor's Note: The aboue reþort Luas subruitted b1 a uriter ubo øsked to rernain a,nonytnous. Otber men-tbers inuíted to reþort on tbe rneeting declined for fear of offending one or otlrer of tbeþa.fücþants.J E

TH E ZOO

BY ARTHUR HACKER

WHAT IS THE

THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PRF.SS lN Hor..Jc KONO I ÞENG ^ FUTURE OF

^^R

(

ÒNE PAPER THREE TI/V\ES THE AMOUNT OF AÞVERTISING

s

{ I

september 1994 TÃD GonnxsPolfltEtT

After- ¿ttl :rllscrlce of. 73 ye;lrs, latrssi:r h ;¡-s <>ffi cizltly p ( ) s{_ecl a cli1>l<>lre:lt R.ex E E,llísa repc)l-i-s <>nf ;a É<r-<>Lrttcllt¡reaki ra5¡, s ltrcec-ll ;rt ttrl<: F(]C" Il<>ragg I{<>t:t94.

2ìs

that souncl rr_rstling thror-rgh

Üc)

Ivanovl¿ts r,vell aware hc u'¿rs enclir-rg e 73-r'ear br"eak irt rMoscorv-Hong I(ong cliplomatic rela-

the Club Leon icl lSrezhn cr. tunt-

ing in his glave, Mao Zeclortg mol'irg in his mausoler-rnr, <tr the colonial cstab-

tions. Hc wq'l)'notecl that "rve slrrrll llc ttrirrg h:rrtl to (.ilt(.ll u| with othcr conslilates " Hclping hint will l¡e a staff <tf five or six clilrlomatic ltcrsonnel ancl the same number of 'tcchnic¿rl' stafÏ.

'Ihat's all a cash-stlaltllecl Rì-lssiír

lishment choking on its pink gin'l Tl-re import of the occasion lroulcl not have escapecl these figures, alrhough it clicln,t

seelll to leavc much impact on the llmcheon gathering.

The immecliac)' of the news br,rsi-

ì

È'i",i l'ilr,¡i;¡it¡¡r PI¡lf i¡¡ li¡l¡ !ìriviiegc

ncss ancl Hong I(ong's preoccupatiotl with toclal' clismissing I'csterclav as

câI1 afïorcl

irrclevant contril)ì-ltecl to - problLbll' thc someu'hat rnalter.of--f¿tct ¡eirction lo the mal<ing of a small piece of lristory

f'ccl sliglrtctl. ,\4ost orv tlcciclctl to I' )l)cn ,l ('( )nsulillc gcttcl.:rl hcr.c jtrst '\ as it q'as closing missions in other lìt'ont llt.rss¡d tt,ítl.t kt¿,e I(itill ltnt¡cl', Iiong l{ot.tg's countrics "This clccision 1)rcse rlts tte Lt' ll t ssiat n Co tt.st.t I Gt:n c ra I

-

Herc rvas ¿r Russi¿tr-r cliplomat speaking ar the I.-clreign Corr.esponclents' Club of IIong I(clng, rvhcre 1lot so long ago no Rr,rssian of an¡- ilk u,as allowecl to se t foot in thc colonl',

Evcn Spccial Ilranch was noticeable bf its absencc It was onll'as receltth'as Febnlart 1991 that thc Hong Kong governrlcnt began to relax its strict policl- on the

Sovict flnion ancl Easteln Eur"ope

ftomtheconrmnnist bloc.

mak_

ing lristor1. at thc

t

cleal er,'iclencc <tf our conliclcnce in thc stabilitl. ltncl clvnatlism of thc tcrritofl'as r,vell as the whole Asi;t Pacific regior-r, " stl'essecl h.anor...

'l'hen came the comnlitlneflt to goocl relations: "I wish t() poil-tt oLlt that. unlike thc LISSIì, thc nervll.bont Rr-rssi¿rr-r state has no intentiolt of clcstabilising the situ¿ttion in r"he Asian Far East.

"

That cloes not lneatì the Rnssian

'r-rrc: ire-r1>orr

or tr-rre ::1:l:.T:,t"*," -tt over on its back ancl

n clicl iaaLl.. e lun g5;rt1'rering¡-

FCC wrìs I(ilill h,anov, Russia,s 11ewl1r-npi13ç1 çutrstll Gencral. Ijere w¿rs a livil'rg, b|eathing example

Of

how the r,votlcl has changecl; a cliplomat who snr-r'ivecl the raclic¿rl switch

û'onl llrl'tllillc Sovicl t.onrrrrurrisrlr, tlrr<rrrgh (ìolbachev's þerestroil?il to clemocracl'. Signifìcantll', Ivanov sen'ecl irr Bcijing in the ead1. Slxties ancl in Lonclon in the late Eighties Norv, herc he is in lJor-rg I(ong at a time "of cl1. narnic political rtncl cconomic clct'elopüents. both here, in China ancl elscwhere in the wodcl," as he ltut it THI

(

ancl

:Íf/JffiilTi,,ï; TÌrc man

right now.

Iìtrt Hotrg l(orrg :lroulrl rrut [\

CORRXSPOMDENT Scprer.r.rber.

the Ltrl)1ts, .r

not-so-r,eilecl cr.iti_

to

pì-trpose is

rnent [o

to 1ìttract

Priotities have bcen establishecl ancl concrete steps taken. lvanor¡ oUt-

linec[ sevcral specific lneasLlrcs: a tax holicla¡. ancl ¡9 t¿rx o1t exl)ort income; cxernptioll fì"om cus1ìve-1,ç¿¡

toms cL.rtics

ctn

machinery,, ecluiltment,

the cor-

eign capital; exenptioil from VAT;

has le¿rmecl to express,

ancl foreign cì-lrreltc), crcdits.

ln other kel,ar.eas there'll be

to sol\'e clisputes, guar2ìntecs against changes in legislation ancl insurancc against corlmercial ancl other tisks ir-r Russia.

