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

THD

CORRDSPOTTDDNT July 1998

President Clinton's wbirlwind uisit to Cbina, including a stop Hong Kong THE FORXIGN CORRESFONDENTS' CLIJB 2 Lo¡ver Alìrert Roacl, Hong Kong Teleohone: ¿i21 15ll Firx: 2868 4092 ' Email: [cc@lct lrk.org l)iâne Stt>rnlont Presldent Phil Segal Flßa vlce Presldent Richardson Second Vlce Presldent -

Hong Kong on

--Jerry

its first

a.nniuers;ny as

Sþecial Ad.ministrcttiue Region of China Journallst Memb€r Govemoñ Lirr Kin Ming. Frrncis ltlor¡:ìn)

Assælate Member GoYernoß VilÌiam H Areson Jr , Kevin Egan, C¿rrl Rosenquist, Steve UshiYrma

F¡rìaflce Committee Ttedsuter: william H Areson Jr

Prcfesslonal Coflmlttee

Afirst band accoun¡ a.nd pboto esscty, of

lots: Liu Kin-nrin¡¡ and John Coluey

Cot I rPt

Multi-medla Cot t t ?n

tbe uþbeaual in Indonesia

comittee

or: Brirn.lefferies

Planning Cofirñlttee Conuetror: Jerry Richardson

Memberstrlp Comnlttee Co[¿]errot Hul)en F & B and

v¿rn Es

Entertalnment

Comittee

a'otttetrots: Kevin ligan ancl Carl Rosenqu¡st

wall coflmlttee Conueilor: Hubert r'¿rn Es Freedom of the Press Commltte€ Co t u)e n

r: Francis Mor¡îrty

FCC G€neral Manager Rol)ert SandeÍs

Hong Kong's new aitþoft, or Cbek Lap Rok in tbe uernacula.r, oþens not quite o.ccording to þlctn

The Correspondent EDITORIAL Satrl Lockhart, Editor Tcleplxrne: 2813 5284 Fax: 21313 6394 Flnlail: 100426 1233@corupuserye corì

Publlcatiofls

Comittee

Cot ruetx ¡r: l,aUl Brvf¡eld I(rr1, Dtrcklrrrn. RObin l,ynrtrrr, Kees Melsehtt, Krren PenJin¡¡ton. Hul)ert \,ân Es

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PRODUCTION AsiJpix Print Scn ¡ces 'fel: 25i 2 9544 Fax:2575 it600 !]rril: :rsiap!x@hk linkage net PRINTER

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On the road with Clinton

ÉIrrrrran rigtrts Human Rights Press Awards

Asia in crisis Don't drop the China

A state-of-the-art PR pratfall

2a--

Pfofessional

24-

flook

conta-cts

rerzieu'

Reporter Dinah Lee's first novel tells true story

aO. Feati¡re Handover anniversary

L6-

The SAR vs rhe media

rb.

Ffofrr

The weekJakarta burned

26.

Social

2a.

FCC faces

affairs

MaryJrìstice Thomasson

THE CORRESFONDENT WEB SITE <lìttp:/./w\\,.fcchk org>

l99tJ Tlìe.F()r-e¡gn Corrcspondcnts. Chrb ()f H()ng K()nts

Cover photograph by Robyn Beck/AFP

July 1998 Tf,E CORnxSPOlfIlEIfr

Canon G

,l'

t €

The SARvs the media

Ë \r

{* p

verytime I walk to the

FCC along

I've seen potential targets ranging

J-./Lower Albert Road past the

from Lee Kwan Yew and known zillionaires to teenybopper pop star

Central Government Offices (CGO),

run my fingers along the railings that were erected after the Handover. It's a meaningless gesture. But it sums up

the meaninglessness of the railings. \Øhy were they put up and what was the point?

Okay, so Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has placed his offices in the CGO. That required better security all round. You c anargte fhatGovernment House was and is protected by spiked

railings, too.

But no one can take a short-cut through the grounds of Government House as one still does through the

idols of the momentwandering around the streets here. Before the Handover,

visits by British royals or senior politicos, even during times of heightened activítybylrish extremists, but not to the were tightly policed extent we are seeing -now. '$Øhen friends and family overseas ask me what's changed in Hong Kong

since the Handover, they are clearly disappointedto hearthere are no tanks inNathanRoad andlife here, outwardly

CGO grounds. I don't see any railings

aîyway, is little changed. 'lflith a major exception. And that started on the night of the Handover when the Democrats gave their "We

outside Mr Tung's residence at

shall return" address from the balcony

Grenville House either. And there was never any question about turning the

music played by the police at a volume

front drive of the gubernatorial

that would make even a teenager

mansion into a commercial carpark

wlnce.

after office hours. \Øould the railings around the GCO deter a car bomber? I think not. He or she need merely drive in when the courqrard becomes a carpark (and the rates aren't bad for Central) to wreak horrendous damage to late-working

Before the Handover, anhourwas even for the

/ .'{, ç

.lt

on a bus for neady three hours ahead of JiangZemin's arrival thanks Phil. Shame the other aspects of the airport launch weren't quite so slick!

So what's going on? That's a question the correspondent and

were known which cannot be said of many -guests. 'Which gives credence to the Potemkin theory of security. It's all for show. The questions we'd like to know are

lucþ.

,ì;

experienced no knownbugs ahead of the opening) to mollify hacks who hadbeen sittingwithout food or drink

during the visits of Presidents Jiang

searched and settle in, members of the Hong Kong-based media were not so

û"

(which I have on good authority

beware!You mightbe next. Anyway, it's unlikely. All journalists had to register in advance. Their identities

nineyear-old on a Twinky-bender. '\?hat we have are the Railings Potemkin. 'Sl'e've been lucþ in Hong Kong. In the past three decades since the Cultural Revolution spilled over into the streets of Hong Kong, it's been an extremely safe place to live, work and

deadline. The intervention by FCC member Philip Bruce of the Airport Authority prevented one near-riot he came - from the up with a trayful of burgers Chek Lap Kok airport McDonald's

for that, most of them ashoary as "the dogatemyhomework, Miss". And just as insincere. That was demonstrated and Clinton. '!Øhile invited guests could directly

'We've heard several explanations

of Legco only to be drowned out by

approach the various venues, get

in order to meet

journalistmembers of the FCC andthe Hong Kong Journalists' Association have asked the administration. Are hacks intrinsically less trustworthy than other sectors of the community? Those around the Main Bar who subscribe to such theories

or eady-rising MPs. I doubt the new security measures would slymie

one correspondent had to give up and

head off to file

who's supposed to be impressed by the sham? And are the real security risks being addressed?

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the average lead time

- II. But for visit of Queen Elizabeth

Clinton andJiang, we had to arrive in one case five hours before the event the in another case four hours

play. -W4ratever one's view of the police and securily selices, it cannotbe denied that they've successfully kept a lid on

-average was thrss þeu¡5-¡ebe -bused

terrorism of just about every stripe.

searched more than once. More than

from the CGO to the event and

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President Clintonfound time during bis uery briel uisit to Hong Kongfor a chinwag uitb both Cbief Executiue Tung Cbee-bua(Left) ønd tbe Democratic Paú))'s Mañin Zee (below)

ft s.e

ñ Chinese satellite operators who have a different concept of urgency and a

lack of air conditioning (the Câ

È 9, e-

È Tbe Clintons

tbe

Forbidden Cíty

euer tbe tourists

On the r.oadwith Clirrton

nerworks had it all), APTV China was not always a pleasanf- place to be! \X4ren the rù(/hite House press corps

arrived at the Golden Orchid Shangrila Hotel in Xian after their 19-hour flightfrom slashington, the entire staff of the hotel lined up either side of a red carpet andapplauded everyone of the dazed and disorientated j ournalists into the hotel. Shepherded through the allocation of accommodation and accreditation,

È q q

ìñ they were led to a sumptuous buffet, midnight local time, heaven knows

what their body clocks were doing, before being gr,rided to their allotted seats in the Filing Centre to report every nuance of

Is trarzelling q¡ithr tkre President of tkre lJnited States irt a,tt entollrage A4¿lrk Bctjtlejt <>f of rrrore tLran a tkrousa,nd fr-rn? .\sk London-based .A'ssociated Press TV

their impressions of China.. .sofar.

