The Correspondent, August - September 2002

Page 1

TlII

East Timor - The Birth

of a New Nation

The Military vs the Media A Bird's Ey" View of Hong Kong


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Thomæ CmPton President Laurie Fmt Vice Præident -JimKevin Egan Second Vice President

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CorresÞondent Member Governors

Paul Bayfield, BretcDecker

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Daniél Krrbiske, Elaine Kurtenbach, Antlron)' Lawence, TYler Marsháll, O'Neil, llaria Maria Sala

4 aruoactivities r4Bar 5 Chess 6 Wine

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Iounalist Member Governors

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C P Ho, Francis MoriartY

ia By The Numbers The Economy YouJust Tripped Over

Asociate Member Governors David Garcia, Marilp Hood, Barry Kalb, Anthorry Neddermm (Treasurer) Co

Finance Comittee numor: Anl.hory Nedderman

otography Photographer of the Year Awards

Profesional & Entertaiment Comittee

Brtce Decker

Convmor:

Marketing Comittee

Cover Story - The Birth of East Timor 10 East Timor - The Challenges Ahead 12 The Story Behind East Timor's Birth 14 Jose Ramos-Horta on Hope and Humanity

Conumor:MaÅlSm Hood.

Corotitutional Committee Conumm: Kevin Egan

Membership Comittee C ontmor : Ilaria Milia Sala

Howe/F&B Comittee Conunor:David GarcLa Freedom of the Press Comittee C o nt m or : F nncis Moriar ty

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6 r"uto." 16 The Military and the Media 20 Up, Up and Away

Wall Comittee Cocmumor: Ilar'n Maria Sala General Manager Gilbert Cheng

The Correspondent @

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The Third Shanghai FCC

The Foreign Correspondents' Club

ofHong Kong

Eå#I¡Y'Y

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The Correspondent is published 6 times . a yean Opinions expressed by witers tn magzine re not necessarily those ol the Club.

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"r.ospeakers 25 william Lind.esay Rebuilding The Great wall -Lies, Damned Lies & Company Accounts 26 Howard Schilit

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Publicatiore Comittee C ona

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Editu: Diane Stormont Terry Duckham

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sook" fisçsvç¡ Macau 28 Todd crowell Governing Hong Kong: Legitmacy, Communication 29 Sonny Lo -¿nd Political Decay ie

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Cover Photographed by Choo Youn-Kong/AFP Photo East Timoreses hold their nau nation Jlngs during the suearing

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

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the gouernment of East Timor


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The mountain and the mouse A nd so the mountain has laboured, huffed and ¡[ puffed and blown off steam and frnally given I ' l¡irtn to a mouse. The new gym is born! It's cost us about one and a half million bucks that's about a thousand dollars per member. \{e've been subjected to months of banging, drilling, riveting and dust, and all in the name of helping keep less than 10% of the members happy with a facility that most of them will tire of using regularly within a year. Besides the actual gym seems no bigger than it was before. Who says minorities cannot overwhelm democracy?

The Berlin Watrl During the recent FCC presidential election I was, like every other member, lobbied energetically by some

of the candidates. (I had to explain that I've only got an associate member's vote). More insidious though were the rumours that were being put about intending to spike the guns of the favourite. One tale that received wide currency was the absolute guarantee that if a certain member was elected to the Vice Presidency which he coveted, his first act would be to push for the main bar to be segregated from the dining tables in that area by a reasonable facsimile of the Berlin Wall designed in this case to segregate smokers from non-smokers. This rumour was widely discounted. Now, I note, we are being asked to approve a new design for the main which looks to me to involve a wall. We have a bar - is acknowledged to be the best watering hole in which bar

Asia. If it ain't broken why fix it? Who says spinning is dead?

Advertising knpact A few weeks ago my P.R consultancy

was

commissioned to do a uox þoþ for a client who spends a great deal of his treasure on advertising. The pollsters asked only three questions: 1) Which, if an¡ newspaper did you read today? 2) Describe an advertisement that you saw 3) Name the product advertised Bad news for the advertisers I'm afraid. \A4rile over 80Vo of those interviewed claimed to have read a

4

he 2002 FCC Chess Championship was drawing to a close as we went to press. Graeme Hall, runner-up in the inaugural 2001, is assured of getting

for a game at which he is a relative newcomer. Chi fìnished mid-table, a¡rd we feel his standard improved from last year, especially after finally discarding }lris zany Dutch Opening habit. Sarah Henderson was for the

his name on the trophy this year, but he will be a joint winner if Anthony Wong can beat Andrew Hart in the one remaining game.

second year running the most stalwart and enthusiastic member of the club. While she didn't manage to add a chess trophy to her collection of three thousand golf

This year's championship was an exciting and competitive one, contested by six members. There were two newcomers: The first was Andrew Hart, who claimed that his enforced time out in the middle of the tournament, to attend some other sporting event in Japan and Korea, upset his momentum. We expect him to be a most formidable opponent next year. The second newcomer was Anthony Wong, who is returning to chess after an absence of many years. We are not looking forward to playing him when the rust fully rubs off. Anthony played some of the strongest chess in the tournament and if he claims a share of the rirle, it will be fully deserved. Feng Chi-shun continued to show natural aptitude

trophies, she provided the highlight of the tournament by holding Graeme Hall to a draw. Chris Champion came third for a second

championship

newspaper, less than 57o could name a single ad. Should that be down to lousy ads or dumb readers?

P.R The Downside The glamorous world of public relations, a field in which I plough my humble furrow, has its downside. I was reminded of this following the mid-air collision between two aircraft over southern Germany inJuly. An aviation disaster is about as bad as it gets in the delicate art of crisis management. I've had the misfortune to handle three such chilling events. I spent Christmas 1999 picking through the wreckage of a K.A.L Boeing air-freighter just outside Stanstead airport in Southern England, where it had crashed on takeoff. It wasn't until some months later that I was informed that the doomed aircraft was carrying depleted uranium (D.U) as ballast. This is not an unusual situation by the way. For the uninitiated, depleted uranium is regularly carried in aircraft. The recent China Air Boeing 747 was carrying bars of D.U which in its natural state is as is almost practically harmless but once burned it releases crash uranium oxide, and every plane mixture on the wind this deadly can travel carried miles from the crash site. many The thought of that should be enough to deter rubbernecking gawpers at aviation crash sites. But it doesn't. At every crash site I've visited ghoulish spectators can only be kept away by police and troops.

in

is already planning the 2003 tournament, in which he is planning to limit the number of entries to orre. Graeme Hall had a turbulent ride to this year's title. Lacking the consistency he showed last year, Graeme struggled at times (by his own standards), but found resources and showed tenacity which befit a winner. FIe remains a benchmark against which the rest of us measure our ability. consecutive year and

Chris Champion, Convenor chamþs@netuigatorcom

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Pip Pip I have this enduring picture of my saintþ dad

tcl u¡in great prizesl

warming his rear-end at the roaring log fire and consulting a turnip-sized pocket watch every time the

BBC time signal was broadcast, and snorting invariably: "Damn pips late again!" This vision returned last week when listening to the BBC World Service and RTHK's Radio 3 simultaneously. The RTHK pips were a good tlvo seconds ahead of the BBC's signal. Yes I know that the BBC pips have to travel further, but on a radio frequency that would take a lot less than two seconds. Is Hong Kong so far ahead of the rest of the world? Ted Thomas -

corþ com@hk. linkage. net THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

5


I

Crue AcrrvrrrEs - WINE

The grapes of Fratrce's Rhone Vall*y

countries in a search for variety, and considerable effort has recently been put into Rhone grapes in Australia and the U.S. A group of California producer-enthusiasts has gone so far as to gather informally under the name "The Rhone Rangers." The Rhone is divided into northern and southern districts. Most of the best wines, including Hermitage, Crozes-Flermitage, Cote Rotie, Condrieu and Chateau-

By Barry Kalb

A lot of wine drinkers know of Cotes-du-Rhone and ChateauneuÊ du-Pape, perhaps even Hermitage wines of the or Gigondas

Grillet, come from the North. The reds are made of Syrah (the grape Australia calls Shiraz), while the whites of Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet are made of fl oral-scented Viognier. Up to 13 different red wine grapes can be used in the southern Rhone, which is home to the likes of ChateauneuÊdu-Pape, Cotes-du-Rhone and Gigondas. Grenache Noir is the leade¡ followed by Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre, while the whites are made of Marsanne or Roussanne. All these grapes have been appearing on New World wine shelves, alone and in blends, over the past couple ofyears. Shiraz has actually been grown for decades in Australia (the hugely expensive Grange Hermitage, a pure Shiraz, was launched in the 1950s), and has become an industry unto itself. We'll focus specifically on nonFrench Spahs and Shirazes in the coming months, but during September, the wine specials are Rhone-style blends and varietals, primarily from Australia. I

Rhone Valley-in southeastern France. The grapes used in these wines are far less familiar but that's about to change.

if this column reads like a viticulture Some of these grape names are going to become as familiar as Cabernet and Chardonnay in the coming years, and your ever-vigilant wine committee (me) wants you to remain current. Cabernet Sauvignon The Big Five French grapes Blanc from the Bordeaux, Sauvignon from and Merlot Pinot from Burgundy and Noir Chardonnay Loire Valle¡ France. NewWorld to death outside been done have pologies

text.

-winemakers are turning to other

grapes and other

The economy you

tnipped ouer By David O'Rear

P.rc.nl.hq6

15.0

y€FÕn-yè.r

Real GDP

10.0 Råb¡l Volume

0.0

Hong Kong's economy rising or falling? Well, it depends on what - and how - you measure it. The most widely accepted means, a constant ("real" or s

infl ation-adj

us ted

(5 (10

) y ear-ol:-y ear percen tage change,

showed three steady declines in the three quarters to end-March. By the time this issue of The Corresþond,ent knocks over your drjnk at the new Main Bar, we will have seen numbers for the second quarter of the year, but more on that later (don't want to give away the plot too soon).

The two major components of Hong

Kong's

economy, measured from the demand side, are foreign trade and private consumption. If you get a grip on these hvo, you've covered most of the factors that result in a plus or minus sign in front of the latest figures. Aside from that, GDP is such a fuzzy notion that2% or 4% is small beer.

Trading fools Trade is weird: our total of both exports and imports is four times the size of the total economy. In most economies, the figure would be about 20-40% of GDP, not 400%.In terms of net trade, the balance flipped from mostþ negative in 1994-98 to mostly positive in subsequent years and now runs around 7% of GDP. Call us trading fools. We can't help it. Reall¡ we CANNOT help it. There's nothing we can do, for the most part, to boost trade. The simple fact is that when China's foreign trade (in nominal, or not adjusted for inflation, terms) grows less than l0% year-on-year, Hong Kong needs to reach for the bottle of red ink. Hong Kong's foreign trade fell an average of 4.5% in the six quarters to mid-year. Is anyone surprised we

I

coc

Hong Kong's Economy

5.0

hacl a recession?

o

iust

Shopaholics Shopping, however, is something we can control, and it is a huge factor in the total economy. Private consumption everything everyone buys for personal use is around 56% of GDP. \Arhen you buy a new suit - extra bottle of wine, retailers, wholesalers, or an importers and everyone who works for them (directly and to service their businesses) break out in smiles. From .|anuary 1998 to March 1999 we had a recession that averaged minus 4.87o real GDP "growth".

Private consumption fell nearly TTo.During that time, retail trade dropped like a stone, off I5.4% in volume and l.6.lVo in value. Ouch. Our latest recession isn't quite so bad: GDP fell only 7.1% on average inJuly 2001-March 2002, and private consumption actually managed a minute rise. Retail sales, however, fell again, by 2.5% in volume and 4.4%

in value.

The nice thing about trade and retail sales is that the numbers come out much earlier than total GDP frgures. A glance at the chart shows that, from the perspective of retail sales, Hong Kong is still in recession. I Daaid, O'Rear, economist and autho4 has been enJqtng the slings and arrous of Hong Kong's outrageous econom,) since Q2 1984.

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pgYA exhih¡t¡on gpen$ at Ghelr [aP Kolt

expanded and features two new categories, 'Portrait of Traveller' and 'Landscapes in Time'. These will allow photographers to demonstrate their abilities over several major photographic themes and the ability to combine classic themes and technique with creative a

rnterpretatlon. This year's categories:

of 57 images featuring the leading entries from POYA An exhibition oPen at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 30 2001' will on display until September 30 to mark the official opening and rern ain Chairman of the awards committee entries for POYA 2002.

