The Correspondent, Vol 2 No.11 1977

*Corres^

- - -rt

The Officers: President

Fl ublished monthlv as

Anthony Paul First Vice President

|'

Derek Davies Second Vice President

William Stubbs Treasurer Tony Scott Secretary

William Stub6s

Andy Sloan demolished a tuxedo-clad Les Leston in three straight games to emerge as the winner of the first annual FCC pool

championship before a packed 18th floor gallery of alserans and other inebriates.

Sloan was one of the odds-on favorites to

The Staff:

win the title, which saw such luminaries Editor

Bert W. Okuley Photographer

Hugh Van Es Advertising Nida Cranbourne Pasteup Artist: Chan Kwok Wai

an

organ of the Foré¡gn Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong. Offices at 15th Floor, Sutherland House, 3 Ctrater

as

Dr Peter Miles, Fast Eddie Tseng, 100-to-1

shot Kevin Sinclair, Mc Vanzi, Steve and others fall by the wayside.

Eddy

The sole female entrant, Jean Chan, won

her way to the semi-finals before

being

defeated.

Over-confidence cost pre-tourney favorite Ken King the title, according to analysts.

Road, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-

237734 and 5-233003.

Cables: CORCLUB HONG KONG. Address all correspondence to: Editor. ForeignCorrespondedts' Club of

Hong Kong, 1 sth Floor, Sutherland House, 3,Chater, Road, Hong ßong.,) Adver-;'

tising: Nida Cranborline, First Floor, 30 lce House 6t., Hong

Kong. Tel: 5-248492.',

Printed by .Yee

fip

Tong

Printing Pres's, Ltd,i Aik San

Factory Buílding;

Ground Floor, Block A, 14, Westlands Road, Ouarry Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-622271-7.

isntt jgst the recipe that serrarates Gordonts I plsothepe There is a common opinion that all qins are the same. lt may be true of some. But not of Gordon's. Forthe way we use juniper:

"

coriander and other botanical ingredÞnts in ourdistilling recipe. makes subtle differences to the taste of our gin.

The actualdetails are of course a secret. But the results are not.

Gordon's is tlre best selling gin in the world. l,leed we say more?

GORDOI.ù3 The in drink

for generations

@trlCItrnVELL

Wise, Far Eastetn

Economic Review, dnd Richard Kwan of the

Central News Agency, Taiwan.

Others elected included former President Edward K. Wu of the Baltimore Sun, Henry Hartzenbusch of The Associated Press, Kenji Asakawa of the Tokyo Shimbun and freelance Saul Lockhart, a former Board member.

On the Associate side, Tony Scott of the lndependent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) won a second term. Cathay Pacific PR chief Tm Rossi and Tom Clifford of Catair Ltd round out the incoming Board.

ln his annual report, Paul said that the hiring of Mike Winslow as Club Manager solved "our biçjgest single problem" during/ 19í6-77 and pointed to a number þt imPresident Tony Paul, Member Donald Wise and First Vice President Derek Davies (above), and Second Vice president William Stubbs with

provements in Club services, ifit ' itiated by Winslow.

Paul also gave a sþecialiJt" ot

thanks to Club Stewãrd Liz Eckersley, who had served as

Members Phíl Eiliott.

Acting Manager during the period the FCC searched across Asia for

Tony Paul tops balloting

new

so than during those difficult months between managers," Paul told the AGM. The Club now has a total

'!pj

Reader's

'i :.i".,

President from

a position as

Digest was installed for a second

Associate Governor in the last term

Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong at the May 24 Annual

sulate General.

When it was learned that UPI's Phil Elliott, who had been elected to the Board, was returning to the

term as President of the

General Meeting. Derek Davies of The Far Eastern Economiç Revíew

the post of First

Vice

President.

Paul and Davies defeated freelance Hugh Van Es and Bert Okuley of UPI for the two senior

of Governors positions in a heavy turnout of voters, including a number of overseas FCC Board

members.

Moving up

to

Liz's

loyal and enthusiastic service over the past eight years and never more

Presidency

assumes

a

,

"We're most grateful for

to recaptu re Tony Paul of The

managef.

Second Vice

was Bill Stubbs of the US Con-

United States, Paul asked

and

received approval for Van Es to fill

the vacancy.

Elected Journalist Member

membership of 944, an increase of 1O0 over the past year, the meeting was told. The total includes 157 active Correspondent members, 46 active Journalist members and 741 Associate members, the backbone of any press club.

Derek Davies, the out-going Treasurer, reported that the Club

had a gross income of

HK$2,146,535 less expenses of $2,138,170, a net profit of $8,365.

He said the Club's Capital Fund stood at $989,837. with cash in the bank, including fixed deposits, totaling over a quarter of a million

Governor was Soufh China Morn-

dollars.

Sinclair, well-known fixture of the

ing detailed reports on the AGM, including those of the President and Treasurer, about the time the

ing Post News Editor Kevin

4th, 1 5th and 1 8th floors.

Re-elected as Correspondent Member Governors were Donald 1

The membership will be receiv-

above sees print.

3

waiter who won't get seasick.

Billy Mak, one of our long-time staff and senior bartender, will be promoted to Captain on July 1. This is a great move for Billy. i

He is moving up to replace Chan Pong, who, reluctantly but after a lot of pushing from his children. will retire. Chan Pong's happy face has been in the Club since Dairy Farm days and I'm sure a lot of members

will miss his big

smile.

Sammy Cheung's new daughter Samantha is doing fine, but Sammy says she keeps him up at night. So Freddie's Corner

to

membership support,

it

was

Sammy Cheung is no boss at home.

a

great success. We just broke even.