Xian offered an orgy

\V/" W

should have started *o.rying when it took over

an hour for the luggage to reach the carousel at Beijing airport. It seems there was a problem opening the cargo doorofthe aeroplane.

Clearing two tons of television equipment through Chinese customs was the next hurdle Even for such an .

days of miniaturisation, is standard travelling kit for a television news agency to cover events like this for its international subscribers.

Mr. Clinton's itinerary doubled our usual requirement because, while he had the freedom of Air Force One, we were subject to the vagaries of commercial timetables.

auspicious occasion as the visit of President Clinton, tight watch was being kept on illegal importation of communications equipment. A simple pair of headphones started a

As he travelled from China's ancient

one hour discussion about the legality of our luggage. The huge

venue.

amount of equipment, even in these

Imperial capital of Xian to its most recent acquisition of Hong Kong, we were waiting for him at each stop, leapfrogging teams to each As an internafional news agency, Associated Press TV has deadlines in

olphoto opport unities

every time zone. As most of the events

from the welcoming

on the tour were scheduled to fit primetime viewing in the US and

ceremony with endless singing and dancing by

China, we had to juggle our satellite feeds into London to supply the rest of the world with pictures to fit their

children in traditional

costume to the cosy chat

with local villagers. The Clintons posed smiling among the Teracotta \ùi/arriors of the Qin :Þ Dynasty, dubbed ins= tantly by Fourlh Estate ¡ wags as the clay-footed * forerunners to today's

schedules. \Øe also supply a unilateral service

to broadcasters who don't want to bring all their own equipment. Sadly, they all seemed to want to use it at the same time. \øith up to 20 excited journalists of different nationalities in our small office talking loudly on phones while demanding satellite

feeds and directing their picture editors, heated conver-sations with

closest be came to the FCC

Fong-

tbe

affair, the qlder members bringing along their stools and refreshments to watch the voices and faces of American network TV strut their stuff. Beijing had been scrubbed and washed for the visit, at least the parts that would fall under the Presidential gaze.The Red Flag Decoration factory was glad of the boost to business and

their products adorned Tiananmen Square. Newly sewn Stars 'n' Stripes hung beside their traditional product, providing an appropriate backdrop for the live camera positions set up in the square. Infactmost of theAmerican networks preferred to be seen in a 'traditional' Chinese Garden settìng,

agents surrounding the

conveniently located at the back of their hotel some distance from the Forbidden City. A side trip to Guilin called for only one camera crewwho enjoyedthe day

American First Family.

sightseeing, watching the security boat

in lan Kwai

TV journalists speakinglive to their

studios were obviously not an ev eryday affair inXian,gathering huge audiences outside the press hote1. Itwas afamrly

È stone-faced Sec¡et Service

July 1998 THD

C0RRXSPONIIENT

break down and occasionally having the Clintons wave at them from a distant cl'u1sef

Shanghai

felt the strain as the

presidential entourage and press corps

combined to take over the portman Ritz Cadton Hotel and its environs. A 37-vehicle cavalcade, plus the press buses, made sure that no-one in town was immune from disruption. A sign

in the foyer warned guests to

add

fifteen minutes to theirveftical journey schedules, deadlines notwithstanding,

Covering the Americans Beijing-based forrrrer FCC President Peter SeirJlitz descrit>es xzl-rat it takes to cover thre Arrrericans

since half of the elevators were assigned to the \X/hite House party.

Trying to record a story about Shanghai's property development proved unusually tricþ since we could find nobody actually doing any construction. Building workers at sites around the hotel had been sent home

for the duration of the visit to avoid disturbing the guests.

Leaving China

for Hong Kong

caused only one moment of anxiety.

Aside from the regular battle to load our excess baggage onto the airport conveyor, would customs let us take out the contested set of headphones?

he last fun American Embassy I

knew was in Moscow in the

Yes, American diplomats abroad have changed roles with the Russians,

Eighties, when CNN's Ted Turner had

They have become secretive and

just opened his first bureau abroad and correspondents filed once ortwice

guarded, like the Russianswere dr.rring the Cold \X/ar. In contrastthe Russians are the ones who act openly and

a week, rather than daily.

Marines used to play poker with foreign correspondents, the political officers shared information, nonAmericans couid get a hamburger

in the Embassy on invitation, there was a

throw parties. Russian Ambassador Rogachev, a former Deputy Foreign Ministerwho speaks excellentChinese, comes to the Beijing FCC, talks freely

and accepts invitations for dinner at

home unlike

Sasser. If US diplomats seek contacts with non-American foreign correspondents they, like the KGB in

disco onFridays

run by the guards and the

Being one of the first arcivals at

Ambassador,

Hong Kong's new airport at Chep Lap Kok, Mr Clinton, like President Jiang Zemin before him, suffered no delays at the carousel for the presidential suitcases. His smoothprogress through

ArthurHartman,

casually dropped in to parties thrown by

the Seventies, always have a purpose.

meetings and greetings continued

correspondents.

unabated, with a short hiccup when a Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre lift tried to make him Stay the Extra Day. As it turned out, he stayed about an extra 11 minutes en route to

Hartma nw a s generous with

Militaryattachés

information and

officers with

his limousine. Officially it was

or political

invitations to

obscure career

Spaso F{ouse, his grand resi-

backgrounds r

dence, a stones

mechanical failure. Unofficially, the Chinese press pointed the finger at

throwfrom the

s N

complete with bullet-proof vests and

Kremlin, where he hosted great

heavyweight security guards,

weapons, who crowded

in with

POTUS, Secret Service's code name for the President. After so many shaken hands and photo calls with his hosts, it was only fair that he should eventually address

dinners, film

Tlte Clintons pose

dances. 'What a contrast to the US Embassy in Beijing ir'1.998. America is now the only superpower and she behaves like

the hardworking press corpswho had

one. The Americans act like the

flown so far to catch his every word.

Russians

By that time, though, was there really

-diplomats don't talk or mix.

anything left to

say?

'S(/'e

didinthe Sixties andSeventies the marines are reclusive, their US

can'twaitforhimto go to India at the end of the year, to do it all over

Ambassador Sasser doesn't even share

againl

he reportedly did not Ambassadors - on Clinton's visit. even brief them

@ TEI

G0RRESPOilDEI{T July 1998

information with other European

ò'

* I

leaks attributed to them could set back their careers, making them extremely careful. The jolly crew in the US Embassy in Moscow was the first to feel Reagan's change of policy. Arthur Hartmann, a caÍeer diplomat and a superb Ambassador, was fired and sent into early.retirement (to his castle

Nøh at

in France) for alleged "security

openness? President Ronald Reagan, angered by leaks to the press, gave

the Embassy during pafiy time and told to stop mingling with journalists. And the most famous American

school

happened to

the American

orders to US diplomats to curb their contacts with correspondents. Now US diplomats abroad have to report on such contacts, not unlike the rules Russian and Eastern bloc diplomats had to observe during the Cold \Øar. It has become quite dangerous for US diplomats to keep close company

with foreign correspondents. Any

\ I

President Clinton at Beijing Uniuersity

breaches" in the Embassy. The poker playing Marines were even accused of helping Russian spies get access to

uitb local

evenings and

ì I

N-

correspondent of that time and place, Dusko Doder of the Wasbington Post, came under FBI suspicion of being a KGB spy and lost his job. His "suspicious" Yugoslavian background did not help him and he later fought a coult battle with Timeto regain his

reputation after one of its writers picked up the story from the FBL In

the meantime Dusko had come to Beijing lor US News t World Report. He won his legal battle, which lasted several yeárs, and is now in \üTashington with the Peace Institute. This tough lesson in Moscow in7986 has made US diplomats based in the last bastion of communism, the People's Republic of China, intensely security conscious. They see enemies

no access to internal briefings by staff to US correspondents only, but

have to write on stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong? How do you cover the President ifyou have no pfess access? The answer is to organise yourself like a Nineties hack: Bunker yourself (with laptop) into a downtown hotel with CNN, BBC and CNBC plus good

all around them. \)Øith this frame of mind in the

room service, and an internet

administration, and suspicion against all non-Americans, it is no surprise that a statevisit like Clinton's became

Reuters News and DowJones.

an all-Amèrican affair for the !Øhite House press cofps. This self-styled elite are the supporting actors opposite the President on the nightly news. They were the ones with reserved seating up front at press conferences.