1. Professional - open to all

j',T iffi å åïåh,

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Ãr ihê ln view rricr¡r opportunity to the ^ñn^rlrrnifr¡ et ong exhibition.

antly broader event this een expanded and entry s of Hong Kong's camera ents between the ages of tation has been sent to ubs inviting them to run aturing categories from

al division. The winning ubs and schools will be Images entered in the can have been taken any

rior to the date of final ntries in the Professional ken during the year prior integrated event open to

tographers as

well

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as

FCC

do not need to be Hong t category is co-sponsored oard and the South China

As well as giving young t is hoped that the student er interest in photographY YA 2002 as the principal

rights to lour categories. tography' and'Computer

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Kong

- Hong Kong Magazine features - The Standard Corporate Hong Kong

- SCMP Hong Kong News - SCMP Digital Photography and

to both Professional and s. It recognises the nd innovation digital h"t bt""gn't" Pht'"9

David Wong.

Coverage and promotion of the awards will be greatly expanded with the SCMP joining our other media sponsors RTHK, The Standard and Aþþle Dai\. In particular the 'SCMP Digital Photography' and 'Computer Imaging' and 'Young Post Hong Kong

in Time ¡ A Hong Kong Perspective - Beyond the Highrise - World City

Last year photographers entered over 1,200 images and a total of 54 awards were made. Photographers from the Chinese media were extremely well represented and a good balance of both local and Hong Kong-based foreign photographers continued all the way through to the top awards. With strong sponsor support and the expanded categories and entry terms this year's awards we are expecting to see an even greater number of entries this year. Entry forms are available fiom the FCC Front Office and are being distributed to professional and nonprofessional photographic associations and schools in

Computer Imaging

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. Landscapes

3. Young Post Hong Kong Perspective - open to students in Hong Kong secondary school students - Beyond the Highrise - World City

are FCC members.

t eqorts' TerrY Du ckham'

and will promote new skills and techniques at the cutting edge of this new discipline. The SCMPwill also sponsor the 'SCMP Hong Kong News' category, which is open Hong Kong's professional news photographers and photoj ournalists. Last year's news award went to SCMP photographer,

¡ Portrait of a Traveller

photographers who are resident in Hong Kong or who

of

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professional

2. Non- Professional - open to members from participating Hong Kong photography clubs and all FCC members and their families.

¡ Asia - News - Magazine features

- SCMP Digital Photography and

Compul,er Imaging

.

A Hong Kong Perspectrve - Beyond the Highrise - World City

Hong Kong. Entries will close on Saturday, December

14.

The FCC would like to thank

Perspective' categories will benefit significantly from the wide coverage on the SCMP website <www.scmp.com>.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has put a great deal of energy and support into this year's Awards. Simon

Clennell and Donna Mongan, in particular, have tirelessly assisted with arranging exhibition venues and sponsor support. As well as the current exhibition at

HONG K

locations over the next 12 months providing the necessary sponsorship support can be finalised. The Hong Kong Tourism Board's Hong Kong category, 'A Hong Kong Perspective', has been expanded to include two categories this year. The themes have now been agreed and will be 'Beyond the Highrise' and 'World City'. Both themes will give photographers a broad opportunity to capture and interpret Hong Kong's rich cultural and architectural diversit¡ wealth of natural resources and unique character. Entry is open to professional, non-professional and student photographers in separate divisions.

The Non-Professional division has also

been

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

C,qrunv Pncrnc

C¡rHnv Pncrnc South China Morning Post

the airport, a POYA 2002 exhibition is being organised with the MTR in April next year.

Club member Philip Nourse has joined the POYA committee and is actively seeking out further venues for POYA exhibits for last quarter of 2002 and 2003. POYA is planning up to six exhibitions in high traffic

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eradicating a culture of dependenc¡ built up by the Indonesians and exacerbated by the United Nations. "The problem is that the Indonesians are not here physically, but they are yet here in our mentality. We have only an embryo of a civil society. There are rr'arry things to change," he said.

he UN has not only withdrawn most of its personnel and handed over the keys of

government, it has also taken away essential equipment. A friend of mine went to the Immigration Department to renew his visa. They needed to photocopy his passport, but told him to go to a copy shop. The UN had already sent its

photocopier to Afghanistan. Whole buildings have been emptied, cars shipped off and worse still, equipment that is not being shipped away is being crushed. East Timor is being left with little with which to begin its self-rule. Reconciliation is a major theme. Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's presence at the celebrations was symbolic of Gusmao's desire for a new relationship with Indonesia. And on my last night in Dili, I sat with a group of Timorese from our

believe true reconciliation cannot come without justice. And while justice for smaller crimes can be done in East Timor, if the perpetrators return, the orchestrators of the major crimes against humanity the Indonesian military and the militia commanders are outside the reach of East Timor. Only an international tribunal can provide a platform for true justice and reconciliation, and that is what the Timorese are calling for. So far the world has failed to hear that cry. As I watched the new flag being raised just after midnight on May 20th, I asked Father Francisco Fernandes, the first Timorese to be exiled by Indonesia in 1975, whether he thought he would live to see this day. His answer speaks volumes for the determination and courage of the Timorese. "Many people over the years and throughout the world told me 'you are fìghting a losing battle. Why bother?", he said. "But I believed this day would come, in my lifetime, because we trusted God. This was a victory of faith." Such faith and courage have seen East Timor to independence, and will stand them in good stead as they seek to overcome the challenges of building a new nation. I

neighbourhood, two of whom were ex-militia who had murdered someone. They had returned from West

Timor to repent and start anew, and had

been

welcomed back.

But while the Timorese are very forgiving, most

Benedict Rogers is a freelance journalist, He worked, in East Timor from March untilJune, and was þreui,ously a leader uriter on the Hong Kong iMail . He now liues in Britain.

The world's newest country has problems. Benedict Rogers witnessed the lead up to independence and the country's birth.

of a

ou have read all about it in Time, Newsweek and The Economist (and you would have done in Asiaueeh and the Hong Kong iMailif they still existed). But witnessing the birth new nation first-hand is a totally different

experience from reading about it, and it's a privilege few are given. I lived in East Timor for three months, seeing the final steps towards independence and experiencing several weeks in the new sovereign nation, and it was an extraordinary time.

The first observation is how different the atmosphere is now, compared to 1999. Then, the country was in a state of fear, torn apart by the Indonesian military and their militia who terrorised the population. It was a nation at war, but with only one side using bullets. The pro-independence movement, while it had an armed resistance force, resisted the temptation to fight and spoke instead through the ballot box. In the end, despite huge sacrifices, they won, and now, the streets are calm. Rumours of potential trouble around the independence celebrations came to nothing there was a spirit of hope, joy and celebration. Apart from the usual petty crime which occurs an)"where IO

where there are foreigners with pockets that bulge, in East Timor the violence has gone. In one village, I picked up a little bab¡ who grinned, giggled and gurgled with delight. A few minutes later, her mother grabbed her back. I realised why when I looked down and saw a large, warm puddle across my trousers. But, I reflected, three years ago I would now have run the risk of being shot at by militia I simply run the risk of being peed on by -babies. How things have changed. There were three historic events that I witnessed personally: the signing of the Constitution, the election of the President, and Independence Day itself. The day before election day, I interviewed Xanana Gusmao. He promised to serve as a spokesman for the people, and regards it as his duty to point out to the government when "it is not going well or it is going well". East Timor is in the "very

beginning of rebuilding the country" and it is essential to "avoid big mistakes", he said. The next da¡ he was elected President with over 80% of the vote.

There are numerous challenges facing East Timor. "We have to start everything to increase and create everything," said President Gusmao. One challenge is THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

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discontent among a variety of groups,

The stor E ast

Timor's birth

One of a handful of journalists to refuse evacuation during the mayhem that surrounded Indonesia's withdrawal from East Timor, Irena Cristalis chose to keep faith with the Timorese friends whose often heroic story she wanted to tell. Her book, Bitter Dawn: East TimorA People's Story, presents a vivid eyewitness account of the world's newest country's bloody birth. Jonathan Sharþ reports he rough and brutal ride to independence endured by East Timor has been crowned by success. But the sad reality is, according to writer, photographer and broadcaster Irena Cristalis, that the suffering for the world's newest I nation may be far from over. I Just returned from witnessing East Timor's I independence celebrations and launching her much- | praised book, Bitter Daun: East Timor - A Peoþle's Story I chronicling the lives of individual Timorese during the I decades of Indonesian occupation, Cristalis spelled out I to an FCC Professional Luncheon the claunting I but could I problems faced by the fledgling nation also manage to offer some grounds for optimism. I She said the three most frequentþ asked questions I asked of her were: what explained the violence that I surround.ed Indonesia's withdrawal in September. I 1999; what are the chances for the violence to recur; I and finall¡ why did she decide to stay to witness I East Timor's agony in 1999 against the advice of the I United Nations, many of her friends and also her employers in Britain? The last question, touching on her undoubted courage as well as commitment, was the one Cristalis declined to dwell on, saying it was dealt with "in a few sentences" in her book. But focusing on the future, she said as long as the Indonesian army continued to refrain from backing pro-Indonesian refugees still in the western part of Timor, they would not be a significant threat to East Timor because they needed Indonesian backing and money to launch any kind of attack. That being said, people in East Timor were still so nervous that a group as small as 20-25 people could still inflict a lot of damage. "So one of East Timor's main points at the moment is getting all the refugees back, giving them a place in society, reconciling them and I I getting the threat out of the way." 12

But the big issue, she said, was an economic one, with about 70-75% unemployment in East Timor and the situation made worse by the withdrawal of the UN personnel and the closure of hotels and restaurants that catered to them. "The economrc bubble will burst." However the destruction inflicted on East Timor brings business opportunities lor reconslrucfion' - a growing Chinese Cristalis observed that there was

pt"t..t.. in the country.

resistance leader newly elected president, made a point of visiting Beijing hrst to ask for assistance during a

foreign tour following his release by Indonesia in 1OOO. "This was partly because he thought Chinese gooa. are cheap. Timorese can't afford expensive Australian imports." ast Timor may also benefìt from

its strateglc

position as a listening post for what is happening in neighbouring countrres, Ind.onesia in particular. East Timor also adjoins a deep water channel used by Amertcan submarines. There has been talk but certainly no

the area.

on the possibility

a US base m of establishing

l

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Wine

$gä zg

Bermuda shorts

$1 10

Name cardholders

$75

Shirts

$1 15

Luggage tags

$60

Windbreaker

$zro

Key rings

$30

Wallets

$125

glasses

BBC Tape (Of Att the GinJoints...) $ZgO (PAL)/$350

seen for five years.

ó"

including East Timor's large young population who, after years of struggle and sacrifice, feel marginalised. "They speak Indonesian perfectly and now nobody needs them any more." To get a job in government they need to speâk the language of former colonial power Portugal, a requirement which benefìts Timorese who fled overseas during the Indonesian occupation and are now returning and taking many of the leading ofhcial posts. 'You get a division between the Diaspora who are coming back and the people who are already there. There's a lot of tension between these groups that does not bode well for the future. " mer East Timoreses female militia (C), who fought against Portugese and Another disaffected group is those members lndonesian forces, march past newly sworn in President Xanana Gusmao of the Falintil resistance force who fought Indonesian occupation but lost out from being part of seeking independence or freedom from repression the new East Timor armed forces. "Opportunities are elsewhere in the world. She mentioned West Papua, still there for anyone who wants to create instability in Western Sahara, Burma and Tibet. If nothing else the East Timor because there are so many disgruntled Timorese story gives hope to all these causes. I groups. There are the youth unhappy about. their leadership, the people are unhappy because they don't have anything to eat." Bitter Dazan: East Timor - APeoþle's Story But when all is said, it remains a remarkable fact By Irena Cristalis that a small country like East Timor can crown its trials Zed Books, London 2002 and tribulations with independence, a fact that Ms Cristalis said could prove an inspiration for people

Chinese businessmen seemed

to be at the forefront of those wishing to cash in on those opportunities, for exampte by selling building materials. The Chinese embassy, she noted, was the largest in the capital Dili. Xanana Gusmao, t.he

action

l

o

(Nrsc)

the deeply troubled social front, she highlighted'f HE, CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEIIÍ BER

2()O2

THU coRRtseONDENT AUGusr//sEpTEMBER 2002

13

o o

ó


Covnn Sronv

humanity

about what he termed

ut the key question to

be

Horta acknowledged he could not give an absolute answer was whether the country could put past violence behind it and remain at peace, particularly

rewarding: he said that a few months previously an Australian journalist had asked him what East Timor would be like in 25 years' time, Thinking that the question was sill¡ since it was impossible to crystal ball-gaze so far into the future, Ramos-llorta had given a deliberately unserious, firmly tongue-in-cheek

when international security forces

had departed. He noted that foreign media organizations had expressed varying degrees of scepticism and pessimism about East Timorese young girls hold candle lights

during the country's independence celebration

now, will East Timor still be at peace? I don't know. 'What I can say is that we are working relentlessly,

with determination, so that violence will never return to East Timor again. It will be a total bankruptcy for East Timorese leaders themselves, morall¡ politically

riches.