How the worlcl has chaugecl! Not so long ago, Moscos/ r-iewecl Hong

on China Now

assent

of

"

On IIong Kong's preoccLlpatioll

with business, Ivanov promisecl

ar.bi-

t1'¿rtioll

in a mnch better wal', its clifl-erences with otl-rel's as well as to cholus its

t99{

f<tr.eign inr.cst-

Rr-rssia

bacher. era, I.r,anov

.;r;";t

Rr.tssi¿r

als 'W'estcrn businessmen now sit on a (Ìtnsrrltative (lor,tncil chair"ecl by thc Russian Primc Ministcr whose main

spafe pal'ts, ancl taq' matetials; lancl owllership for proiects witl-r 100% for-

saicl: ,,\(/e believe that what is now elltergillg is the normal lbt'eign polic¡. of an inclcpencler-rt state in clirect contrast to tht: reccnt past whe11 we were solnetilrles too inclinecl to sltt' '1's5' to oLlf \W'estefll of Àsian colleaÉÌLtes, e\/ell befbrc being asl<ecl

actioll to rcltlo\-e obstacles ancl elimi nate prclblcnrs Thc Russian Éìoverllmeltt l'ccentl1, reccivecl inpr-tt fr.onr 14 Amelican, Etrlopertn ancl ;\si¿rn financi¿rl ancl inclustrial nrrrltination-

I{ongpr-rrel1,

¿rs a

sorrLcc of intelligence it's a potetìtial source

sorel1.1¡çsclecl iltr.cstment cepit¿l Br-rsiness Lrefbre politics suits b<tth

l)ítftlcs

Ræ

A fì-ec IT"l'shcraton Platinrrnr Plivilege car.cl is non' )¡oll1-s if 1'ou fl¡r \ri|gin t\"licl fllass to l.onclon rncl l>ack an)¡ tilre I,tp

to Dec

31

.

19c1tr.

Y<tlrl T'[T Sher'eton P]atintLnt

rlcal.s. lt's rLrtltclievaltle r-a1uc.

Br-Lt

thelr. that,s

Virgirt's \litl Cl.rs:. eq¡¡'"¡¡¡r¡1 i, r¡ 1.r r lìotìì) cl¡.ss sclr ice u-ith lrigger", r'rrole corlfìxtaltlc se¿rts in ¿Ì11 exclLr i\/c cel)i11. No l.onclcl it,s c¿rllerl the slt.Llt 1le\\-\'tì\/ to f[1: ¡¡.¡ l.onclon,

Pr'ìr-ile.gc- c:Lrcl

Clìlill(': )r )[l l( | g,tC.lt .\it\ irtg:,,¡ .t\ ( lrtìtì]( cl¿rtion ¿Lnc[ ntculs in Ikrng Iiong or itt 32 l'l T ,Shc|lLtor-i hotels trrrcì r'esol'ts :U'<,\rncl the rcgìt,rn Ycru gct J r.or.Lclrct's entitling )'oll to ,¿t i)()/o cliscorrnt on prrltlìshccl trronr 12ttes. luc] Ì5 tì-ce )

|ol

cletails lncl cr¡nclitiot'ts, call yolrr.'l'tLve1

\/ilgin Atlantic on 532 6060. \¡ilgin's Cellfax selr.ice É\gent.

or-

ot-t 1183, \¡Ìr-gir-r

fÌrx cocle 88601ì

aX,lantíc

The Kim is dead;

long live the Kims

It lrzas tfie story elzer¡zbod¡z lrzanted. rüüztrat is NTorttr l(orea like in ttre da¡rs arrd vrzeeks after ttre deattr of ttre Great Leader, I(irrr Il Sr-rng, and ttre accession of fris son, I(irn Jong fl? FCC rrrerrrl>ers flans \zriens, Phillipe I-e Corre and GertrardJoren Írra.rra.gpd to slip across ttre l>order vrzllen so rnan)¿ oth.ers'v\zere forced to co\zer tlee s-tory frorrr a- distance- Vriens of Dutctr lFelerrision and Le Corre of trLadio France fntefiratiorlal rnet a lFass correspondent and took a look at ttrings his v.ratyS

s þ

ë ñ

Forcign study grouþ conSratukûe Kínt

It had been announced and we eYen saw his funeral carried for hours

b), CNN on July 19th.

And, to our knowledge, CNN isn't a communist organisation.

CNN's rise to stardom began last April. After had interviewing Kim Il Sung , it sent a long letter to the Great Leader to thank him

for all the wonderful co-operation Ted Turner's Atlanta-based network had

received from the North Korean authorities.

"This letterwas printed

in full on the front page of the official newspaper,"

said Alexander Valiev, a Commonwealth of

o

Independent States Tass correspondent, who has been in North Korea for seven months and has never met any of the North

.S o Tlse

Kímcl¡i connection. Ioren, Vriens, Ie Corre

Korean leaders.

shouldn't be any doubt ff",...

I about it. Officially, Kim Il Sung remains dead after a reign of 46 glorious years over his hapless people.

"Impossible, impossible. They only want to talk to CNN. The Kims love CNN. It is seen as a perfect ptopagandamachine, " he said. "For-

rEE CoRRXSPoilDDNT September 1994

eign correspondents in Pyongyang are completely isolated. I am not

the same "documentary" was shown

allowed to meet North Koreans. But,

And programmes about Kim Snr seem to be on the increase. According to the €vening news, he is still meeting

of course, it is hard to avoid them altogetirer. "

Meanwhile, just take a look at North Korea's Central Television or read the official daily newspaper, Rodong Sinrnun - at least the headlines and you get a different view of the after-death condition of Kim Il Sung.

It is three o' clock in the afternoon.

Another day of broadcasting by the North Korean TV is about to begin.

Today we start with a two-hour documentary of all the official meetings and greetings between KimIl Sung and his last remaining foreign friend, that veteran political operator, King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.

Every meeting seems the same.

The same chairs, the same palace in Pyongyang. Only the dates change.

As usual on North Korean television you never get to hear the voices of Kim Il Sung or Sihanouk. North Kore-

ans always have to make do with a stern voice of a commentator while Kim II Sung just smiles.

During our two weeks, stay in Pyongyang and the surrounding area

at least three times.

a

lot of VIPs and visiting factories.