How do you cover President Clinton's trip if you are not part of the \Øhite House press corps, have

connection to put you in touch with

If you work for radio, you have no option but to stay in your hotel room because the stations call nonstop and you can't afford to go out for even a few hours. This system is now so pervasive that not only the hacks covering the Clinton visit adopted it, but also those

who reported on the Indonesian from the comfort of first crisis

- inJakarta. class hotel JLtly

1998 Tf,E GORRESPOilIIENT

Don't drop the China

million people-moved from inland farms and towns to the cities, seeking

a better life. Now, an estimated 20-

of the SOEs' workers-up to 50 million people-are considered surplus. As the graph inclicates, 500/o

By David O'Rear

(luire aparr from the southeast \lnsianlKorean, and Japanese

crises is the third Asian crisis: China,s

refolrnation. The challenge north of the borderis really quite simple: wean

state-owned enterprises (SOEs) off government subsidies by making them pay market rates for capitaland other inputs

and pay their debts

- both massive layoffs while avoiding and the collapse of the social welfare system. Oh, and don't let the banks go under and keep creating new jobs at a rate of 8-10 million a year,

employment is contracting in various rest of Asia's woes), this is now being

twelve months was the slowest since

reconsidered. Restructuring an

parts of China, sometimes at an

1.990.

alarming rate. Unemployment leads to unhappiness, which leads to anger, which leads to Lrnrest. Skip the Maotai; make mine a Molotov Cocktail.

economywhile things are boomingis difficr-rlt, at best. People need to be laid off, retrained and reemployed. Companies have to retool to make products that people actually want to

buy, while cutting expenses to the point of profit (oh, and paying their debts). Employees have to eat, sleep, receive medical treatment, educate their kids an d aIl that. Graduates have to find jobs. Managers have to learn how to manage.

. Foreign

trade

- import growth to June 1998, China's

(in US dollar terms) compared to the mid-1.996 ro end7997 peiod; this is not a good sign. During the same period, the pace of export growth expanded 77.20/0. If you can't sell it at home, ship it contracted

3.60/o

overseas. Unfortunately, the SOEs that are hurting the most are the ones that

can't compete in world markets.

investments are rising. However, the

Capital investment

Premier Zhu Rongji, the only

Share ofTotal

Northeast Greater Shanghai

senior Chinese

leader ever promoted to one of China's top posts on the basis of an economic track record, has two choices on how he handles this small

problem. He could goforthe "bigbang"

effect, and push very hard on deregulating, removing price controls and freeing up entre-

multi-national corporations are aII

Staff & Workers (Jan-Mar 1998)

region!

The gov-

ern-ment, local companies and

EMPLOYMENT

challenges facing the rest of the

Sichuan

slowingdowntheir pace of investment. In the first third of the year, foreign investment commitments rose 72.20/o over

-April 7997, but

Greater Beijing

actual. cash on the table didn't gros/ at

Central Provinces

all. The check's in the mail.

Greater Guangdong

. Liquidity

lin;

Gre

ater

ply indicators are Sb

a.ngb ai :

angb ai,

Zbejiang, Jiangsu, Anbui; Sicbua.n: Sicbuan, Cbongqing; Nortbutest : Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Sbaanxi, Gansu, Qingbai, Ningxia, Xitliang;Greater Beijing Beijing, Tianjin, Sbandong, Hebei; Centrøl Prooínces: Sbanxi, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan; Grea.ter Guøngd.ong : Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan ;

Soutbutest : Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan

preneurial energies. This is one route to take, but given the USSR's results with a similar approach

(the country vanished), perhaps not the best one. The alternative is to take

it slow, and hope that the central

government's fiscal coffers don't run

dry before the positive effects of

splinting in the middle of an econornic El Niño. If statistics are to be believed (and they aren't; just look at the trend, not the numbers):

. Consumer sales

rationalisation kick in. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is in a hurry. 'What Mr Zhu intended to do was

nearly as ftantically as in the

to push very hard, but as China is in the slow period of one of its regular growth cycles (quite unrelated to the

mid-Nineties. How many TVs, VCRs, washing machines does a family need? Growth in consumer sales in the last

THE CORtrXSPOilDDI|T Juty 1998

Chinese

- but not consumers are still buying,

20 million people receiving

unemployment benefits.) In the longer run there are two steps that would lead to Chinese companies and banks becoming muchmore efficient. First, there needs to be an alternative soulce of financing

for the welfare net. The danwøi's (work unit) days are over. Until and unless the cost of supporting families,

schools, hospitals,

canteens,

apartment blocks and a host of other obligations is removed from the SOEs' books, they will not be creditworthy,

increase

let alone solvent. Foreign insurance companies, banks and corporations

spending on unemployment benefits,

have the expertise to take on a portion

A second option is to

The second is to legislate a very

strict set of accounting standards, and then enforce it with a vengeance. Accountants, properly trained and

compensated, must fear being caught

and punished for violating the laws

and regulations. They must feal it more than they fear losing their jobs, breaking friendships ol going along with the flow. Then, and only then, will banks change from pawn shops to financial institutions. Then, and only then, will they be able to lend money on the strength of a good set ofaccounting books, a good project, and a good name.

Dauid" O'Rear is regionøl econoTnist at tbe Ecot'tomist Intelligence Unit, and. is frigbtened .tbat so ma,ny people tbinþ be's an optimist.

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more slowly thana

year or two ago. Moreover, the ratio

of loans to

de-

posits fell below 1:1

Slow going Mr Zhu proposed to undertake this exercise in political tightrope

three year time frame Mr Zhu has set for himself.

companies don't pay as much in taxes. (One estimate sees a cost of 7o/o of GDP, or about Rmb75 billion, for every

this burden.

All

China'smoneysup-

Southwest

payback time for most types of infrastructure is much more than the

and during economic slowdowns

of this expense, but the lules mttst change for them to risk absorbing

January

Northwest

N ort h e a st Hei I ongj i ang, Li 6toning, Ji

Working it out

\fhat to do? One option is to print more money and pr-rmp it into make-work infrastructure projects. That appears to be the strategy this time, as domestically funded capital

preferablyinsmaller

towns.'ùØe11, it is simple when compared to the

In the 18 months

anesthetising the patient while you rip his lungs out. This is not feasible as the central govelnment is already running an official (and understated) budget deficit of about Rmb55 billion,

in the first quarter of 7996 and hasn't recovered since. This has helped curb inflation, but at a cost in both economic growth and jobs. Cornpanies creating jobs need money, ar.d availability is tight. . Unemployment-Like most deve-

loping countries, there ar.e no unemployment figures for China cornparable to those in the US or Europe. Still, there is arnple evidence that joblessness is rapidly glowing.

