The Correspondent, May 1998 by The Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong

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Steps acr.ciss the Sahar:a Golfüng in Guam New skipper at the helm

Changing guard in M:anila

Capture the Changing World, Create the ProfessÍonal Excellence.

THD GORRDSPONIIDNT May 1998

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A cor.r,rageous FCC Golf Society squad makes ønotber þilgrimntge to Guam's Wirtdward Hills course for tbe 1998 Pacific Media Tour - witb predictable results

Tbe

Letters

Fl:orrr ttre President Reflections on a remalkable

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Tbe Cotresþonde,rtis published monthly by The Foreign Corepondents' Club of Hong Kong.

PRODUCTION ÀsiaDix Pr¡nt Setrices T el: 2572'9544 Faxt 257 5 860O E-mail: asiapix@hk linkage.net

New skippel

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@ 1998 The Foreign Conespondents'

Asia in crisis Recovery hinges on Japan

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Ch¡b neszs

Tl're sands of

'essa¡.

Borneo erlìpts in flames

6. Profile

PRINIÏR

NÍkon

a-4- Pictorial

fi'ee-r.heeling election

l\dedia anatrter:s Gooclbye, Tbe Nineties; yon, Lee Yeel

See

27-. Club events It's qllestion tirnr. 22- Professional 25- Social affairs 2A- FCC faces

David Thurston

Club ofHong Kong

Co\/er photoglaph by Henry Tse

May 7998 THE SoleAgent:SHB|RÍ}(H,[.)U0.2ndFloorHutchisonHouse,l0HarcourlRoad,Central,llongK0ng

Tel:25245031 Fax:28106586 WebSite:htlp;//urwwshrirocom

CORRf,SDOlVl¡EllT

Canoil ç

To the editor "in the collective Club memory" the the sad news of

fDavidLeonatd' and advertising

painter, gr man, and

mtd 1970

here

one time

as disPlaYed His So-Yong) will staY ddress is La Tour oulevard Edouard

e'Ftance' a "reciProcal exactly \X/hile not . r,

Ï äåi ¡" :1'll:f ::?'1; ". :' tew<-rr

like toknowthata

ffiÍä

meet at the ïliìåî'ör"'"s) regularlv on aF idaY reet' sr ä äì;,ì ô, oxforcl 3Pm' where we noon ;ä; 'nd leer and listen to

:"iH;: ;'jnk eam iazz Entr ance ;;;';;;;;;;i mainsî is free.

FrornJonathan

Mirsþ

allegation had no substance'

considered this answer both

vagve and meaningles's and that if no ac(.jJrate records of numbers existed, then say so. \Vhat is the precise date the FCC was formed, whethet in7)27 , 1931, 1949 or 1964. I have a T-shirt which says the date was 7949.If that was correct then how could some

members who joined numbers under 10'

ln 1964 have

From Keíth Richburg and Francis MoriartY The Foreign CorresPondents' Club of Hong Kong wishes to mark \Øodd Press Freedom Dayby stating ourfirm commitment to the principles of free ession. The FCC, than 600 foreign has

stoodbehind

these principles since its inception,

we dailY commemorate that commitment bY PermanentlY ancl

displaying on our walls the work of our members who gave their lives to bring the news to the wodd.

Council; we hope the Government will give extremely careful thought to the necess ity, if any, for such legislation. Further, any Bills should only be introduced after widespread public consultation, and mustbe given diligent and thorough scrutiny by the Council. \Øhile we warmlywelcome recent statements supportive of the free press made by the President, Jiang Zemin,

and the Premier, Zhu Rongji, and sincerely hope that these words augur

the start of a Iarger trend,

nonetheless express our dismay at the

number of our colleagues known to be held in custody on the Mainland. 'ùØe specifically reiterate our longstanding call for the release from plison of prize-winning journalist Gao Yu. Since the formation of the SAR, we

have carefully monitored the press for indications of any cur-tailment of our freedoms ; we have noted, for example, the threats against the independence

^'"Ñãiio' the first time I have t inaccuracY in mY cl !üe join with the Hong Kong g Hong Kong' u Associations urging the I lournalists n asked' that -Gou"tn."ttt o[ the SPecial I MYfirst ightlY' th" Plac of Hong Kong Region mirsed Adminìstrative MY 'î"î^Po"àt"' t artived the free flow of

well

heart went thump

PLC and the public to that threat was

to stand firmly behind information that underpins the SAR's

Frorn Luke Hunt ""î^-glil \ü/adsworth's letter (Tbe Le Pt" nt, March 1998) about I dtwnstairs bar later' Ditto' but how about got Even DooleY'rVilson say:

a iukebox? lrli'ãl pirv," g As rime

Goes BY

Frorn Peter Finn.

""il ìh; sePtember 1997 issue ol a You Published rding allegations s' numbers maY . This was issue bY the

MembershiP

Commifiee saYing that

success, and we call on establishing

of Radio Television Hong Kong,

as the overwhelming vote of the

Provisional Legislative Council supportive of RTHK's editoriaÌ independence. The response of the heartening, and showed how deeply the Hong Kong people cherish their

bY legislated right to access

free and independent news media. Still, we do not underestimate the

government-held information. This

law should apply to all olfices olthe

seriousness of such threats and intend

to maintain

locai governrnent and Central People's

Government oPerating in SAR. The FCC also wishes to exPress its

deep concern that legislation

implementing Alticle 23 of the Basic

law might open to the door to the suppression of free expression and

free press. Also, we do not wish to see

introcluced into ourlaws anything that might resemble the notion of political

ourvigilance. 6q

SOUTDAY YOU WANT TO BE IUST TIKE EVERYONE ELSE o.

TO USE THE VERY BEST

the demonstrate its

Government to support of that PrinciPle

crime. The Government has said such Article 23 - rcIated laws would be introduced into the next Legislative

The difference between a good shot and a missed shot is sometimes less than a millionth of a second. And in importantevents liketheWorld Crp, you justcannot afford to miss. That is why more photographers use the Canon EOS system than any other to deliver their very best shot.

ln World Cup '98 in France, most photographers will continue to count on their EOS cameras and their "white" Canon EF lenses to make the difference.

ST()LICHNAYA Ietlers

12slç6rns

fbe editor are always

win yourself

bottle

of Stolicbnayafor an original or witty letter- but we resetae the rigbt to ed.itfor clørity orþr reasons ofspace

Canon Marketing (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd. Tel. 2'l7O 2B2B

I ...

FoR Youn

Bmr SHor

One thing is certain; an EraP

presidency will certainly

be entertaining, if only because reporters

will now be on the lookout for "Eraptions" - either legendary misstatements in English, or the jokes for which Estrada is famous. Like: "Bi1l

Reflectíons on a remarkable year

Clinton and I both have sex scandals Clinton has the scandals, and I just

cham¡rion of the Poor'' That is mY only clream." \\/ill an EraP PresidencY be a clis¿rster"/ I don't think so' Maybe I havc

\Y/nr,a time ro be a jour.nalist in W nrlr. And whar a year ro have been President of the Foreign Corlespondents' Cltrb.