"The Great Leader is still alive in

the heart of the people," is a common sentence for a patriotic North Korean to say to aforeignvisitor. Or sometimes it is the more updated, "he may be dead, but the Dear Leader (KimJong Il) is here to guide the Korean people."

Kim or Kim, what's the difference anyway?

There is one difference:

KimJnris

Il Sung

words of condolence atthe time of the funeral. Perhaps Kim the Youngerprefers domestic meetings.

In the meantime, Valiev, the lone

And relations between Pyongyang and Moscow continue to go steadily downhill. Now there is only one flight a month between the two capitals

European correspondent in Pyongyang

where there used to be a constant toing and froing between the two

continues his isolated existence.

Not so long ago there were ten Soviet correspondents in North Korea. But now the only other two registered correspondents are from China One of them is from Xinhua and the other is from the Peoþle's Daíly.

The large of

-

^pa,rtment/ fice where Valiev

lives and works is

the guide, refusing to comment on South Korean propaganda which accuses Kim Jong Il of being a woman-

in this office," he said. The computers

iser, a Cognac lover and, worst of all, a

movie fanatic.

It was too bad that none of the foreign diplomats, businessmen or even communist sympathisers we met

eyer had a chance to chat with the Dear Leader over and above a few

"Until a few

University.

"It was awful. I was not allowed

to have

ifkre l(irns lorze CI\TN. It is seeÍr a.s a. perfect pr<>paganda rrrach.ine

in the small matic compound.

first arrived in Pyongyang to stu-dy the Korean way of life at Kim Il Sung Korean

friends. Therewere

almost unknown to the outside wodd and that scares maqy "long noses" to death, according to our official guide who claimed to have met the great man twice.

"He is not at all mysterious," said

Pyongyang diplo-

hardline communist regimes.

It was 10 years ago that Valiev

noparties.Westem music and dancing

werestrictlyforbidden. All day long theywere studying

Juche (Kim Il Sung's theories) and assisting the

yeafs ago thlee so-

vietsusedtowork of those departed correspondents remain spread throughout the offices in the compound.

"Now there is only me. Hardly anybody in Russia is interested in North Korea these days. My wife and daughter decided to stay in Moscow. She is an editor with Mayak radio. Perhaps I will see them next year."

workers in building another momument for the greater glory of the regime ."

Sowhat does the Tass correspond-

ent know about KimJong Il after the first seven months of his second visit?

"My ambassador met him a couple of years ago during a visit of the then

foreignminister, Eduard Shevernadze, to North Korea. KimJong Il didn't take part in the conversation. The only

September 199 4 TÃE coRREsPolfItEIlT

Korean television. He claims to be the son-in-law of the prime minister.

"Moscow even gaYe me the address of his family in Pyongyang.

But I decided not to pursue the

I I

story. IfI go Iwill be in deep trouble with the foreign ministry. Theywill not giYe me any interviews of permission to go anywhere for several

t

months."

If the normal practice for the length of time spent at a Tass foreign posting is adhered to, Älexander Valievwill remain in Pyongyang for another two-and-a-half years.

If the present regime survives

that period, it's going to seem darn sight longer for Alexander.

@

Frien^b¡þ brídge! Tbe only connnect¡on betueen Russia and North Korea

Not exactly the Nine O'Clock News Kím II Sung statue ouerlnoking Pyong Yang

time he said anything was when his father asked him to confirm something. " Nevertheless, some very serious experts on North Korea insist that Kim Jong Il is "shy" and "cautious".

Thanks to that, saythe experts, he has a psychologicaladvantage in his dealings with Americans.

Certainly US president Bill Clinton doesn' t have the psycholo gical advantage ofhaving thousands, perhaps millions, ofpresidential portraits displayed

by defectors, ffaving been there once, in 1980, North Korean media, I.I'I have long tended to believe and by whatever other sources the And President Clinton

.2039

In the meantime, the North Koreans remain in almosttotalignorance as to what is going on outside the crampedborders of the

communist half of what used to be termed the Her-

Indeed, we wouldn't be surprised if some people in remote areas of the United States are not able to remember the name of their

mit Kingdom.

president.

That wouldn't happen if America

South Korea really is," said Neuer to be finìsbed Rltag Yong Hotel in Pyong Yang Valiev. people are beaten up by the police "Every day they read in the newsevery day." papers, hear on the radio and see on Not so long ago Valiev felt forced teleyision that North Korea is a parato make a difficult decision. dise and that South Korea is a desperHis editors told him to go to the ately poor colony of the United States which Washington rules together house of a North Korean defector with Japan. And the South Korean who gave an interview on South

of every home, in the middle of rice fields, on top of many mountains, in villages. train stations, airports, official buildings, factories, farms, restaurants, hotel rooms and more.

TEI

CoRRf,SPOilttDNT

at its ignorance.

In Seoul you are positioned at the wrong end of the telescope. North Koreaisveryclose, just 30 miles away.

But access to information is so limited that it might as well be the other side of the wodd.

What you can actually see of the

On the Monday following Kim Il-sung's death, the woild's media, quoting "South Korean intelligence sources", reported that meetings of

eyes and ears.

..

"For instance, they have absolutely no idea what kind of country

September 1994

number of recent

was satisfactory.

by anyone.

stayinpoweruntil

a

temptedfollowing Kim Il sung's death,

without being bothered

cause he would be able to

Naewoo Press. On

occasions this has reported North South Korean goYernment has at Korean utterances that haYe not its disposal. All three are at best par- been monitored by the main intematial in their reporting and at worst, tional me dia eavesdroppers - such as the BBC. they lie.

Meanwhile, Seoul is choc-a-bloc The South Korean govemment is perhaps understandablyreticent about with 'experts' on North Korea who how it makes its assessments of events have spent a lifetime studying its biin North Korea either because it z nreways. Butfewhave managedto does have some raw intelligence from convince me that are doing more than sources other than the obvious, or providing intelligent guesswork based because itdoes nof andis embarrassed on a limited supply of facts.

that North Korea is a place you know less about after visiting than before you arrive. So few have been the foreigners allowed in, so controlled their schedules and encounters, that you really calìnot believe your own

wouldn't have to worry about his re-election be-

around his country.

had billboards and posters all around the countryside as well as on the wall

Gatkrering ne.vrzs on NTortkr I(orea frorrr Seoul cala be a rLtrn affair, as EtEtC Correspondent and FCC rnerrrl>er Si,rrron Long found out-

That is not to say that covering North Korea as a news story out of Seoul, as most news organisations at-

North from the border post at Panmunjom is the equivalent of a stage set, where the North displays an

of itself for the tourists on either side.