Duringthe rnid-Nineties, some

10% of the population (conserwatively) 120

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July 1998 THD

CORRXSPOI|IIENT

One yeaf aftef...

perhaps simply the Beijing chiefs also

want to give the "one-country, t!vosystems" formula a chance to work. It must be remembered that in most instances, Beijing did do exactly what it said it would do when it took over the territory. The democratically-

Ha"s it t>een- a. yeal alrea"dy? Forrrrer FCC president l<e¿ty'J l?i<;y':Zzøtrg, uzho s/a-s in office during tkre Ha-ndorzer, rerzieuzs ttre past txzelve rrrorrtkrs

elected legislature was unceremoniously thrown out, and replaced

with an appointed body that never

Jn".. were the ceremonies and I the fireworks, the speeches and

the Chinese flag. David Chu even invited us all to an "I Told You So" lunch one year later it was held

memorabilia and the kitcshy Handover souvenirs. There were the cheers and the tears, and also, ofcourse, the fears. That was one year ago at midnight

June 26.

the banquet dinner, the pricey

June 30, when the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong reverted to Mainland Chinese control to become the Special Administrative Region of the People'sRepublic, under

the then untested formula called "one country-two

And so, one year on, it is fair to look back and ask what, if anything, has changed here in Hong Kong. '$Øere

were enacted to require police

imperialists have been left untouched. Prince Edward Station is still there, as is the Admiralty. There is, as yet, no "Unification Boulevard. "

permission for public demonstrations

The Hong Kong government has changed, but in ways subtle and

right? And did we in the press get it right or get it wrong? From the start, what is surprising

secretaries, for the first time, are now

subjected [o any draconian new restrictions, and the judiciary has

all Chinese. But expatriates are still holding their own at the deputy levels,

is how little here has changed. It

with a few concerns over

occupying an estimated 20-25o/o of

the positions, according estimates

to the of the

Information

Ser-

descended on the territory for a media event not seen since

vices Department

the South African

McGlynn,

(whose own Deputy Director (Overseas), Kerry

was press secretary to

elections, brought

here mainly be-

Patten who was deridedbyBeijing as a "whore for a thousand geneIa Þ rations".) Expats E ù have even been allowed to sit

comingofChinese $ rulemightm.".ra.t $

erosion of Hong E Kong's traditional È freedoms andway As time goes

I with !

on..

of life. In the run-up to the historic event,

we at the FCC hosted a series of Handover-related functions, particularly Club luncheons and daily

press conferences, where those boosters and the sceptics were able to lay out their cases for the assembled press, foreign and local. Martin Lee, Emily Lau and others warned about a possible loss ofjudicial integrity, press freedom, and the right to hold public protests. Ronnie Chan, David Chu, Tsang Yok-sing and others loosely defined as the pro-Beijing camp told us all would be fine, that Hong Kong would flourish, even prosper, under lED CORRf,sPollDtl{T July 1998

Overall, however, even those voicing early fears have said, one year on, that the worst has not come to pass. The local press has not been

long in coming. The Executive Council and the department

journalists

local fears that the

and to register societies. The definition of subversion is still being discussed.

the sceptics justified in their concerns? 'Were the pro-China boosters proven

systems." And some 7,000 of

cause of the widely-voiced

gained popular legitimacy. New rules

after past representatives of the

struck me just recently as a rode past the Prince of \øales Building in Central, once headquarters of the British garrison but now housing the contingent of the People's Liberation Army. The name is still there intact on the building's side, although added for the anniversary was the exhortation, in Chinese characters; "Love The Motherland, Love Hong Kong." The street names have been left including Queen's Road - Patten may be one of Central. Chris the few British governors without a road in his memory, but those named unchanged

Chinese

delegations representing Hong Kong at international

conferences. Perhaps more surprising, even to the most ardent pre-Handover sceptics, has been the degree to which China has adopted a low profile and a hands-

off attitude towards their newest possession. Perhaps it is because the authorities in Beijing see little need to

directly interfere, with a Chief in place aheady attuned to the central

Executive and government

authorities' wishes. Perhaps,

some

have suggested, the Mainland is conscious of the international attention

still focused on Hong Kong. Or

continuedto operate largely

before,

cases in which the judges have refused to rule against Mainland Chinese interests. There are almost daily demonstrations

Building balcony

Tbe Democrøtic Party: Back on the legisløtiue Council

on Hong Kong's streets.

The biggest change, say many expatriate residents, is that the taxi drivers suddenly seem nicer than before. "If we look back before the

locals about how things were "better under the British". The biggest jolt to

Handover, when askedwhat their main

battering of the local economy- the highest jobless rate in 75 years, and the falling stock and currency markets.

concerns were, many Hong Kong people said their freedoms fear of - rule of erosion of human rights, the law and so on," said Tsang Yok-sing of the Democ¡atic Alliance party. "I

don't think Hong Kong people are seriously worried about those issues anymore. In those areas, I thinkthere's very good reason to celebrate." But even as the fears on the political fronthave abated, concerns have come

in totally unexpected

¿¡ç¿5

1þs

- long economy, and, potentially more term, in the public's perception of the Hong Kong administration and its

reputation for efficiency and competence. A series of unrelated mishaps

from Bird Flu and Red Tide

to the disastrous opening of

the

problem-plagued new airport at Chek

Lap Kok

suddenly have Hong

Kongers questioning whether the myth of Hong Kong's administrative prowess was really just that, a myth. Most of the problems, of course,

cannot be blamed on China or the SAR government. But that has not stopped a few cynical comments from

Hong Kong's much-vaunted confidence has come with the

The pro-China boosters before the Handover would point to the soaring stock prices and unwoddly property rates as proof of a bullishness about the return to China; those same voices

ate largely silent now.And did the I think we did, in the sense that the reporters who have lived here for a while accurateTy and faidy reflected the ambivalence in the community about the Handover, and their genuine fears. The factfhat many of those fears later (so far) were not pfess get it fight? For the most part,

realised does not, in hindsight, mean

' they should not have been given voice

in print. The pro-democracy

advocates and others concerned about Hong Kong's future were speaking for a large segment of the population that feared for their rights under Chinese rule, as evidenced by the strong support they received in Iast May's elections. Those fears are still there, but largely abated one yeaf on.

Martin Lee, when I spoke to him last, suggested that it was the intensity of

p_ress

coverage, and the consistent

shouting of the pro-democracy

advocates, thal may have prevented some of the worst fears from being realised. That is N,hy, in his view, it is

impofiant to keep shouting, to stay vigilant. Andthat is why, unlike Tsang, he says it is still too early to celebrate. The parachute journalists may have come and gone. But the resident correspondents are still here, and still vigilant. I suspect political issues will again force theirway onto Hong Kong's like calls for a quicker pace agenda particularly after of democratisation, President Clinton's endorsement of an

accelerated schedule during his whidwind trip. The debate over the definition of subversion will provide another crucial point of debate. A newly assertive and democratic legislature. with the pro-flemocracy forces back inside, will test the limits and push the envelope of the government's resolve to expand Hong Kong's nascent democracy. Andwe'll be here to cover it all, even when the

Handover has slipped into distant memory. The story, I predict, isn't over yet.

@ July 1998 Tf,E

CORRf,SPOI{DEIIT

l--

Nigþt: Mtlslim, pro-President Habibi grouþs going into tbe area of tbe House of Representøtiues Building in central Jakarta, demonstrating againsr fu e anti-Habibi stuclent groups

ßelow: Riot police and students during anti-Subano protests øt tbe Padjad.jaran Uniuersity inJøtinangor, 25 km east of Bandung

Cemara we were pondering what to do. One of Hong Kong contingent, the Apple Daily's Rory, happenedto have a chemical set. So we retired to his

bathroom and managed to develop

our film..In a neat marriage of the oldest and newest technologies, the rest of the night we spent scanning

Tbe Ind.onesian Army

a4d transmitting again. In the next days the world press hounded in, as usual a couple days after the worst. Many of them had not been to Indonesia before and wanted to catch up. Desperate photographers

guarding bun'ting Ramayana. sbopping mall in centralJakarta afrer it was looted

The weekJakaraaburned

students, but unemployed from the neighbourhood around the university, started "running amok". So Voya and I spent another night in the Cemara Hotel,

lfhre hrardest th.ing f<>r a freelance phrotojournalist to vzork or-rt is v¡kren do )zoLr drop erzer;ztl-ring and iLrst go. ,{s tl-re situation in Indonesia continued to .w/orsen, tkris s/as tkre problerrr FCC pkrotographrer I{ees faced in earl¡z NIay f nna visited Inc.lonesia a cotrple of I times before a lot earlier this - at the economic year mainly looking crisis. During that time, students from different parts of the country started demonstrating on their campuses, demanding political change and the resignation of Suharto and his cronies. In Febr-uary, rioting had already started in some smallJavanese towns, at that

and calling friends and colleagues who

time targeting the Chinese, the

there I found rnyself on Tuesday (May l2th) iîJaka rta' s p op ulat Hazar a

country's traditional scapegoat.