More such events are coming:

After three months with the Korean Night, Spanish Night and Club, and contrary to what perhaps another of those 'Just

everyone said on March 1, I am still

enjoying the job. I would like to thank the outgoing Board and all of the membership for making that possible.

Last month saw the FCC's. and possibly Hong Kong's f¡rst, but not last, New Orleans fish boil. Thanks

dinner and dancing" nights.

As you may know, we're trying our hand at outside catering for the membership. Since we're a bit new

if you see him leaning on the bar you'll know why.

Our new menu will finally be out this month. Some new dishes and new specials have been introduced and some old favorites returned by popular request. lncreases in prices haræ been kept to a minjmum.

at it, we must make certain There may be some limitations. We can handle most

boat parties, for example, but Jo give us two or three days to find a Captain Lau catches a dish

with Arthur Hacker

teething

problems in the initial days of the new menu, but l'm sure members

will understand.

A lot of people have been asking pecan pie. Pecans are pretty much out of supply in Hong Kong, but I managed to locate some. Un-

for

fortunately they won't last long. and when they're gone, it will be Chr¡stmas before the suppliers bring in more. Sorry! ln regard ro the 14th and 18th floor rest rooms, we are getting a quotation to completely renovate them, so please bear with us a little

longer. We'll do our best to keep them clean in the meantime.

Thatjs all for this month.

Be

looking for cards telling you when to book the nexr .'"1tüil!r,iÌl;,_

AN EOIT()RIAL C()MMENT

Does this club need a monthly magazine?

I think we do, and I intend to keep lhe Correspondent going until the membership andlor Board of Governors decrees V. G. Kulkarni, in an opinion voiced at

the

month?

Aside from our correspondent and journalist membership, some of the best advertising minds in Asia can be found in the precincts of Sutherland House. I know of

recent Annual General Meeting, described the magazine as "a joke," or words to that effect. Kevin Sinclair asked Mr Kulkarni, one

only three associate members of the

of our most prolific correspondent

So here we are, regularly gettยกng contributions from Correspondents in Bangkok, for example, to fill the pages of a magazine whose readership is largely in Hong Kong.

members, when he last contributed to the magazine.

And herein lies the point: Why can't

one

of the world's largest and most successful foreign correspondents organยกzatยกons, with some of the best by-liners in Asia, have a magazine of the highest quality?

Why does the editor have to beg, borrow and steal to get this publication out once a

FCC

who have contributed to this magazine in its existence.

There has been a trickle, an encouraging

trickle, since the brief debate on The Correspondent at the AGM. lt is welcoรฌne nonetheless. Can we expect something for the

next issue?

- Bert Okuley

The setting

for Sloan's triumph. . .

Tuxedo-clad Les Leston discussing a possible miss with tournament winner Andy Sloan (above, right) and Jean Chan shows her form against Vernon Yates for third place (below left).

Dr Singer:s : conclusions on brotherhood ,

Richard Reoch of Amnesty lnternational addresses the Club.

Amnesty lnternational responds Arlette Laduguie Asia Research Department Amnesty lnternational

remains of the bodies been returned to the families. An example of this would be the case of Larry

lnternationa I Secretariat

Burrows, Henri Huet, Kent Potter,

Dear Arlette,

who were shot down by North Vietnamese troops while traveling in a

On Monday, 10 April 1978, the Foreign Correspondents Club of

a

helicopter. The incident has ap-

Professional

parently been confirmed by the

Luncheon at which I was invited to

North Vietnamese themselves.

I understand from Mr Van Es that Walter Cronkite has played a leading role in trying to follow up such cases and that if Amnesty ln-

Hong Kong held

speak on the work of Amnesty ln-

ternational. During the question period I was asked what activities Amnesty lnternational had under-

taken, if any, in relation to those foreign correspondents who disappeared in the lndochina War. I had no information on this with me and I was asked to write to you and inquire. The reply may be published in The Correspondenf, the Club's journal.

Subsequently I spoke with Mr Hugh Van Es of the Club who told me that they were concerned about the fate of some 19 missing foreign correspondents in Cambodia. Since these men have now been missing for 7 years, under US law they are considered legally dead. The graves of some have been found but I understand that in no cases have the 6

ternational wishes detailed inforMr

Dr Henry A. Singer, Principal Lecturer in Behavioral Science

I am not aware if Amnesty lnter-

national has received such infor-

and Communications at Hong Kong Polยกechnic, has completed a sur-

mation in the past or been asked to

vey

look into such cases. The Club would naturally be interested to

FCC responded.

mation,

we should contact

Cronkite.

know if such cases would fall within the scope of our concern, I think it would be best to address your reply to Mr Anthony

Paul, President, Foreign Correspondents Club, Sutherland House, 1 5th Floor, Hong Kong.

All the best.

Atfiw

members of the

Dr Singer was disappointed in response but

the 1 5 percent

rateful for those who did fill out his questionaire and says the compilations from this limited sample should be taken with a soft glass of Compari and soda or even a grain of salt. Here, in somewhat condensed form, is Dr Singer's report:

g

Fifty-two percent of the

Rlclwยกd Reoch

RegbruI Llalson

to which 90

(Asla)

respondents described what they

believed

ing from large, open areas with

by Chinese. Westerners

reasonable prosperity seem to have equally expansive personalities.

Both are identified as open, friendly,

to be some of the more common reactions to Westerners are;

overbearing. arrogant, ostentious, superior, snobs and self-centered,

Thirty-nine percent identified the more common complaints of Westerners to local behaviour as: rude, impolite, discourtious and general bad manners, especially when eating or queuing up for transportation.