The only real clues as to what is going on are provided by the official

image

Then there are the occasional tel-

evision pictures, sporadically made available by North Korea to whomeverwill pay (although they arebadat

sending the bill, apparentþ. These usually surface first in |apan, before being shown around the wodd, including in Seoul.

But here again, it is hard to believe your eyes. Most analysts believe the displays ofhysterical grieffor the dead Great Leaderwere genuine. But even media reaches correspondents if they were not, wouldn't North Kothrough the filter of an official South rea have been capable of producing Korean monitoring organisation, the similarpictures anyway? @

the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Pany and of the Supreme People's Assemblyhad been convened in Pyongyang. Three weeks on it has still to be confirmed that these meetings actually took place.

Even the offìcial North Korean

September 799 4 ÎÃJ'

GoRRf,

SPoilIIEIIT

a

Ma. Rosario

L

Guevara, Old band

1

lt

I

Rene Naiera, .tiokoJi

Cheung K^Lin, Scenery

J

n a ¡ointpromorion, the FCC,

Canon and Jardine Consumer Electronics will launch Canon,s new topof-the-line camela,, the EOS-IN, at the Club on September 16th.

lCFIf>

At the same time, aMain Dining Room exhibition featuring the winning photographs in ttre 1993 Canon Asia-Pacific Photo Contest will be opened and Canon's 1994 competition will be launched. Some of the winning entries in 1993 competition are presented over the followingpages.

This FCC/Canon presenration will open with an invitation-only cocktail

TED CoR¡xSpot{¡¡DNT

pafty in the Main Dining Room from

4pmto 6.30pm on Friday September

16rh.

The photography exhibition plus a free camera clinic for Canon camera users,

a

display of other Canon

equipment and discounted sales of Canon equipment available to FCC members only opened to - will be from the general membership noon on Saturday September 17th unril Spm

on Septembe¡ 19th.

For fuither details of the times at which the displays may be viewed please ask at the Club office.

Thanks to its long-time emphasis on quality and sales to theprofessional market, Canon is offering up to 35 per

I

cent discounts off list prices to members for camet bodies and lenses, as well as up to 50 per cent off Canon accessories.

Thay Leng Kiat, Motber's loue

Another feature of the four-day eyent will be a "ffade-in', campaign when Jardine Consumer Electronics will assist FCC members to sell their old cameras to dealers and offer a discount of "at least" 40 pet cent off the list price for new cameras.

@

September 1994 September

1

Chan rving Mun,

Hunter

Chang I-Hua, Goíng bome

Chow Chun Sú, Motl¡er a.nd son

Pang Piow Kan,Cooking fisbes

TED CoRRXSpotfItH{T September 1994

September

1

A scalpel-eye view

PLEASE

only I thought I'd seen advertisements in literary journals

inviting un-

published work "for

as-

sessment".

As for Ian.!íilliams, hadn 't there been someSCMP ayear or so back?

'Wasn't there

something

about an "intention to write"? And now here

a passionate intensity. His bulging

alty to a takeover just when continpitywas vital to his blossoming litefatY cateef.

today?

Having pigeon

anappropriatenzot-job by one of the many disinterested wordsmiths who

ously noted literury talent, attracted enquiries at a forcigt book fair from

litter Hong Kong.

So whenlwas landedwith the job

no less than two European publishers.

'Wondering whether he was miss-

of talking to Williams, I felt duty-bound

ing some hidden talent in his boy andwithtwo unpublishedmanuscripts to play with - Leather's agent decided to throw taste to the wind and put him up lor apackage deal auction as if he were in the big league.

The gamble paid off, not just in a lucratiye hardback deal that saw the

to at least read the thing before trotting along for a cosy chat and some juicy quotes to twist and lampoon to mypurpose.

Meanwhile, I discovered that The Book Guild is as legitimate a publisher as any in tlee lVriters & Artists Yeørbook andVilliams' novel features in a list that would do anyone's catalogue proud.

Furthermore, the Guild wasn't even the first publisher to make an offer: Sodoyn was actually due to appeu under the Collins im-

print.

former editor of Bus ine ssPost change publishers from Collins to Hodder, but also in a US paperback contract of such lunatic generosity set the pat-

teff. for future deals.

But back to Mr'Williams. Or rather,

Dr Williams and his scaþel-eye view of the "waging" of the Iran-Itaqwar

"See that?" he said, waving one of the local reviews. "This chap got it absolutely right: stick to what I know, that's what I should have done."

Ihate to endapiece cheerfullybut the news is that the stalwart Ian is working on another novel - corruption in the Philippines, no less and

on his good fortune, I thought of anlHE

CoRRf,

SPoilt¡EItT

September 1 994

-

The Book Guild has wisely expressed

its interest.

And well it might: with Harper in the territory

We'll leave the wound open, " says

ing through town, the penny might

one character. "He is going to need

actually drop that someone at the London end has goofed. My advice: write

skin cover and lining later, maybe even sling his colon up into his neck," surmised O'Sliven, who loved surgerywith

you..

Close Encounters of the Exotic lndian Kind

The Ashoka llrcll.\t.rur.ìrìl Âl(o1',rlgtrutrrcl(klit(,¡\\¿itsvuL¡,\'rth\/¡lrtlr,rrlirrgS|rviet (;:{ìl) l' ììt l(ì:l)ll P nr ) 'l¡lL¿\rr'¡r's ¡\rlclitiouslrrriianlntlrrllit'ntr'!V.'.lehvt¡tht'lrrtltrl¡i.'ltt'trr',

(tì.¡r.rl.,l h\ t r¡l(J llr.\"'n(. lrìtrr¡nrt¡'¡,rl)

like hell, Doc, and stick out for the auction.

re

i

.T/t.Øt;".ø/.Frno/7¿¿¿¿¿h.¿à27-rZro/

ary offering.

and El Murdoch himself given to breez-

I congratglated'Williams

-WHERE THINGS REAttY TAKE OFT-

I met Ian Williams I found himwholly disarming aboutwhere he knows he wentwrong in his first liter-

an episode of MASH.