This was enough to make

journalist twitch. I was reading all the papers and halfthe Intelnet every day,

talking to people who might know, TID C0RRXSPOilDEilT July 1998

were already inJakarta. To be honest, another reason why it was easier to keep going to Jakarta was that it had become very cheap to be there (and my FCC bill would drop accordingly!). Seriously, what interested me was the and way the economic crisis could

- long give the extra spark to standing political complaints. did

Bar having my first beer. Around 10 pm Voya Miladinovich, friend and fellow photographer, came in with the news that he had just photographed a

number of students in the hospital, shot dead by police or military during

a demonstration at the Trisakti University. He asked me if I could transmit the pictures to his photo agency, Sygma, in Paris. No problem.

The next day the

students demonstratedatthe campus ofTrisakti in mourning for their dead friends. In the area around the universily, riots andburning started. Police andmilitary dicln't really interfere they tried to contain the area, defending the big shopping malls . This was the beginning of the heavy riots and I must say it was

pretty scary. Young people, not

scanning and transmitting pictures.

Then President

Suharto announced it was all the fault of the foreign media and we started to get a bit worried it might affect us on the

BCA Bank was being set alight. The mob started looting the department store and a few hours later it was also on fire. I spent the rest of the day

riding on the back of a motorbike from one riot to the other. Many buildings and houses in Chinatown

wandered around, looking for riots. Basically the city was in shock and it was dead quiet in the streets. All the shops were closed. The only ones who didn't want to lose the moment wele the students. As people held their breath, the students kept on

demonstrating and ended up

were on fire, hundreds of shops were looted. At one moment in the north of

streets. Students then announced they

town I saw a biblical image of

occupying the national padiament building. The police and army did not interfere. This lasted for five days,

would start marching in the streets of Jakarta (not just on the campuses) for

hundreds of people coming out of Glodok Plaza, an electlonics and computer mall, aIl carrying monitors, printers, TVs, anything you could

During that period, Suharto first promised a resignation after new

the first time. The following day, Thursday,May

14th, started very quietly until I got a call from a colleague in another room in the hotel, telling me to look out the window. Could I see the smoke? \ùØhat smoke? I could see the smoke from the garbage heap on Jalan Jaksa but nothing else. I went outside and found

the staff of the hotel very nervous telling me there were riots around the Sarinah DepartmentStore, notfarfrom

the hotel. I walked down the street and saw a big mob at the Ramayana Depafiment Store too. Opposite, the

imagine. All these bobbing heads, the

backdrop of flames and smoke behind, people grabbing whatever they could. That night the city closed down. Many Chinese Indonesians and foreigners, desperate to get out of the country, were trapped at the airport because fl ights were fu ll and they could notgetbackto town because the mobs had set up roadblocks.

Unfortunately all the photo labs had shut their doors too. So back in the

elections and then changed that two days later when he abruptly resigned. Vice PresidentBJ. Habibie took over.

The now massive world press contingent got busy photographing the celebrating stlrdents. þy this time

the hack scene had extended to Zigolini's at the Mandarin Hotel, where journalists on fancy expense accounts stayed and ate.

Our daily lives were a series of false alarms, waiting, uncertainties, frantic dashes, rushed drinks and good times.

Pbotoessayne$þage July 1998 THX CORRISPOilIIDI{T

IlfN

lffá;,¿':r

fi"¡Ii,"'iiFå;;

trred ---l. to þ t' You( i.i" u. v"'tr'rVl a+o obeY (oHçLl')lpld

He'reSlC[

tl ,e.: L'*tJ* -t h\å å ,

$oËH¡Bfo, Left page, clockwise from top left: Students ctt tbe Naúionztl Parliament

Building in centralJakan"ta demonstrøting agctinst the Subano geuernment; Iooting in Cbina town; Muslint, þro-Presídent Habibi groups demonstrating øgntinst tbe stud.ents; Stud.ents at tbe Parliament clemand.ing Presid.ent Subat'to's resigncúion; Students occupling tbe roof of tbe Parliament

Buildit'tg; McDonald,'s underfire during tbe Trisakti Uniuercity riots

This page, clockwise from top left: Soldiers at tbe Parliament during anotber student detnonstrøtion; Destruction in Cbina totun ø"fter tbe riots; Riots it't. WestJakarta arowtd tbe Trisakti Uniuersity ct clay a"fterfiue students were killed by gouernment trooQs during an a.nti-gouenxment rctlly; Student a.ctiuist during anti-Subano protests .tt tbe Padjadjaran Uniuersity in Jcttinangor, east of Bandung; Anti-Habibi student þrotester at tbe Pailiatnent

Photos by Kees TEE GORRf,SPONDDNT July 1998

Kees' photographs of the fndonesian upheavalwill be exhibited 'On the'Wall' in the Main Bar during August JLrly

1998 TEE

CORRf,SPONIIENT

Ilurloran Rights Press

Awards -çvl-ro hreads

the ch-rb's rr-rerrrt>er gorzertror Freedorrr of the Press Corrrrrrittee, rerzievzs tLris ;zear's aqzards

Kong got its first public glimpse. Some

P0 journalists, both local and from ovefseas, sat stunned in the dining loomof the FCC as ChristopherLeung, choking on tears and almostunable to speak, trembled before them. \Øhat

had happened to him and his colleagues, he said, was like sexual harassment then

entries this year wereup 36o/oto94, an

encouraging development. On the English-language side, entries were down 460/o to 85, perhaps reflecting reduced international interest in Hong Kong after the handover.

The awards were created to spotlight high-quality reporting in the many areas of human rights, and to encourage enterprising journalism on

andfroze and the room went

he paused

bombings in Beijing, their cause made headlines. Separatism, or' "sp1ittism" as Chinese officials call it, is a deeply

sensitive issue for Beijing, which

tional cultural and leligouslinks. When they returned, they compiled five half-

citation from the judges of the third

hour

Human

segments

Rights PressAwards,

covering a range of

co-sponsol-edbythe FCC,theHongKong Journalists Associa-

topics. Later, they were told this was

tion and Amnesty

single

International (Hong s

wouldbebetter; the shows were then condensed into a

single documentary

too much and a a

From lefi!, Carole la| Francis Moriany (rear), Amnesry Abrabam, Cbristoþber Letr.n.g of CTN ubo receiued' tbe Merit Certi,ficøte on Cbinese Teleuision for Crying Volf and Ng Ming-lam of RTIIK

basic been

colleagues fi-om the Chinese Television

chargesthatCTN's management then submitted the script

Last year, Leung and three

outstanding human rights reporting

Nelwork (a Hong Kong-based firm with Taiwan connections and good relations with Beijing) went to the

touching on issues affecting children. The award is named after Robyn Kilpatrick, the former head of Amnesry in Hong Kong and a long-time friend of the FCC, who has returned with her family to Australia. The BBC's Fergal Keane, and Ming Pao'sLam Hin-yan

troubied Xinjiang Autonomous region of western China, home to the Uygurs,

a Moslem, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority. For decades, there has been a simmering independence movement

andLee Sau-ying, werethe filstwinners

thele and last year, when Uygur

of the new prize. Chinese-language

militants claimed lesponsibility for

rHX C0RRXSP0ilDEIIT July 1998

Crying IVoï -that providedarare glimpse into the

Turkestan.