Looking back over the past 12 months, it's hard to believe, at times, the amount of news generated in this region andinso many different spheres - and al| at a rime that coincided with my tlÌrn at the helm of the Club. \Øhat started oltt one year ago as the story of the handover, wiil end one year latel with the one year anniversary upon us, and everyone from Zhu Rongji

to Bill Clinton coming into town to mark the occasion. Looking back, and taking stock, it seeÍts fair to say that

some

of the worst fears were not

realized, the sky hasn't fallen in, and we've all managed to survive a little bit bettel than anyone daled hope - and I'm talking not just about Hong Kong, but the FCC. But there was mol'e to this amazing

year than the handover story, an historic enough event, but one which

was quickly eclipsed by another dramatic event just

few days later, in

Cambodia, when second-prime

minister Hun Sen lar-rnched his bloody

coup that onsted his erstwhile rival ancl coalition pal'tner, Prince Norodom

Ranariddh. Dozens were killed in the coup and its aftetmath, and many more

fled Cambodia for safety abroad

among them, scores of Cambodian journalists who had been enjoying Cambodia's new found flowering of democracy, but who suddenly saw that democratic space slammed shr-rt. And at the Club, one of our finest acts

of the year was raising thousands of

dollars to help those journalists

stranded in Thailand. It kept going fi'om there. After the handover inJune, and the Cambodian coup inJuly, the story soon switched to the environment, and the debilitating

haze from hundleds

Indonesian

forest fires th at created a choking white

cloud extending across the Malay peninsula and all the way to the southern Philippines. And of course the biggest story of the year was the Asian economic crisis

- or collapse might be a

appropriate term. One after another, countries lauded as "tiger" economies began collapsing like dominos, filst

Thailand, thenMalaysia, Indonesia and

South Kolea. The regional Black September coincided with the annual Wolld Bank meetings in Hong Kong, and the FCC became the principal venue fol press conferences and briefings on the state of the economic meltdown. Hong Kong itself returned to the news in December, with the discovery of the first deaths from the avian inÍluenza known as "bird flu." IX¡ho can folget the director of agriculture and fishelies walning, "No chicken will be allowed to walk free in the telritory," as the SAR governrnent began its mass cull of chickens, ducks and othel' suspect poultry. Journalists who became instant experts on the'

Byzantine world of Carnbodian politics and the intricacies of foreign clrrrency markets suddenly were writing about chicken farms, blood

tests and modes of transmission and

infection.

It didn't get any

easier in 199g. Regional stock and cuffency markets

began the year by continuing their downward slide. Indonesia cor-rtinued its slow descent into chaos, despite -

or perhaps because of

President

Suharto's nnanimous reelection to another five-year term by an assembly he largely handpicked. The unrest reached its crescendo on May 15, with a bloody riot that engulfed mosr of the capital city,Jakarta, and left mole than 500 dead in its wake. After that spasm

¿r

weakness for admitted hard-

clrirrking womanizets with little t¡nclcrstancling of economics. But as

plltit; "He's more honest holds his liquorbetter he thln Clinton, he's not corrupt like and Yeltsin, thln Srrlllrrt<>." Erap's chief economics czar, b¿rrrker Eclgardo Espiritu, came to the IìCC just l>efore the election, and told

rr Cltrb ltrncheon that the now plcsident-elect will Pursue the cconornic liberalization of his ¡rleclecessor, Fidel Ramos, and will so ()ne better, opening uP new segnlents of the economy, like egriculture, to foreign ownership.

the front office in dealing with returned checks. For anyone who

payment

is Posted for late

of accounts, the same

penalties will still apply. In other words, if you are about to be posted, and you

write a bad check to the C1ub, you will be penalized for the bad check, and

have sex."

also receive the normal Posting

Or, did you hear about Estrada going to see the Manila Archbishop,

penalty. A bad check will be consideled

Jaime Cardinal Sin, to say confession? Estrada entered the confession booth andbegan; "Forgive me, Sin, forl have fathered... " And on that note, I can close this farewell column as President. As the old Grateful Dead anthem says, "tVhat along, strange trip it's beenl"

Let me take this oPPortunity to ask everyone to please, pay yolu' accollnts

onc Philippine political scientist, Rancly l)avid,

becattse of the administrative costs to

f+****t

Because of a recurring problem involving late payment of bills, and members writing bad cheques to cover their delinquent accounts, the FCC Board has passed a new rule whichwill be going into effect starting inJune. FromJune on, anyone who writes

check that is returned because

non-payment.

on time each month. It is a time-

consuming task for the front office to chase down late PaYers each month, and paying late, or at the last minute to avoid posting, violates the rr-rles and the spirit of the Club. Lafe paymeni affects our cash flow, and distracts olÌr office staflfrom other, pressing duties. If you will be out of town atqaYment time, please make arrangements for your accottnt to be settled befole yott leave. Andwe would like to encoul'age evetyone who has notalready clone so to-utilize the autopay selice to tnake the monthly payments more úme1y and efficient for everyone.

of insufficient funds will be assessed a penalty charge. \Øe have had to impose this penalty because of the number of repeat offenders, and also

of violence, it became incleasingly clear that Suharto setwing leader

- Asia's longestwas nearing the end

of his tenure in power. In a country that has seen only one succession in its independence history, that change

the shift to planning for the postSuharto ela - is nothing shol't of a

revolution. But there was another revolution underway in the month of May, and if less violent than the one in Indonesia was no less far-reachíng in its

lamifications. In the Philippines, millions of the country's poor and

We all know about

press junkets, rlow the FCC brings you your very own junket...

dispossessed massed together to clefy

the political establishment, the old landed gentry, and the Roman Catholic Church and elect as the next president a former action movie star and college dropout namedJoseph "E np" Estrada. As much asEstrada horlifies the

elite - for his perceived Iack of

well as his admitted past passions for

understanding of economics, 'women and drink

Junk actually. All 45 feet of it, hot and cold running water, crew and all bells and whistles available for hire to members. For a three-month trial period the FCC has acquired joint rights to use the EAC company junk, which can be booked on weekdays or evenings for $500 or daytime at weekends for $ 1000 - a small fraction of commercial rates for a first class vessel.Club cateting services are also available. Please contact the office tel.2521 1511 or fax. 2868 4092.

he is adorecl bY NIaY

I\ew skipper atthe helm

She has to eat, however,

includes stringing for th e augnst Da,ily

Elected Lrnopposed, Diar-re Storrrront kras l>ecorrre tLre FCC's second N\¡on-r.a-n 1>resident. I(erzin Sinclair profiles a trornetos/n corresponderrt

hen she graduated from London University with an honours degree in anthropology in 1980, 2l-year-old Diane Stormont got combination birthday and graduation present from her parents, a ticket to Hong Kong. She wanted to come home. Alrhough she had been taken to England as a girl to a

for-the British Council before landing

in1,982; I owed a lot of people a lot

a proof-reading job with Emphasis. She did what none of the journalists wanted to do, compiling the air freight section and other routine coverage, and "this being Hong Kong" within six

drinks, she smiles.

Stormont applied to Reuters without luck - "Go away,little girl," she remembers with a laugh - but got a reporting job on what was then Unicom News. There was

driver riots which paralysed the city. For lwo years, she did the demand ing shipping

where the news was and Diane Stormont had a total

beat af the Soutb Cbina Morning Post.

Getting here was the

Someone at Reuters decided the "little girl" had

easy part. Achieving her

grown up. She started at the

journalist.

Richburg's special membership

Those web pages (http'/

desperately keen to see under-utilised space turned into profit centres. She flicks throughletters advocating special memberships at reduced rates which restrict use to the bottom bar LaÍe at night; it's a matfeÍ that needs to be

www.callinghongkong.com) are

discussed

packed with brightþ written historical, anecdotal and factual aspects of all

money can be made. A sudden drop in members after

the townwhere she grewup

1993 as deputybureau chief. She was bureau chief when

able to quit on a high note. In recent weeks the usual torrent

the transition of sovereignly took place and a few months

of complaint has been reduced to a trickle, thanks to two excellent menus for the Main Bar and the Dining Room,

in considerable comfort as a 'Jardines' brat." Her father, Captain John Stormont, was a merchant navy man who

later, she resigned from the

dropped anchor and came

global news agency \øhy?

rVhygive up a plum jobwith a huge organisation where she had proven her value? Stormont shrugs over

ashore as a land-based marine superintendent of Steam

Navigation Company Fleet. È NØhen she return".l, S

well- .5 worn trail of other /oung I a. comþa.ct laptop, cntlnertt and mobile pbone in ber hopefuls into the grimy backpøck, ønd. a contact book crammed witb two d.ecad.es of corridors of Chungking Stormont followed the

THI C0RRf,SPOI|I¡ENT Mav 1998

committee attracted new members and

has great admiration for predecessor Keith Richburg and steps he has taken to ensure a solid ftnancial basis. She

kept numbers reasonably stable.

thinks more can be done.

to examine how

She's

much

"The Club must be financially viable," she says. Her main task as President, along with keeping alive the vibrant string of luncheon speakers

and other professional events, will be to boost income. Maybe she should list FCC

membership options amongthe other

items she. displays in

her

hongkongcalling.com page.