Twenty-two percent felt

language and communications con-

tributed to th¡s distance'because of the failure of many local people to master English as they have done in

Singapore

or the Philippines. On

the other hand, seven percent felt that Westerners had also failed in this area by not mastering the local dialect. (lt should be noted there were only 14 response to the sur-

easy-going, cheerf

ul, loud

and

somewhat rowdy. Several also felt that Americans were sometimes naive and childish: Australians sometimes male chauvinists.

British and Chinese are both viewed as being conservative and

South of France Studios/apts/villas

Spain-Costa Del Sol

reserved, coming from more struc-

Apts/Golf condominiums/villas

tured traditíons. However,

the British are usually considered more

Greece

arrogant and aloof, The Germans and Japanese were both noted for thir diligence, hard work and as being self-centered or ethnocentric.

While these observations have

Chalet apts. in ski resorts

been made by a rather

Houses and flats

sophisticated group of respondents,

U.S.A.

it

showed that

a major study of

vey from Asians.)

some 800 Chinese college students and managers is consistent in these

America contributed mostly to investment and financial support of life in Hong Kong. The British fared somewhat better, with about half

group stereotype identifications.

The reputation of the Japanese, American and German products as being of superior value is reflected in the local sales figures as well as

About 28 percent felt that

II\IVEST IN A HOLIDAY IIOUSE ABROAD

Island properties and plots

Switzerland London

Country club condorniniulns

MONI'TPELIF]R International Properties Fu House, 7 Ice House St. Hong Kong '5-2664'61

3O5

Composite of Stereotypes ldentifíed by all 9O FCC Respondents:

14th floor of Sutherland House

Australians .......... Rowdy, loud, uncouth, heavy drinkers ...............5596

than most any place around and, it would appear. quite successfully.

Americans Filipinos Amerìcans British

Carefree, easygoing, friendly, open, generous ...4lVo ..........39Vo Fun loving, friendly, líkeable Brash, loud, rude, overbearìng ...........................35% ..................41oof, cold, snobs, stuffy, overbearing .............35%

Chinese Chinese

Hardworking

lnscrutable, clanish,

distant

.............31Vo

..........28%

Australians ..........Outgoing, jolly, fun, cheerful, friendly ...............29Vo ........26% New Zealanders ..Unsophisticated, provincial lndians Cunning, untrustworthy ...................................24Vo

Germans Japanese British

Diligent, Clanish,

hardworking ethnocentric

....................24% ....................24% Formal, conservative, reserved .......................24%

the group (44 percent) feeling they contributed stab¡lity. law and order, security and orderliness. The most preferred product source was Japan

(46 percent), compared with

America (26 percent), Germany (23 percent) and Britain (7 percentl.

While the FCC study is far from in te re st in g co n c lu s ive, generalizations can be made: It would appear that Australians,

Americans, British, Chinese,

Japanese and Germans have some characteristics in common.

Australians and Americans com-

the marketing efforts - Although on a single brand item, San Miquel, received a half a dozen choices.

Finally. while this limited sample assessed generally held attitudes, it does not reflect FCC practice ¡n the

writeris subjective

observations.

The Club seems to be one of the least restrictive centers in town. All

nationalities mix freely. easily and enjoy considerable, even boisterous comraderie with relatively little prejudice.

As for cross cultural encounters, probably more takes place on the

Composite of 8OO Respondents ìn Hong Kong (University of Hong

Kong, Chinese University,

HK

Polytechnic upper classmen; Six management groups; FCC).

A study is underway coveríng three of the areas of the FCC survey within a broader management

and attitude study. The composite of the stereotypes identified by all groups follows: Br¡tish ........ Conservative ..54Vo American .... Easy Going ......49Vo Chinese ...... Hardworking ..34% American .... Risk takers ...... 27Vo Chinese .... Conservative ..2OVo Japanese .... Cunning .,........ l8% American .... Hardworking .. l3% German ...... Dogmatic ........ l3% Japanese .... Self-centered .. I 2Vo lndians ........ Cunning .......... lO% German ...... Humourless .... lOVo British ...... Dogmatic ........ lO%

Note: All respondents,

exceqt the FCC survey, were Chinese.

Editor's note: Three years ago,

a

dozen freelance photographers and newsmen for the Assocíated press refused offers of evacuation from Cambodía ìn face of an immÍnent

communist victory. Nothing has been heard of them since.

. ¡.may bg last cable today and forever

by Denis Gray

Bangkok, Thailand (AP)

-

Leang was what you'd

Meang call the

harmless type, a born teacher with baby fat who expounded on

linguistics and semantics.

He

wasn't very conscientious at his government job of censoring our

their hopeless countrymen. ln-

news stories so Meang Leang quit and helped us write them near the

and the Un¡ted States through in-

end.

Saing Hel, gentle and handsome, spoke out against the lies and cor-

rupt¡on that were scuttling

his

society. His real loves before the war were fishing and writing romantic novels, The government thugs nearly killed him a few times

for his political views.

Sun Heang's chameleon voice dubbed actors' lines in countless Cambodian movies. He could talk like a hero or a bad guy and he was famous although people in the streets knew him by his voice only.

He never appeared on the screen and his face wasn't what most

women would call good looking.

We called them "The Big Three." They were about the bravest - may I say the best - men l'll ever hope to meet.

I have asked for them at the refugee camps along the border in Thailand, swollen with thousands of

quiriés have been made in

France

effectual networks we thought might lead to their sealed-pff homeland.

Three years now and not a shred of news of the three or the nearly

dozen others: Yuthi, barely out of

his teens and daily besieged by girlfriends; "Colonel," the fix-it-all; Tea Kir4 Heang, dubbed "Moonface," wounded eight times, exvillain in Cambodian movie thrillers

They all worked for us, the Associated Press, in Çambodia. y-ou certainly never he'ard of thåm because their names rarely appeared

in print, but you may,iemember some of their photp-f raphs ; villagers scattering fronj,explosions while their homes blazed /in the

background, a grinnjngf soldier swinging the sdvered';h'ead of an enemy, the tragic lndochinese cliche of a mother and her children

once again on the refugee road.

