The Correspondent, May 1993

!li', !

199'J

CONTENTS COVER STORY THE FOREIGN

5-8

CORRESPONDENTS'

Our eyes have seen too much Sally Roper talks to four of South Africa's leading' photographers about life on the front line.

CLUB North Block, 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong.

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NEWS AND VIEWS

2

Addressing a changing world Sweden's Prime Minister, Carl Bildt, face of world politics.

Correspondent Member Governors Bob Davis, Daniela Deane, Carl Goldstein, Humphrey Hawksley, V.G. Kulkami, Catherine Ong, Claudia Rosett, Brian Jeffries

Jou¡nallsl Member Governors William Ba¡ker, Stuart Wolfendale Associate Member Gove¡nors D. Garcia" L. Grebstad, S. Lockhart, R. Thomas Professlonal Commlttecs Convenor: H. Hawksley Members: V.G. Kulkmi, C. Rosett, S. Vr'ofendale, C. Goldstein,

D. Deme, C, Ong, R. Thomæ Membersh¡p Committee3 Con v¿¿or.' V.G. Kulkami Members: B. Davis, D. Garcia, C. Goldstein, L. Grcbstad Entertalnment Committee: Convenor: W.Batker M¿mD¿¡; S. rüolfendale

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Blk A, l6lF,

on the changing

11

One shot in a million Mark Graham talks to Steve Knipp about the most talked about photograph in the Club.

16

lVanna be a military expert? It's easy How journalists become instant experts in

'

everything.

18

The princess and the press Ed Neilan on Japan's worst kept media secret.

PHOTO ESSAY

20-2I

Cambodia's nightmare.

OBITUARIES

24 25

Alan Chalkley Ed Conley

BOOKS

29

Directory for Asian freelancers

PEOPLE LETTERS

t2-I5 26-27

LETTER FROM SYDNEY CLUB NOTES....

28

29

PRESIDENT'S LETTER.............

PEDDLER'S JOURNAL

31

32

Cover photograph by Guy Adams of photographer

Kevin Carter under fire.

Inside photographs supplied by David Thurston, Hubert Van Es and Ray Cranbourne.

THE COR.R.ESPONDENT MAY

1993

1

NEWS AND VIEWS

quences of this world-wide collapse of socialism. lf a few years ago a new world order seemed to be just around the corner, all the talk today is about the threat of a new world disorder.

This is obvious in Europe, as we struggle to deal with allthe problems created by decades of dictatorship and planned

Addressing a changing

world On

It is often said that the leaders in

April6 the Club had

the pleasure to host a lunch

for

of

The

following is an edited

the Prime Minister Sweden, Carl Bíldt.

extract of his luncheon address. o be in Hong Kong is to exPerience all of the contradictions, and to see all of the possibilities, of this turbulent time of change we are living through.

Change is cenainly a Phenomenon familiar to Hong Kong. But profound changes are now occurring throughout the world. The task of journalists and politicians alike is to try to understand what is happening, so as to make it possible for peoples and nations to shape their own destinies in the full awareness

of all the possibilities in store for them.

When my government took office in Sweden in October 1991, we made it

clear that we wanted to change the priorities in our foreign policy. The attractiveness of the revolutionary regimes once favoured by our predecessors had already faded, but there still remained a strong tendency to neglect the importance of the changes occurring in our own part of the world.

We made it clear that EuroPe was

going to be our main foreign PolicY priority. This was essential in order to secure a more central Place for our country in the shaping of the evolving new European order of cooperation and security.

We also made it clear that improving relations with the countries of East Asia was going to be an equally important

2

economy in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe.

THECORRESPONDENT MAY 1993

task in the years ahead.

Since then, we have seen important progress in both these priority areas of our foreign policy.

Sweden now occupies a more central place in the cooperation between European countries than we have ever done in modern times.

As far as East Asia is concerned, we have radically increased our political presence in the area and at the same time our economic relations are continuously being strengthened. ln a wider sense, East Asia belongs to the same part of the world as Northern

Europe; we are both deeply affected by the profound political, eco-

as the wave of the future. The

leaders and political elites of the West.

Diplomacy had been so busy with managing the present that it had overlooked the forces shaping the future.

Suddenly the task in Europe is no longer the containment of the Soviet Union and the communist system, but the integration of Russia into the Wesl

ern framework of political, economic and security cooperation.