Even as

THE GODOWN

'$l-hen

except that, for once, the forces of

"

*"I"o-n" awaiú

dwindling band of Wizards of Oz

Collins represented

mírabile dictu, Williams and The Book Guild found each other and all was saved.

w¿ù].,m

South China Building, l-J uØyndham Street Tel: 526-5293 Fax 801-5006

and Nuz. Hong Kong is one of those places where if you wish to brief your barrister, you go and see him in jail."

hewaxes "medical" are as devastating as if Tom Sharpe had been let loose on

darkness did not prevail an d,

Central, HongKong Tel: 525 Z486

CENTFAL RESERVATIONS: 8101162

Trash supervisors and there was no argument about that at the south end of the bàr where various legals and the occasional illegal gathered.

by assorted mercenary medics, largely drawn from the Emerald Isle and de-

!íilliams is certainly a fluentwriter with a keen ear andthe passages where

\--

look forward to seeing you!

I-

cific East Hostess speak for their.White

,4.

Lunch

Ground Fìoor, Hutchison House (next to Furama Hotel)

G/F., ON HING BLDG. (UP THE STAIRS, opposite lN WYNDHAM ST.)

Shrine in

But, as in so many contempofary hor:ror stories, the dreadhand ofRupert Murdoch struck and when the dust settled a new regime at Harper Collins had ditched not only Williams' editrice but also his book.

There the story might have ended

scribed by an ebullient Brit.

B,q.n

CENTTR.A.

can he be thinking ofi At the North End, just past Claire's Whisþ Tangoland there sit the Redlips Brigade, broomsticks parked at the door. ìThiskey Tango, Cathay Pa-

Roast Beef Sunday

G""dlfooJ t,,dla

than the good story it could have It should really have been edited and paced out over a decent

length.

Meanwhile, there is a descrþtion of something called'Zoo Night' where everyone knows their place. 'Wtrere

Traditional Pub Grub, Daily Special, We

There's more where that came from and lots of fun it is but in the manner of a stand-up comedian rather

Luck can smile on even themosthumble ofFCC

Stephen Leather.

Leather itwaswho, withno previ-

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eyes sparkled with pleasure at the

continuity, what better reminder of how Lady

writers - as long as they keep writing than Club member

was the novel.

FCC

Y

other local writer and FCC member who had notbeensolucþ: Denis M lùØay, who fell casu-

And speaking of

thing about him in the

THEsE

AmistartBñÂès

Critic and literary ag,erat Cl:rris Elolrrres rneets author Dr Ian'tùÇzilliarns to ila.rzestiga.te the publistring <>f S<>¿Jcl<>ryt ¿trtcí Elegorcetkt, a tragi-corrredy al>or-rt the Irish-Iraqi szar-

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Pre -prograrrrmed

compfomlse

then we should provide it," said the

Less tkran a. year after the e><posure of a- scanda-l o.rrer the auditing of Hong I(ong pr-rblicatiolas, all the rnajor pla¡zers v¡ould ap1:ear ready for ttre ABC- R.ex E Ellis fepofts.

has five titles.

Vines said he was eagerly awaiting results of thefirstEøstern Express audit

conducted inJuly, the paper's seventh month on the newsstands, and the earliest possible date for a new paper to be audited under ABC des. He wants to

give the lie to what he terms "totally

Behindthat statement

Lau's caution is prompted by un-

certainty over how many publishers

of a major circulation

is the whiff of politics.

One senior circulation

booster. There's a scan-

executive sees

dalous mis-crunching of

for control. He suggests

he ABC audit story has all the elements

numbers, a whiff of backroom politics and eYen a spot of

sex. The

saga's been running longer than a TV

soap opera. And allinvolvedhope the

closing credits could be about to roll.

A

decision

to establish a local

auditing operation providing reliable circnlation figures for Hong Kong publications could be made within weeks.

"We certainly want to arrive at a decision soon, hopefully by October, "

insisted Anthony Lau, Hongkong Bank's advertising and Sponsorship manager, who chairs the Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulation working committee. Committee members represent the Society of Hong Kong Publishers (SHKP), the Association of Äccredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong (4As) andthe Hong KongAdvertisers' Association (2As).

The decision is not whether the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) will have a Hong Kong presence, but how the operation will be structured.

Plans for an independent office affiliated with ABC London through the International Federation (IFABC) have almostbeen abandoned though

this structure is widely used

else-

where. Instead, the ABC committee proposes a joint venture between Hong Kong' s publishing industry and ABC London.

"We do feela jointventure isprobably the right way to go. There would be a joint body established, either as a limited company, or in some other form," said Lau. On one point he is adamant'. "'We would be equal part-

ners. Hong Kong should not be a subsidiary of ABC London."

Tm

GünI8DOI{DDNT

a struggle

ABC London was reluctant to relinquish authority over what it considers part of its fiefdom. "It just doesn't want to give up the market to Hong Kong," he commented, requesting anonymity.

That is whatwould have happened if alocalABC affiliate had been established as was planned untilJune. Then Trevor Foley, the ABC Business Press Manager, just happened to be in Hong Kong. Informal talks took place and the joint venture idea was born.

Compromise was pre-pro-

would jump on the bandwagon. While convincing a majorjqr of titles to join the audit remains the objective, Lau worries not many more would sign up immediately.

That conselvative approach is based on past experience. As Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising put it when releasing its newsstand circulation survey of glossy monthlies late last year: "After more than 10 years, publishers

are still nrnning in circles and refuse to provide the ABC audit."