But he was confident of a

wounds of the past, to consolidate democracy."

doubts. But not all of Ramosllorta's encounters with the foreign media have been

future of East Timol and one to which Rarnos-

East Timor's prospects for tranquillit¡ and added with disarming candour: "If you ask me: in tlvo to three years from

and intellectuall¡ if we are not able to reconcile, to bury the

But the question mark remains, he said, and journalists were quite justified in voicing

asked about the immediate

Ramos-Horta was less fulsome about relations with his other giant neighbour, Australia. He said Australia had provided indispensable support for East Timor on its fraught path to independence, but Canberra had been initially hesitant about opening negotiations on the complex subject of maritime boundaries. These involve the sharing of the potential oil and gas bonanza beneath the seas separating the two countries. He said Australia had been generous in its negotiations on the Timor Gap section, but this was just one limited area, and not the richest. On the other hand, he that he could understand said to laughter - Teresa was the Australian that -even if Mother prime minister, she would find it very tempting to T hang on as much as she could to the hoped-for o o

o o

opportunist proprietors of often minimalist hotel accommodation.

hopes and fears. Jonathan Sharp reports

T T J

T T T

charged by East Timor's

East Timor, the world's newest nation born after years of bloody struggle, faces daunting problems with a fragile new-found optimism. Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Ramos-Florta, who left East Timor a few days before the 1975 Indonesian invasion, spoke of his ne could quite understand if a leader of East ,Timor was less than magnanimous about ,Indonesia in the light of Jakarta's sometimes 'brutal rule of his homeland spanning more than two decades, particularly following the disastrous damage inflicted by Jakarta-backed gangs straddling the referendum vote for independence. But, whatever his private thoughts, Jose Ramos-Florta, Foreign Minister of the world's newest nation, was publicly

the

outrageous prices that have been

response. This was that he foresaw that in 25 years, he believed East

Timor would be very rich, and Australia very poor, and

as a

Australia would be the largest recipient Timorese foreign aidl To his horror, the se

result

of

East

journalist took the response

riously, and it was faithfully reported for

posterity.

I

settlement.

"Eventually there will be a compromise betlveen Australia and East Timor that will not be entirely satisfactory either to East Timor or to Australia... trut workable."

I

Much more of a problem for the fledgling nation was the internal situation. While East Timor rnay have acquired the symbols of nationhood, it faced enormous problems of poverty, high unemployment, poor hygiene and lack of educational facilities that Ramos-Horta did

not try to minimize. He said a r,rrlnerability was the nation's flag.

unequivocal in his praise for Indonesia's current stance

towards East Timor as it wrestles with the myriad problems of nationhood. The Nobel prize-winning Ramos-Horta said he was "touched by the extraordinary display of Indonesian

statesmanship and maturity" when newly-elected President Xanana Gusmao paid a state visit to Jakarta.

"IIow many how countries were able in such a short

time to welcome back their former enemies and receive them in such honour and dignity?" he asked, noting that, for example, following the end of the conflict between France and Algeria, it took almost 40 years before an Algerian president was able to make a state visit to Fra¡rce. 14 ,'

¡ ì

notable

judiciar¡ in particular

a lack

ofexperiencedjudges. This problem could not be solved rapidly, even by importing foreign advisers and judges. "On the other hand we are conscious that if we don't have a competent, strong, independent judiciar¡ everything else becomes academic in terms of talking about democracy." As for the economy Ramos-Horta said that while East Timor was still highly dependent on international generosity, the country's leaders had been pleasantþ surprised by the response of the donor community, which had agreed to plug a US$30 million shortfall in

the nation's budget and pledged more help than anticipated for the next few years. One area of economic development that the government was although Ramos-Horta exploring was tourism acknowledged

- would that something

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Each year 18,000 animals are brought to the SPCA for disposal. Every one that linds a home is one less we discârd. To âdopt a pet and save a life, call (852) 2802

0501

Ð SPCA

have to be done

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST,/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

15


The r*rived

the Bronze star

:oe pa,tt1ï1l ñ"æt tat rac,-.rin,," wãunded soldiers ,r"1.1,

lI: ]i

:l-:., ]1 the only civilian awarded the U.S. At-y for actions e has since found fame in nce ... and Youzg with Lt. e book, about first major et Cong forces, was made Grbson as Gen' Moore' into a film sørring Mel I*""* in the ho-opt"lT":l:::::l: s

ffiä:;""* " -ã:.' .n'itv*.":.1 :lî Iï i:: "GTttoww

\::i:::îYä "lo n1.f thi rj^l x'^,"i'#:,iJ;: :;ö* f ii'ìÏ *ji"g'"1 ;i'ffi

*X" ^J *: JÏJ:i'.:i:i

vi"i.u- 3; 1;"{1",t"îiTTi; "' 'ìî..of, L. J:nî^îi' Galloway Award to ',r,., l^^^^-ã.nr. rr'preserrtcu the Fund, presented ¡und' coveraqe ãri.rpord.nt, for his coverage Ale*anáer PertY, a Timz

f;i;"*

executrve dlrecLur

ofAfghanistan'

loway War Correspondents lontãn the awareness ol war

ind their crucial role in lic as th'f "Po't'l ::T::'around year as members of the

'

the world," Scruggs 'u'¿":'Éutr' lives' war correspondents

II.S. Armed Forces

o'ä;;*",

t"itnãit

p,:1.-1

i';i';""iî''i;

ï1, îJ J^lL are rnLimately journalists utt b:llg"i"be and now conflicts across the I *u" i" P""Ï',|"3t *ïti".i ;; '.'"'i

photograPhY hav

But the

change

arrived in Vietn

Chief Charlie

S

military-media re This was a the

the Commandan Maxwell Air Fot orricers "Tor-ao-aorl seneratlon ol ollLcrù ror the brame for "T::t"'^1t::i to blame ;;;;;;i." "r war \ooking

Sat-phones, laptops, fibre

optics and digital photography have altered the way wars are reported. But the change that most saddens Gallowaþ who arrived in Vietnam to relieve UPI's Hong Kong Bureau Chief Charlie Smith, is the deterioration in the military-media relationship over the past generation. in our nation's

defeat

Battle cry lvlel Gibson (playing Hal Moore) leads the charge (above) while soldiers in lhe real battle race a wounded buddy to a waiting chopper

How much easier it was to sirr¡ply shoot the messengers. This red herring was dragged through the Ofhcer Club bars of a thousand posts for a decade and more after the end of the Vietnam War. It became an

article offaith for a generation of off,rcers, and that led directly to the over-control and the spin control that

in

Vietnam. Many chose to blame the media ... By choosing the easy way out they obviated the painful need to carefully examine the root causes of our failure to win.

failures manifest

allowed the Gulf War to be fought in a nearvacuum...For all the faultless planning and flawless execution of the plan, for all the success at locking the media out of the loop, locking them up in hotel briefrng rooms far to the rear, in the end it was two very public television events that had much more to do with

ärphaned

THI.ì, CORRESPONDÈ,NT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

THE CORRISPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTI,MBER

2OO2

shaping the end of that war than all of the actions on or above the battlefreld. Those two events both occurred three days into the

war. One was Gen Schwarzkopf's "Mother of All Briefings", a masterful exposition of what had occurred and why. Near the end of that briefing, flush with the feeling that he had knocked the ball over the fence, the

general was asked a simple question: Have you achieved your objectives? He sang beautifully about how he had not wanted this wa¡ had hoped to avoid hghting it, didn't like seeing people dying in combat, and, yes, he supposed that his prime objective, the 17


liberation of Kuwait, had been achieved. In short, my old friend allowed his bullfrog mouth to overload his tadpole

ass.

n hour later his phone began ringing with calls from the White Flouse: Wasn't it time to begin working out the ceasefire? No, said the general, he was still 48 or more hours away from completion of the plan; his tanks were still engaged heavily with units of the Republican Guard; the 24th Mech was only now pulling into place to close the sack behind the enemy in the Euphrates Valley. The voice on the phone responded, "General, that's not what you just told a worldwide TV audience of more than two billion people."... The second very public event was the broadcast of film of the so-called Highway of Death and its scenes of miles and miles of shattered and burning wreckage strewn along Highway 8. The film of the Highuay of Death, unanalysed, gave the impression that thousands and thousands of Iraqis, innocent and guilty

affairs puke will be on the line asking you how many media pukes 1,ou want to take with you. \A/hen that day comes, the right answer is: "Yes siÂĄ yes sir, I'll take three bags full, but send me the brightest and best ones you have." Then farm them out with your lieutenants and captains and let them go to war together. The experience of war will create bonds between them that cannot be broken; the young reporters will learn to love the soldiers and airmen just as you and your lieutenants have learned; and in the end 99% of the coverage that flows from this experience will be entirely positive. I want you to do this be cause it is right, and I ask you to do this so that there will be others like me 30 years down the road who know and love your profession and can translate it for the American T o 3 o c l l c o

alike, had been slaughtered. Even (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs)

Gen Colin Powell believed that what had happened was a turkey shoot, and, in his words, Americans don't indulge in turkey shoots. He increased the pressure

on Gen Schwarzkopf to

conclude

arrangements for an immediate ceasefire. Had there been even one or two

reporters and cameramen on the ground to take a fĂŹrsthand look at that highway, we would have known then and there that the Highuay of Death was, in fact, a Highway of Dead Toyotas ... that the drivers and passengers ... had beat feet out into the desert. That the casualties in the great turkey shoot were perhaps no more than 150 or 200 killed. I've since made a couple of other deployments, including Korea and Haiti, and closely watched the deplo;zments to Somalia and Bosnia. Some of the lessons learned in the Gulf seem to be being applied with a good deal more foresight and planning by the new generation of commanders. There have been bobbles and missteps on both sides but nothing that I consider fatal. But there is still that underlying suspicion: Your peers tell you that I, and people like me, are your enemy. My peers tell me that you, and people like you, are my enemy. The correct answer to both groups is: Bullshit! ... Some day, some of you in this room will wear stars and carry the heavy responsibility of high command. Inevitably, the day will come when you must lead your young lieutenants and captains into the horror that is war.

When that day comes, or in the days before it will likely ring and some public

comes, the phone

18

t.'

Jr

Reality vs

Hollywood Aid men treat the

wounded under fire in LZ X-ray in 1965 (above),

while Hollwood actors stage a firefight while re-enacting the same battle.

public...Your world, your profession, has given me the best friends of my life and both the greatest happiness and greatest sorrow I have ever known.

I would leave you with these lines from Rudyard Kipling in which he tried to explain his relationship with the British Army. They explain something of what I feel: I'ae eaten your hread and salt, I'ae drunk your water and wi,ne; The deaths ye ue died I'ue watched beside,

And

the liaes that ye'ue led were mine. God bless you and God, bless our country. " THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST,/SEPTI,MBER

2OO2


r o o €

d I

g Io a o

l o

"With this project, we are actually tryng to tap into the local market," said Ms Lau. "Believe it or not over 95% of Hong Kong people have never been in a helicopter in their life. "

Since 1997 , Helicopters Hong Kong Ltd has provided a bird's eye view of the SAR, offering a wide variety of services ranging from scenic trips to parry entertainment. The Correspondent sent a team to investigate and to hear about the company's ambitious plans for the future. marriage may be made in heaven, but an essential preliminary to that event, the marriage proposal, is routinely regarded as a ground-based procedure.

in Hong Kong. As Clara Lau, commercial director of However this is not necessarily the case

HeliHongKong, explained, the key question has been

popped on a number of occasions aboard her company's helicopters by passengers with more on their mind than the stunning aerial perspectives of

mind than adoring couples. Since June 28, it

has

energetically promoted its daily, 3 pm scenic tours that will operate even if the six-passenger Eurocopter 45350 83 is not full, differing from rival company Heliservices which operates charter flights. '1Ve are the first company willing to take the risk of having to fly our aircraft at three o'clock daily even if there is only one passenger on board. Once we take the booking, we are committed to fly unless the weather

And, she added, the proposals have always been accepted, if only for the somewhat unromantic reason that anybody who is inclined to refuse might fear being abruptþ shown the door at 1,000 feet. HeliHongKong, sister company to East Asia Airlines

- breakthrough we turns out to be lousy. That's the are making," said Ms Lau. Under the current FIT (Frequent Individual Traveller) tariff valid until 31 October, the cost per passenger is HK$800 for a 12-minute trip. In early August weather that looked to this trained observer ¡o be middling-to-lous¡ a multi-media team

Limited that shuttles between Hong Kong, Macau and, more recentl¡ Shenzhen, has a far wider market in

frolle The Conespondenú (pictures Terry Duckham, words Jonathan Sharp, jazz piano Allen Youngblood) was

the land below.