As a consequence of the dramatic changes that have taken place, Russia

has been cut off from direct contact with Western Europe through the independ-

Northern Europe around the Baltic Sea that Russia really

-meetsWestern

ln the 1980s, we saw the tide of history turn, one socialist regime after the oiher collapsed under the burden of their open failures.

The difficult issues we are now dealing with in the foreign and security affairs of our different countries are to a large extent connected with the conse-

And in the area of St Petersburg

-the

city once founded as Russia's window

concentrations of scientific and indus-

and Belorussia. lt is only in

brigades marched on in the firm belief that they were building a better future for themselves and for mankind.

underestimated.

The old nomenclature is trying whatever it can to regain power, and there is

on the West

as the Ukraine

red

sition to stable market economies as these three small nations.

Moscow were taken bY surPrise when

nomic and social changes

ally that system reached farther and farther on the Eurasian continent until it stretched from the very heart of Europe to key areas of East Asia.

At the time, socialism was regarded

The threats to the process of reform in Russia are obvious enough. The Central Bank, for instance, is clearly bent on sabotaging the reform policies of the government by putting the country over the brink of hyper-inflation. And the

their system collapsed. To a large extent the same was true of the political

ence of the Central European nations as well

now taking place on the Eurasian continent as communism and socialism begin to disappear.

Seven decades ago, a socialist system of government was first established in Russia. Gradu-

rope.

This new Russia has once again made independence possible for the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. There are no other parts of the former Soviet Union that have such good possibilities of managing the tran-

Europe.

ForSweden, what has happened has been the most significant change in our strategic situation since the parallel collapse of

the German and Russian emPires

in

1917 and 1918 and the establishment of the independentstatesof Poland, Lithua-

nia, Latvia, Estonia and Finland along the southern anfl eastern shores of the Baltic.

Soviet military presence is now

in

retreat f rom the Baltic with the exception

of the enclave of Kaliningrad and the inner part of the Gulf of Finland.

The new Russia that is now emerging is vastly different from the old Soviet Union which for such a long time constituted a threat to the security of the countries of Norlhern and Western Eu-

-

we f ind one of the largest

trial talent in all of the former Soviet Union. Being more than twice the size of Berlin, St Petersburg is the most important city of Northern Europe.

The process of change in the vast country of Russia will not be smooth and easy as the new order replaces that of the old.

Change, however, is taking place and you can see it as you travel around the country. The old structures are disappearing and new institutions, new ways of thinking and new ways in which individual Russians are beginning to shape their own futures take over.

For the first time I have seen Russians out in the countryside repairing their old homes and building new ones.

We saw much the same thing happening in the Chinese countryside follow-

political effects of that should not be

an uneasiness in the security structures that can not be hidden. There are disturbing signs that they have returned to old practices when it comes to keeping a watchful eye on people.

There will be no alternative for Russia

in the decades ahead but to seek the cooperation and support of the countries of the West - and there will be no alternative for the West to pursue a policy of active support for Russia.

The results of the Vancouver Summit

can be seen as a confirmation of this.

For Sweden, the changes of the past few years have not only opened up the new horizon of cooperation in the Baltic area and with Russia, but have also offered the possibility of full membership in the emerging European Union.

European integration has much too often been viewed primarily in economic terms. But in my view, the process of European integration must now return to the basic

purpose for which it was set up, namely the securing of the peace through the integration of free societies and free economies. What

was once achieved in Western a_

f<

s z U l¡.r

t

ing the decollectivisation in the late 1970s. Suddenly people are given the possibility of caring for their own future and they are doing it.

And I have seen the privately owned kiosks going up on streets of Moscow and St Petersburg selling all sorls of goods. We saw much the same thing in Warsaw atthe beginning of the changes there in the late 1980s. Suddenly people are given the possibility of taking initiatives and they are doing it.

The political struggles at the top are most,certainly of great importance as they determine the pace of reform in the years to come but it is these changes at the very core of society, that are really worth watching in Russia today.

Slowly, butfirmly, there emerges what has never really been there in Russia throughout the centuries a civil society of individuals, families and firms shaping their own destinies.

a return to the past. The Soviet Union is

dead and gone, and Communism will never again appear in Russia.

v)

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-

-

-

try. But this term has lost its relevance in a Europe where there are no longeranyopposing camps,

and where cooperation also in the

-

-

Europe must during the 1990s gradually be achieved throughout Europe.

For decades, Sweden used to describe itself as a neutral coun-

fields of foreign and security af-

Bildt

sees

turbulent times ahead.

