OBITUARY
Absent friends
lGthmandu. Capital of the Kingdom of Nepal.
A
name
stewardesses who go outoftheir way
that conjures up visions of mystery and adventure.
to please you. Howeve¡ our service
0f
is not just up in the sky. Our
treks through Himalayan peal6 and snowscapes. 0f
legendary Yeti, the "abominable snowman'i And of a
all-
Boeing fleet is maintained to the most rigid international
quaint, medieval city, where ancient wooden
standards and
buildings jos'tle side by side on narrow stræts.
for
efficiency, we've invested
in
the
HE CLUB has recently lost two of its former presidents to the same dreaded disease. The man listed as the FCCrs second president in 1951, Monty Parrot of Reuters, died after a long illness in retirementin New 7-eala¡d. Just before we received that bad news, we learned of the sad death of Edward E.P Tseng, who was president of the Club overtwo periods, in 1968 and again in 1984-85. Eddie, for many years before his retirement when he becarne a distinguished member of the group of elder statesmen who had brought Taiwan through to its present stage of liberalisation, had run the Central News Agency in Hong Kong. Throughout the Territoryrs political ups and downs he had
$ate-of-the-art SABBE computer reservations
Eddie Tseng Yet the comfoft of modern hotels
system. And we are backed by
a group
of
ANCER claimed Bddie Tseng on February 6, and the Hong Kong journalistic community lost one of its most respected and distinguished colleagues.
Eddiers life, (he was 73 when he passed away) mirrored some of the
In the fierceþ competitive
diræt from Hong Kong thræ
r'
All of which should give you
times a week,
every /
reasons
to fly
ample
Dragonair
:!"
to lGthmandu,
business of agency reporting, Eddie also got the drop on his colleagues by being the first to report Japanrs surrender on board
the USS Missouri in Tbþo Bay in
September 1945. Itwas, Eddie later conceded, a stroke ofluck.
As he recalled the events of that heady surrender day, there were five
reporters allowed Missouri
Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. So
just one more destination in our ongoing plan to blæe new tralls into the most
you can stan and finish your Nepal
interesting places in Asia.
adventure in comfort, cared for by
$7360202 or 5.8108055.
our team of young,
DRAGONAIR HONGKONG
for
reseryations, call your travel agent or Dragonair on
)ËÊEfrnÊ
enthusiastic
Iì
1952, Eddie Tseng was named
assuming responsibility
NewsAgency. Hong Kong's leading ærporations.
ln
Deputy Editor-in-Chief of CNA in Taipei, while he also doubled as the New York Tfunes correspondenl at a
Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan, the Korean
as a correspondent for Chinars Central
Dragonair can fly you there,
career.
time when the confrontation between Peking and Taiwan'was on the boil. In 1953, he was moved to lnndon,
andVietnamwars. Eddie covered these epochal events Now
Eddiers number came up with the magic 1. Eddiers number was to come up many times in a long and illustrious
most tumultous happenings in the AsiaPacific region - the second world war,
the Maoist revolution, the flight by
is still to be found.
remained a popular and respected member of the local journalistic community, rising above any political differences between the Mainland and the Kuomingtang. He was a reliable friend, a good newsman and an infnite source of good humour. Tragically he died of lung cancer, 27 years after he quit smoking. The Club was represented at Monty Parrotrs funeral byTed Kerr, a Reuter correspondent on temporary assignment to New Zealand, who passed on condo lences from the Club to Mrs Parrot and family. Many of the Clubrs members were present to mark Eddiers last rites and offer condolences to his beautiful wife Betty, who gave him so much support during his life and his lastillness.
to
on board
the
witness Japanrs formal
capitulation. Representatives included
Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters and Central News, all seeking first use of the shiprs only radio. The American information officer on board decided the only way out was to hold a lottery to decide who goes first. Five numbers went into a hat.
for
CNAs
five branches in western Europe.
Eddie returned to Hong Kong in 1966, even as the Cultural Revolution
was building up its head of steam across the border and tensions in the
territory were running high. Named to the Republic of Chinars Legislative
dealing out lovely anecdotes of his days on the reporterrs beal of which he had many. Tb the end, Eddie Tseng lived life to its fullest, despite the pain and punishment of an incurable illness.
Eddie Tseng touched the lives of many people, most particularly his fellow combatants in journalism. For all of them there is the memory of a great and good man.
Monty Parrot
Mfrå
Tauranga, New Zealand at the end
of February. A correspondent in Asia for a New Zealand newspaper at the end of the second world war,
Yuan, Eddie Tseng marvellousþ married the demands of three careers diplomat, politician and working jour-
Monty was one of the few corre spondents to interview Japanrs wartime leader Tbjo, before Tojo
nalist, wielding considerable power
was executed as
and influence but using it with characteristic prudence and understanding. Twice president of the FCC, Eddie
plane hijack and HMS Amethystrs
-
Tseng was always staunchly loyal to his chosen profession - a journalist
first and last. He was a thoughtful
individual and above all a caring man. In his later years, as he increasingly shed the responsibilities of meeting the rush of deadlines, Eddie Tseng amused himself and his close friends throwing dice (his luck continued to hold most times), sharing a drink and
a
war criminal.
He scored several notable scoops in Asia - the worldrs first escape down the Yanglze for exam-
- before moving to I¡ndon. In London, he became Reuter overseas editor, moving out of this hot seat to be chief Reuter correspondent in the Caribbean before retiring to Dmokoroa near Tauranga in the earþ 1970s. Monty is survived by his wife,
ple
Esther, two sons and a daughter.tr
MARCH 1989THE CORRESPONDENT 7