20

THE CORRESPONDENT AUG UST/SEPTEMBER

Clockwise from top /eff Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre; Lantau lsland; Ting Kau Bridge; Big Buddha; Ocean Park and Kau Sai Chau Golf Course

THE CORRESPON DENT AUGUST/SEPTEM BER

2OO2

,l

2OO2

21


:al

vllE SKY:s rHE Hnllr

given a l5-minute spin counter-clockwise around Hong Kong island, with a loop up to Clearwater Bay. We marveled not just at the exhilarating views but also at the comforting stability of the helicopter, piloted by imperturbable New Zealander Allan Gordon, as we skipped past rain squalls.

or Youngblood, who normally keeps his feet hrmly notjust on the ground, but somewhere beneath it in Bert's, it was a special e66¿sie¡r his first ride in a helicopter. "It was just great being in the sky and not being on the airplane," he commented. (Actually a helicopter is also an airplane,

¡.

but we know what he means). "Since we

/' ,,-,#Í

fì\'

l-\ÌD

HONO

KONO

had

headphones on it wasn't noisy. Plus, a week or so before then, I had sailed around that same area so it was interesting to see Hong Kong from a new perspective. Sometimes you forget that there is a lot of green in Hong Kong. "It was great, wonderful. I would do it again in a heartbeat." \Mhich is exactly the sort of sentiment that HeliHongKong hopes to hear, not just from tourists who at present bring in the bulk of revenue, but also from Hong Kong residents.

"With this project, we are actually trying to tap into the local market," said Ms Lau. "Believe it or not over 95Vo of Hong Kong people have never been in a helicopter in their life." The attraction, apart from the excitement of the birds-eye views? The reasonable price, says the company, and the fact that customers do not have to charter the

Announcing the arrival of our brand new Eurocopter AS350 83. This high performance aircraft provides the best aerial platform in Hong Kong for

filming, photography, surveying and much more. Combined with our pilot's expertise, experience and local knowledge, the sky's the limit as to what can be achieved over one of the most spectacular areas in the world.

HeliHongKong has also launched the first ever daily helicopter schedule, Helitours

for small groups or

in

ividuals. We depart from Central Helipad every day at 3pm, and

the aircraft does not have to be full! Fasten your seat belt

w ww. h

e I ih o n

gk

o n 9,. c

o rtt

HeliHongKong at present operates its joyrides from a heliport next to the old Tamar site, and expects to have to move when that site is developed. The company would love to have a base in Central, but that is seen as an unlikely prospect. Somewhere on the West Kowloon reclamation near the Western Harbour tunnel seems more likely, although it is not ideal at the moment because of limited road access. To cope with an expected increase in demand, the company is taking delivery of a second B3 helicopter, which sales manager Kenny Dominick noted would

- 7 Fax 2108 9938 or call our daíly

to foreign film companies. Ms Lau said

that

HeliHongKong had been approached by a Hol\'r,vood frlm-making company that wanted to hire a helicopter to film in Hong Kong skies. She also said that the Hong Kong Tourism Board had been highly supportive in promoting the helicopter trips as a high-end product for tourists. But she is less huppy about the Hong Kong governmenl's policy on fuel costs, which she described as being "ridiculous". Because the helicopters are regarded as

being in the private sector, and not as public

transportation, fuel runs at over HK$10 a litre, instead translates into a hefty HK$3,000 per hour of flying time. "That is one area that the Hong Kong government can certainly work on if they want to try to work with us in promoting Hong Kong tourism." l

of HK$Z. That

be dedicated to the requirements of photographers, professional as well as amateur. The feat"ures include a body harness giving the more lntrepflá

snappers more flexibility

for the ride of your life.

For further detaíls call our professional Sales Teant on 210B 9916 schedules hotline on 2"108 99Bg

entire aircraft.

Tai Long Wan

and

manoeuvrability, allowing them to stand outside the cabin on the helicopter skids to maximize the coverage of their shots. Arrangements are being made to fit a camera mount on the nose of the

helicopters so that video footage and stills can be shot by remote control with a joystick operated from inside the helicopter. The company is also pitching THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

FCC's Jonathan Sharp and Allen Youngblood (centre)with Paris Lord of The Standard

(left) and HeliHongKong Ground Attendant, Aires, with Kenny Dominick (right)

23


angha¡

FGG

ai's latest FCC n April 18, 2002

interests of "improving mutual friendship". He left China shortly afterwards. From then on foreign correspondents would gather

w

Shanghai Foreign C

Its short historY h¿

"'n"tti""^ alo Chongqing, moved government to Nanjing a floor of the famous Shang Huangpu River, before de

1949 as Mao's communists swepl to power'

That very rt.., ro.àïit äot"ttpo"aents' lives on as the Hong Kong

club now

\ÀIhen Shanghai re-ope

the early 1990s, Reuters' Andrew Browne and othe press corps, many from J second Shanghai FCC. A I

I

L

I

(FCCS), we assumed, wa China could offìcially exis of the communist partY never bothered to seek su major newswires had Shanghai and other media

i

I

'

I

I

hat htted very neatly into revolutionary

changes in Chinese society recently. The government is withdrawing from many parts

of the society, especially from the economy, but also from social organisations like neighborhood committees. Traditional lines of communication between government and sociery are breaking down and the government is actively pushing for a civil society to emerge and replace the old chains

at the FCCS meetings wa because there was not ver Apart from the necessarY e not much else was achiev speakers but nothing cam Once we filed a Protest Affairs about an issue ever was conveniently ignored,

of

howev

existence. As Andy Brown Shanghai, the FCCS ha Attending meetings at tha that was to only way to president in absentia.

tYI^JTåi:: That's what happened to one -of t""ta ot*1,t:::iï.; colleagues. He had

";;i; " lÏääJi;.iåå1,'ä;;gîi,1""tgi:,t.^.0"'i;.'î1 n'''h:l-1: ;#i''Ï":: ï:î.:""

äi'tï""

iupu"

^lä y^'-î'îlî',^TtJ *.;#;";*,'n: i1 on[.:t::ïl; ørrt*ed elected. president. wn^i ne1! ;.".ï.X äiï:i t:i;i";ä;; -'"ti"g our ïä-;eceiued'ry*.,X:itl ;i.à" *:'å-.i;, i""d;;iÇ the appare tv in

railed. to rurn up

;',ï5:"#

äï;ïil

command.

That does not extend into the political or religious but special interest groups are popping up all over the country. It might take some time before Falung Gong is invited to set up an off,rce here, but other aspects of civil society are emerging, including chambers of commerce and the FCCS. We decided it was a good time to act and catch this wave of change, so we formalised our informal network and in June we had our first official and very public FCCS meeting in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Former SCMP Beljing Bureau ChiefJasper Becker was guest speaker. The FCCS is small. Shanghai is home to only about 50 accredited journalists, although the number of nonaccredited journalists is increasing. Visiting FCC members are welcome to attend our gatherings. Contact Fons Tuinstra by telephone (+86 27) 6436 5019, mobile (+86) 1391 6349 026 or e-mail areÍra,

part of the government we

the government

changed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who identified me as one of the ringleaders of this supposedly illegal gathering, expressed offers of assitance. They admitted over lunch one day that one

of their functions was to control us "but we mainly want to help you," they stressed. They also told us that our organisation was not as illegal as we assumed. "It is not legal, but it is also not illegal, as our country has no regulations yet to govern this kind of organisations," we were told.

those early meetings. The Foreign CorresPo

I

average once a year over dinner to discuss the establishment of a club, but work was picking up and we were all very busy. With the emergence of the Internet as a communication tool, we set up a mailing list and held informal monthly meetings, sometimes with a speaker. But we remained an informal, almost underground organ isat ion. Then late last year the official attitude suddenly

on

predecessors - -^ ^^',arnnìÊfìt. governnlen historical .uån,. and the Chinese in 1943 tn The first FCC in "Íablished

e,,..u,'

n

<dnas@public.sta.net.cn>.

I

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

Rehu¡lding the Encat Wall The Great Wall of China has survived hundreds of years of damage modern and destruction, but it is now facing its greatest threat development. William Lindesay, author of Alone on the Great Wall, and founder of International Friends of the Great Wall, is a recognised expert on the subject. Jonathan Sharþ reports sk William Lindesay how he is feeling, and he is likely to answer: "I'm fine, but the Great Wall is not." If one infers from that reply that indesay regards the well-being of the Great of China as being at least as important as his own, Wall may not be far from the truth, that conclusion then Liverpool-born Englishman, now a the because resident of China, has for years been an indefatigable campaigner to protect what he regards as the number one man-made wonder of the world. And, according to Lindesa¡ the Wall now needs all the help it can get. The majestic rampart snaking across north China may have surúved many hundreds of years of wars, neg-lect, the Cultural Revolution, and, not least, as being a useful source of building materials by farmers liúng along its enormous length, but now it faces its from unfettered modern development. greatest threat As any recent visitor to the most popular restored section of the Wall, at Badaling north of Beijing, can testify, Lindesay has a point. Badaling, which was where President Richard Nixon famously observed 1n 7972 that the Wall is truly "a great wall", is now a morass of tacky commercialism. "Horrific" is the word Lindesay uses to describe the plight of this once pristine section of the awesome defence fortifrcation. Lindesay warns that by 2020 or 2030,large sections of the Wall, especially the 673-km length located within the sprawling Beijing municipality, will be similarly swamped, sacrificed to the tourism dollar. "I really fear that modernisation will do what the Mongols, the Manchus and Mao never did. It will really destroy the soul and integrity of the Great Wall." Lindesay's presentation to an FCC lunch was entitled "Rebuilding the Great Wall", but he saicl this was a misnomer. He views it as a mistaite to extend the nine or 10 km of the Wall that have so far been restored near Beijing for the beneht of tourists. He is not against mass tourism, but he believes the present sites are sufhcient. Other sections, which are in various states of disrepair and described by Lindesay as Wild Wall, should be preserved in their present condition, with Iimits imposed on the numbers of visitors, and a system of stewardship established to protect the Wall. "Of course this is going to be a difficult song to sing in China because the Chinese people have been fed up THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2002

with being told that socialism will deliver everything, and stewardship is a kind of environmental socialism." Lindesay, who in the 1980s realised a childhood dream and walked more than 2,000 km along or near the Wall, knows that he is up against more than the interests of big business. Dirt-poor farmers along the Wall's length also see it as their road to riches. Some have erected ladders to enable visitors to climb up to the Wall, charging them a few 1'uan for the privilege. In one spot, a mobile phone aerial has been erected. Regulations do exist, such as those in the Beijing area that bar construction within 200 metres of the Wall. "But (this regulation) is violated in scores of places, and the problem is that no one monitors it and no one has ever issued warnings to the violators, let alone lawsuits."

Lindesay has done much more than being an eloquent and tireless lobbyist on behalf of his beloved

Wall. He has organised well-publicised

clean-up

campaigns to remo\/e mounds of garbage accumulated

on the structure. "I have used my fame as the most famous foreign garbage collector in China to talk about the real issues to the highest ofhcials in the land responsible for these problems." Those offrcials agree with him on the need for conservation. "But the problem is, how do we do it?

Lindesay's other activities include the donation of garbage bins and the placing of "green message" notice boards and the setting up of a pilot ranger scheme employing five farmers to remove garbage from a wilderness section of the Wall.