That survey achieved its aim of giv-

ing "a firm and hard push to the publishers. " It proved to be the catalyst

sparking a concerted drive to getting reliable circulation numbers. Screams

grammed. Rumblings of discontent of protest arose over with the London operation weakened Foley's "\üØtro h.as ttre pos/er to stance. Laureck-

ons Hong Kong has not been sat-

isfied because of the distance involved and lack

force llÌe to get audits?

Deng )(iao Ping?"

AIan Zie Y<>ril.gder -

of communication. "London was not able to respond to Hong Kong's problems and enquiries," he said.

Money prompted Hong Kong to abandon the go-it-alone apptoach, at least for now. "Once we started to look at numbers we became concemed

whether that would be financially viable. We might have suffered losses in the first years," commented Lau. The cost of establishing and staffing an

office and still paying expenses for auditors to fly here would stretch resources. It's €stimated that $250,000 to $500,000 could be needed initially.

About $120,000 seedmoneyhas been raised from the SHKP, the 4As and the 2As.

September 1994

\finoE flor Home Deliverr.

chief editor o f the E aste rw Expresg Steve Vines, speaking for the companywhich

the methodology.

Butthebasicfinding that some

-

magazlnes wefe claiming circula-

tions up

to

10

times more than

actual sales shook up the industry. Suddenly

publishers were pledging their allegiance to retable auditing. \Which is where the spot of sex comes in. Leading th€ converted was the Yongder Hall group with the Chinese language edition of Pentbouse in its stable along with Esquire, Marie Cløire, Suþer Cørand others. InI99l, Alan Zie Yongder was quoted as saying: "Who has the power to force me to get audits? Deng Xiao Ping? " If the titillators agree to be tabulated, can the respectable remain aloofl More importantly, Chinese newspapergfoups actually signed up asABC members . The Oriental Press Group led the way. "The company feels that if the

advertisers feel better

with an audit.

mendacious" claims about his paper's circulation put out by the competition.

[There now seem to be doubts as to whether tlrc Exþress will publish audited figures until later this year - Ed.l That back-bittt'ry apat, Vines insists ABC is absolutely essentialto Hong Kong, because itwill establish credibility. The key is meeting advertising agency

(Hong

Kong

and

:ferritories

onl)¿)

Tlese -ine. moy t" ord"r"d Iror-r-r the Cl.,b, bill"d t" your account ur.J J"li.,"r"J to urt .Jd."r" o{your choice. Only -Lol" (12 t"ftles) -uy t" orJ"r"J. To p1."" yorrr orJ"r, ".res ."nJ o. {r' (8ó8 4092) thi, {orm to th" C1.,b.

"o-pl"t"d

]-=Cl(lSI-P

.... ==;.::-==:.

\f/ I

Macon Lugny 1992, C"Ili", d", S.-ro.r.

Maconnais, Burgun{,, France E*"el1ent *itL ."o{ooJ *J iá"ol witL Cantones" di.L"., tLi, i. u most versatile wine. It is o#ered lrere ut a. exceptional targain price.

. --- /./

l:ClC'Slrl>

media directors' demands for quantifiable statistics on which to base ad

\X/2

Crozes-Hermit age BIanc, 1990, Reine PeJurqre, Rkone, France À light, J.y urJ smootL wir"

placements. Those numbers are available for intemational publications auditedinLondon ortheUnited States, and for some Hong Kong titles. But even local magazines which are alreacly ABC

urJ

Mur..rr"

experts

*itL

grape

".iJ

ty

,o1", Macau or Dover.

l:ClC--S f:

the auditors only covered a fraction of member titles. So the aim is to provide a frfl serwice to all publications currently

*.J" {to- th" Rousanne

varieties. TL" flutou is

to oII"r u Lirt o{ Lur"hrt. It goes particulutly *"11

members don't get audited consistentþ.

I-au reports that on their last trip,

audited byABC London and to extend

lNew

P ll3

Cot". Jr RL"r" Vil1ug"s, 1993, \/ul."ur, Frur"" TLis -ay not te a great wine, tut it is great .,uh" {ot money. À comtination o{ Gr".u"L" .rJ Sy.uL, it Lur pl"rty o{ grtr, {*it *J flu.rorr. It -ill go r"ry *"11 -itL roasts, stews, "u"r".ol", u.J -.trre cLeese".

it

to all newcomers.

That requires technical expertise as well as moneyr another reason Lau

and his committee favour the joint venture approach. "Once we have got the expertise, we can go independent.

As far as I understand it, that was the experience in other countries,"

cannot resist talLing atout tLe unique

explained Lau. A favourable consensus seems to haye formed on the committee. John

GooJ .urorry boJy atout rigkt, too.

CLateau Cana, 1988,

It

CLitr"r"

Hirsch, USA Tod,ay's circulation director, Asia Pacific, thinks "it won't make much effect on the client" how the operation is structured, "so long as we have access to

a

reputable

S Chan

joint

venture

{ro- Vi"tru-. TL" -i." ir {ir", -Li"L

-

is wLat matters.

tLe touch o{ Merlot -o1L.

FCC N".

Name \\'rne

FCC FCC FCC FCC

Saatchi media

predicted the

-o.y rfli"ioruJ". "f tLi. wine simply qr.liti". o{ th" oro"r, u ro.d"r..

Frll otJ".

F"11

ruh"'

"JJt".r

SEP SEP SEP SEP

No. No. No. No.

Cur"" Co."' of Cu'"' o{ Cu'"' o{ o{

T"1. No.

Total Totul Total Total

Pri"" $ Pri"e $ Price $ Pri"e $

$

for J"lit"ry,

will be

"a perfect match if it can

tle done."

TLe age is

Vines by tlr" case ánlionrnl ø aou

organisation."

AndSaatchi& director T

Cot". J" Bourg, France

is surprising just kow

Signature: Thir o[1". is {ot S"ptemter only

@ September 1994

TnÊ' CoRRf,sPolIllDNT

I

Exclusive: Beatles arrive in HK FCC life member and- Tbe Stør newspaper publisher Graham "Gunboat" Jenkins was presented recently with a mounted copy of the now defunct Asian Weekend tabloid magazine. The copy was printed in 1966 when The Beatles pop group arrived in Hong Kong. The Beatles macle the cover and one of Jenkins' notable inside stories about the shennanigans of the Chinese leadership made the back page. Graham, an Australian by birth, is now 79 and still edits the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce magazine. The copy of Asian Weekendwas presented by absent FCC member and fotmer Starmanaging editorPeterFinnwho was in townto mourn

his 60th birthday. Tony Munday took the picture.