Regions go off in different directions

fairs is becoming more urgent by the day. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conflicts in former Yugoslavra.

with increasing talk about a possible fragmentisation of Russia. And there are serious armed conflicts raging in

During the 1990s, one of the most important tasks in Europe must be to build firmer structures of cooperation in

areas like the Northern Caucasus.

the area of security. We are already well underway with the work being done in

There is growing pressure for a more assertive foreign policy against the newly independent states of "near abroad", often using the Russians living there as a pretext for an overly neo-imperialist

I remain an prospects concerning optimist the for the furlher democratisation of Russia.

But in spite of all this

We will see setbacks, but we will not see

the CSCE, in the emerging European Union and in Nato and in the cooperative structures set up with all of the newly

independent countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Gradually, lwould expectthis to evolve into a true system of collective security based on the common democratic values of all of the participating countries.

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993

3

COVER STORY

Our eyes have seen too much Scores of photographers, both

black andwhite, risk their lives everyday capturing the unfolding tragedy that is South Africa today. Sally Roper spoke withfour of them-Kevin Carter and Guy Adams of the Weekly Mall, Alf Kumalo currently a senior photographer withThe Star and Herbert Møbuza a senior photographer for The Sunday Times - on how they coped with the stresses and strains of recording.a s eemingly never ending succession of death and destruction.

The scrap heap of history ... the Soviet Union collapses.

But security in the new Europe will not primarily be a question of military forces and balances. lncreasingly, lhe concept

of security will be a concept that

in-

cludes economic, trade, social, ethnic and ecological issues as well. lf the cost of deterring war during the decades of the Cold War was a heavY one, we must soon stafi confronting the fact that the cost of building the peace is

unlikely to be much smaller.

The new freed nations of the former Soviet area are going to need huge amounts of capital during the next decade, and it will be as much in our own interest to help with that as it was in the past to pay for the defence that was necessary.

The complete collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union has inspired hopes among the peoples of other socialist societies, and created fears among their ruling elites. This has been obvious not the least in East Asia. ln a sense, it was the exPectations and the fears generated by the changes in Russia that lead to the massacre in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. All those assembled in that square hoped for the same change to happen in China, and those who took the decision to send

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

in the tanks must have feared the same.

China's long march from socialism towards an open society and a free economy is unlikely to be smooth and steady in the years to come. But the tide

of history has turned for socialism, for dictatorship and for planned economies

everywhere. The fate of socialism in Asia will be no different from the fate of socialism in Europe.

A desperate regime like the one in North Korea might think that a people can be hermetically sealed off from the outside world forever, but the only result will be that the coming collapse will be more dramatic.

A China opening up towards the outside world, and striving to be a world economic power, will never be able to resist the pressures for change. We all know that a society can never be halffree and half-slave, and that the freeing of the economy sooner or later makes the transition to a free and open society,

respecting the human rights and freedoms of each and everyone, unavoidable.

The future of Hong Kong is an essential part of this process, and the discussions now raging over this issue are followed with keen interest around the

world.

Sweden, in common with Hong Kong's many othertrading partners, has a clear interest in the future success of Hong Kong as the centre for an increasingly important economic region with the Pearl River area as its core. And although it is

a matter we hope will be resolved by Britain and China, we believe that a people that asks for a greater say in the running of its own affairs must never be denied this.

History clearly shows, that long term there is no better guarantee for stability than democracy and the rule of law.

We are living in a time of turbulent change. The collapse of communism and socialism is transforming the strategic, political and economic landscape of the entire Eurasian continent at the same time as rapid advances in new technologies are opening up staggering new possibilities for the future.

It is no longer brute force, but rather skilled knowledge, and not plutonium, but rather silicon, that is the key to success as the old structures collapse and as the rivalries between the nation states gradually give way to competition and cooperation in the emerging global village.

@

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ç 5 vq a Weekly,Møil political reporter Philip Van Niekerk emerging from emergency air ambulance after being shot by robbers.

ast September The Correspondentcarried a picture story

by Guy Adams documenting the kangaroo trial and summary execution of a young black man at the mass funeral for those killed in the Boipatong township massacre. The young man's crime -- he was a suspected lnkatha member.

So remarkable were the pictures that

Johannesburg's liberal Weekly Mail newspaper, which employs Adams, received several calls claiming that the series had been staged.