R.olrirr l-S-rrratrr- reflects on tris tenure s¡itkr thre food and Ì>erterage corrrrrrittee and casts a cttlirl.a.ry e>re o\zer thte latest rraenl-r

three years in Korea and returned to Hong Kong in

would be easier to get a start on a magazine rather than a neq/spaper," she explains. She survived by working

on the financial horizons. Stormont

A rlnratter of taste convenor of the committee responsible for the club's food and beverage operations it is nice to be

Then she started thumbing through the yellow pages. "I felt it

dues. Only active promotional work

the surface, but there are storm clouds

fter two years as convenor or co-

cfazy.

by former FCC president Keith

January, 1987, later spent

contctcts,

For the Club's future, she

transition, could have led to a worrying disappearance of a swag of monthly

worried. Finances may look good on

news organisation in

Mansions. Three days later she was well-settled into the home of family friends at The Peak. She wasn't

else

Telegrapb, a somewhat eclectic but exciting journal in Silicon Valley that mixes high-tech with venture capItaI, and developing her own stafiling new web site on the Internetwhich guides diners, explorers and new arrivals in Hong Kong. This latest electronic wizardry is also her hobby (along with tae kwon do and badminton) and has potential to be a major profit centre if she can findtime to sell supportive advertising.

little longer. Today, the newly elected President of the FCC smiles as she recalls of her return to a

the Indo-China

of Hong Kong life; what

teeth on the first talks on the

Hong Kong handover, the historic dollar peg and the short lived butworrying taxi

school, she still felt intensely that Hong Kong was where she belonged. Besides, that's

ambition took

sides

would you expect?

plenty to cover. She cut her

study at a girls' gfammar

determination to be

andwork

now mixes an exciting brew that

Diane Stormont is a mobile neusroom

months was depury editor. She was on the way.

It didn't take her-long to find her wayto the FCC. Herfirst editor, Derek A.C.Davies, took hel there for a drink aftel her job inteliew. "I was mightily impressed," she recalls. She joined as soon as she could afford the entry fee,

her Carlsberg. Basically, she had done her 10 years with

Reuters, covered

the

handover of hometown Hong Kong - which had

been a growing complrlsion foryears - and sought something else. Now she focuses Iargely on the Club and how to make what she sees as necessary surwival changes. Reaching

into her father's vocabulary as a seafaring-man, she wants to keep the ship afloat, buoyant and on a sfeady course.

devised by Chef Stephen 'Warren. These have increased the range of choice and quality o f b o d av allable at the FCC while holding prices at the same level, which in these difficult times, believe me, is no small achievement.

After a year of working in the kitchen andtalking to members with a great deal more patience than I am now able to muster about their likes

and dislikes, he has come up with menus which reflect not only his own ideas and creativily but also the tastes of members, while being realistically

geared to the kitchen's ability to produce. The Main Bar menu is now well established, and represents a template

which with occasional fine tuning should last us for quite a while. The

would have been perfectly happy to

an upstairs menu which is truly a piece

help, but this is a democracy, so there it still is. Much else has changed. The days when one took guests upstairs at the

de resistance. Being new, for me this menu

feeling of impending disaster

favourable reception it got, I think, gave him a boost which is reflected in

club with an air of apology and

full

of still unsampled treats, but I can wholeheartedly recommend the chicken Iiver parfait, the wild mushroom tortellini, the pot roasted quail, and the breast of chicken. In fact I have yet to order a dud.

Most of the credit for this

thankfully are goîe.'Word has got out about the improvements and we now have a restaurant non members are more than happy to be invited to. Furthermore, notwithstanding the

convictions of the small number of grumblers who vividly remember

managed to achieve major

paying slightly less for something a bit similar when they lasl ate out in Lan Kwai Fong five years ago, it offers excellent value for money.

to the members of the outgoing

upstairs menu please makea point of doing so. If you have, and you liked it, please tell Stephen and spread the

achievement goes to Stephen and his team in the kitchen, and to the staff of

the main dining room who have

improvements in speed of delivery and do it with a smile. I would also however like to say a quick thank you

committee for some thoughtful and useful input. You can also thank them for the survival of the rockfish soup. Stephen would have liked to consign this to the dustbin of history a year ago, and I

If you haven't yet tried the new

word. If you didn't, and want to tell me about it, I would be most grateful if you would note that by the time this is published I will no longer be in office.

@ May 1998 Tf,E C0RRDSP0tllEtT

,l I

Èt5 -'AøtES Ë

ò q I :1.

Aboue, Mabel Au-Yeutg at'tcl Carol Cbeung trek ouer tbe cJunes lqft, Hong Kong team members pretend tct enioy tbemselues before a clay's exeñxon

!'x.ål:'-E.:-..:--- 3-_-Tbey're røcing; Con7þetitors begin tbe 13tb Marathon des Sables ín tbe sand.s of southent Motncco

The sands of time

È q

A trek across tLre Sa-hara Desert .çl.zasn't ql.lite a uralk in the ç>alk for one adrzenturoLrs Club rnemt>er. Cl:are Stepfrenson folloq.s in l-rer footsteps Rigbr, ttekkers btLclcl.le ciuring tbe colcl cl,esen nigbt Belou,t, a Sabaran panorntlnct as runlTers trauerse the cluttes

ndurance was the keyword

Club member Mabel Au-Yer-rng completed the

Marathon des Sables acl'oss the Sahara Desert in sor-rthern 13!r'

Morocco.

Barking mad? Maybe, but AuYeung recalls only the lush beauty of

the scenery as she covered

230

kilometres of sand, rocks, mountains and empty river beds in temperatr-rres ranging fi'om minus 4 to 51 degrees Celsius,

Participants lugged surwival kits on their backs: food, a sleeping bag,

spare socks, a stove, fue1, pots, medicines, anti-venom kit for snakes, compass, space bianket, flales, a torch and other equipment had to be carried, according to the marathon's rules. THE C0RRXSPONDEI{T X,Iav 1998

Au-Yeung had never worn a back pack before - and this one weighed in

litres of water. The wâter was to be

at 8.3 kilograms, an appreciable

reconstituting nastyJooking tablets of dried energy food. "'\X/e were reduced to living like animals," Au-Yer-rng said. "Surely that wasn't really necessary. "'ùØe quer-red for everyzthing - even the cardboard boxes the water bottles came in. These are flattened to make

percentage of her body weight. On the second day, she started discarding items. On the third day an experienced endurance racer offered help. Out went the stove, the fuel, the cooking pot, the hand cream, the eye drops, the foot crealrr - just about everylhing except the items that must be carried to the finish line. It became four days of testing physical exertion on cold rations. The reward for competitors at the

end of each gruelling day

from

Sunday, March 29, to Saturday, April 4, - was a spot on the ground in an open-sided tent and a daily ration of 9

used for drinking,

washing,

mattresses or cut into slippers becanse once we took our shoes off we couldn't

;f:,+ffi9

get them on again until the next day."