Since they sought out the

battlefield action every day they got wounded more frequeñtly than any

army unit - with mortar shrapnel. rocket fragments, grenade slivers and bullets, More than once, some

of them almost didn't make it. They shot photographs for US$20 a frame bought and ferreted out information on the war fronts and in government circles, sínce before the

war many held key jobs and had the right contacts, ln the end, the rocket pounding of an encircled, starvation-edge Phnom Penh and the withering government lines around it made

a

communist victory inevitable.

President Lon Nol had abandoned

the country, the acting

president

fled.

We, the Americans, fled with US ma

rines armed to the teeth us from a crowd of

protecting

curious children sending us off with "OK. bye, bye, bye, bye" and the US Ambassador clutching the

American flag wrapped up

Neil Donnelly, IJS Embassy Ft?st secretary in Taipei, a bewirdered youngster, Richard Hughes and lJpt senior Editor charlie smith, in a

recent gathering on Tai,ùvan, 8

in

a

cellophane bag, lifted up by "Jolly Green Giant" helicopters high above Phnom Penh and deposited comfortably on the deck of an air-

craft carr¡er sitting safely out at sea.

The Big Three and the others had

all

r€fused evacuation. Phnom Penh fell four days later, its two million people forced to march into

the countryside to

become

lf you believe the refugee stories,

revolutionary rice planters.

of thousands, maybe many more, died of hunger. disease and at the hands of executioners.

A week before I saw Sun Heang for the last t¡me, we went together to Phnom Penh's failing northern front. The palm trees were tattered and the low sky had swirls of grey. hundreds

Mortar and recoilless rifle fire caught us on an exposed embankment above the rice fields. I listened to the whistles dropping fast out of the sky, homing in on something to shred apart.

An arm's reach away on the ground, Sun Heang was a tangle of

camera straps and protective

Buddhist medallions strung around his neck. And he had the calmest, take-it-as-it-comes smile coming at me from the craggy face smudged

with dirt. The whistles no longer seemed so shrill.

Sun Heang had the reputation of

being able to go so deep ínto himself that even some rather dramatic things didn't take him by storm.

That night Sun Heang strummed

his guitar and carried the

same

smile. We had to use candles. The city's electric power was cut off and the heat was oppressive. Phnom Penh was surrounded by explosions and a sky of blossoming flares and str€aks of tracer bullets. Sun Heang didn't talk about his children or his wife or what would happen but I think he sensed an end to much more than just another government.

A few days before on the front he heard a communist rebel commander shout into a field radio that all Cambodians who had associated with the Americans, even the journalists, would be killed.

Perhaps Saing Hel, the intellec-

tural, thought he would be an exception since he had often criticized

the regíme the communists were fighting. Perhaps he wanted to face

what came as he had when

frich

help us out whenever we needed it.

I have travelled to the Thai

says. . .

The question you must ask yourself is: should I trust my eyes to someone who is not qualified? ,{nyone in Hong Kong - regardless of training or qualification - can open

an optical

business, conduct eye

examinations, prescribe and

fit contact

lenses and eyeglasses.

E¡ich Schwaabe of Optica

fully

Ltd. is a qualified professional opto-

metrist. He g¡aduated from the College of Optometry in \ilest Be¡lin and has been in practice in Hong Kong since r973.

At Optica you are assured that a

professional

of

eyecare

his

book attacking the US-South Vietnamese invasion of his country in 1 970 nearly got him assass¡nated.

Perhaps Saing Hel just didn't want to back down a promise he made to

- qualified in all aspects - is determining your

eyesight requirements.

border with Cambodia many times the past three years to talk with the

refugees. Their stories,

to put

¡t

mildly, are searingly painful, even if exaggeration and 25 percent lies.

The best hope for The Big Three, I think, was to have been swallowed up by the revolution, without a

you allow for 50 percent

frown's-worth of protest giving up

writing love stories and critícal columns, taking photographs and thinking about the past to dig inigation ditches and plant ríce.

The view across the border- rice

Kindly telephone for an appointment

fields, water buffaloes, d¡stant

Erich Schwaabe (Optica) Ltd. Rm. I1ff, l¿ne Crawford House 64-70,{ Queen's Road Central

Thailand

Hong

Kong

Telz 5-256937

s-230234

human figures

-

looks so similar to

that for a moment it

seems a visit might be easy. But we're separated by a kilometer of minefields and a gulf of ideology. I don't think I will meet my friends

again.

And Mean

LeangT

He, like the others, broke the rules. He didn't melt ¡nto the crowd,

stick with his family, play dumb.

The rolly-polly man, sweat no doubt dribbling from his chin, rushed around with his typewriter between

the office and the

mouldering

French colonial building from which our stories were sent.

It was April 17 and the Khmer Rouge had penetrated Phnom

lt was a big story.

Mean Leang didn't know much about the news business or the organization he was working for and God knows there wasn't any money in it. But he wrote about the final clashes and the white flags of Penh.

surrend€r and the initial relief of the crowds that a five-year-war was over. Th€n he sat down to write a messSg€:

"l alone in office, losing contact with our guys. I feel rather trembling. Do not know how to file our stories now. . . maybe last cable

today and forever."

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WEDDTNß [òET"[,Ñ

-T ENGAGED

!

Mr David Edward Lerlie Wong, a familiar figure over the yoarr at the FCð and other watering spots ¡n the Gotony, celebrated hi¡ engagoment to M¡ Maria A¡¡unda Lee at a ?ecent 8o¡roe on tho lSth Floor of Sutherland Hor¡¡e.