:.¡

The FCC accounts staff: this this is the essential team who we never see - they work in our annex offices but without whom we would never get those tiny bills at the end of each month. Chief accountant Eleanor Cheung (seated) with (left to right) Dorothy, Alex, Floris, Fanny and Mr King.

..

Years of progress Bob Davis, whom it is hard to believe was born only 50 years ago, held a massive half-century birthday bash at his Yung Shue ìØan hacienda last month. Despite the fact that he is still only a lad, Bob has managed to accrrmulate an enormous number of friends and most of them seem to be FCC members. The parrywhich was attended by such luminaries as Ray Cranbourne (the nasty looking cook at the top ofthe page), tlso "very relaxed" ladies - Yaudine England and Kate Campbell - and the man in the mask who carried an umbrella all night. Surelynobodywould have dared to rain on Bob's big parade. The bottom picture, by Ray Cranbourne shows Bob's reaction when his wife , Ivy, told him what the paty had cost.

Other pictures by Hubert Van Es and Terry Duckham.

'.:./

A not so sociable affair. This snap generously submitted by Terry Duckham amply displays the fact thatit is not all beer and skittles for members of the Board when the occassional

not-so-fivettting speaker attends a Club luncheon.

The great reunion In an emotionally-charged scene on China's historic Great S7all, photographer Chris Davis was finally reunited with his long-lost brother last July.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me," said Chris.

"One picture-five y'uan," came the reply. !?

a-

TtrE CoRRXSPOI|ITDNT

September 1994

September 1994 THE coRRDsPoilIlDNT

Dirtywork Retreat'3, 1992-3. Oíl on canuas

Ttre FCC tras l>een noted for its sornetirrres trard-drinking

lya)zs

amd occasionall¡z for

its

vrzalz

uzith vrzords

and its avrrard-uzinning

photograptrers. Ttre Club a-lso trouses at least orae reûla.rka-ble an:tist.

Unt¡tled sketcb. Oll on canuas

Flgures ín løndscaþe 1982. Oìl on canuas

" ll LD

emg a parnrerrs aJoD orworK orn.r, says assocl-

"". Dorothy "rry ate member Kirkbride. "It's

it sometimes takes a little longer for you to be satisfied with the final result. Butyou keep pressing on.

You have to."

Dorothy and her husband, the distinguished landscape architect Michael Kirkbride, have been members of the Club for eight years and have lived in Hong Kong since 1973 and now just that

Hllltoun

1. 1984

oil on canuøs Tf,E CoRRESpolutDNT September 1994

-

they are "relocating" to a new life in Somerset, in southwest England.

But Dorothy Kirkbride will leave behind alarge body of work hanging in the houses of the rich and the board-

rooms of the powerful. Taipans and bankers have bought her larger landscapes, while keen collectors with an eye for fine art have purchased her

smaller pieces. Kirkbride also has works in the permanent collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

September 7994

TE.E ConRDSPoI{DII{T

Dorotby Kirkbride

The pictures displayed over these

four pages reveal the extraordinary range Kirkbride has covered over the two decades. Some of the pictures showing her keen sense of accu-

past

Metamorphosis. 1984. Oil on canuas

rate detail while others expose

a

breadth of view that can only be truly

enjoyed when seen

in their full,

"wall-sized" glory.

Guørdian. 1982. Oíl on canuas

According to a review by Club member and art critic Ian FindlayBrown, Kirkbride is "basically" alandscape artist whose work has "an aura ofthoughtfulness, though the sense of inherent spontaneity is never sacrificed."

H¡ll Town 2. Wøter colour. 1994

Tf,E ConRXSpotütDItT September 1994

He said elsewhere that, Kirkbride "animates thatwhichto the eye may at first seem dead or sterile." Her strong figurative work reflects a deep feeling of loneliness, said Finlay.

For all that Kirkbride, who has a keen sense of humour, reiterates that painting is " a dirry business with muck getting all overthe place". @ September 1994 tÃÊ conxf,sPot{DDNT

Allpoop're'

Systematic slaughter

no scoop by a Chinese-channel reporter and then

translated into English.

Square foot for square foot, person for person, Hong Kong has more

In the first of a- series of colurnns on tkre -A.sian rnedia-, Peter Cordirrgle:.

1>onders the rrr¡zstery of ttre rreissin¡3 lLeq/scasters.

juicy stories than anywhere in the wodd. Spineless politicians, mendacious civil servants, ruthless factory

\

owners, venal employers of domestic helpers. They're all around us and everywhere among us - except on the eight o'clock news.

Are the TV newsrooms nndermanned? ATV World's prob-ably is

Wm,::.:i;"ä{,îîäïîï: ATV'Wodd drink? Have you ever seen one at the Club bar, or at any bar in Hong Kong, come to that?

Perhaps every one of them lives

on outlying islands, but that seems a bit unlikely. The more probable explanation for their low profile is that they don't drink at all - or at least not the sort of stuff you and I drink, and certainly not in the places we drink it.

And nobody needs reminding that if you don't mix, drink and listen, you

don't know what's going on in Hong Kong. It's as simple as that. Nobody ever picked up a story of any worth at Lamma Island's Corner Bar lthey certainly haven't recently. It's been closed for the past y€ar, Edl or in the canteen at TVB.

why are Hong Kong's TV newsrooms apparently manned by people we have all seen but nevef met?

The answer is that, with the exception of Chris Bale, who is in training for sainthood, TV journalists are drawn mainly from those American communications colleges where stuSo

THI

GORRXSPOilDDNT

dents get degrees in earnestness and learn how to dip their left shoulder when doing a stand-up to camera.