The pictures graphically captured the

suspicion-charged

atmosphere

amongst the disaffected youth of South Africa's townships an atmosphere greatly inflamed by the assassination recently of Communist Party chief Chris Hani.

For the photographers that record the daily toll of death and violence in South Africa the stress is starting to show.

"The nature ofthe beast haschanged," says Kevin Carter. "Back in the mid1980s there was not much factional violence. lt was the comrades versus

-

the police.

"Towards the end of the 80s the police started to clamp down on photographers going into the townships. lf they saw you anywhere near a township with a camera you were arrested.

"They'd take you back to John Vorster Square (Johannesburg's main police interrogation centre and charge office).

You'd call your editor and down would come the paper's lawyer.

"Little was actually done for these contraventions (of the state of emergency), but there was nonetheless the threat of a Z1-year jail sentence.

"You did think about it because they could have used it. lt reached a stage where it became virtually impossible to work in the townships at all."

Guy Adams said: "Back then, the comrades appreciated our presence.

We were on their side, against the apartheid oppressors. The priority then was to get the story out and let people known what was happening."

Towards the end of the 1980s the laws restricting journalist and photogra-

a period when the Berlin Wall had come down in Germany and communism died in the Soviet Union.

At the same time, in South Africa, the winds of change had already started to arrive with the release of Nelson Mandela in 1989.

"After Mandela was released there was this feeling of euphoria ... as though someone had letthe pressure off," Carter said.

For a time South Africa was relatively peaceful but that peace was short lived. phers were relaxed. lt was

The rise of lnkatha saw to that, unleashing a wave of violence that even shocked the most hardened South Africans who thought they had seen it all.

"Many of us worked around the clock for almost three months documenting the violence," Cañer said.

"The nature of the beast had changed

again. Groups of ethnically divided blacks in townships fought each other

with pangas (machetes) and spears.

The lnkatha Freedom Party (lFP) began to infiltrate the hostels. Zulus in THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 5

-

I

I

mixed areas were ejected, sparking ofl a vortex of retaliation and polarisation.

"You no longer had large groups of blacks fighting along a battle line. The pattern had changed. Small groups began making hit and run attacks on carefully chosen targets such as funeral vigils in private homes or on trains.

"They were quick, in and out attacks, usually made with AK 47s and totally out of the blue. No one knew when or where they would take place which made our job even more difficult."

The fact no one knows who the attackers are or where they come from fuels suspicion and counter suspicion

especially about right-wing maverick elements within the government being involved, This became even more apparent last year when it was revealed that secret hit squads existed within the

government.

"lt is more dangerous now than when full scale battles were being waged between mobs," Adams says.

Journalists face a greater variety of

dangers now than in the mid-1980s.

Then journalists would be protected and

even assisted with getting their pictures.

Today, because of the fragmenting of loyalties (rather than the people versus the police), journalists can all too easily get sucked into the conflict.

During the vicious factional fighting in Alexandra township last year, stimulated by lnkatha infiltration of a number of areas, simply crossing a road would be enough to get you accused of being a spy by either or both sides, This happened to Carter, who was hauled into a shack by a group of ANC supporters (com rades).

"l had guns in every orifice," he recalled. "They wanted my films. I re-

sisted, but eventually, they took them.

They distributed my business cards amongst themselves which didn't thrill me! "l did think they were going to kill me.

But even so I remember being very

calm."

Not only is there the danger of being

in the wrong place at the wrong time politically but there are the added elements of straightforward theft, thuggery, and rape of women journalists.

Chief political reporter lor the Weekly Mail, Philip Van Niekerk, was held up last year with two companions - one black and one white. They surrendered

their valuables, but one of the robbers put a gun under Van Niekerk's chin and pulled the trigger. Miraculously, the bul-

let missed his spine and major arteries and the reporter was back on the beat within weeks.

The dangers for black photographers, however, are different again. "lf a vehicle is burning in my neighbourhood the kids don't let me go near it with a camera," says Kumalo.

"The point is that if you do try to take photographs you are not only putting your own life on the line but that of your own family. Why? Because you are photographic people from your own community breaking the law."

On another occasion Kumalo recalled being pursued by a trigger-happy black policeman who had seen him taking

incriminating photographs. Kumalo thrust his camera into the hands of an old man he didn't even know and ran for his life. Fortunately he was able to return later, trace the old man and get his pictures back to the office.

Living and working so close to the battle zone has other

Above, photographers stand shocked beside the bloody body of

Chris Hani.

Right, the

danqers says Herbert Mabúza.