Aftenryard¡, a number of celeb¡ant¡ ad_ joumed to a Chine¡e l€rtaurant - to the rslief of the club ¡taff.

lf it's true that the boss sets the tone for the shop, the Americàn Society of Newspaper Editors has a

father became enchanted with

cheery year ahead.

Here's the way a friend describes

Hughes early life, South Africa was to project decades ahead into his future. Not long ago,32 years later,

the man slated to become ASNE president on Wednesday next, John Hughes, editor and manager of the Christian Science Monitor: "John's so cheerful he can have a good time

thinking what a good time he'd have if he was having it."

This correspondent can corroborate that. John Hughes was the blithe spirit when, as ASNE board members, we lraveled about the

People's Republic

of China lor 22

days in October of 1972. As interpreter Yao Wei put it, "The American lives to enjoy." That's Hughes.

Africa during World War ll.

Like

a

number

of things

in

Hughes told E&P that one of the items on his list of ASNE projects is

to help w¡th the needs of Third

World areas like South Africa.

'There are some good journalists in the Third World," he said. 'We

must identify them and talk to them; we must provide nurture, support and technical assistance. lf there is to be a free press in these areas, it must be fostered from within."

Hughes' teenage tour of journalistic duty in South Africa lasted 3 years. Then, on his own steam, he

Actually, however, Hughes didn't

start life as an American. He was

was back in London, where he worked for the Daily Mirror,

Former FCC Pres¡dent

broke up the promising' acting career of Libby Pockman, who had

NAMEd ASNE

just recently won a master's degree

resident

by L William Hill

born in a small town in South Wales called Neath on April 28, 1930. His family quickly whiffed him off to London, however, where

Reuters, and a city-news-bureau type of operation. Back to South Africa after two years, this time to

he attended a school that obviously put a lifelong stamp upon him for it was run by one of the old livery companies, the Honorable and

in the provincial capital, a position he held for another 20 years while also serving as South African cor-

Worshipful Company of Stationers

and Newspapermakers. From the time Hughes was 16, he's been

head up his old newspaper's bureau

respondent for the London Daily Express and as a contributor to the

Christian Science Monitor.

The latter connection in 1954

newspapermaking.

drew Hughes away from

Largely because no other work seemed near as much fun. Hughes

things as steamy Africa and London fogs so thick you couldn't tell what the weather was like and brought

began as a cub reporter on a 50,000-circulation morning newspaper called the Natal Mercury in Durban, South Africa. The Hughes family had moved there after John's

such

Whether or not Hughes' early lífe had anything to do with his marrying an actress, the fact is - as a child in London - Hughes himself had been a movie actor - playing small parts in a number of films, one with Paul Robeson.

Hughes' interviewer was surprised to learn this. "How come no one has revealed before that you were

once an actorT" he was asked.

Hughes smiled cheerfully. "No

of 1955, Hughes

one has ever asked me about it." he said. lf you want to find out about (Continued on page 17.)

Monítor's Overseas News Department. and romance.

August

able to do was with the Kenya National Theater in Nairobi and with the Brian Brooke professional company in Capetown.

the

him to Boston, a job with

ln

in theater from Boston University. A week after the wedding ceremony, Hughes spirited Libby off to Africa, where he was now assigned to be the M o n itor's correspondent.

A little shamefacedly, Hughes confesses all the acting Libby was

13

()dds and Ends

A former United Press lnternational Bureau Chief in Saigon

sigence of the United States Am-

during 1 974-75, Alan Dawson has pieced together an agonizing account of the final collapse and dis-

does well. His knowledge of South

bassa'dor Graham Martin, Dawson

Viet Nam. Beginning with the fall of

Viet Nam, its politics, economios and military leaders is such as to lend credibility to his account. His use of the flashback technique is

Central Higlands Dawson ranges north to the capitol of Hue and the port city

excellent and the book is eminently readable. This reviewer spent five years in South Viet Nam, arriving a

integration of the Republic of South

Ban Me Thout in the

of

Danang, then south past Nha

Trang and Xuan Loc to Saigon and

the chaotic helicopter evacuation from the United States Embassy roof. ln between are a series of vignettes, generalizations, conjectures, and fact-fiction stories in-

year or so before Dawson

and

departing something over two years before the 55 days. That the Thieu government was corrupt, venal, inept and self-serving is irrefutable.

That Americans associated with Vietnamese, either as US ,t'!

Taking

except¡orl

,'

with Daws0nl.

A veteran of Viet Nam asks for sy'ace to give his views on Alan 0aw'son's

55

Days. j' '

George Bush addresses the Club during May.

I

¡1

Edwards provided hilarity during a set at the FCC for an Entertainment

Luncheon.

Photo bv Mart¡nez

È

terspersed with highly biased personal opinions.

Dawson bases his story on the

premise

that the United

States

government not only had a moral commitment but had made solemn

to evacuate all of its thousands of Vietnamese

promises

employees in the event of a com-

munist takeover, as well as hundreds of American expatriates

long-time Asía hand returned for a tour as UPI Vice President for Asia early this month, stopping off in Tokyo enroute to visit. Left to right are Kaff, Mrs. Ted Marks, Ted, Bob Tanji, all of UPI and US Ambassador to Tokyo Mike Mansfield.

14

who had voluntarily chosen to stay in Viet Nam, along with their wives, g irlf riends, children and family members.

When he writes of the war, the collapse of the ARVN (Republic of

Viet Nam Army), the

political machinations of the Nguyen Van Thieu government and the intran-

government officials, employers or friends, "promising" to take care of the latter is undoubtedly also trueAmericans are like that. Yet the

sheer logistics

of

such

a

mass

movement would have, or certainly should have made it clear - to anyone who stopped to think about it - that it was manifestly impossi-

ble to accomplish even if it had been morally and humanely dictated. ln this arena Dawson writes w ith his heart and not with his head. Here his extreme bias shows an otherwise memorable account of consternation, chaos and collapse.