Competitors were packed 10 to

tent, It rained one night and those not already awake from the ploximity of strangers' sleep noiseswele rousedby early-morning traffic and lights. The Berbers who had supplied the tents NIay 1998 THE CORRf,SPONIIENT

and kilim rugs to sleep on were throwing tarpaulins over the tents in a bid to prevent them becoming even wetter. Au-Yeung was often the last to arrive and found she had to make a bed space where none existed. It was not a popular move, really, to have to wake the exhausted to creaie a couple of feet of floor on which to sleep. This was the first team from Hong Kong to fake partin the epic race, and Au-Yeung, onbehalf of the Societyfor the Promotion of Hospice Care, joined police Senior Inspector Carol Cheung, Inspector Mark Sharp, InspectorJustin Shave and formerchief inspectorChris

e È

Hanselman. Simon Murrayhad planned to join laterbutthe French organisers refused an entry over only part of the course.

However, they relented on the final day after Murray and Silas Chau, managing director of major sponsor Hilfiger, spent a day helping the race using their considerable resources at

Recovery hinges on JapaÍr Danzid O'[lear sor-rnds a vzarning at>out tl-re regional turrnoil's rnost potentially darna,ging aspect irst it was a currency crisis, then

an economic crisis; now its a political crisis. For brevity, call it a confidence crisis: no confidence in currencies, economic fundamentals,

politics or the ability of people with influence to do anything about ít. So, the next time someone blithely asks when the crisis will be over (or worse, tells you), you can (a) nod, mumble something under your breath and buy another drink - which would help the club's fiscal crisis; or (b) ask to which crisis he or she is referring. East Asia, in fact, is facing three separate crlses.

Mortting Posl, Au-Yeung said Murray and McHugh provided invaluable

Anyone who has had only the occasional glass of water between drinks knows about the confidence crisis and is trying to make a name or a buck on the story. The other lwo crises are not quite as urgent, but dangerous nonetheless: China's

maintaining team morale.

unemployment mess and Japan's prolonged slump. I'm going to leave

Per-mission was granted for the reamto c rrythe SpecialAdministrative

hand, such as a private jet.

The Hong Kong back-up team included Jennifer Murray - hovering overhead in her helicopter - and Fionnuala McHugh of the South Cbina

support and were crucial in

Þ q

Indonesia contracted by half,

event.

Japanstalled, the country comprised

first aid, treated several broken limbs from night running over rugged terrain and innumerable swollen, blistered andlaceraled feet. Part of Au-Yeung's training for the event included the Airport Marathon in February. That cost her a toenail. The Sahara race cost her another. So watch out, chauvinistic barflies andloungelizards: there's anewbreed of Hong Kongwoman afoot at the FCC - women who run, and run, and run.

TllE CORAISP0NIIXNT May 1998

Indonesia 13.2 percent. If commodities

Region's fTag In the event and AuYeung and Cheung became the first Chinese nationals to take part in the

The medical tent, with its basic

Conxpetitors run tbe løstfew bundred metres of tbe Maratbon des Sables, including, at bottorn, Mabel Au-Yeung, as sbe carries tbe Hong Kongflag

domestic markets in Asia to pursue. More recently, the severe drop in regional currency values-and thus, Japan's import prices-has failed to increase the nation's imports. In the three quarters since the Thai baht began its imitation of a rock trying to f1.oaf, Japan's imports from Thailand fell 6.4 per cent (in yen terms), those from Korea 9.7 per cent, and from

are excluded, Japan's imports from

competitors, one finished the race.

Thailand, South Korea and other previously cheap places didn't make as much sense. Still, there were

crisis is the one that is potentially the most damaging. Japanhas dominated business in Asia. In the 10 years (L982-91) before

six were women. Of two blind

At first, Japanese companies began

investing around the region, looking for cheaper production platforms. This was followed by an export boom in capital goods fromJapan, contributing to those countries' current-account deficits. \Øhen the yen began to fall again (by 50 per cent between mid1995 and mid-1997), exporting from

China for another day, becauseJapan's

More than 500 people competed in the Marathon des Sables. Of the 63 competitors who dropped out, only

. The manufacturing and retail sectors have suffered through three recessions,

about f3 per cent of Asia's GDP, private consumption and domestic capital investment. It was the top trading partner for most countries in the region, and one of the largest foreign investors. Management gurus rushed to identify the key differences

between Japanese and \Øestern companies, and to copy them. In the 1990s, Japan's economy hit the skids. Just as the yen so ar ed against

the dollar (and Asian currencies),

domestic demand stalled. Since 1991, o Economic growth has averaged just 1.J per cent per annum (down from 4.4 per cent in the 1980s); . Consumer demand fared a bit better (2 per cent), but investment grew

0,3 per cent per annum; and

only

Thus, Japan's recession has added

tens of billions of dollars to these countries' trade deficits. Japanese investments overseas, aimed at 'Süestern markets, are now competing

the books. Leadership, particularly

with President Suharto unable to provide it, is also sorely needed. Deregulation

another desperately

needed injection.

1,994 Tokyo

deregulated the cellular phone industry,

leadingto a US$13 billioninvestmentin new systems and a more than 1O-fold increase in the number of handsets in use. Japanese engineers also began to

design more innovative phones, such as wrist-wadch models. Other sectors that might benefit from deregulatory

stimulus include the retail, transpofiation, finance, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals industries.

The April regulatory reforms to (the "big bang") will allow banks, insurance companies and securities houses to offerdirectly competing products and services for the first time. The combination of nation-wide retail outlets, and financial instruments paying several times the return of traditional investments (such as the Postal Savings System) may provide Japan's financial system

cheap investment capital, but that is only part of the solution.

The shape of Asia's recovery to a large part on what

depends

happens inJa pan. If J apanese domestic

withJapan-made exports that are once

demand continues contracting,

again competitive due to the yen's

prospects for an Asia-wide recovery fromthe confidence crisis will be grim. The last Japanese domestic demand contraction coincided with soaring

weakness. Unless Japan's legendary savers can become serious consumers,

the prospects for a strong, domestic

consumer needs hand-to-pocket

growth in China and the start of a strong boom in US imports, helping cushion the blow to the rest of the region. This time, China is clearly in another cyclical downturn aíd the US is the sole source of strong demand. Does anyone have Alan Greenspan's

resuscitation. Premier Hashimoto's

home phone number?

demand-led recovery are poor. For the rest of Asia to recover its early 1990s 7 per cent annuai growth

rates, Japanese demand must soar. The trade balairce should fall deeply into deficit. The ailing Japanese February economic stimulus package was about one-quarter what is needed, and rescheduling Asia's bad debts won't be practical untilJapanese banks get their domestic non-performers off

Døuid. O'Rear is regional

economist at

Economßt Inlelligence

Unit, and is boping peoþle are beginning to unde rstand j ust b ou b ad tbings are. @ May 1998 rHE

CORRDSP0ilIIEI|T

generous with their time and patient

in giving answers to even the most inane questions. If this were not enough, who can ignore the astonishing hospitality of Filipinos. It is hard to put a foot in a Filipino home without being showered with food and drink. This is a country which marches on its stomach and reporters are certainiy expected to join the food trail which weaves in and out of pizzas, suckling pig, sandwiches,

gallons of Coca-Cola and whatever else you can think of in the junk food department. The word diet is totally

disguised as news. Some of it is black propaganda, which, ofcourse, has no place in any selfrespecting newspaper. The nadirof the election coverage

however, was not enough to disrupt the political rally", reportedthe Stars man on the spot. Then there was the story in the

was provided by the tabloid People's Journal \rhich gave blanket coverage to a story headed "Erap Backs Out", on the eve of the election. According to this lurid repor-t Estrada had suffered a stroke and was rushed to the Makati Medical Centre. '!Øhile fighting for his life he had given his endorsement to Alfredo 'Diffy Harry' Lim to take his place as President. The whole story was a lotal larrago of lies. Has the

Pbiliþpine Daily Inquirer headlined FVR calls' Erap a coward", a reference to outgoing PresidentFidel V. Ramos. The first line of the story read, "Short of calling him a coward President Ramos

yesterday said Vice President Joseph Estrada could not possibly lead the country if he feared for his safety".