"My 1 O-year-old daughter knows that I often have to go into dangerous places. She asks me 'why are you doing this, Daddy?' I often wonder how allthis is affecting her."

Also, blacks are inevitably pigeonholed by other blacks into one orotherfaction. This

photographers take shots of the body's removal.

The photos were taken by Herbert Mabuza, a photojournalist who lives near Hani's home.

6

THECORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

makes it difficult for black photographers to be tolerated in all political environments.

White photographers do not have this pressure, but suffer straightforward racial animosity. Whites also have a wider work constituency in that they are more easily tolerated in extreme right-wing political areas. A black photographer, for example, would not get near a meeting of Eugene Terreblanche's Nazi-style AWB. Kumalo also had some strong views about the way some photographers are deployed on stories in these highly charged times, when any interaction between the press and various factions should be carefully handled.

He recalled how he was sent to photograph a right-wing white family who had a family member murdered by a black. One of the white male relatives had to be physically restrained from attacking him. "Sending me on that assignment was like waving a red rag at a bull," he says.

The photographers all agreed that the

approach to such situations must be handled with the utmost tact and respect for people's feelings

- bearing in mind that many of the people being

photographed are heavily armed and will easily use those weapons if provoked.

One major gripe that all localjournalists have with foreign journalists is that they often demonstrate levels of insensitivity which are not only repulsive but actively put others in danger. "lt is madness to go into a situation with insensitive people," Adams says.

"One American reporter I went in with kept on about 'we are the press it is our right to have access to things'. Here you have no such rights automatically. Also, if a community has had a bad experience with an insensitive reporter, others following on may meet a hostile, even life threatening reception."

The risk of assault is high, and getting higher because of the rise of sympathy amongst the most militant youth for the Pan African Congress (PAC), a liberation movement which split from the ANC to pursue an "Africa for Africans" philosophy.

Above, ANC member is rushed to safety in Alexandria township.

A black policeman, right, in Johannesburg apprehenfls a child suspected of theft from a shoe shop. Totally unnecessary force was used; two other policemen on the scene also drew guns.

Photographer Alf Kumalo took the shot but had to hand his camera to a passersby and run when the policeman realised pictures were being taken. Alf would not allow his editor to use the picture as he felt in danger. Police brutality of all types can put journalists

{ç vl\

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in danger.

Their slogan "one settler one bullet" falls frighteningly on ones' ears at rallies where white faces are few and far between.

Ca¡ter recalls being held up on the East Rand by a group of PAC supponers who were split over whether to beat

him up.

Adams recalls being held up in the same district with a black colleague who spoke with the men. Eventually in English he heard them say: "You are.right.

I'll kill a Boer instead".

Says Adams: "You have to keep talking, be communicative at alltimes. They can smell fear. lt's a power thing. They

will intimidate you to such an extent that you make a move. Then they will shoot you."

Adds Carter: "How rational can a 12year-old with a gun be? Literally, a child will put a gmm pistol through your car window and say'today i'm going to kill a whitey"'.

Another difference between local and foreign journalists in South Africa is their involvement in the story. For the locals it's not 'just another story'.

"'We are the story, in a sense, because we live here," says Mabuza.

Whilst the dangers arising from taking pictures of your own community rioting

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 7

may be one thing, yet another are the enormous stresses felt by a photographer who suddenly finds himself photographing the corpse of a friend.

This was the horrific task that fell to those who were on duty in Johannesburg the day Chris Hani was assassi-

that," he said.

Then there is the human dilemma as

nated.

Herbert Mabuza lives in the same part

said. "l took a picture as the man was busy dying right in front of me. With his bro-

of Boksburg, a predominately white working class town near Johannes-

how

very traumatic witnessing that murder. I sat down later, my head swimming, and had a few cigarettes. My main concern

"l once saw a man who had been shot

was getting those pictures out.

"Whilst lwas shooting I had the image

to how involved you become

far is too far for a picture?

-and

and had fallen across two pieces of wood that looked like a cross," Carter

burg. A call to his office that day found a colleague saying: 'Herbert is out taking photographs of a dead f riend'.

For many of those present that day, taking pictures of Hani's body in his driveway of his home, the experience added another layer of stress.

To many of them Hani was not only a politician but a friend.

Many photos are too gruesome to use. Says Mabuza: "We have many files of pictures that have never been seen. I took one of Chris's face, but our editor said we could not use it. lt was too much, because he looked as if he might get up at any minute and say, 'hey guys, you thought I was deadl" "Those pictures may not be used because they are too strong. But we have seen it."