Unfortunately, too, Dawson sees few if any "good guys" among the American offical presence in South

through, detracting from

Viet Nam, either in his flashbacks or during the 55 days. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, who served his country and Viet Nam exceedingly

well through most of Dawson's tenure, rates but a one line reference - William Colby about the FCC Member Jamee Holland ret¡rod from the US Army in 1967 with the rank of Colonel.

He was a field officer with the Agency for lntornational Deve

lopment ¡n Viot Nam and wa¡ wounded there. He a¡ked Tlla

Correspondent lo¡ "equal time" to Neil Davi¡' review of Alan Dawson'¡ book 55 Days.

It is repriåted herewith

from

The Asía Mail.

same. Dedicated American Province Advisors remain nameless

and without mention while "Soldiers of Fortune" like Colonel George "Jake" Jacobsen who carved himself a second and lucrative career in Viet Nam, and Hatcher

James,

the unofficial "Mayor

of

Saigon" who did the same, come off quite well.

Dawson likewise styles Ed Daly, the super-entrepreneur and ownerof World Airways as a modern day Robin Hood, Daly made a tidy profit

out of cost-plus US

government

contracts. His last flight to Danang, in direct violation of orders, while it made headlines, and "heroes" out

of Daly and his pilot Ken Healy, and almost got Paul Vogle of UPI a Pulitzer Prize, actually brought out

of Danang two Vietnamesewomen, one V¡etnamese child and 265 ARVN soldiers who should have stayed and fought.

Evacuations are difficult at best.

Under wartime conditions they

become almost impossible

and

evacuation of all local nat¡onals who work for or may have worked for the US Government, any of its agencies or any of the organizations

it may sponsor. Selected in-

dividuals, yes; but not all. For most of the thousands of South Viet-

namese in the employ of the US government and its agencies in South Viet Nam, theirs was a job. lt paid well, the hours of work were agreeable and the working conditions far better than those on the local economy. Laterevents were to

prove that there was no "blood bath."

Dawson's treatment

of Graham Martin. the United States Ambassador during the 55 daYs, is a reasonably accurate account of the actions of this austere, unapproachable and very complex man, Not even Dawson could know with certainty what instructions from Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the State Department constrained M artin

but the fact that the avowed politices of both the Nixon and Ford administrations were to get øØothØØ (l)oooq)() Ø6ØAØØ 'F F'¡ F'e',ã

ooooo0,)

there is for Thailand, West Germany and any other locations worldwide .where there is a US presence. No such plans contemplate or provide for the mass

! g

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ã Lo.o g E3$

ooo0ro0)

; I 7,9.

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cooooo oooooo o-c-o-o-oo o-o-o-o-oc )==f=f

P#P

ØØØØØq

ØØØØ(DU)

his work falters and syffers.

Canadian-born Dawson spent two years in South Viet Nam as an American Gl. Taking hþ disetrarge

there and armed wifh

US citizenship he stayed on wtih U¡t,

Marriage

c:

:= q[F ; 3iE :S 8FE

and bias.

o o -

€

Øoq,

= E'

o Ëdx o õt* = B ggõ o o

;.=

--Yb. !Y

J

.+

--r

to a

Vietnamesþ of

Chinese ancestry {ollowédr and after an additional fiúe yeaó in that wartorn country and the"birth of twin sons, it is easy to see whence came the emotion and bitterness

n o

ØûØ@ØØ 0JoJoo0Ja) ØØû6ØØ ;'ã'e'P !

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bravery and altruism are well written and well documented. ln them he weaves a tight, accurate story of the last 55 days. lt is when he lets his bias show and strays away from the story at hand that

--{

tnØØu)u)u)

oocooo o- c- o- c- co-o-c-c_c-a

Dawson's account of South Vietnamese venality, duplicity, corruption, panic, ineptness, as well as individual (though all too few) acts of

2

o(I]C)a.)c)c) .Ø .9 .9.9 .ø .g oooooc) ï)EE'CC! o(!oooo

as

dilatory actions.

T

oocooo oooooo ooo-o-c-oooo-o-oo l3=lil

did. Despite Dawson's statement to

just as there was for Korea and

obviously set the stage for his, in retrospect, unforgiveable and

H

Øu>ØØØØ

US Evacuation Plan for South Viet Nam

portantlylto keep "hands-ofl" are well known. Given that and the beliefs and personality of Martin

:

!!'Ìf-o!Þ õ(ooo€e f,llJff

given the suddenness of the South Vietnamese collapse it is a miracle that as many persons got out as

the contrary there was a

out of Viet Nam and more im-

IT =ä

Ann and Richard Hughes listen a bit perplexed as

Climpson tett them that "This is your tife, Richard Hughes"'

No, this is not Audie MurPhY, war hero extraordinary, but it's a close guess.

A free coPY of The

OnlY

War We've Got (in Dutch translation) if you guess who it is. Meanwhile, tovelY Liz is at home in England on leave.

It)

compere

however, Hughes was able to venother M onitor correspondents, visiting ln-

ture into the territory of

John Hughes

dia, Pakistan, Japan, Korea

Continued from Page 1 3

Hughes, you have to ask questions.

Hughes was the Monitor's Africa

correspondent from 1 9bb to 1 961.

"The first three years we lived out

suitcases," he said. "My first assignment was to cover the waning Mau Mau campaign in Kenya, where I remember we rented a cottage from a splendid English exGuards officer who'd been drummed out of his regiment for divorcing and remarrying. After we'd paid the first week's rent and moved in, he indicated off-handedly that two of

of

his cattle guards had had

their

throats slit by Mau Mau the week before in the ditch that ran behind our cottage."