This year's awards also featured

the new Kilpatrick Award for

program

The story of Crying Wolf illustrates the value of this effort. these important social questions.

English-Language Radio \X/inner: Jill McGivering, BBC: "The

Kong Economic Times: "Nothing been changed in half year, nothing will be changed within fifty years?"

Radio 3: "Viewpoint."

Cartoon Merit Celtificate: Yuen Chau-chiu (Malone), Express Daily News, "Asian

English Language TV

values"

\Øinner: Matt Frei, BBC: "Suharto." Merit Certificate: Craig Leeson, ATV: "Above the law - police abuse in Hong Kong."

Photography Category \Øinner: \Øoody \Øu, Ming Pao Daily : "A team of immigration officers storm into the home of nine-ye^r old illegal immigrant Chung Yeak-lam"

.. Martin Chan, SCMP:.Visít" (Ad-hoc IGlpatrick Award in putonghua without subtitles. For For Outstanding Work on llumarì .' CommitteeonHousingandResidential those intere sted, an English script can Rights and Children Care visit Lee Kim, 85, ancl 'Wong \Øah, .be obtained. \øinner: Fergal Keane, BBC: "One 88. .. Ringo Chiu, Hongkong Stand.ard: country, two families" Human Rights Press Awards 1.998 "'ùØrapped protester" (Police carry

tries with whom the Uyghurs have tradi-

documentary Crying Wolf la1led to meet one of the rules of the contest: It had never aired.

Ctrinese Comrnentary Merit Certificate: Lin Kin-ming, Hong

the legion and shoot the story. For three weeks they traveled thloughout Xinjiang and in neighboring coun-

Leungwasthere

decided to grant Leung and his coworkers the prize even though their

dilemma of the elderly in Hong Kong." Merit Certificate: Pam Baker, RTHK

Kong collection - New immigrant"

jor,rlnalisls: "Open justice campaign" . Neville de Silva, Í{ongkongStandard: Columns

appearances may never be aired, " they

to accept a merit

rong). They had

journalism educators, lawyers and issued a human rights advocates - concern statement expressing their about "the apparent self-censorship that has been exercised" by CTN, noting that the film was also a finalist in the prestigious journalism awards given annually by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. "This show has never been ailed and, by all

o Kwong Chui-kuen, RTHK: "Hong

. Cliff Buddle and other SCI4P

applies the word to similar movements from Tibet to Taiwan. Remarkably, Leung and his team got permission from CTN to travel to

still.

annual

Melit Certificates:

journalists, academics, Kong's leading

Fr¿zlz<-is A4oriatrtjt, a journalist

oi selt-censorhip are |]*a-pi.s r 'hardtofindbtrt,onJune 13, Hong

admitted to a reportel that CTN was very aware of China's sensitivities, especially in 1991 , and that's why it had been so careful.) Leung resigned ovel the isstre, as did hjs superior. In rnaking the award, seven of the judges including some of Hong

Uygurmovementthatadvocates independence for what some call Eastern Bu

Leun

to authorities in Beijing and

the

program was banned before it could be broadcast. (CTN has denied any ban, saying the film needed better balance and moreworkwas required, but the crew was unwilling to do it. It was not a matter of self-censorship, the company says, as the program wasn't aired simply because it wasn't finished. However, a spokeswoman

added, challenging CTN to clear the air by broadcasting the show.

Engl ish-Language Cartoons Merit Certificate: Sara Seneviratne, Hongkong Stønd.ørd: "Pillar of shame "

The FCC and the HKJA have both screened the documentary, which is The

Chinese English-Language Categories

Merit Certificates:

Newspaper

away

Merit Certificate: Chiu Hon-ketng, Sing

Tøo Daily: "The death

English-Language Newspapers (General News)

immigrant child"

Merit Certificate: Lucia Palpal-Latoc, Hongkong Stand.ard: For a body of work on human rights

Chinese Radio

new

Special Mention: Chan Yiu-wah, RTHK (Radio 1 & 5): 'June 4th: echo before

handover"

English-Language Newspapers (Features) 'W'inners:

Jasper Beck er, Soulb Cb ina

Morning

Post "Horror of a hungry country"

. Kathy

Chen, Asiøn Wøll

Street

Journal: "Chinese teen learns limits to ambition",

English-Language Magazines \Øinner: Blian Eads, Read,er's Digest: "A nation in chains". Merit certificates

Sheri Prasso, Business Week: "The rnisery here is just phenomenal"

. Angela Griffiths, Eue: "A matter of life and death"

English-Language Commentary and Analysis '$linner: Liu Kin-ming, Asian Wall StreetJountal "HongKong journalists' lonely batle."

Chinese fvø.gazine 'Winner: Cheung Ka-wai, Yazbou Z b oulaøn: "Released prisoner waiting for society acceptance" Merit Cefiificates: . Chetrng Chiu-ping, Next Magazine: "\Øoman clean up minefield" . Chetrng Chiu-ping, Nexl Magazine: "Elderly neecl concern rather than a Iunch box"

Vietnamese protester from the

roof of Victoria Prison)

nicky Chung \ùØai-kwong, SCMP "Christmas tears" (New migrant childlen weep at being denied education in Hong Kong) . Ricky Chung'!7ai-kwong, SCMP:

"Sound ban'ier" (Police tackle Lau Shan-

ching and other April 5 Action Group members onthe nightof the handover) . Ricky Chung !(ai-kwong, SCMP "A Chinese protesl" (Police encircle April 5 Action Group protestors)

. Garrige Ho, SCMP "An inmate checks his HKCEE" (Presentation ceremony at the maximum security Pik Uk Correctional Institute)

Dickson Lee Yuen-shing,

SCMP:

"Protest against repeal of labour laws"

(Protester uses puppet

Financial

Secretary Donald Tsang to make his

The lGlpatrick Award Lam Hin-yan &.lee Savyrng, Ming Pao Døily: "Refugee children fulfill the dream of schooling"

Chinese Television Merit Certificate: Christopher Leung, CTN: "Crying \Wolf" Special Mention: . A series of handover reporting by Cable TV

point) . RobertNg, SCMP: "Pro;democracy activist Tsang Kin-shing is taken

away from Government House before the arrival of NPC Chairman Qiao Shi" . ¡elly Tse, Hongleong Stand,ard; "Press conference by the Society for Community Organisation on illegal immigrant children in Hong Kong."

July 1998 THE

CORRf,SPOlllIlElllT

should not be compared witb tbat of a localbuildingsite wbere work is slþsbod andtbesafetyrules lax. A few days later I got my first rude introduction into the way that the then Provisional Airport Authority public relations department decided it was going to handle the press over the comingyears. It came in the form of a letter to the editor, written by one Mr now a familiar voice Clinton Leeks - media as the Airport and lace in the

Authority's (AA)

Corporate

assembled at the AA's press centre beþre 4.30 a.m., on Leeks' orders. 'When I asked Leeks why it was necessary to have people waiting for more than two hours, he said it was due to strict security checks. This so-

called "strict security check" turned out to be a glance at our HKID cards

and jotting the details down in a notebook, plus a check to see if we were all holding media passes. Top notch security for our HK$40 billion airport, you might say. Could have

Development Director who

daily tries to

salvage

something from the horrific breakdown of services at the newly opened Chek Lap Kok

Airport. Inthe letter, Leeks stated thatl had gotmyfacts wrong and that the number of deaths was not 14. Quite naturally,

this led readers to assume that there were less deaths, because Leeks cleverly did not divulge the 'correct'

È q qo

ao q

Passenger Terminal that you could barely even consider it inside the airport area itself the perimeter fence being only a -few meters away while the Passenger Terminal building, where everything was to take place lor the opening, was some four kilometers distant. Leeks' reply: "There is simply no room in the terminal." Considering that the press bumpf touted the Norman Foster-designed Passenger Terminal as the world's largest covered public building it is nearly a mile long and far bigger than all of Heathrow's terminals combined it was little wonder that- even he could not look me orJuliet in the eye as he uttered this ridiculous statement. If Mr Leeks thinks my view of his methods unfair, he should have read the Chinese press about the

location of the media centre

and the AA's general

number.