He is also the founder of a non-profit

society

registered in Hong Kong called "International Friends of the Great Wall" whose mission statement includes

helping "China's cultural-relics protection authorities address some of the problems in a more timely, efficient and professional way." To frnd out more about Lindesay and his work, see his web site <www.wildwall.com> and his book Alone on the Great Wall about his epic 1980s trek. Better still, do as the author of this report has done and visit Lindesay and his Chinese wife at their charming renovated farmhouse near an unrestored section of the Wall, from where Lindesay organises hiking tours on and around what he sees perhaps the most famous building ever constrlrcted by mankind. I

25


compatny a,ccounts

The names Enron and Andersen are now synonymous with financial shenanigans. One of world's experts on how companies hide the truth, Howard Schilit, oPened the curtain slightly. ExcerPts from his talk:

he title of the book I authored, Financial Shenanigans, originally published in 1993, was the combination of a decade of research looking at companies that were using accountins tricks in order to inflate their stock price...I was very interested in people, why people do naughty things and how they hide the truth from others. As an accounting prolessor, I was teaching courses in frnancial accounting, financial statement analysis and my interest

naturally gravitated to what are some of the tricks management can use to inflate their profìts. I began looking at some of the

biggest accounting

fiascoes

during the last generation or two...Pen CentraI, Equity

Funding, National Steward

Marketing ... all were some of the big accounting frauds during the 1970s and 1980s. I began looking at some of those court records

and Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement releases

I knew

I became a pathologist. something bad had

happened and I was teaching the next generation of auditors.. How could they do a better job than their previous generation unless they learnt lessons from history? That was my yearning about a decade ago, learning lessons myself and then teaching those lessons to the young accounting majors. I became a storyteller. I was not simply teaching accounting rules, I was coming in with the examples of how companies were bending and twisting the rules in order to impress the investors. As a teacher tries to do, I tried to reach more and more students and that's why I started writing articles, not intended for the academic audience, but for the professional

audience. I didn't score very many points in the academic world because I was publishing in all the

26

wrong journals. We work with close to 500 investment

firms around the world covering North American (and) European companies and (soon) we will be launching coverage on Asian companies. We expect to have field day...I mean, if what happened in Enron with all of the controls, with outside directors, with audit committee members, with a whole variety of checks and balances...if that can happen in America, imagine

what we are going to find looking at companies in this region that just don't have that

of corporate governance and detailed reporting.

level

The major message is it's not that diffìcult to find companies that are plapng games with their accounting...Many of the people whom I trained, both those who work for my organisation and those who are clients of ours, don't have a veîy substantial background in accounting, but they are journalists... who are able to look at a picture, see its changing pattern and ask the right questions. For example ...If

you look at a

company's

statement of income, and... create a pie chart of the

operating expenses in relationship to the total révenue...If a company's selling expense historically had been 60% of the total sales... (and) ...our analyst...all of a sudclen notices that the selling expense...has now dropped to 52%, the hrst thing I teach them (is to) look for and create spread sheets where you find a significant change in pattern. Going from 60% to 52% is an enormous change... The markets, the investors would have reacted immediately...The company's business became more efficient (and) their operating profits improved' !Vhy? Because their selling expense which historically represents the 60Ø on every dollar that came in is now THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

only 52ê. So the knee-jerk reaction is great news and the stock certainly would be trading up on that. That's where we would begin our investigation. I will give you four possible causes of that improvement and only one of them is good news...I will use my company as an example (for the first option). Up until late 1999, we distributed our research

by printing reports (and) sending them by Fedex. That's expensive distribution. In late 1999, I said there is a better way, e-mails are free. We send out today close

to 4,000 e-mails each morning and it

gives the

headlines of the companies we write on.

utting reports on our website is free. Every morning we put two or three reports on our website. So if you were looking at our operating margins right before and right after we made this switch, you would have noticed a very dramatic improvement in our operating margins. That's exactly what you should be looking for...you want to look at other companies in that industr/. \44ry should only one company receive those kinds of benefrts? The frrst hypothesis is there was a structural change in the company's business that

Ied to a major reduction in those operating costs. Let's assume for argument sake, we frnd no evidence of that, cross that off. Second option: Let's turn the clock back to September of last year, right after September 11. We had 19 days before the end of the quarter. Companies were beginning to get nervous that they are going to fail to meet the analysts' expectations and what did they do? They decided to cut any discretionary expenses, marketing, promotion, R&D which the companies can gauge the timing of when they are going to be incurring those costs. Let's assume that you find evidence that that's exactly what the is company did. Well now you have to interpret that that good or bad news?...If it is neither then it is no news...If the company intentionally failed to spend what they normally spend on R&D, that's bad news. They are either pushing those costs to Q4 or maybe (they) can get by spending less on R&D. (Is) that a company you would feel comfortable investing in? I wouldn't. Third option: Remember we were swapping (we) created a pie chart showing that the changes selling expense dropped. We are doing the same thing on the balance sheet and we notice 'that one of the assets, let's call it Other Current Assets we never - in that know what the company is really including had never been more than 4Vo of the total assets. Now ít's71o/o. That's interesting! Is itjust a coincidence that the same period we saw this amazing improvement in our operating margins, we see a big bulge in one of these soft assets? If you look at my list of Seven Shenanigans, #4 in that list is shifting current period expenses to a later period. The technical term in accounting is to capitalise those costs, or in layman THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST,/SEPTEMBER

2OO2

terminology, the company decided to put some of those operating expenses on the balance sheet. So that's the reason why the selling expenses are much lower and Other Current Assets are much higher. Now it-'s looking like an accounting story. The fourth possibility... I am looking at the selling expense in relationship to sales. Maybe there is nothing wrong with the selling expense and everything wrong with the denominator. \4rhat if they threw into sales a big amount that had nothing to do with sales? A few years ago IBM had a US$4 billion dollar gain in selling a business to AT&T. What if they included that as part of their sales? They didn't...They included that as a reduction of their operating expenses, which is almost as bad.

I

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Governing Hong Kong: le gitim aclt c o mmuni c atio n

Ma,cau

on foot

and political de cay

A l$-year love affair with Macau by author editor Tbdd crowellhas been turned into a handy guide. he first time I visited Macau was to find an animal

smuggler. My flat-mate at the time' the late e"tñã"y Polik¡ wanted to bring his treasured R,r.mese cats from his home in Oregon into

Hong Kong and couldn't abide being separated from tft.niarrrin"g the six-month quarantine tl".t *:: then in in effect. Thrãugh the help of some of-his friencls pet shop ordinary an in Macau, we fou-nd the smuggler just off the main drag, Avenida de Almieda Ribeiro' For

ä p.i.e, he was quite willing to take the

animals' them smuggle then consigned legally to Macau, and a sampan' on Kong pu.t tit. marine police in to Hong I didn't join my friend in the receiving end of this operation, but can testifr -lrat one cat ended up safely

Mid-Levels apartm€nt' Jfte,smuggling op.rutioá worked flawlessly, but things a1a¡'t go so well in the US. One of the cats jumped out of the window of and was not the car on the way to the Portland airport 15 year my of seen again. That was the beginning the west' an to fascinaiion with our smalle neighbour

i., fotrty',

associationthatculminatedwiththerecentpublication of my new guidebook, Discoaer Macau' a Walking Guide and History.

Lookiíg back, I'm amazed at how much Macau has to look changed lñ tnat time' When I first went there looked Square Senate fo. oiur animal smuggler, the and banned are Cars decidedly rundown. Ñot toduy' Portuguese restored' th. ,qrrá.e has been lovingly white and craftsÅen were brought in to fashion black pavement out of

^wavy

the plaza its distinctive

In those daYs, the P housed only the small head Depart-eit and was not very interesting to.visit' Then in tgg4 aninspired decision was made to build in its place detailing the Museum of Macau, comprising three levels' ruins of n-earþ The the history of Macau and its people' the extent to "restored" St Paul's Church have also been smoothed been has that the area behind the stone façade over and a crypt forJapanese and Vietnamese.Christians' has been who built the church i400 ytutt old this year) Of course' museum' art added, along with a small sacred

*oJld dt.u- of rebuilding the church itself (destráyed in an 1835 frre) ¡rnce. the singularity of the

nobody

Since the 1990s the Macau government has spent millions of patacas on restoring and polishing the enclave's heritage Portuguese and Chinese. You can see the results everlwhere in explosions of pink, red and orange. This programme represents a fundamental

difference as to how Macau and Hong Kong have reacted to the resumption of Chinese sovereignty. Hong Kong, of course, worries constantly about its precious autonomy, which it defrnes almost totally in political terms, such as the rule of law and democracy. Macau frets about maintaining its distinctiveness, which it defrnes in cultural and architectural terms. Macau is a small place; it could easily be absorbed into faceìess, characterless Zhuhai across the border. But then the government has been doing a lot more than just restoring old buildings. I can remember when the old Praia Grande still had something of its original character, a languid place where one could sit on the balcony of the old Bela Vista Hotel and watch the sampans glide into the Inner Harbour. Now, of course the praia has been all but obliterated by an enormous reclamation project that has created two artihcial lakes" enclosed by a sweeping expressway.

This project has become the platform for some rather bizarre monuments, such as the black, slab-like gateway to "harmony," that looks sort of like the black stele from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001, a Space Odyssey The years immediately before the 1999 handover were obviously bountiful ones for Portuguese architects. One wonders, too, what will happen when the Las Vegas impresarios who won two of the three new gambling concessions get their hooks into the enclave.

But for the moment,

arryway, enough of Macau's heritage and charm remains to keep aficionados huppy and coming back. I Todd, Crowell's

last

booh,

recently þublished.

Discouer Møcøu: AWalking Guide a.nd History By Todd Crowell Asia2000, Hong Kong rsBN 962-8783-22-X PB ll8 pages, HK$75

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

By Ðr Sonny Lo Shiu-hing

By Ðan Kubiske s Tung Chee-Hwa begins his second term, he places much hope in his new "dream team" of appointed bureau heads to build

more support from the people of Hong Kong. The creation of the so-called accountability system seeks to make the government more responsive

to the needs of the people. \A/hat Tung is really looking for, says the author of a new book, is not so much accountability as legitimacy. Associate Professor Sonny Lo Shiu-hing of the University Hong Kong, and contributor to the Hong I(ong Transition Project at Hong Kong Baptist University, began collecting data for Gouerning Hong Kong: Legotimaq, Communication anrl Political Decay immediately after the Handover in 1997, specifically the period between July 1, 1997 and the resignation of former Chief Secretary Anson Chan in April 2001. Lo identifres the end of this second transition phase as one of shifting from rule by a "pro-Hong Kong" team to one led by Tung and a more "pro-China" team. Lo decries the "reverse democratisation" that has taken place since the Handover in a clash of cultures. He summarised the clash as one of the Chinese

civilisation emphasising harmony and hierarchy

whereas Western civilisation values social pluralism,

political representation and the rule of law. The Tung administration, he writes, exemplifies n{ore the Chinese

system than

the Western, creating obstacles

to

clemocratisation. "If de-democratisation in the HKSAR signals a clash of the Chinese and Western civilisations, political decay in the territory illustrates the political tdumph of the Chinese over the Westernvalues," Lowrote. For a government to be successful, Lo argues, it must have legitimacy. He identifies two key forms of

Tokyo, City on the Edge

Iegitimacy that provide valuable support

for

a

government: procedural and performance. Procedural legitimacy comes from how well a system works to

standin.q stone wall is its chief fascination'

28

A vital addition to the debate on governance . Dan Kubiske reviews the book by author academic Dr Sonny Lo of HKU' s Department of Politics and Public Administration. Meanwhile, Dr Lo explains the background to its publication. Dr Lo is also part of the Hong Kong Transition Project.

2OO2

THE coRRESpoNDENT AUGUST/sErTEMBER 2002

was completed in the summer of 1999. However, the

events unfolding in the HKSAR soon made my draft manuscript outdated. From the summer of 1999 to the summer of 2000, a series of events took

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orì

"-"Ïìiî,,i,ii:î';

air-conditioning was not turned on. At one point, could no longer tolerate working in my office.

I

The book's content is perhaps

needs of the populace. Performance legitimacy is based on how well those aspirations are met.

In a time of economic

prosperity, as enjoyed by Hong Kong before the Asian economic crisis of 1997, the British colonial government enjoyed a degree of support because economic times were good. In the last 10-12 years of that rule, Lo notes the Rritish also instituted a number of reforms that provided valuable i

I I

I

feedback to the expatriate bureau chiefs and the governor. The election reforms of 1985 anrl 1991 combined with an already in-place informal network of feedback loops between the bureau chiefs, their Chinese subordinates and the general public added

Commencement

of

academically I use the data politically very sensttive. and controversial and most government documents, from newspapers, with local personal interviews extensive importantly,

politicians and societal elites. Most of their identities

were kept anonymous because they spoke openly about various controversial and sensitive issues. As an academic conducting research on Hong Kong politics since the mid-1980s, I have become increasingly aware of the need to protect my interviewees, especially when a few of them discussed the role of the Chinese officials

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and enhanced communication vehicles illustrated a lack of intellectual input in its governance. The elimination of the rnunicipal councils took away a method of feedback

he fact that the Tung administration went ahead with its plan to eliminate the councils, said Lo, showed a lack of communication with the people and an understanding of how Hong Kong people view reform. Lo argues a slower approach on major steps, such as abolishing the municipal councils, would have found more support hacl they been incremental or moderate in nature. It is the lack of communication with the people that Tung claims the new system of governance will address. According to Lo it is a procedural legitimacy that Tung

or correctness, political mobilisation of

pro-Beijing

groups in support of various government policies and reforms, and the recent increase in the discretion of police in handling protestors.

civilisation.

now faces. Yet at the same time, he says, the panacea to the

While Western civilisation emphasises individual

is universal suffrage. Unfortunately for

autonomy, political diversity and accountability, the

supPorters of that proposiúon concerns by the business comnrunity that a move to too much democracy will allow

Chinese civilisation puts much stress on individual subordination, political conformity and paternalism. Since the Chinese resumption of its sovereignty over Hong Kong, gradual political decay has also been attributable to this clash of Chinese and Western civilisations. The Chinese civilisation has proved to be dominant, thus leading to retrogressive political moves in the HKSAR.I

im{or hurdle to overcome. Lo breaks down the issues chapter-by-chapter and .issueì¡¡,-i55¡1s. He includ., .norrgh tables anã survey

G oa

e

rnin g H on g Kon g :

L

e

gitma cy,

Co

mmuni c ati on

and Politicøl Decay externally.