James Thurber once said that a dog lover isn't necessarily a dog in love with another dog, and John Hughes is a case in point. lt was during those early days with Libby in Africa that he acquired the first of a series of giant Labrador retrievers.

While in Africa, Hughes was

arrested on various occasions, part of the experience that was to emerge in a book entitled The New Face of Africa.

Returning to Boston in 1961 , Hughes became a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, mainly studying com-

and

Australia.

His lndonesia experience led to

a

Pulitzer Prize for lnternational

Reporting in 1967. Hughes recalled those days: "lt was very satisfying to be the only American cor-

respondent

in lndonesia in

the aftermath of the coup there, piecing together what happened, watching the army move against Sukarno, chronicling the very bloody purge of

of communists, and finally witnessing Sukarno's thousands

overthrow and the emergence of a new order. I was so fascinated by

the whole lndonesian thing that wrote a book, 'lndonesian UpI

heaval."'

During the six years in Asia, the Hugheses had their second child,

Mark, with Libby flying back to Boston for a week, then returning to the Far East.

One assignment Hughes recalls

with great enthus¡asm was the five months he spent doing a special

to Boston

in

became editor and manager.

ln the years since he became editor, he takes pride in certain developments at the Monitor.

These include the introduction of

the Christian Science

Monitor News Service in 1971, as a result of which Monitor material is now syndicated to some 1 80 newspapers with a circulation of 20 million. Next was the 1974 introduction of high-speed, facsimile transmission of Monilo¡"pages to

remote plants in New Jersey,

Chicago and California. Thirf,{y, in 1975, there was the cqnversfon of the Monitor from standard lsize to

'l' ì

tabloid.

"Readers liked it from the súan," Hughes told E&P. "Of a tÉousand letters, 90! approved, espedially liking the ease of handling. Then, too, the change saves us a million dollars a year in newsprint. The only people I know who have been un-

happy

national narcotics traffic. Starting

photographers, who always want their pictures printed big."

rom Hong Kong, Hughes investigated the flow out of Thailand, Laos and Burma, the transportaf

tion routes through other Asian countries, then on to lndia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and lran into

the Míddle East. He spent time

in

the opium fields of Turkey, then on

to Lebanon, and France to work there with American narcotics

Editor at the Monitor, from 1962 to 1964, was interrupted by a special assignment to Moscow and by the birth of his and Libby's first child,

agents and French police. "l was offered all kinds of drugs

Wendy.

recalled the other day.

Hughes got what he calls his "dream assignment, going to Hong Kong as lhe Monitor's Far East correspondent. Within a week after his arrival in the British Crown Colony, however, he was on his way to Viet Nam, the first of some 20 visits in the next 6 years. Viet

Hughds came back

1970 to become managing editor of lhe Monitor. Four months later he became editor and, in 1976,

series charting the flow of the inter-

munist affairs. Then a two-year stint as Assistant Overseas News

ln 1964,

she has yet to be able to go.

and could have made buys in quan-

tity of top-grade heroin," Hughes The drug series won him the

Obviously unable to draw Hughes away from journalism into drama, Libby meantime had turned to writing. While in Asia, she wrote a book on Bali and later was also to

write a book on Chinese

Nam, however, was only part of his assignment. His territory went from Taiwan in the east to Burma in the west and down to lndonesia in the

ing her reason to vent her frustrations on her husband

south. With his friendly ways,

with the ASNE board in 1972

revolutionary theater, the latter giv-

because he was able to go to China and

been

the

One of the things that almost steals away Hughes' cheerfulness is even a mention of advocacy reporting, and he hopes that ¡n the days ahead ASNE will be able to restore more objective ideals to the news columns of America's newspapers.

"Also in the year ahead," he told E&P, "we want to push ahead with

Mike O'Neill's (New York News

editor) readership council."

Hughes eyes a great deal of

newspaper promotion mater¡al

a skeptical eye.

"Promotion departments often are

these days with promoting

Overseas Press Club award.

have

a different

newspaper

from the one the editor is editing," he said. "And often editors are too arrogant regarding readers. This is one advantage of having the same man serve as manager as well as editor. The problem is, the newspaper should take steps to find exactly what it is the readers want.

Then the editor should give readers the proper mix of what they want and what they should have. The 17

trick is to package it attractively and make it interesting."

Hughes does not think the electronic newspaper flashed onto a home television screen will ever

South Africa," Hughes will recall,

respondents' expense accounts in

"and it was shipped to Boston and

known today.

"The advantage of the printed newspaper is that it's portable," he

which was born in Massachusetts

line. This canine imagery provides a convenient code for character summary - as long as the person on the other end of a Hughes com-., munication knows the subtleties of' the game. John once referred to a

replace the newspaper as it's

said. "The electronic newspaper makes the consumer serve as his

own editor, dialing up only that he wants to read. lt doesn't have the candy store appeal of discovering interesting things to read that are new."

ln 1977, Hughes bought

the

Cape Cod Oracle, a weekly newspaper of some 7,0O0 circulation

that is published in Orleans, CaPe Cod, which in summer becomes a family enterprise with Libby writing theater reviews, Mark working

in

the pressroom, and Wendy taking classified ads and working in the circulation department.

Perhaps even closer to Hughes' heart than Oracle are his Labrador

retrivers. "The first was acquired in

then Hong Kong. The

second,

which came from Britain, was acquired in Hong Kong and shipped to Boston. We are now on our third,

large, likable true-blue type as

and has never been anywhere."