All the photographers I spoke to remember certain things. Kumalo says: "l have something of a phobiaaboutdeath.

I

The knowledge that the people being men and womên maintains almost unbearable vulnerability levels in local

journalists.

The

C

oruespondent's September

1992 cover story on violence in

South Africa.

can't get too close to a body any more.

ken head he looked at me and tried to raise himself up.

relative dies of old age, I don not want to see the body."

Mabuza said: "l remember once seeing a man with his face blown off, but he was still alive. You don't forget things like that. You can never forget such an image because it stays with you forever."

Carter and Adams say they have recurring nightmares. Carter said that at one point he withdrew from contact with other journalists.

"People are dying right in front of you all the time. "l have a dream now where I have been beaten up and left for dead. I open my eyes and look up into a camera lens as the shutter blinks ... do you shoot or do you help?"

Guy deals with the stress in another way. "l give my absolute all (photographically)to the situation. lt is the only way I get to release my feelings. "l say to people 'this is reality, that's

"l found that it was too difficult

real life out there.' lgnorance to me is infantile. People really do not want to know what is happening, especially the

cause

I couldn't stand the same

old

question: 'But why are the blacks killing each other?' I would just walk away from

of a photo story in my mind. The work is the thing. You try and put your emotion to work. Another photographer once put it to me this way: 'Think crooked, shoot straight.' An instinct arises; no one can prepare you for how you will react in a situation.

"On that same day I was held up at gun point for around 20 minutes by a local warlord who did not want me to take his picture. I was numb by then, my head swimming with all I had seen.

But I had no guilt feelings about the possibility of saving that man."

Carter added: "How can you. You

photographed are their own country-

I don't feel that it is necessary. I have seen too much death that even when a

to relate. I avoided the dinner parties be-

SEEN THR()UGH THE EYES ()F IMAGINATION. AGFA.

whites.

"With the Boipatong pictures, it was

Kumalo said: "Taking pictures of death feels terrible. lt feels as if you are interfering."

They do not have the luxury of detachment like foreign journalists which enables them to maintain a distance.

So the moral and philosophical dilemmas are constantly debated, along with continually re-thought strategies on how to survive the next assignment and come back with memorable pictures.

To document civil conflict in a place as complex as South Africa with the added difficulty of personal involvement re-

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quired extraordinary drive. "l don't want to be left behind. History re-

is happening here and it must be

corded," says Mabuza. "l have spent thousands of my own rands to get to a story I think should be covered. I am rdcording the history of my own people. I am part of a mass rolling action, of those who have been murdered. Only some of the pictures get published

-

but our eyes have seen

so much more."

Sally Roper is a freelance journalist in South Africa and an absent member of the FCC.

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::ilä:i.iltiï,i:;1Ïi;ii# AGFA

1993

NOTHING ESCAPES AGFA.

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TREIUIIS Technical Achievement Award he 1990 Technical Achievement Award for the dedolight.

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NEWS AND VIEWS

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By Mark Graham

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veryone knows the picture it is the most viewed photograph on the FCC's illustrious walls but few people know who took it.

Steve Knipp's shot of the post-June 4 demonstration in Hong Kong, showing irate Chinese marchers and lounging poolside expatriates, has become a Club classic, proudly pointed out to visitors as a fine example of photojournalism.

Like many renowned shots, it came about by a combination of luck and circumstance. Knipp, 38, attended the post-June 4 rally with his wife, lrene, to show solidarity with the marchers and he took a camera along to record the event for posterity rather than publication.

As the million-strong crowd wound along Wong Nai Chung Road, he clam-

-

bered up to the Football Club wall, intending to take a wide-angle view from above. Once he reached a vantage

Nikon lens, and immediately scuttled out of the way. Others, either indifferent or unaware of the American journalist's presence, carried on relaxing.

The result is a picture which has pride of place on the Club wall, despite strong competition in recent years from other shots. lt has a constant stream of people to view it, possibly more than the Vietnam war shots displayed in other areas. "l'm not a photographer, it was luck, but as soon as I saw the gweilos I knew it was an interesting shot," says Knipp.