About a week later,

handling of the press. Their vivid views onLeeks' many years of arrogaîce toward the press make Beijing's views of Chris Patten sound like a love affair.

under mounting pressure

CLK - A state-of-the- att. PR pratfall Ckrek Lap I(ok Airl>ort is botrnd to find its place in t>usiness sckrool te><tt>ooks as a c.ase stud;z ir:. a public rela-tions ca-rnpa-ign gone sollr. FCC freelancer Steuen I{rzip}>, q¡kro tra-s t>eerl covering tkre a-irport project sirrce kris da"ys qzitLr tlre E¿zstert't E.xpress, girzes kris rzieqzs on u.Lry n the April2),1995 edition oirhe now defunct Easlern Express, in a feature on the construction of Chek

f I

Lap Kok airport project entitled "Creating a Monster", I wrote: Question: If it takes J0 years

untold tbousands of

for

sløues

equipped only tuith lengtbs of bemp, and ø couple of soft cutting tools, to build tbe pyramids of

Egypt, bow long will it

take 20,0OO pøid men, using modern Tf,E GORRESP0I|I¡EÍ{T July 1998

macbinery and bigh-tecb equipnxent, to build Hong Kong's

new airþort? Ansu.ter: Nobody knous exactly." Pretty clever, heh? But wait, there's more. Afewparagraphs later, I added: Nofinancial effin bøs been spared. to secure tbe best people at tbe top end. But bow much effort and casb bas beenþut into safety

and training? Euen by Hong Kong's lament-øble standards,

tb e

from

follow-upinthe Soutb

Cbina Morning Post, f,he Labour Depafiment finally decided to release the actual

number of people killed working on the airport itself, or its related sites. Technically, spindoctor Leeks was indeed correct. I did getthe number of deaths

along list of VIPs meeting

the plane, including

the number of airport-

At"riuøl

to auoid øccid.ents. But critics respond by saying tbat Cbek Lap Kok bas u.¡orld class construction equip-ment and engineers, and

Hall-

as matny locøl tourßts øs

ørriuing passengers

related deaths was pegged at 49Îrom 1993 toJune 23,1998.) record ofsite safety is bad.. (Sofar) tbere baue been 14 deøths, and more tban 1,300 injuries since c onstructio n began. Defenders s ay tbctt witb a construction site tbe size of Cbek Lap Kok, combining tbousands ofworþers and massiue mouing rnac b ines, it is not possible

6:1,2 a.m., Cathay

Pacific's 'Polar One Flight' arrived non-stop from New York and all looked well. In the AA's press material about the flight, there was

I did not see or hear from Mr Leeks again for more than three years. Then,

who made the historic

been except that the passes carried neither a photograph of the holder

nor the name of the

media

just hours after the closure of Kai Tak, slightlyafter4 a.m.July6th, we crossed paths again and the spindoctor was in

organisation. Total time involved to scr-utinize the 50 or so assembled print,

fine form.

minutes.

In order to be on hand for ttre 6.75

a.m. anival of the first commercial flight to land at Chek Lap Kok - a Cathay Pacific 747-400 flying direct from New York via the Nofih Pole all accredited media had to be

radio and TV people

speech bythe AA chairman \ùØong P o-yan y et amazlrrgly, ; no mention of Peter Sutch, the Swire Group's chairman

about

Together with London-based

journalist Juliet rValker, a freelancer workingfor Newsueek, I askedLeeks whythe so-called "media centre" was not only not located inside the main passenger, but so lar away from the

record-breaking

ight possible.

Everything began to unravel within minutes of the second flight touching down a C4thay fTrght from Rome. Passengers could not get theirluggage even though there

were only two aircraft in the terminal. And the rest, as they say, is history. Later in the day, Leeks told assembled reporters that he was fairly satisfied about the opening, "but not entirely, because that would be wrong." Júy 7998 TtrE

GORRISPONItDNT

Much of the tidal wave of bad press engulfing the AA could have

CanOnCanon

been avoided, or at least lessened considerably, if Clinton Leeks had not seen the press, and the public whom they represent, as the enemy. And had not treated them with such obvious contempt. This kind of thinking is way out of date, and really only suitable for second rate Hollywood flacks.

Kodak (Far East) L¡mited

Marketing (Hong Kong) co., Lrd.

10/F, Mirror Towe4 61 Mody Rd., Kowloon, Hong Kong

Services/Prod ucts:

senior construction engineer that the àirpofi would not really be ready to open until October, and if it was opened there could be immense problems. Yet the AA and its public relations machine never gave any indication of this. All of the wodd's

recent airport openings from - and Munich and Denver, to Kansai Kuala Lumpur have had great - their first few difficulties during months of operations. But somehow, CLK would be uniqne, exempt from these initial teething problems. But as BobbyKennedysaid about the Vietnam \ùØar, there's no need to engage in endless finger-pointing because there's enough blame for everybody.

\Øhy wasn't the press more aggressive in digging under the AA's .SØhy constantly upbeat drum beating?

didn't they speak to the engineers and the various contractors to see whether the airport really was ready to open?

And now, when everyone

claiming to have been pressured by theAAto open CLKJuly6th, whyisn't

the press finding out wbo in

government was applying the pressure? The answer: Because that kind of reporting is a lot more difficult and a lot more demanding than writing about lost luggage.

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their seats with simulated excitement at the historic relevance of it all, and

squabbling intermittently as to who should have the privilege of getting into the cockpit to talk to the pilots, Initially bemused, the passengers submitted to the onslaught, and

then made a dive for their own It was fitting that the very last camcorders so they could film their flight in on July 5th should be on friends being filmed. Art imitating Hong Kong's own regional airline, art, if that's the right phrase. As the Airbus dropped lower Dragon Air flight K4841 from Chongqing, the FCC's birthplace over Hong Kong, we became the almost half a century ago. The inflight subject of a fusillade of flashes from

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was eerily deserted, the taxi queue

A touch short of dramafic content, the correspondents put their all into providing insightful

non-existent. As I tore computerwards to file for the SCM Post, I

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cameras with the immortal line while madly filming away, arrd "Don't shoot me. I'm a journalist"! asking precisely the same questions of just about every single one of the 54 passengers, all in the confined space of an Airbus 4320.

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GORRf,SPOil¡lDIlT

Reporter Dinah Lee's first novel tells tnre story Forrrrer FCC governor T)inaLt Lee I{üng Lra's x¡ritten a cornpelling lor¡e story and tl]rtiller thrat arzoids all tkre cornlTlon clichés, uzrites l{euitz Sirzclczir

Lee held that job for Business Week.I

haven't asked her during recent Inteffiet chats, but the heroine has got to be autobiographical. One of the reasons that this is a damn good book is that Dinah Lee was a damn good

reporter. She's now transformed into the journalists' dream and become a very fine novelist. Lee came to Hong KonglnL974, after studying Mandarin (potunghua

in the current vernacular) at the University of California, Berkeley. She started at the SCM Post as a reporter, moved to Reuters and then had a sparkling career as a freelancer

with the BBC, the Far Eastern Economic Reuiew, the rï/ashington

Post, Tbe Economist and the h ave probably been

which seems

fnere I hundreds of reporters around the

-them both

Club barwho felt they couldwrite The Great Hong Kong Novel. Many of them said so, late at night over a final San Mig for the road. Dinah Lee never said

Caspar.

to have surPrised

which theY h ave named

Into the Plush exPense-accountpaid block of luxurY flats comes a ileek ancl sexy French photogtapher,

so. She wrote it.