The Monitor managing editor throws even more light on his editor's love of dogs. This is what Earl W. Foell had to say to E&P: "To understand Hughes properly you have to remember he is Welsh

and loves dogs. His Welshness (tempered to be sure by Fleet Street service and U.S. citizenship) has given him the capacity to look

years, however, Hughês has kept his thirst for root beer enough under control to stay in shape forpweekly

given him a convenient index for

squash game

classifying the rest of humanity. He

may describe an investigative reporter as a 'regular Bassett hound,' meaning methodical, a bit awkward, but ultimately getting his man. Or he may hint that a budget

auditor is a "Doberman" - a to keep cor-

characterization likely

The Srnootlrc:l. Moven lets you ên¡oy Youn lrlovc!.

We'll corne to youF home and give You and if you'l'e a reelastic quotation' satiBf¡ed wiÈlî tlìat we'll exPerÈly pack and contâiner¡Be ycrur poesessions and ineure thern ¡f You wish' you wiÈh exPerienced in eervice'..anywlrere the world.

o-

t:fJlf

u)<nØØ(nv) q)oo(¡)0J0) ØøØaØq qJo(l)o0)o) !Ð!!'E)E GO(oG(oO

ooooooFPE

oooooo o- o. o- o- o- oo-o,oo,o-o5fl=a=

ØØtDØU)Ø ØØ61¡AØ

oooa)o0')

tñtttØØu)0 ';"8'F'; F r: LLL ooooo0) õ1f!!!! (oO(oO(oO fftrff=

call John Moore ac 5-714237 catch l-ì¡fyl at the FCC... lTìctve. for ùlîat sÍlooÈher

or

who apparently hasn't art enemy in this world. The truth is, you can't even find a Hughes critic, not even on critical anecodote.

Asked if he didn't know at least

for

some

"l can't think of a thing

along

Sperling, Jr. - thought moments, then said:

6ØØØøØ

We know frorn 32 yGra:.B of experience thaÈ rnoving doean't have to be a cr¡aoÈ¡c buginesg.

Hughes is the only newspaper editor this correspondeht knows

critica I story about John Hughes, the chief of the Monitor's Washington bureau - Godfrey

ooocJoq) !olt!!! õo(oooG oooooo oooooo o_o_o_oo.oo- o- o- o- o-

with yhe ,tYiionitor'si political cartoonist, Guernsey t ¡ LePelley.

one

oc)ocioq) ØØØØ6Ø

sÐylh

We'll provide door-to-door

a

listeneer jumped to the mistaken conclusion that he was implying a fondness for the keg."

Hughes' employees will confide that their editor has been known to quaff a stiff ginger ale at the end of a hard day, although his real preference is root beer. ln recent

at the whole Anglo world with fresh eyes. And his passion for dogs has

ØØthØØø

'

"St. Bernard" and his

ooooooPIP LLL oooooo o-oooo-ooooo-o.o-

Øç)ØØØ<n

that line. All I can say is that John is decisive, strong, businesslike and has a great sense of humor."

E& P turned ba,ck to John Hughes himself. "What do you wish

for?" he was asked. "What's missing out of your life?"

Hr,rghes thought a moment, then

for several more, "l can't think of anything," he said with a sheepish grin. "l have a wondedul family and a wonderful job and l'm looking forward to leading - no, make that representing - ASNE, which to me is an extraordinarily hard-working and perceptive organization. lt is, think the real conscience of the I

profession. I want to do a good job for ASNE. What's missing out of my life? Well, I guess I would have lik-

ed to own more Labrador retrievers." nepilnted hon

Editor and Publisher

4

The Art of Communication Hong Kong has been in the

communications business for over 150 years The art of communication is a Chinese tradition. Today in remote villages, Ttmekeepers still sound the hours on gongs; villages that lie within Hong Kong's 400 square miles where businessmen in towerinq office

blocks communicate with the rest of the world through Cable and Wireless Multi -national companies use telephone, telegraph, telex, leased circuits and television to keep in contact with their

international offices The most distant off ice

is

now only a telephone number

away. Efficient conlmunication has made Hong Kong one of the world's largest business centres and nucleus of the East.

The Cable and Wireless Group of Companies know eff icient communication means eff icient business, that's what Cable and Wireless is all about.

@-colrte&wยกreless A Lยกmited Company lncorporated in England

New Mercury House, 22 Fenwick Street, Hong Kong Telephone: b-283111 Telex:73240

l9

\A/hy in the world do so many travelers like the Reader's Digest?

Probably because we're so easy to read.

In light installments. An article or two at a time. We're lots of fun, too. Our pages are peppered with humor. With many articles about the exciting cities and countries of the world. The Digest is an international magazine. That's why we appeal to international travelers.

Digest is also handy to camy. To read at airports, aboard jetliners, in hotel rooms.

And, at home.

If you're looking for travelers, just look at who's reading the Reader's Digest.

Reader's Digest is the best-selling magazine at Asian newsstands (where travelers pick up their reading material).

Bought at Newsstands Reader's Digest

Asia Edit¡on

Philippines 27,576 7,333 6,800 Malaysia 9pn 2,717 2,1û Korea 9,612 4,478 . 1,948 lndonesia 10,40 5,520 5,000 Pakistan 4,û0 3,650 2,945 Singapore 4,560 2,392 2,2æ Taiwan 2,û0 965 1,116 Thailand 2,200 1,616 1,700 Japan 4,000 5,634 7,001 Hong Kong/Macau 2,050 2,291 1,951 Sri Lanka 1,600 558 2æ TOTAL: 78,Xß 37,1il rl,061 Source: ABC Analysis ol Paid Circulat¡on Reader's D¡gest, Dec 1976 ¡ssue Time, July 19, 1976 issue Neffiwæk, Ocr 25, 1976 issue

Rrff.li

is good for business. Yours.