"When the picture first went up on the wall I went up to the Club at about 6.30 pm to see it I was quite proud as it is up there with some famous pictures, even though it was a fluke. "l was having a beer waiting for someone to comment, wondering what they

point, Knipp saw the opportunity to cap-

would say. I waited until about 10 pm

dedolights the backbone of lighting

ture the contrast between the anger of the demonstrators and the supreme indifference of the expats.

"There were other photographers

the entire film. Every shot was 180"

there clicking away but they were all

and these two Jardine johnnies came in and one of them said it was a stereo in a slide. I turned around and said 'lt's my photo!' They slurred voice looked at me and said 'Sure, sure."'

Knipp, now a freelance journalist, is a former editor of the Asian edition of Travel and Leisure and is used to working with photographers and commissioning specific pictures. His personal favourite snappers are George Tapan, a Filipino fashion and travel specialist; Alain Evrard, a Belgian who shoots travel and features;Australian Paul Lakatos, a

-

Trumbull Credits include: Special effects photography for "2001", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Star Trek"

'l'll

never shoot without them...'

'Forthe'Backto the Future 0MN I MAX

ride, dedolights were the answer.

Efficiency, brightness, narrow beam, long throw and small size made our

wide atf 22. Hiding lights was a maj0r

problem. With dedolights,

we

developed an entirely natural look by

breaking our key down into manY individual beams, and slicing them between buildings, rocks and ice.

l'll

never shoot without them.'

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concentrating on the crowd," says Knipp.

"When I got to the top of the wall I looked over and saw all these gweilos sitting around like it was a normal Sunday. lt seemed they were totally oblivious and couldn't care less. I immediately saw the

juxtaposition."

So did a few of the Football Club members targeted by Knipp's 24 mm

-

-

-

staff photographer with lhe Sunday Morning Posf and war-zone photojournalist Greg Girard.

"The best photographs I have seen don't have captions," says Knipp.

"People are moved by good photos.

People look at photo albums, especially there are people in the pictures. Good photographers have a combination of technical skill and ability to deal with people. "l've worked many times with photographers when you get to the end of the day their job is finished; they can go and have a shower and a beer whereas a writer has to go and make some sense out of it all. Photographers always seem to be the ugly guys who get the best looking women." if

-

They can also make respectable money from syndicating exclusive oneoff news shots. ln Knipp's case, the picture has earned only a few thousand Hong Kong dollars from local agency sales. A few visitors to the Club have bought souvenir shots.

The picture has no by-line, but the photographer can take consolation from watching the steady stream of people who look at the shot admiringly. lt captures Hong Kong at a turbulent time for the majority a tranquil period for a small minority.

-

Mark Graham the

FCC

is

aJournalist member of

E

THECORRESPONDENT MAY 1993

II

PEOPLE

Meeting the press Consuls-General, senior Hong Kong Government and Xinhua officials met correspondents and local journalists at a cocktail reception at the end of March. The annual get- together has proved to be very successful.

Ulf Norstrom, Consul-General, Sweden (left), N Perel, ConsulGeneral, Israel, and Club President Steve Vines.

Photographs by David Thurston.

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Above, Tony Clifton, Newsweek and Attorney General Jeremy Mathews.

Top, Financial Secretary Hamish Macleod and Brazilian Consul-General Arnaldo Carrilho.

Top Right, Marc Preton, Asiu Inc and Kazuo Kodama,

fi>

Japanese consulate.

Above right, J.E Raffenberg, South African viceconsul and Laurent Ballouhey' freelance.

Right, Christopher Slaughter, Metro News, and Lars

HongkongBank

Almklov, vice-consul for NorwaY.

T2

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

HOhI

NGBA}{K AND YOU. THE UIII.{NING TEAIV{"

PEOPLE

birthday bash As birthdays go, the attendance was a bit low. But those who did make it had a great time, boppin' till they dropped.

Photographs by David Thurston and Hubert Van Es.

LAURENCE E. LIPSHER CERTIFIED PUBLTC ACCOUNTANT 6/F, Fook Shing Court 50 Vlfondham Street, Central Tel: 868-3961 Fax: 525-9679

Our primary specialty is the preparation of US income tax returns for a fee that you will not bitch about!

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

I\EWS AND VIEWS

Wanna be a military expert? It's easy o get everybody depressed, let me tell you how I became a Military Expert in Washington.

I know. Military readers will giggle hysterically at the thought. "Fred? An expert? Fred couldn't find Fort Hood with a road map and a bird dog." Yeah.

But that's the problem. ln journalism you don't have to know about anything to be an expert. Understanding this will explain a great deal about the military

and the press, and demonstrate that there is no hope. For anything. Ever.