If you think what appears

inappropriate for anyone covering a Filipino political

being reported. Take, for example, a'press conference

at the Okasan Japanese Restaurant, which offered

events.

Not only are foreign

good sushi and terrible information. It was called by the hugely popular El Shaddai Christian

correspondents welcome, they become pafi of the story.

Indeed Mike Gonzalez, the FCC's new vice president, was accordedhis 15 minutes of fame courtesy of Maximo

evangelical organisation, upparcntly to clear up a

'Max' Soliven, the irreof the

misunderstanding over the

newspaper. "Truth Shall Prevail", isthe Stals slogan so it was hardly surprising

post of President, Unex-

pressible publisher

organisation's endorsement of Jose de Venecia for the

lively Pbilippine Star'

È S

è (5

È o t

tLra¡ Max

colleague interviewing

something in my notebook attempting to cover a profound feeling of shock. Cleady I have been living far too

long in Hong Kong where a hack

is trained to believe that reporters are a

nuisance, at best, and certainly not

entitled to information

unless

absolutely necessary. THE CORRXSPOIIDDI{T Mav 1998

especially foreign correspondents, are not merely treated well but are genuinely welcomed. Covering the

Philippine eiections in May was wonderful reminder that a hack's job^ need not be a miserable one. There is no suchthing as a Filipino without an opinion, or if there is they are kept under lock and key at election lime.

There is no such thing as a closed door, be it at the door of a presidential candidate's house, a polling station or even the presidential palace.

Moreover there is information oozing out of every corner. True, a great deal of it is contradictory and, true, attention to detail is not

hallmark

of the Philippine way but it seems churlish to even mention this in circumstances where people are

-s

Joseph 'Erap' Estrada, the new President, but then still

a candidate.' Can't you speak

o.-

country o without it getting in the newspapers', complained Manila rnayorøl bopeful Jim Lopez perform a pre-rally Mike. There is a simple editor of the Pe oþle's Journøl resigned? answer to this question which merely Answer : get real. involves looking at the newspapers. I have no idea who paid for that Frankly I just love Philippine storybutthe conspiracytheorists, who newspapers which put the "E" into the word exuberant. Of course they go must regard Manila as a little piece of heaven, have plenty of ideas. Away over the top and then some ways beyond and of course they are not from conspiracies there is some quite extraordinaljz reporting in the sticklers for detail, but they are a joy to

to anyone in this

A presidential vote in tkre Phrilippines is a color-rrful ca"rrtisra.I. Steptren \zines e><a.rrrines thre rnedia's recetr>tion and role In the Philippines journalists,

meetingwithMike and a full report, accompanied by a picture, of our fearless

Welcome to Manila's free-urheeling election C{finnnk you lor covering our I electiân," said u ,-iling Philippine official as I scribbled

felt it necessary to

gle a full account of

cbeers of bis supporters

Philippines is sometimes bizarre, it is often not half as l¡izarre as the events

read. Every rumour is reported, sometimes as facf. Every opinion is

Philippine papers. A story which caught my eye i¡the Star concerned

airedwithout a hint of restraint.'When people talk of lively journalism they

Alfredo Lim rally. Apparently

must be referring to the Philippines.

The downside is that too many people in the Philippines are paid to write pieces of propaganda thinly

the gruesome hanging of a man at an he climbed a Íree "a few metres behind the platform where the rally speakers stood" and calmly lowered a rope and

jump

pectedly de Venecia's wife Gina turned up. She said she was there to put the record straight and offered to pay for the foodbeing consumed by the bemused hacks. They were later told that the El Shaddai elders had indeed endorsed de Venecia but that, er, this "shouldnotbe misconstrued as the official position". So it was now clear that the official endorsement had

not beenmade and that Gina to pay for the food and stop the El Shaddai people from lying about her husband. 'Slhat a relief to get back to Hong

was willing

Kong where dull is the colour of elections and outspoken usually refers

to someone who begins a sentence, "may I respectfully suggest that my honourable opponent, might, in certain circumstances, possibly, be not

quiterightabout..." Stepben Vines is Hong Kong for The Independent

correspondent

in London.

IEq

hanged himself, "This incident, May 1,998 THD

GORRDSP0ilIIEI|T

I I J

Borneo erupts ín flames Derrrrot

lfatlouz

ca-ptures tkre fr-rr1z of thre Irrdonesiarr forest fires

orneo's forest fires are out of

control, The onlv fire-

protection that the fire-fighter has against the rugingblaze and choking smoke is a flimsy bandana tted around his face. His water hose is woefully inadequate for its task as

the jet of water was hungrily

consumed by the burning forest. The fire continued, he ran out of water. From the air the scale of the devastation was staggering. A private helicopter firm flew their Bell-205

with a 1500 litre water bucket slung under it. It flew over kilometres of totally destroyed forest, the rf,D GORRÍSPOilDDNT May 1998

enormous trees laid downlike ashen pick-up-sticks.'!lhen the helicopter reached the forest fire and dropped its load, a cloud of smoke arose. The

fire continued. Only prolonged rainfall will douse the flames. For that the waiting continues.

Borneo's fires are caused by man. ElNino's drought overBorneo mayhave exacerbated the problem,

but it is still land clearing of both plantations, transmigration and shifting cultivation along with the careless disposal of cigarettes along

the roadside that has led to the thousand simultaneous fires that

have akeady claimed more than 500,000 hectares of rainforest.

Man reaps what he sows. Maybe, but for the "man of the forest" as the orangutan is known in Indonesian, the fires are a cruel fate. Burnt out of their homes by the fires, hundreds of orphans have been cared for by the Balikpapan Orangutan Society. Many are so ill that they succumb to their injuries. The others are brought back to health and will, when the fires stop burning, be returned to their forest, or what is left of it.

ï Clockwisefrom toþ of oþþosite þa.ge: Outside Balikpaltøn, East Kalimantan, Borneo firefigbters battle tbe uorstfires in 50 years; outside Tengørong, East Kalimanta.n, fa.mers wøtcb belplèssly as the fire aþþroacbes fields; oußide Ba.likpa.pa.n, East Ka.lirnøntan, firefigbters battle forest fire; outside Tengørong, Eøst Kalin't øntan, a føtb er and daugbter uøit anxiously as tbe blaze nears tbeirførm øfter gatbering their rnost ualuable possessions - a W and ø rad.io; in East Kølimantan, tbe Bølikpøpan Ora.ngutan Society is rescuing dozens of injured and fleeing animals. Their clinging to buman bandlers shotus tbeir deþend.ence; Bomeo firefigbters face a wall offire; a burnt-d.own mørþet at Samarinda, East Kalimantan

Photos by Dermot Tatlow May 1998 TtrE

C0RRXSP0I|IIENT

ò t

FCC team takes second place P acific Med ia Tour

Kin

f.eam

of 19 FCC golfers

travelled to Guam for the l999Paclftc Media Tour. This followed on from lastyear's successful trip to Guam and the visit to Hong Kong and Macau by a team from Guam last October. It was therefore a pleasure to see so many friendly faces amongst our opposition. Day one, straight off the plane and not so jetfresh, was a scramble competition at the \Øindward Hills Golf Club.