BySHLo

ThebookalsocontendsthatTunghasrelativelY weak procedure legitimã.V in tf." WeJtern :1: XÎ

Nova Science Publishers 2002 rsBN l-59033-095-l PB, )O( pages, HK$300 (through the author)

e-moil: chi@secondopinion.hk.com 2OO2

30

Overall, political decay in the HKSAR does not take the form of military coups or corruption as

The book concludes that 'One Country, Two Systems'is supposed to be an imaginative idea, but it has been undermined by the lack of creativity on the part of the first HKSAR government. Futhermore, the slogan's meaning has also changed over time. Before the Handover, the aspect of 'Two Systems'appeared to be attractive to the people of Hong Kong. After the resumption of Chinese sovereignty,'One Country' has been dominating the'Two Systems'. It is anticipated that the HKSAR's political decay will continue as long as the People's Republic of China does not fundamentally liberalise and democratise its authoritatian political system. Perhaps the political decay in the HKSAR is indicative of the clash of civilisation, to use the words of Samuel Huntington. Several decades of the rule of law, political openness and transparency in Hong Kong under British rule cannot match with the powerful thrust of Chinese

nottg. China's concern losine political 'control over lhe

MBBs(HK), FHKCPoth, FHKAM(Poth) Diplomote, Am¿ricon Board of Anotomical & Clinicol Pothology

politics, the political elites are groomed and recruited on the basis of their redness, but not necessarily their expertise.

Trurg when they were removed. Further harming public confidence in Tung were the results of surveys taken by the Hong Kong Transition Project that showed in 1998, 43% of the people were in favour of combining a moderate the municipal councils into one body )'37o favoured only their abolition a while ref'orm aPProach. more radical

While debates can be held about the fìnancial wisdom of keeping or eliminating the councils, under Lo's arguments, their roles as a legitimising tool hurt

Chief Executive also remains

Dr. Feng, Chi-Shun

the system even less effective than the career civil service. The reason is that with patronclient politics or cronyism emerging in Hong Kong

happens in most Third World states. Political decay in the HKSAR takes the form of an intolerance of political dissent, an increasing importance of political redness

to play a m{or role in policy decisions provide a stumbling block within Hong

Need o second oPinion?

The poor pedormance of the HKSAR government also stemmed from its managerial incompetence and unaccountable bureaucracy. Although the

was valuable to the British were removed it also removed a they governor. When for people to express their concerns channel áemocratic with the government. ancl there frustrations

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government has recently introduced its accountability system for senior officials, it entails the risk of making

orovide support and legitimacy were no longer in olace, leaving Tung weaker than Patten would have i-r..r, i,-, a similar situation' Lo notes the refusal by the Tung administration to bllttress its legitimacy through the use of democratisation

when the weather was extremely hot and my building s

to the desires and

tion gap between the people. Thus and when the Asian the government the loss of procedures hit, that could crisis economic

events.

and at weekends. I still recall the difficult Sundays

adapt

From the beginning the Tung administration

pedormance, Tung failed to do so. That Patten was a one-issue governor also left a huge legacy to Tung, who has to implement various reforms like education.

procedural legitimacy to the government whenever moved on controversial issues.

Compounding my difficulty of revising the book was that I was appointed as an Associate Dean, increasing my work load so I had to revise the book in the evening

Lo Shrir\urig

it

place, such as civil service reforms and protests, the Robert Chung incident, the resignation of Anson Chan, and the chaos surrounding the government's housing policy. Therefore I decided to revise the entire manuscript from January to July 2000. The rev¡sion process was very difficult because I had to take into consideration the rapidly changing political

THE <t<xn¡:s.oNDENT

THE CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/ST'PTENIRER

-

AUGUST/'E'TEMBER

2002

3l


The FCC's resident artist Arthur Hacker welcomes back to the Maìn Bar artist Malcolm Golding who put logether the Fetish Fashion Fund collection

(Left) Speaking on a conference call from Austria, former Governor Chris Patten toasts spin-meister Kerry lVcGlynn at his retirement party thrown by the FCC: (right)

Arthur Hacker signs Kerry McGlynn's farewell poster

Michelle Yeoh's appearance at the FCC to promote her latest film attracted one of the largest lunchtime turnouts this summer

\,u Hong Kong days were recalled over lunch in July when Gillian Sutch (second from right) caughl up with friends in Sydney after her husband's memorial service in Hong Kong From left are Heather Mackinnon (ex-Dragonarr public relalions), David Bell (still Cathay Pacific public relationsl), Gillian Sutch (widow of Peter Sutch) and Ken Ball (ex-HKTDC and the Hongkong Standarcl)

(Left)fhe crooners f rom the Yale Spiziwinks graced the Main Dining Room, while (top) Jamie Murcell got on the drums in Bert's

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Veteran correspondent Anthony Lawrence celebrated his 90th birthday in August. Tung Chee-Hwa wáÈ along to propose the birthday toast, and (right) co-workers from the lnternational Social Services Hong Kong branch

RTî

gç v

I

(Above left) lvlembers examine the new exercise machines as the revamped health centre opens, while (right) olher prefer to concentrate on a healthy power breakfast (Above right) Before starting their new exercise regime watch this space for the "afte/'

:

q-

picture.,.

32

THI.-, CORRESPONDENT AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2OO2

THE CORRESPONDI,NT AUGUST/SEPTìJMBI],R

2OO2

33


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Profession:

Wordsmith, scribbler, scribe and former editor.

Nationality:

'merican.

Least likely to say:

Where are my specs?

Most likely to say:

Let's close Bert's and head to The Wanch.

Photography by Bob Davis THE CORRESPONDENT AUCUST 'SE,PTEMßER

2OO2

J/


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35


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I

Heroes

1

Assembling the right group of performers

rc bacþ Martha

Reeues

utould haue most

musical directors in Asia bins au.'taþe at night. But the FCC is fortunate in hauing

Allen Youngblood as musical director. He rclls Robin

þnam

Adams, is a virtuoso seven string bassist who also knows

to lock down a groove and push a song along, as his recorded work with Sister Sledge and Pat Kelly demonstrates, He has also worked with Motownt exactly how

how he put together the

perfect musical team for the inaugural FCC Charity Ball.

\Øayman Tisdale.

"A first class horn section was

obviously absolutely essential to recreate the Martha and the Vandellas sound, and I needed players who could both bring something crearive to the music and respond well to the very tight discipline it involves," explains Youngblood. Fortunatel¡ thanks to his

aving shouldered the responsibility for assembling and rehearsing the musicians making up tonight's razor-sharp band,

with an exhaustive list of the biggest and most demanding names in iazz, soul

"The problem is that Hong Kong now has a pool of strong players who are so much in demand around Asia and down in Australia that it's difficult to guarantee their

Between them, they have played

being in town. Plus I was asking for their commitment for just a single gig, and the rehearsal time." Fortunately it was a gig that all the musicians he

their involvement in recordings and concert appearances by the biggest names in Canto poP.

they also wanted to be part of this event. Most of the musicians in the band have performed at Bert's at one time or another, often with Youngblood, and he knew when he called that the foundations for the

all-important musical empathy that had to exist between them had already been laid. To put together musicians of this calibre anywhere else in Asia - outside Japan - would have been simply impossible.

24

All

are notable soloists

in their own right.

tooþ some pulling toget/ter,"

Youngblood concludes, "but in the end t/)e mdnaged to assemble quite a band."

he is held by the musical communit¡ he was able to

going to require an advanced degree in logistics. "It's not that we dont have the musicians here," he

approached were keen to play. Everyone wanted to work with Martha Reeves and since Bert's lazz bar at the FCC has become a home away from home for many of them,

*It

extensive contacts book and the high regard in which

Youngblood swiftly discovered that finding the right players and getting them to commit to the date was

says,

propulsive drumming is Larry Hammond who has successfully led his own groups in North America and Europe as well as Asia. Other artists with whom he has worked range from Sonny Stitt to Kenny G and include Nat Adderle¡ The Platrers and Atlantic Star. The Canto pop artists who call on Hammond to put his distinctive stamp on their recordings include Andy Lau, CoCo Lee, Kenny B, Jackie Cheung and \Øilliam So. Hammondt partner in the rhythm section, Flynn

and R8¿8. They have a loyal local following, too, from

Youngblood, who during Martha Reeves's set will

bandleader's hat to her longstanding musical director, veteran jazz gtljtarist Perry Hughes, \,vas already well known as a pianist and jazz festival organiser in the United States before moving to Hong Kong a decade ago. His small-group performances in Bert's and at various other venues around Hong Kong are regarded by local iazz fans as not-to-be-missed events, but he is just as comfortable in a range of other musical settings and is no stranger

be handing over his

to the Motown songbook. Another Bertt regular, now as well known for his soulful gospel influenced vocal style as for his funþ

attract the best. Discipline is something Mark Henderson certainly learned during his stint as a combat paratrooper with the US Arm¡ but his forceful style was forged much earlier on the Stateside R S¿ B circuit which he began playing at the age of just 15. Much in demand in several other Asian cities as well as Hong Kong, he currently divides his time benveen engagemenrs here and in Bangkok. Tenor saxophonist Mark Spencer's Motown credentials are impeccable. He has played with the Four

Tops and the Supremes as well as

a.ì

long list of

distinguished jazz artists. Thombonist Ben Pelletier is well

known to Hong Kong audiences both as a radio presenter and for his work with local big bands. The sonorous tone of Craig Steffensen's baritone sax completes a stellar line up of horns.

"It took some pulling togethe¡" concludes,

Youngblood

"but in the end we managed to

quite a band".

assemble

I 25


at Detroitk Twenry Grand Club that he invited her to work as a secretary - the companyt first - at the Motown offices. Giving up her job at a dry cleaner's, she

Martha Reeves

r Motown

D,iva

started work the next day. Stevenson insists that while Martha

THE EASTERN PROMISE OF ORIENT.EXPRESS

did help with

scheduling musicians and arranging sessions at Motown, she never let an opportunity go by to remind him that

Initially she was allowed to sing on demos and backing vocals and was soon accompanying - amongst others - Marvin Gaye on whose Stubborn Kind of Felloa; for which the Vandellas

With its elegant cream and green carriages,

she was primarily a singer.

got their first label credit, The name was a combination

of a local address, Van Dyke Street, and

Berry Gordy took a shine to Reeves and offered her the chance to record under her own name. She re-assembled

as

Martha Reeues and the Vandellas powered through the 1960s and helped propel Motowlt into the popular music mainstream

atmosphere, the Eastern

& Oriental

Express

luxury train recalls a more romantic era.

Reeves' great

inspiration, Detroit-bred singing star Della Reese. She never looked back. Motown founder and owner

the Del-Phis, and

exquisite interiors and nostalgic

in 1962 they released their first single-

Martha and the Vandellas.

The group's first hit Come arcd Get These Memories was followed by the hugely popular Heatwaue, and then by hits like Nouhere to Run, Honey Chile, Im Reødy for Loue, Jimmy Macþ and of course, Dancing lrt The Street. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - her full name was added to the billin g in 1967 as the line up underwent the latest in a series of changes - powered through the 1960s and helped propel Motown into the popular

Passing through the landscapes

of

Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand it offers one of the world's great travel experiences. For more information on Asiats only luxury train, contact oereservations.singapore@orient-express.com or visit

www.orient-express.com Toll-free:001-800-8392-3500 Tet:(65)6392-3s00 Fax:(65)6392-3600

music mainstream.

Martha Reeves herself is a testament to youthful determination. The eldest of 12 children, she honed her voice and musical skills in her grandfathert Metropolitan

A,M.E. Church. In high school,

she performed

in several

all-girl groups, helped along the way with vocal training from Abraham Silver who also taught fellow future-

Motown labelmates Mary \Øilson and Florence Ballard of the Supremes.

to work hard to make her mark, however. There was no shortage of ambitious young talent fighting for a break in the smoky clubs and bars of downtown Detroit. Reeves, who began performing professionally as a teenager as Martha Lavaille, first with She had

the Fascinations, then with the Del-Phis, had to sweat to

propel herself into the top ranks. There were no short cuts in those days.