Give them a Legco debate or a

news conference by the Ag & Fish department, and they will produce two minutes of by-the-book television reporting that is as tidy and nondescript as they are. True, on natural disasters such as the recent Kwun Lung Lau landslip, the TV stations

are unbeatable, but credit

for that

(and always was and always will be), but that reallyisn't afacfor, as scoops have more to do with the quality of the journalists than with their quantity. Take Michael Chugani, for instance. 'S7hen he was news editor at TVB in the eady Eighties, Chugani

now beatified as editor of the Hongkong Standard - was a one-man scoop machine, producing more exclusives than there was room for in the news. lflell, you certainly can't say that about the present-day TVB news, which cleady has nobody who even approaches Chugani's skill. But, to give

goes to the cameramen and not the

them credit, they can microwave

reporters.

No, the glum tflrth is that, on an ordinary news day, Hong Kong's TV journalists leave you with the feeling that they have no more than adequately covered most of the items that were in the diary when they walked into the newsroom that moming.

But what about exclusives? The three English-language newspapers have them every day, but when was the last time you saw one onTY, apart from some arcane piece to do with changes in Housing Society policy or unhappyfishfarmers in the NewTerritories? And even then, this kind of story is likely to have been picked up

luncheon speech from Central to Clear rù(/ater Bay Road in the flick of a switch.

Who does STAR TV think it's kidding with its live coverage of Chinese First Division football?

I wager that there is not one person on the planet - outside of China who knows or cares the first thing. about Chinese football. But they do care in China, and that is what the l}-year agreement to screen this tosh

September 1994

a

is all about. Once again, STAR is trying to ingratiate itself with the Beijing authorities, with the hope, one presumes, that it will be allowed to broadcast the games around the countfv.

@

ft nas been two years since the civil Iwar in Bosnia started. Although other human tragedies have replaced

it in terms of news value, Bosnia continues to bleed and the wodd continues to look on.

Ed Vulliamy is one of a new bre ed of young foreign correspondents. His coverage of the war in Croatia and then Bosnia for Tbe Guørdian won him Granada television's Foreign Correspondent of the YearAwardin1992 and a string of other plaudits. He covered the war up until eady this year

when he was posted to Washington for The Obseruer.

His book, Seasons in Hell, is an excellent account of the war in Bosnia and its historical roots. It is simply explained without be.ing pompous of boorishly academic.

Much of what he writes is from first-hand experience: he witnessed the siege of Vukovar in e astern Croatia

towards the end of l99l; was in the medieval town of Dubrovnik as it was being destroyed; and spent the better part of two years in Bosnia.

He was the first print ioumalist to

see the Serb concentration camps where Muslims were butchered like cattle. He was also the first to join

deportees on the second wave of Serbian ethnic cleansing of Muslims.

Often attacked by diplomats and

IFkre grirn Bosnia-n szar tras baffled aa:.aaay of us in Soutkreast Asia orzer tkre 12ast fevz J,/ears. I(ad Vzilson rerzie-wzs a, nesz book xrkrich descril>es and e><1?la.ins sorrae of the horror-

yet do nothing

-

and worse.

As it turned out we went unheeded by the diplomats and, on occasions, cursed by po-

litical leaders.

Bosnia's tragedy is the

result of the break-up of what was once Yugoslavia in the late Eighties - itself a creation of war.

From Seaso¡s in HelL á uíctim of tbe nígbt-shellíng Yugoslavia was once loosely described as a country which and Montenegrian) artillery bomcomprised two alphabets, four lan- barded citizens, towns and villages; guages, four religions and five nationmass murders were carried out; conalities living in six republics. The centration camps were established and break-up gave post-Cold War Europe women systematically raped. The its first serious test of its moral and whole campaign was aimed at forcing political fibre, and in both it failed non-Serbs to flee, leaving everything miserably. As Vulliamy writes eady trehind.

Despite the detailed records of the "ethnic cleansing" and the indis-

on: The warhad baffled that

newwodd.

It has been erroneously portral,ed

as

criminate bombing of markets and playgrounds, the wodd's best response has been to accede to the carve-up of

too

complicated to understand In reality, is being fought in the labl'¡l¡thine cauldron of Balkan history, Bosnia's

although it

Bosnia.

The latest proposal in now on the

war is cruelly simple.

It is the result of the resurrection in our time of the dreams and aggrieved historical quests of two great Balkan powers of medieval origins, Serbia and Croatia, and the attempt to reestablish their ancient frontiers with modern we aponry in the chaos of post-Communist Eastern Europe.

table; the intemational community says "take it or leave it". The Bosnian Serbs have decided to go for a referendum ...

in other words to buy more time.

Vulliamy bittedy concludes that the first generation growing up in this bereft, crowded, mono-ethnic state

will know only too much about how it

Vulliamy, like most correspondents in Bosnia at the time, was staggered

by Europe's inability to act while

Caught in the middle was a third people who did not fit and who did not belong in either Serbia or Croatia, and whose homeland was an ethnicallymixed country Bosnia, which

men, women and children were

was shared by Serbs, Croats and Slavic

country into which they should byrights have been born, Bosnia Herzegovenia,

being system atically slaughtered by

Muslims.

will have to cease to exist, shattered and

the Serbs.

Vulliamy explains in graphic detail how the Serbs set out to seize

blownasunde..

politicians for what he wrote,

he says: Most of us thought we could make a difference at first It se eme d incredible that the wodd could watch, read and hear about what was happening to the victim people of this war, and ,rts

-

Bosnia and rid it of its non-Serb inhab-

itants ... primarily Muslims.

They used terror as their main weapon theYugoslav(now Serbian

came to be, and about the suffering which their parents who never

-

wanted or asked to live in such a place

through at its inception.

- went

The

f,fi

ín Hell; Understanding Bosnia's War by Ed Vulliamy.

Seøsons

Published by Simon & Schuster

-

September 1994 TÅE coRRxsPoNllEilr

A monthly portrait of FCC irreplaceables

LantYing Member Since: Age:

Occupation: Nationality: Interests: Description:

ared

Howard Coats

The 15th floor days in Suthedand House "One of us is 5O this month" Journalist/chaútyfu nd-raiser British Skiing, squash and whooping it uP "sunshine and her shadow"

Pltotograþbed bY TerrY Duckbøm

Trm Bpsr PnnrxERSHIps Lasr

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