Challenging, yet lacking the fiendish difficulty and threatening jungle of some of the other courses in Guam this was a perfect warm up for our team of athletes. However the local knowledge and good night's sleep of the Guam team resulted in a marginal defeat in the scramble with their overall 39 under to our own 7 THD c0RRf,SP0lYD[NT Mav 1998

well - tuinningfour of tbe 10 matcbes

continues to improve at the same rate.

You read it here first!

Julian Vzalstr retr)orts on tLre an-nual tournarnent irr Gua-rn ver the weekend of April 17-20

Intrepid FCC duffers sbow tbeir stuff at tbe Guam euent. The fon'nat was betterball møtcbplay and. tbe Club acquitted itself

under total. Best scoring FCC team at 5 under was Stella Ng, Alan Railton, -lØalsh, narrowly James Fu andJulian beaten at 14 under byTJ Hubert, Zeke Kio, General Benny Paulino and Shaun Gumataotao of Guam.

That night we were hosted to

dinner show atthe Pacific Islands Club much enjoyed by ail despite the short downpour. Most, but not all, of

us were well rested and rcady for action the next day as we headed to the more demanding Talofofo course

for the Pacffic Trauel News trophy

chance next year. Best net scores on

the day were Rose Cunliffe of Guam and ourvery ownJames Fu who each scored a rret 6L. Handicap committees

may need to look into this further... Other prizes were as follows: nearest the pin Gilbert Collins (FCC) andJohn Heather (Guam), longest drive Jason Perez (Guam) -under 18 handicap, and Julian Walsh (FCC) - for over 18 handicap. Longest drive not involving

the use of a golf ball went to born again go\fer Terry Duckham - who lost a club headinthe process resulting in an urgent trip to the local K Mart to

competition. Theformatwas betterball rnatchplay and we a c qu itte d ours elve s well - winning 4 of rhe 10 matches -

find a replacement driver. Despite this unusual shot, Terry (who also put a

which was 4 more than had been

tremendous amount of work into

predicted by many.

organising this event) is a man whose

Guam took the

overall trophy (again) but we feel confident that we are in with a good

name can be expected on the of tomorrow if he

leaderboards

A delightful dinnerwas held atthe

Hilton that night at which the awards were presented. Many thanks to Lee \X/ebber of th e Pacific Daily Newswho sponsored the event, James Nelson,

Gina Kono of GVB in Guam and

Douglas King and Kenneth Wan of GVB and Continental Micronesia respectively in Hong Kong for their support in putting all of this together. Manythanks also to Guam's Bill Garris who explained the local rules and

generally looked after the golfing arrangements including the thankless task of compiling all the scores. He was also responsible for introducing us to a new golfing concept called 'bump the ball' -which we hope to use to better effect next time. \Ve look forward to welcoming a Guam team in Hong Kong later this year when we hope to be able to reciprocate their hospitality, but beat them at golf.

May 1998 TEE

GORRESPOI|IIDNT

T home is his castle, andhe andDeborah, who is, he assures me, "the final Mrs Mirsky", have bought avery agreeable

little fortress ln an attractive part of town. The house inquestion has needed

little work. It previouslybelonged to the novelist Sebastian Faulkes, who for a writer seems to have made do a

with a remarkably small number of bookshelves. The Mirsky household requires plenty of these, and a few

hundred yards worth have been installed

accommodate Jonathan

and Deborah's scholarþ requirements. The varnishwas still drying on the stairs when I arrived, but

generally speaking the Mirskys were well settled

in, which was fortunate because the previous month the castle had been more or less under siege.

Having enjoyed

pleasures of relative anonymity in London.

Jn england April is the cruellest I month, On \ùTednesday afternoon I had been happily basking in the

A rntan for all seasons J<>natll,an À4irsk¡z's plan f<>r a" quiet retirelaaent .w/a"s interrupted by a sf)at t>efqzeen Cl-rris Patterì and Rupert À4r-rrdochr. R.obirr L¡rnarrr reports

frorn Lc;ndon

spring sunshine, speeding round the country lanes of Kent in an opentopped sports car. By the same time on Thursday I was standing on the doorstep of Dr

Jonathan Mirsky's new home in Holland Park, my teeth chattering with the cold and brushing the snowflakes off my jacket.

The discomfort thankfully was brief. The former East Asia editor of Tbe Times and long serving FCC board member ushered me hospitably in, directed me to a spot in front of a welcoming log fire, and in the best English tradition set about preparing tea. London suits Mirsky. He regards the city as home, and having found the right house in the right neighbourhood

he appears to have settled back into the Britishwayof life nicely. InLondon, as for an Englishman, an Amelican's TEE C0RRESPOI|I¡ENI May 1998

7h e

Spectator and to

his time on retaineras its Londonbased

me as words "all reporters would

China writer had used only about

recognise as informal chat not meant for publication" went sailing out into

three

cyberspace where they remained until a reporter from The Daily Telegrapb found them.

The British broadsheets like nothing better than to have a go at each other, and this was meat and dlink to the Telegrapbwhich lead on March 4 with Tirues Man Hits at Censor Murdoch. Soon Mirsky found himself also fielding telephone calls lrom Tbe Independ.enT and Tbe Guardian.

"at least 20 possible pieces"

and had been the only British broadsheet not to cover 'Wei Jingsheng's J afirrary press conference in London, suddenly became obsessed with China.

have had my 15 minutes of

fame," Mirsky concluded his Specta.tor piece, "And for the moment The Times has become Chinatown." The 15 minutes may not be over yet, and if nothing else they certainly seems to have been good forbusiness.

I asked which other broadsheets had offered him work and he replìed with a certain satisfaction "all of them", adding modestly that this is probably because they

wish to annoy Stothard and Murdoch.

That m^y

fairly high profile in Hong Kong, Mirsky had been savouring the contrasting

Mirsky, witb wife Deborab, toasts bis new life in London

later describ ed in

have

something to do with it, but it is probably not the main reason the phone keeps ringing. As well as

freelancing for print

Therefore it was, he says, a disagreeable surprise on calling in at the local newsagent to discover

media he

that he was front page

anonymity at the local

appears frequently on radio and television and is unlikely now to regain his former

swimming baths, even if some of his companions Cbt"is Patten, centre, and the uice-regal sþin doctor, Keny McGlynn down there do mix him FCC member recently up with the last governor. returned to London, and with whom In The Times, Stothard defended Mirsky continues to receive news himself vigorously, and in the process he is still in touch. Chris Patten's well of Hong Kong and friends at the club publicised dispute with Rupert launched an attack on Mirsky, by phone and e-rnail, and athough he Murdoch over the latter's clumsy notwithstanding the factthat he was misses his involvement with the FCC attempts to Lrse his ownership of still working for the paper. This, he and the board, neither he nor Deborah says, s/as bad enough, but the last HarperCollins to influence the contents have any regrets about the move to straw was The Tintels refusal to print of his forthcoming book, had activated London - notwithstanding the lousy his own letter to the editor rebutting a time bomb which had been ticking weather. They are hoping, however, the allegations. away on the Internet. to pay us a visit in the not too distant "At that point," he says "I did future, and a warm welcome awaits Back in January Mirsky, retired something I never thought I'd do. I but then still working as a China writer friends from the club in their new for The Times, had taken part in a said 'I'11 sue'." home. 7he Timesresponded by asserting discussion organised by the Freedom Incidentally, Jonathan, if you are Forum on the Hong Kong press. that the letter v/as overlong and reading this, many thanks for the loan Imagining the talk to be off the record contained mistakes, but offered to of your umbrella whichwill be returned he had spoken in a fairly forthright consider printing a modified version. on my next visit in a month or two. manner about his paper's China Reflecting that litigation is a rich man's Thís time I'11 remember to bring my hobby Mirsky withdrew both his letter coverage and the relative lack of it, own. and his services fuom Tl¡e Times, and about a visit to China by the editor, wrote his side of the story in Tbe Peter Stothald, and about Murdoch's Robin Lynam is afreelance uriter influence over editorial. Sþecta.tor. ønd. an outgoing Club Gouernor. Unbeknownst to Mirsky, what he Ironically, Tb e Times,which during @ news. The indirect cause of all the fuss was another

May 7998 IHE

CORRDSPOilIIEI{T

Goodbye, Tb e NùnetÍ,es ; See

you, Lee Yee!