Her discovery in 1961 is a classic rags to riches story. Mickey Stevenson was so impressed by her performance

22

In 1968 Reevest career was put on hold due to illness but she reappeared in 1970 with a new group of Vandellas - there have been more than 100 over four decades - before leaving Motown in 1972 for a solo career. Martha and the Vandellas continue to perform internationall¡ enduring as one of the most potent reminders of Motownt glory days. In 1983 Martha and the Vandellas supplied one of the highpoints of the 1983 Motown 25th Anniversary

TV Special, and Reeves has since toured regularly and extensivel¡ often with former Motown artists performing the label's classic hits. The Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Martha Reeves currently lives in Los Angeles and tours some 42 weel<s of the yea¡ continuing to invite fans all over the world, as tonight in Hong Kong, to "Come and Get These Memories" and - whether in the street or not

-

to dance.

I

"Not everybody must achieve great things in life, but each should be given a fair chance". - President, Mercedes-Benz China Limited

Karlheinz Michel

We thank the FCC for letting us contribute to their Charity Ball in aid of Po Leung Kuk.


Ml of o w

n D iva

When Martha Reeues heard that the

.eË,ry/rry4ffrrrîr.qry¡q+t,{

Ist

Inaugural FCC Ball would benefit the underpriuiledged children of the Po Leung IAþ, she immediateþ utaiued part of her fee, a g€nerous act by a /tumane indiiudual who þnows what its liþe to battle the odds. ome recordings both define an era and rranscend

it. Døncing In

The Street

is one, and Martha

Reeves is the singer who brought the song to life. As he listened to her laying down her unforgettable lead vocal Motown A8¿R chief \Øilliam "Mickey'' Stevenson

knew he had a massive hit on his hands. "That's it. Itt a marriage," Srevenson enthused about the definitive performance of what became an anthem

for its times. The song, written by Stevenson and Marvin Gaye, dominated the airwaves during the long hot summer of 1964

as the

American Civil Rights movemenr

to the fore, and was interpreted by many as a political rallying uy. Reeves, perhaps a little disingenuously, declined to take the whole thing so seriously. 'My Lord, it was a party song,' she averred. surged

In

1964, Martha and

released what

is

Vandellas

perhaps their best-þnoutrt

tracþ, "Dancing in the Streets" -- a szng that fleu off the shelues, dominated the airutaues during that long /tot summer change and become an icon of its time.

of

It was, of course, both. Nearly 40 years latêr and more than half a world away, Dancing In The Street remains more than just a timeless summer song. It is an anthem of youth and freedom. It conjures up a delicious sense that life is a long, joyful warm summer night and that anything is possible. And so it makes the ideal theme for

the FCCt inaugural charity ball benefitting Hong Kongt underprivileged youth; giving them the chance ro seize opportunities otherwise denied to them. 27


I

l

A Child of

the Kuk

that catch something that touches your heart and collect memories." Seven years ago she went into business and took her creativity with her. Mary Cheung and Associates was voted best PR firm in Hong Kong by Jessica magazíne in June. "\Øe probably aren't really the best, but it is a sort of recognition. I am trying to merge the commercial aspect of my work with a strong volunteer element and this can really be made to appeal to clients." She helped set up the Jet Tour Charity Foundation where her travel agency clients send sick and underprivileged children on overseas trips four times a year. For Bentley-Rolls Royce she came up with the idea of using close to 100 of their cars, chauffeur-driven, to

carry old people in procession with police escorts from Causeway Bay to a banquet in \Øanchai' Celebrities sat up front and opened and closed the doors for them. Good was done, publicity was huge and everyone was happy.

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with offices worldwide can make this transidon easier by offering

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l8

For Mary Cheung, her photographic exhibitions this year mark a change in direction. A devout Christian and a reflective woman, new beginnings don't perturb her. Her first love is painting. She has studied with Chinese masters Yang Shen Sum and Li Xiong Cai. "I have left my paintbrush idle for 15 years. I do think it is time to put down my camera and return to painting again. I am confident that I will be a good painter," she says with a sudden emphatic selfconfidence.

Time once devoted to children is now loosening up. "I am going to live and paint in Paris for three to four UNESCO is helping me find a suitable months ^year.

studio. Even though I don't speak a word of French, I will be among artists who speak the same language. Hong Kong is a brilliant place with a great buzz, but not for painting. Paris is the place for me." Her path seems clear to her' That brisk selfconfidence makes a final appearance. "I will still run my business. I will still be doing things for others, and I will be avery good artist." I

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"This is why it is so appropriate and I'm so delighted that the FCC should raise money for university scholarships. It is something the Po Leung

A Child of th, e

birthdate because I am convinced I am a Leo and of course I always knew I was a Mary. I added Pandora too but nobody ever calls me that." Memories of the Kuk are fond and she goes back there all the time. "It is like a big home. The older children look after the younger and they are supervised by a ga cheung, a guardian. You have to be very independent nobody ties your shoes for you and very disciplined. A bell rang at six, You gor up, dressed, lined up for breakfast and went to school. You were sent out for secondary school and you had to be back home after the end of school by a certain rime." There was no place for the usual juvenile dalliances

Ctub member Mary Cheung is an alwmna of the Po Leung Kuþ, the HKSAR's oldest orphanage dnd reci?ient of the funds, in the form of scholørships, fro* the Chørity Bøll. Stuart \Øolfendale s?eaþs to her øbout growing u? at the Kuþ and /ter successful cøreer as ø business womøn,

f""d raiser dnd øs an ørtist.

or Mary Cheung, the FCC Po Leung Kuk Scholarship Charity Ball, which she is helping

to organise, comes at an auspicious time. This child of the Kuk, a former Miss Hong Kong, a broadcaster, traveller, leading charity fund-raiser and award-winning public relations executive, is seeing the culmination of 15 years of photography in an exhibition being held between July and December in locations from Hong Kong to France.

Her photographic collection is entitled of human portraiture and natural phenomena. As she puts it, it is an "appreciation for human relationships, for all living creatures on earth, for often-neglected old ruins and "Cherished", an assembly

cultures and for the glorious creations of God."

The pictures adorning the walls of the FCC highlight her through-the-lens talent admirably. Through August, they will be hung in Macau's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. In late October, they

r6

exhibitions are all solo

got time for all that. Give me a summary.' So

She has a

lot to be proud of. Her almost

ageless

beauty and grace, her orphan background, her success and her own struggle for the underprivileged

as

well

as

that TVB title have maintained a considerable fame for

her. It need not necessarily have been so. The Social \Øelfare Department found her wandering the streets at the estimated age of six. After futile attempts to find where or whom she came from, they handed her over to the Po Leung Kuk at age eight and there she lived till she rvas twenty-one. Her biography states that she is a native of Suzhou in ZhejiangProvince. How could she possibly know that? "Oh, I don't, of course! I just picked it because Suzhou is known for its beautiful girls. I picked a

It

makes so much difference."

She has been fund-raising locally and globally for

30 years. That is how she started taking "photographs

Kuk) at 21 causing her to go straight into employment.

"My first job was as a clerk in the Nigerian Consulate and there I improved my English the hard way. I'd take a file to a consul and he'd sa¡ 'I haven't

be at the Guangdong Museum of

choice.

like boyfriends. "\Øe had not time for that!There were no phone calls in or out. Only family members were allowed to visit so since I had no family I had no visitors except for sponsor parents of which you could have more than one pair so they kept you busy." The inevitable falling behind that comes from being an orphan and the cost and space limitations of even an orphanage as generous and involved as the Po Leung Kuk meant that Mary was already 20 when she finished high school. She had to leave the "home" (the

Art and finall¡ and very satis$zingly for Mary's love of Paris, the exhibition will be in the Espace Auteuil under the title Salon d'Automne. The Macau, China and French

will

Kuk has never been able to offer before. Those of us Iucky enough to get tertiary education always had to do it later in life. Now these kids can go to university straight from high school, have a student life at the right age and go straight into a profession of their

I

had to

grapple with English pronunciation."

The Miss Hong Kong pageant polished her further

TVB gave all the contestants a three-month "for course in public speaking, poise and make-up which I had no mone¡" she added quickly. After her reign in I975, she became an assistant GV producer for two years then moved into the commercial world. It because

was while she was working for Avon cosmetics that one

ofher

to go back to school to better herself. She was in her late twenties when she began to study Fine Arts at the University of Hong Kong and Iater the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ultimately she graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Business Administration. bosses advised her

*This

is uthy

it is so appropriate ãnd

Im so delighted that tbe FCC should raise monqt for uniuersity scholarships. It is something the Po Leung

been able to

ffir

Kuþ has neuer

beþre." 17


P-rotecting th,e Young and lnnocent is a period piece of wooden-framed, half-windowed doors and high ceilings. They are renovating it at present and improving the air Causeway Bay

conditioning but they are keeping its character intact colonial but far from Dickenstan. I was surprised to learn that many of the 4 rc 12 year olds in the Kuk's care are spread out in tiny colonies all over Hong Kong. The Kuk rents public housing estate units and puts half a dozen or so children of assorted ages into each one under the care of "parents" - members of the Kuk's staff. From these

flats they get on with life, with chores, shopping, travelling to and from school and all the other rhythms and bumps of the daily routine. I thought of these artificially parented kids queueing for the bus and those teenage dormitory girls, twirling their hair in their fingers watching the cartoons and probably pondering on something else. They had all suffered an appalling entry into life. They have been brought to cope with it, even rejoice in it. \Øhy shouldn't they get the most out of it? \Øhy should every child in residential care leave school with only modest ambitions? Perhaps one - or even more - of those toddlers or kindergarteners or girls twirling their hair will go on to blaze a trail of glory. To become a

CEO, a university don, a head of surger¡ a senior civil servant, an airline pilot, a designer of computer systems or gardens, a solo cellist or even a Pulitzer winning journalist! Not all those children I passed that morning will achieve the school grades to qualify for FCC scholarship funds towards a tertiary education. But some will and the more we raise this evening and in future years, the more of them we will be able to send

on. These children will get a chance where' before, there was no chance at all. Those of you reading this First Inaugural FCC Ball programme have probably aheady tapped your bank account in aid of the children of the Po Leung Kuk. But we have devised more forgivable wheezes to raid your pocket. Think as you reach for your wallet of the additional benefits an extra hundred dollars here or a hundred there

t4

will bring. I

"Perltaps one

nddlers

or

- or euen more - of those

kindergarteners or girls

nuirling their hair will go on to blaze

a trdil of Slor!

To become a CEO, a

uniuersity don, a head of surgerY,

d senilr ciuil serî.)ant, an airline pilot,

ã

designer

of

Clifford Chance . . . streeús ahead of other law firms

computer systems or

gdrdens, a solo cellist 0r euen a Pulitzer

winning journalist!"

29th Floor fardine House One Connaught Place Central Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2825 8888 Fax (852) 2825 8800 www. cliffordchanc

e. c

om


Protecting the Young and lnnocent

l

I =

I

The Po Leung Kuþ wds established 4, locøl mercltants in 1875. It has u.,idened its scope fro* being a ,rfrgt and orphønøge to prouiding ø solid education for

underpriuileged children in Hong Kong. Stuart \Øolfendale s?ent a morning with the children.

:

Few

of them are outright orphans

these days. Most

have a biological parent somewhere; in prison; hanging

in the shadows waiting for a fix; confined with serious, often mental illness; a single mother who cannot cope or someone who simply walked out.

In the theatre, a line of kindergarreners was on stage, each child rehearsing how to march up, salure (very smartl¡ British Army style) and receive a scroll. Tots in the audience were being encouraged to applaud

rotecting the young and the innocent" was the

aim of the Po Leung Kuk when it was established by local merchants in 1878 under the patronage of Governor Sir John Pope Hennessey. Its mission: to rescue women and children from slave labour and prostitution. Ironicall¡ there would be eppear to be a crying need for a Kuk (or bureau) right now elsewhere in Asia, Africa and South America. In Hong Kong, mercifull¡ society has moved on and the role of the Kuk with it. It has widened its scope from being a refuge and orphanage to providing a solid education for children

in Hong Kong. It operates 50,000 places across 23 kindergartens, 29 primary schools, 18 secondary schools, nine special schools and a sixth form college.