Published last year, Left in

tbe Care Of (Carroll and Graf New York) is a Hong Kong thriller with a difference. Lee, whowas an FCC Governorfrom

Xavier back into her bed and her life. Claire, her body still showing the obvious effects of recent childbirth, is

worried. But that worry is soon

Special Branch bedding a gorgeous communist spy. There's no shady Chiu Chow

shanty.

It's all gripping stuff, set against the background of political earth-quakes and Hong Kong in transition.'SØhat's more,

read. It's a drama of love and motherhood as well as a thriller, It's vividly set in Hong Kong and Lee's deep knowledge of

it's

husband, Peter, is a senior official

recognise

v/ith the Internationâl Red Cross.

instantly some of the Hong Kong

It's set just up the road

believable. Now writing

lives in Geneva where her

through; read this story and you

pages.

al1

under her married name of Dinah Lee Kung, the American journalist

the territory comes shining

personalities who stud the

going on? Take your

powerful herbal potions alongside the fertiliser in his hillside

drug smugglers or swaggering taipans. No character in this exciting novel says 'Joss, " thank God. This is a good, compelling

will be able to

and the horrors pile up quickly Caspar disappears. '!Øhat's

pick. In Lee's story, there are witches, weird religious practices, a canny Jesuit priest with an encyclopaedic knowledge of China (Old Hands will be able to swiftly identify him) and a notso-simple oid gardener with

There's no macho hero from

b*in-"ø t", "t

Tregunter Path in the Mid-Levels. Here, the heroine, Claire Raymond, lives in unwedded and somewhat dubious bliss with her Swiss banker lover, Xavier. They have had ababy

o 1,o""g scMP reporter in 1974

Fabienne. She's Xavier's ex-mlstress and Claire, somewhatunderstandably'

ís not too thrilled by her presence' The sophisticated Frenchwoman

makes no secret that she plans to iure

- and respected bureau the competent chief of Business'Week. She left Hong

They met while he was based in Hong Kong and she was doing a story about refugees. Are the characters portraits of real

I thought I

could recognise the original ofthe red-haired individuals? \7e11,

regional bureau chief for a Iarge American business magazine; Dinah

OBITf]ARY

Hongkonger's Hong Kong. She takes the reader over the torturous track to Tai Long'lfan at the end of the Sai Kung Peninsula. She delves into the

sometimes vicious world of the Filipina domestic servant, with their rivalries, loneliness and frequent ill treatment. She captures some of the essence of Hong Kong. This book is a very good read. Do not ask to borrow it from me. I shall refuse. You can order it over

Tillmatr Durdin: dead atg1

the Internet by tapping in <http:// www.amazon.com> and then asking for the book by name or author. Buy it; authors have to eat, even when they marry Swiss

here are probably not many

FCC members

bankers.

swamped by rising tides of real fear. A

little Britishboyhas beenfound dead, a weird chemícal in his body. Then from the next door fl.a¡, a Eurasian boy is snatched. Then

1986-88, has cur through the layers of expatriate clichés that usually disfigure novels set in the city.

International Herald, Tribune to - as name a few before ending up

Kong when Peter was transferred, leaving behind many friends. One of the reasons the book is so good is Lee's insights into a

who

remember Till Durdin who died recently at the age of 91. He was the Hong Kong Bureau Chief of the New Yorþ Times 1967-1974 . andan FCC member during that .

time. Hong Kong was his

last

posting and wrapped up more than three decades with the NYf, most of whichwas spent abroad.

Bumping into old friends on the 'net

Upon his retirement in 1974, he became

a Life Absent

Member.

Durdin was one of the first

to call attention to Japanese trange how I found out about

Dinah Lee's book. Once a month, I place an order with an Internet book buying service. Wondering what lies the world was telling about us, I called up "Hong Kong" and got a list of books. One

of them was supposed to have beenwritten by someone c al I e d "Dinah Lee Küng" who had been "a reporter for many years in Hong Kong." Could it be, I wondered? I typed a message for the author. I wasn't sure that this was the Dinah Claire Lee with whom I used to work 24 years ago (sorry about that, Dinah)

atthe SCMP, so I worded the letter

politely. I promptly got an email reply of gently chiding abuse: yes, that was my pal D.C. Lee. During the 20 years she worked

as a journalist in Hong Kong, Dinah Lee was known as atotal profes-

sional. She arrived new in town after we had met via mail. I was News Editor aÍ. fhe SCMP and she had written for a job. By chance, my wife happened to be on vacation in San Francisco. They telephoned each other, met, and Kit and Dinah chatted about life in Hong Kong. A couple of weeks later, she was bashing out stories in Quarry Bay and trying t o u s e h e r Mandarin on the streets. She soon added working Cantonese to her language skills.

atrocities in occupied China in the years before World War II. In 1937 in the then Chinese

capital Nanking (Nanjing in today's parlance), he was an actual witness to one execution the slaughter of 200 Chinese as he boarded a ship to - according to historian Shanghai, Iris Chang (who wrote the bestseller The Rape of Nanking in 1997) as quoted inTill's obituary

-men

in the ÀÐZ Till's postings took him to Asia, Australia and the Pacific,

Africa and Europe. ,He also served on the Editorial Board of

Ihe NW.

E¡

Lee is now finishing a novel on Tibet. In her Hong Kong story, she

to avoid all the common clichés. I hope she does the same in her book on Tibet. has managed

K.s.

July 1998 Tf,E

CORXESPOilIIENT

-..-

THE ¡UOST IONAI]LE A

I) t) RESS

uinnerc of tbe annual Meru Hatuortb Poþe 'n' Hoþe Pool Tournament uere prèsented witb tbeir troþbies by pool aficionado and Pool Committee member Fred Fredricþs: Feng Cbi-sbun(left) receiues the winner's tropby while Staffan lofgren, tubo placed second, gets to drink bß þrize Tbe

Gary Marchant, Linda Rose, Chris Davis and Robin Lynam check out on The Most fashionable Address in Dalian on a Shangri-la Hotel press jaunt.

ãs ùì?... Hu van Es ran into Peter Siedlitz at the 1001 Syrian Restaurant in Beijing. The lady the former FCC president is leaning on ColonelJin Xing of the PLA who had a celebrated sex-change operation and now runs Beijing's Modern Dance Ballet Group.

¡ ,f

Teny Duckbam, Robin þnam, CheJ'Steue tï/arren ancl Keuin Egan d.uring a, recent u'¡.ne-tasting in tbe Verandab

Former FCC First Vice President Mike Gonzalez (left), tlow on bß way to a neu posting in Bntssek, þresented club member Antonio Reþresas cle Almeida of Mexico's Eco Teleuisa (tbe 24-bour,

Spanisb-language all netus sratiolx) with bis countty's NationalJournalist Prize in a special ceremon.y bosted by tbe Mexican Consulate

Correction:

Ken Bennet and his Kowloon Honkers, Dixie at its best during the celebration of the first Hangover anniversary parry in the FCC's

Main Dining Room

IHE CORRf,SPOilDDIII July 1998

Apologies to \Øilliam Chung, Special Correspondent of the VancouverBoardof Trade , whowe identifiedinthe lastissue as exFCC President GuySearls talkingto the Chief ExecutiveTung Cheehwa at the annual diplomatic reception.

July 1998 TtrE

G0RRESPOIIIIEI{T

A montbly portrøút of FCC irrepløceøbles

THINKING INTERNET? No responsible communicator would consider launching a marketing campaign without careful planning, Right? So why do so many stumble blindly into cyber-wilderness with barely a second thought, resulting in ineffective campaigns, huge overruns and, ultimately, embarrassment?

Don't become of those who succumbed to "Internet Fever" only to discover that WWW often means "What \üy'ent Wrong?" New Media Communications offers professional' giridance 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.

M:ary Justice'Legs' Thomassorr young enough to think she knew something.

Member since:

She was

Age:

Never tells. Former correspondent turned MJPR pafiy girl turned fine arts student. Texan. I have too much work to go out tonight. Hi sweetie.

Profession:

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

Pbotogrøpbed. by Terrlt Ih.tckbam