Hong l(ong's tougkr rtlraga-zirl.e e rnziro rrrne nt c I a-irrrs arrotkrer casrtalty. Br-rt perkra"ps tLris one y/a,s o\zer dr-te, sa-),zs Ifin-rrring I-irr

'Tn. closing of Tbe Ninetieswill I only make one difference in my

when more Chinese Communist

life-Iwill

with the true believers and renamed

save about 15 minutes every

month. That was the average amount of time I spent reading this veteran

China-watching magazine at the

atrocities surfaced. He broke ranks the magazine

Tb e

Ni ne t i e s inMay t9 84.

Thatbegan, inmy judgement, the golden eta of The Nineties. Each iss;rte

beginning of each month for the past few years. And I used to devote as much as 15 hours on each issue when I first started reading it more than a

was filled with in-depth analysis and lively debates. To a college student

decade ago.

source

Tbe Nineties published issue number 340 1n lúay and I will not receive number J47 inmy mailbox in June. Citing that the magazine "has completed its historical mission," Lee

Yee, editor-in-chief and founder of Tbe Nineties, said that he is getting old and needs to cut his workload. Choosing a name with a time limit for amagazine perhaps is a headache, Tbe Ninetieswas first pubiishedas The Seuenties inF ebruary 797 0, positioning

itself as the leading journal for the Defend Diaoyu Islands Campaign (Diao).u Islands are claimed by both the Chinese and Japanese governments) widespread in Hong Kong, Taiwan and among Chinese students in North America at that time.

Like most young progressive

like myself studying in the United States, Tlte Ninetiesbecame my major

of information in

Chinese.

Sometimes, I studied the magazine more than my textbooks. Tbe Nineties reached its height in 1989, both in terms of reputation and circulation which was never too large in the first place. Lee Yee and his magazinewere named bythe butcher regime as one of the "black hands" of the Tiananmen movement.

The closure, or failure of Tbe Nineties reflects the sad realities in both mainland China and Hong Kong, Mainland China enjoyed a relatively open period in the years running up to 1989 and Hong Kong also engaged in heated politicisation because of the 1997 take-over issue. The magazine tapped onto the pulse and provided a brilliant forum for debates and analysis during this period. The Tiananmen Massacre onJune

the problem. A L998 piece with the same quality of the 1988 may look well in 1988 but cer-tainlywould not appeal to the readers in 1998. Time seemed to have been frozen with th e magazine roughly the same group of writers repeating similar viewpoints over and over again in the last decade. It just ceased to grow. 7h e Nineties simply did not appeal to readers like myselfwho have grown and developed as the time went by. As 1990s is coming to an end, perhaps it's time for TL¡e Ninetiesto fold as well. A daÍedname also reflects dated contents

and probably should not enjoy any

Quizmistress'W'endy Ricbardson, left, tøkes tbe belm øt the Inter-Club tourna.ment, aboue, Pbilþ Bruce, top left, bolds his troþby with other team members

ft's question time Thre FCC's popular

qub< nighrts lrarze e><panded to arr inter-clul> toLrrnarnent. Vzend). Rictrardson l-ra-s a-ll tkre ansqzers

space in lhe new millennium.

But I was still saddened by the death of Tb e Nineties.Everyone before the hand-over was concernedthat Tb e

Ninetieswottld not survive under the

new regime because of political pressure. People were also worried that Tbe Nineties miglnt follrow Pai S b ing and ConT e mp ora4y which were

forced out of the market due to financial difficulties. But Lee Yee claimed that the closure of his magazine had nothing to do with financial or political factors. I cannot help feeling that a long-

ñ I I

he first FCC inter-club quiz was n.t¿ on Tuesday April )1 in rhe Main Dining Room. A wide variety of clubs fielded teams of six competing for the trophy which is transferable should a visiting

club win

the right to hold

the next

tournament. They were the American Club, Pacific Club, HongKong Cricket Club, Hong Kong Football Club, Hong Kong

Mensa, the 'Waterfront Club, the Snooker Club and two FCC teams, the Ice House Street Irregulars, Ied by

sympathy towards "New China." For a

hope disappeared in this part of the wodd.

whole decade, Tbe Seuenties tried to argue for Peking in a more intelligent

People got tired, scared, disillusioned and disappointed. Politics became the

way than other mainland propaganda publications.

very last item they wanted to pay

time comrade calls it quitinthemiddle of a long and uphill battle out of the blue. \Øe maywell lose in the end, but it's a shame we give it up before being defeated. Kin-ming Liu ß an FCC Board member, uice-cbairyterson of tbe lIong

attention to.

Kong Jounrølists' Assocaition and

of "logos". Each team

opinion page editor of tbeHong Kong Economic Times.

logos represented as well

intellectuals, Lee Yee and many of the magazine's readers belonged to the

"leftist" camp and showed a lot of

It proved to be mission impossible.

No one can defend the indefensible and Lee Yee started to get uncomfortable with the orthodoxy Tf,E C0RIXSPOilDEI|T May 1998

4,1989 changed everything. All of

sudden, the last drop

To be faft, Tbe Nineties always maintained its quality all these years. Afiicles in 1 998 were probably as good as those in 1988. Butthiswas precisely

general knowledge and current affairs, music (in this case one section

sheets

and return them for marking. The scores are recorded on a white board showing round results and the cumulative total. This is watched by

runners up were the otherFCC team, Ementee. This means that the FCC will host the next inter-club quiz some time in

comprises 10 questions, which are read aloud.

After conferring on papef , team members

fill out the answer

every team with hawk-like determination just in case the scorers make a mistake. Some of 'the answers are quite

had until

is not "erections" but "elections".

dinner time to figure out what the 37

(For the curious the basis is the word

The question rounds include

back, the Luftwaffe. One person missed this completely although wearing a Longines watch. The whole evening was deemed to be a great success, even by the teams that lost and they were all invited back to any or all future quiz nights. The winners were the the Ice House Street Irregulars and the

of show tunes and one of Beatles music), and films. Each round

Philip Bruce, and Ementee, captained by Dave Benett. The quiz started almost on time at 6.45pm; the teams having collected their answer sheets for the first round alongside copies of thevisual question

answering eight rounds of questions.

history, geography, food and drink,

hilarious. For example, what occurrences, for adults only, are studied by psephologists? The answer

þseþbos, Greek for a ballot ball).

One of the iogos was for

Longines and not,

September. I wouldlike to give a specialword of thanks to team who have done the marking and scoringfor all the quizzes

they are Margaret Sullivan, Jerry Richardson and Shirley Miller (and occasionally Jutte Roderick).

The next quiz night will be in June. Should you wish to enter a team please call 252\-1,511. Don't forget to tell us your team name.

the answer came May 1.998 THD

CORRDSPOIDDNI

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Chan

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Fax

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and l¡terature. Speeches and corporate copy wriling also undertaken.