It

"It operates 50,000

places dcross 23

hindergartens, 29 primary schools, 1B seconddry/ schools,

nine special

dnd d sixth form college." L2

scbools

provides welfare for the elderly, two holiday centres

for families and occupational rehabilitation services. It was a hot summer morning when I strolled around the Po Leung Kuk headquarters in Causeway Bay. In the Nurser¡ housing children from birth to 3 years old, tiny things gurgled and wriggled. The older ones toddled about, not always with complete success.

by a teacher with all the vigour of a studio audience warm-up man. They were practising for the next day graduation day - when these 8 year olds would all go on to join the Children's Section where they will stay until they are 12. I looked at those kindergarteners and remembered myself at that age, confined to hospital for ten days with an illness that is now almost eradicated. In those days parents were only allowed to visit for one hour a day. All day, my eyes were riveted on the door waiting and pining for them. For some of those little "graduates" there may have been a misty memory of a parent. It must be with considerable forethought, psychology and dedication that the staff of the Kuk coax those little eyes away from a door that will never reveal Mummy and towards some sort of future. In the dormitories, it was the first day of the summer holidays and the regimen was relaxed. Some youngsters "hung out" in a recreation room, a few computers hummed and a group of laid back young ladies watched morning cartoons in a spotless cavernous canreen. The Kuks original main block in

r3


c o

NoT ltl- PrÞ¡\ rî s ilf(,nlb

n O

ti o

--

k+ri¡b iÎ

Where is the next opportunity?

-3

1 )\

\ ¡u)\ 1943 in chiang Kai-shek-controlled chungking, china'

club was founded in he Foreign correspondents' between the Nationalists and Mao Tsegr.oup of international correspondents. As the struggle O, " ""ti*.,1 ,ungt Co--unists

,inr, ';;*the ^r-r*communists

*.

progressed, the club moved

prevailed, t:

Nanking

*1

to Shanghai' In

l,ï tï']ro' "t "::1TlT ^ O:l:O premier -:ttt"?Ot:tt,*t,tlt ttdt"

Ï

I

)

Strategy Consultant, Consultant Company

ÞFÈ

tì'

Laura Caparelli, Rome

.-\

ò.\

to the u:t'ltl colonv

iî,.d-'¡"th Hong Kong

Foreign Correspondents'Club' anvone

-j:ï:tt^"'

ît'ltl: ,"ttt:"'

O^:::

I

and

lît"ess

":1",i:ï:ï:,i::,:T"TÏl':::j îl'l ".^ï ?'ll* t::'-':Ot"l:T'ï1':,'''er-i;:iT::'^î:::ï"

otol-"ri..o--*.,,.'iry fIltr urY'"-'--include in Central, the FCC's first-rate ?:ttÏt': conveniently the historic club building, a well equipped Health Club, an lT-enabled Media .-,r,".s on rhree levels of

rv I i:.

""0

îrr^

tly undergoing a face lift that will nevertheless retain its eeting places and by common consent one of the great is one of the town's coolest venues for cocktails' taPas tion of walks of life and includes many of Hong Kong's t limited to media only and the club enjoys a large and he reporters, photographers and radio and television

many of those who make it

e

-

starting with the Chief

Unique insights. Leading to results.'".

and including leading figures in the world of business

on the club

as a speakert

forum. \Øhen prominent

or entertainment visit Hong Kong' meny choose to ching their desired audience - both directly and through

Deutsche Bank

of the events' Edwardian Ice House at the top of Ice House Street the club occupies one of the few îo.",.¿ ii the originar Hong Kong, the social and geographical heart of the SAR' colonial buildings in downtown ,.J;;, front office staff on '"';;; like more information about FCC membership please contact the

media-coverage

would Fax:2868-4092 or visit the FCC website at http://www.fcchk.org' f¿., íSn - 15.¡

I

Tra'rsactron Barrking

10

Assei

N,'1arar:]er-nent

Pl valo Banklg

Persc,iral Bankìrrg

ìI


FCC Charity Ball Committee 2OO2 Co - Convenors

David Garcia, Tom CramPton'

FCC Conuenor House Committee

FCC Presid'ent

Committee Members

Mary Cheung

Gilbert Cheng FCC General Manager

FCC Associate rnember

Lynn Grebstad CeIia' Garcia

FCC Associate rnember

SPouse rneYnber FCC Associate

Barry Kalb

MarilYn Hood

FCC Board member

FCC Boørd member

Phil Segal

Dan Kubiske

FCC Past President

FCC Boørd rnember

Allen Youngblood

Deborah Segal

FCC

CorcesPond'ent

FCC Musical Director

SPouse rnember

Master of Ceremonies

Stuarr WolFendale.

FCC Correspondent member


Programme of Events The Inaugural FCC Charity Ball SePtember

7,2002

7 P^-7'45Pm Cocktails in the Foyer of the Conrad Hotel

-

Announcements and details of the silent auction

7.45 Pm

- I P*

\Øelcome and Introduction

-

Guests enter the Ballroom

8

p- - 9.30 Pm

Dinner is served

9.30 pm

-

9.45 Pm

Po Leung Kuk Video Presentation

9.45 pm

-

1O.45 Ptn

Martha Reeves Performance

-

Encore with the children of the Po Leung Kok

11.00 pm Raffle draw and presentation of the first

1

1 prizes

with Mary Cheung

f 1.15 Pm - LI.45 Ptn Disco 'Dancing in the Streets of Asia'

IL.45 pm Results of the Silent Auction of Po Leung Kuk paintings and other auction items announced

and presented by Po Leung Kok Chairman, Mrs. Veronica

\øC. Li, and FCC President,

Thomas Crampton, assisted by Mary Cheung

Midnight Dancing the night away

Programme details are correct

llt

the time of printing

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Message

from the Ball Committee Co-Chairmen

elcome to the inougurol FCC chority boll. This event is o triumph of hord work by mony combined

with unstinting outpourings of generosity. The ideo for the event come to Tom Crompton when he wos compoigning for the presidency of the Club. He decided the FCC seemed incomplete without on onnuol boll ond concluded thot o high profile chority proiect would improve the Club's imoge within the Hong Kong community. During o dull moment of debote in o boord of governors meeting, Tom leoned ocross to whisper his ideo to Dove Gorcio. Dove loved the ideo ond within whot seemed only o few hours hod booked the legendory Motown singer ond Grommy oword winner Mortho Reeves. Bosed on her fome, Dove reserved five hundred seots ot the Conrod Hotel bollroom. On heoring of the the noture of the event, the Conrqd immediotely reduced its rotes ond offered free rooms for Mortho ond her entouroge. It wos Dove's wife, Celio, who suggested creoting

o scholorship fund for the children of the Po Leung Kuk. Celio contocted FCC member qnd ex-Miss Hong Kong, Mory Pondoro Cheung, who is olso o Po Leung Kuk qlumno ond success story. She soid the Kuk receives support for the doy to doy running of its offoirs ond suggested thot, os it hos no permonent mechqnism to ossist the children in proceeding with higher educotion, thqt

the FCC consider o fund to send deserving Kuk youngsters to college. She pitched the ideo to the Kuk ond shortly ofterwords the Foreign Correspondents' Club Scholorship Fund

wos born. lnspired by the ideo of roising money for the Kuk, Mortho Reeves lowered her normol fee. Stor Allionce ogreed to supply tickets to fly her to Hong Kong ond olso os roffle prizes.

A pottern quickly emerged. While Tom ond Dove floiled oround e-moiling eoch other ot 3 om obout whot to do next, o new mirocle-worker would step forword to sove the doy. First it wos fellow Club member, Stuort Wolfendole, who hqs hod extensive experience in MC-ing chority boll events. Stuort roped in PR wonderwomon Lynn Grebstod who left everyone ogope by cosuolly onnouncing long lists of sponsors. Our Boord's own wonderwomon, Morilyn Hood, took on the orduous, time consuming ond difficult tosk of coordinoting qll the sponsors ond donotions os well os sending out the solicitotion letters, keeping trock of the incoming prizes ond sending out the thonk you notes.

Next to pitch his hot into the ring wos former FCC President, Phil Segol. He convinced every decent investment bonk in Hong Kong to donote money for the fund. His wife Deboroh offered to oversee the decorqtions despite lhe recent qrrivol of the Segol's child. The Club's resident Jozzmon, Allen Youngblood, ogreed to coordinqte the music. FCC Boord Member Don

Kubiske kept pulling in prize ofter prize. Borry Kolb secured free wine for the evening. As olwoys, the FCC stoff hqs been remqrkobly potient ond extremely hord working: Generol Monoger Gilbert Cheng hos helped shepherd the event from stort to finish. Sommy Cheung, our long-serving Bor Monoger, a few things you wouldn't' Everything you could possibly exPect' and

tirelessly lobbied liquor ond beer suppliers for donotions. Our Bonqueting Monoger, Sondy Chqn, coordinqted reservotions while Finonciol Controller, Aléx Lee, licensed roffle tickeTs ond opened bqnk occounts. The most heortening qnd rewording port of the process, however, hos been the porticipotion of children

from the Kuk. Whenever we foced o creotive blockoge

SügruqrçNK

BnAsruRts

+elqFÍr

0spJ

qi+*,æ..,È+?-Þì

-

"Whot kind of poster?" ond "How sholl we decorqte the bollroom?" - we turned to the children of Po Leung Kuk who come through with qmozing, colourful ideos. ln the end it wos the energy ond creqtivity of children from the Po Leung Kuk thot provided us with the inspirotion ond commitment lo run the boll ond creote the Foreign Correspondents' Scholorship Fund.

Thornas Crarupton ønd Daae Garcia (852)252 Pacific Place, 88 Queenswa¡ Hong Kong Phone (852) 252 I 3838 Fax com Email hongkongi nfo@con-radhoielr.co. oi visit www Con radHotels

I

3888

Co-Convenors Foreign Correspondents' Club Chority Boll

Committee 5


Y www,staralliance,com

Message from the Chairman of The Po Leung

¡f\ \ V

Kuk

ince its founding in 1878, the Po Leung Kuk hos dedicoted its efforts to

,"ruing the people of Hong Kong. Storting os o temporory refuge for the victims of obduction coses, the Kuk hos now developed into o dynomic

ond diversified sociol service orgonizotion. We now operote over I ó5 units covering residentiol ond doy core for children, rehobilitotion of the retorded, core for the elderly, educotion of the young, os well os recreotionol ond culturol services. The needy under our core ronge from newborn bobies to the oged.

Our Childrens' Residentiol Service, the oldest of our divisions, hos been in operotion lor 125 yeors. lt coters for newborn bobies to youngsters up to

2l

yeors of oge who suffer from fomily problems. They ore cored for occording to

oge ond need: in our Bobies Section, the Kinder Section, the Childrens' Section or the New Comers' Word ond in Smoll Group Homes. We provide for their bosic doily needs ond ensure they receive q proper educotion os well os medicol ond heolth core, counselling, cosework services ond recreotionol

focilities to give them o heolthy upbringing.

We put o heovy emphosis on educotion, which is vilol to ensure the personol growth of the children in our core. We put speciol efforts into developing ond exponding our educotionol focilities, especiolly in the f¡eld of higher educotion. We hope our children will develop to become useful members of the community, to be oble to shoulder sociol responsibilities, ond moke positive contributions to Hong Kong's further prosperity.

Our mission connot be occomplished without the support of the community. We ore most groteful to the Foreign Correspondents' Club for selecting the Po Leung Kuk os the beneficiory of your Annuol Chority Boll. lt most grotifying to see thot o Scholorship Fund will soon be set up from the proceeds deriving from the Boll to

The world's most advanced network.

is

help ond encouroge the Po Leung Kuk youngsters os well os students with finonciol difficult¡es in pursuing o

higher educotion. I om sure thot, with the stounch support of the Foreign Correspondents' Club, more ond more needy children ond young people will one doy become outstonding ond involved members of the society.

14 airlines. Eas¡er, more reward¡ng travel.

On beholf of the Boord of Directors of Po Leung Kuk, I would like to extend our most sincere grotitude to oll of you who hove contributed your time ond efforts towords such o meoningful chority event.

Star Alliance is a proud sponsor of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' CIub charity ball.

Moy I wish the Annuol Chority Boll o greol success, ond look eogerly forword to the fobulous ond funJilled time with oll of you! Thonk you. ,ìl

ALLIANCE STAR -lhe

airline network for Earthl

Mrs. Wronica W: C, Li Choirmon, The Po Leung Kok

-,^,, sAs

.f,,o.,'.Ë. UilITED


THE KEY TO EXQUISITE BEAUTY.

Pacific Place Seibu

Sogo


THE INAUGAURAL FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS'CtUB OF HONG KONG

Rock N'RollI Hall of Famer Martha Reeves

7:00 pm, Saturday, September 7,2002 Ballroom, Lower Lobby, Conrad Hotel Hong Kong


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