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JOANNE BUNKER - STRINGERS MEDIA SERVICES: Business, Finance, Banklng & Forex / Writing / Editing / Research / Speeches. Tel:2575 1339 Fax: 2893 3486 E-mail: jbunker@netvigator.com LYNNE CURRY -Wriler/Researcher specialising in business, finance,Hong Kong China Trade Tel: 2813 1559 Fax: 2813 0302 E-mail; lcurry@hkstar.com ROBIN LYNAM -features on travel, food, wine and spirits, music

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HUBERT VAN ES - News, people, travel, commercial & movie stills Tel: 2559 3504 Fax: 28581721 E-mail: vanes@asiaonline.net KEES PHOTOGRAPHY -- News . Features. Online Tel:2547 9671 Fax: 2547 8812 E-mail: kees@hk.super.net

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FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS JENNIFER BOWSKILL - Specialising in podraits,fashion,events, Commercial & Corporate photography TeVFax.2gT 6678 Pager:71168968 #8&18

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Sole agent of Nikon cameras, Hasselblad cameras, Linhof cameras, Elinchrom studio flash system, Epson LCD portables TV

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Manager Phillip Bruce 28247700 Manager Terri Lai 28247705

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Function: Developing Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok

Agent of Epson multi-media projector

ray

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The main role with be to edit two daily newsletter including co-ordinating special features around the region. ln addition the

welcomes contributions Freelance

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1 bed with study or, 2 beds. Fully/partly furnished or unfurnlshed. Panorama view. Close to MTR, buses

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Head of Research Worldsec lnternational Limited 11/F Bank of America Tower 12 Harcourt Road, Central, HK Fax: (852) 2845 1655

May 7998 THI

CORRESP0ilDEI{T

-T--

Club staff reach milestones

Golf Guam -\

Outgoing Club President Keith Richburg and his successor, Diane Stormont, officiated at a ceremony attended by

way

General manager Bob Sanders honouring members of the kitchen, bar, office and support staff who celebrated employment milestones. Several long-time employees received special commemorative plaques for reaching 25years of selv1ce.

FIKfi4,

Photos by I(ees Metselaar ,E

;3,

ìl¿ tì ¡ 'a'",ì''

;rl.E

;'' rl,

':'4,

Dauid.'lYong, Keitb lee, Micbøel Tsang, Steuen Kwok and. Samm.y Cheung

Albert Au-Yeung, Yiþ Cbung Hing and office staff

tI Keitb Ricbburg and Diane StorrnonÍ

Including two games of golf at one of Guam's lnternational Golf Resorts, transfers and accommodation at the Hilton Hotel, Tumon Beach, Guam

Call Reservation 2524

6178

PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

Keitb Ricbburg and. Sammy Cbeung

The Professional Contacts page appears every month in The Correspondent and on the FCC Correspondent web site at >http://www.fcchk.org < .Let the world know who you are, what you do and how to reach you. There has never been a better time. Listings start at just $100 per month, with a minimum of a six month listing, and are billed monthly to your FCC account.

Bob Sanders and. auard receiuerc

copy

3Hnes@$150

small box @ $300x6mths / $250x11

mths E

2hnes@$100

4Hnes @ $200

copy attached

5ünes@$250 Keith Ricbburg and

Large box @ $600x6mths / $550x11mths

Keitb Ricbburg and Dauid Wong

Large box w/ spot colour @ $700x6mths / $600x1lmths

FCC Membership No. Company Name: Address: Signature: For more information te

Keitb Ricbburg and Xlicbael Tsang

2512 9544 or fax 2575 8600

THI CORRXSP0NIIDNT Mav 1998

Resta.ura.nt staff utitb Micbael Tsang

and Keitb lee May'J.998 THD CORRXSPOilllDilr

Gone fishin' By Kevin Sinclair Out into the wilds of the South China Sea go

the intrepicl duo of Robin Lynam and Kalin

Birthday iurrk-et

Malmstrom. No ordinarl'lreelance assignment this; they

are on the track of the eh,rsive pink dolphins who du,'ell in the rnuddy, polluted, frenetic waters bet¡¡'een tlie new airport at Chek Lap Kok and the unsightly huge power station at Black's Point. Blave dolphins; few animals would choose to live in these filthywaters constantly disturbed

barges, fishing tlaq'lers and speeding jetboats on their way to Macau and

Small wonder the creatures are dwindlìng a dismaying rate of 27 per cent a

year.

team was providecl to enslrre adeqllate supplies of sustenance and refreshment. The good doctol clonned his sterile, rarely worn anaesthetist's jacker for the special occasion. S\üØAT

by dledgers,

Pearl Rivel ports. In a few u'eeks, the beautiful mammals n'ill also have the constant scream of jumbo jets adding to their discomfort.

The FCC junk (well, the East Asiatic Company junk borrowed by tl-re Club) l,as plrt to sea to celeblate Mike Moles' birthdal, (he's notsayinglvhich one). An FCC cateling

Elliott-Sbircorc anel

È .Ê

Tearing themselves from the wild life at the Q prLrstLe þirtk ÀdainBar, or-rrmal-itime correspondents tr.avelled Ma.mmal-cbase.rs Robitt Lyrtam ancl Karirt Mctlllxstronx dolpbins it'tsteacl of þink elelphants to distant chek Lap Kok to catch a boat laden heavily with envilonmentalists. Thele q'ere gallons of You can take the boys and girls out of the Main Bar, but l'realthy fruit ddnks and sparkling u.ater. But Lynam was not yoLr can't keep a goocl correspondent down. a Boy Scout for nothing. He remernbeled the motto: Be Keuin Sinclair was likeu,ise equiþþed, ruifb a cold prepared. In his camela bag was a cl'ieeky young cabelnet bag stocked witb ct, liuely charclonnay and a ratbet'zÌng¡' sauvignon and a corksclew Þinot noir

Lips are sealed The Club's infamous Red Lips Brigade

tlekked to foreign climes - the reciplocal Club Militar in Macau - to celebrate a "significant milestone" of an unnamed member. Further details coulci not be obtained from the brigade's staff s

Leaving with abang

Cô

headqr-rarters.

Des McGahan, APM Prism supremo best known for his years of handling the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, celebrated his departure from Hong Kong by firing the Noonday Gun on April 21. Des and his wife Lisa will be settling in their two substantial homes in Ireland after an extensive around the world trip.

In transit FCC vetelan Jack Spackrnan s'as spottecl at Syclney Airport by fellow'Club McGaban, Fionnuala Hølligan, Darcy McGaban, Des McGaban and Marlene lee pose infront of tbe gun.

Photos by David Thurston

THE CORRf,SPONIIEHT À{av 1998

member Ken Ball who hacl a carÌ-ìera handy. Jack had just arrivecl from San Francisco to celebrate the Él5th birthday

l-ris

mother Dolis.

NIa1

1998 THE

C0RRXSPONDENT

A montbly portrøùt of FCC ùrcepløceøbles

THINKING INTERNET? No responsible communicator would consider launching a marketing campaign without careful planning. Right?

why do so many stumble blindly into cyber-wilderness. with barely a second thought, resulting in ineffective campaigns, huge overruns and, ultimately, embarrassment? So

Don't become of those who succumbed to "Internet Fever" only to discover that WWW often means "What Went'Wrong?" New Media Communications offers professional. guidance to help businesses plan and implement Internet initiatives from strategy through execution. More importantly, we ensure your on-line marketing integrates with existing promotional activities and meets your corporate objectives. Staffed by marketing, publishing and Internet experts, NMC does not build cookie-cutter solutions. Listening and learning about your business and turning this into tailored on-line campaigns is one of our greatest assets. And yours.

Think carefully. Think NMC.

David Thurston Member since: Age:

Profession:

Nationality: Least likely to say: Most likely to say:

A long time ago. Count the teeth. Photographer, scribe and retiring golfer. \Øest Country. The SoutbCbinø Morning Post is a gre t and generous newspaper, I'11 see you in Phuket.

IT PAYS TO

THINKAGAIN New Media

Pltotograþbed by Angie Golt