By way of background, a bit about reporters. Almost no one writing for the mass media about the military actually knows anything about the military. The personalities you find in journalism are all wrong for knowing things. Reporters are often reasonably bright but have little interest in their subjects, and little interest in understanding anything. Really.

The reason is that journalism is f iercely

competitive, high-pressure work. Consequently, there is a large premium on being able to get a story, or something that looks like a story, fast and on dead-

line. Ten minutes later, the editor

is

howling for the next story. The reporter doesn't have time to think, "Hmmmm, I wonder how this widget actually works?" or, "Maybe, if I talked to the engineers, there would be a reason for wanting this widget."

A job that requires

fast,

uncomprehending coverage attracts people who are comfortable doing it.

Pretty soon, the entire paper is staffed by writers who by character are unable to grasp that they aren't doing a very

good job. And they give each other

computer minor and didn't find the buzzwords especially frightening.

So I started talking about this stuff

Associate member Jarnes Reed came across tlte

I had to deal with military reporters from the heavyweight papers.

Sure, it was phoney, a calculated exercise in journalistic tactics, but it worked. whenever

followin g ar tic le r e c e ntly in the Air Force T¡rnes, art

The fact was that I knew as much about submarines as a 1S-year-old kid knows just enough to puzabout computers zle his mother. But it was enough.

So help me, pretty soon I began to be introduced on the occasional talk show as Fred Reed, an expert on weapons.

I'd always respond, very quickly, "Thank

American publication

which speci.alßes in the US

tnilitary. He thought

-

it

,night raße one or two eyebrows arnong the many experts that crowd around the

you, but there aren't any expens on weapons, and l'm not one." This was

mainbar

pure self-preservation. Any fighter pilot

every night.

who might be in the audience would have needed about two questions to show that I didn't know squat about

taken seriously in journalism. I also found

that to work on a mainstream publication, I would have to adopt its political coloration. Newspapers, God knows, are not hotbeds of independent thought.

So how to make my way, be published

and get paid?

Outflank'em.

I noticed that with the sole exception of Chuck DeCaro, who was then at Cable News Network, reporters were the most technically illiterate people ever to wriggle from beneath a rock. By and

large, journalists do not do abstract thought, certainly not for its own sake.

The sciences are abstract. Consequently, whole newsrooms contained not one person who knew how a refrigerator worked. (Oh good. Just the folks to cover electronic warfare, huh?)

Now, most military equipment rests

prizes, which makes them think they are competent.

OK. Years ago, I came into this trade as a freelancer. I quickly discovered that, not being on the staff of some (mysteriously) prestigious organ like

flow. Also, fortunately for me, I began

Time magazine, I wasn't going to be

my life as a chemistry major with

16

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

on simple ideas that, forlunately for me,

had dreadfully inscrutable-sounding names. Airplanes, for example, involve

things like high-bypass turbofans, Doppler beams sharpening and laminar a

airplanes.

The scary thing was that people with considerable influence in Washington were prepared to regard me as an expert. I mean, come on. To be an "expert" on fighter planes, you would need at a minimum degrees in both aeronautical

and electronic engineering. I knew 20 ideas and 30 buzzwords. But the journalistic establishment knows so little, it can't tell how little it knows and can't realise that there is much to know.

Reporters don't interview genuine experts

-

example

missile-design engineers, for

-

because they couldn't un-

derstand the answers. Journalistic egos

are large. Better to ask some fraud in Washington who says simple, grabby things than to feel like a fool by talking to someone who knows something.

Believe it or not, people who know even less than I do have substantial influence in this curious city. I've seen them testify before Congress. They write books. People read them.

Wanna be an expert? Try three ideas and a lot of confidence. Works every time.

q

let the rest conforn

l¡our-o You Qerug¿- o Llvg oFF A Perlslor.r

NEWS AND VIEWS

1,

rir

The Princess and the Press ment, has been shrouded in protocol and restrictive press arrangements.

By Ed Neilan

wo big news events coming up in Japan are the wedding of Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada on June 9 and the Summit Conference of the Group of

Seven lndustrialised Nations (G-7)

in

July.

By far the most colourful and controversial of all will be the former event, even though the latter will attract heads of state, foreign and finance ministers and a gaggle of minders, messengers and assorted gnomes from Zurich.

Coverage of the G-7 meetings is usually straightforward: issuance of press credentials, brief ings, statements, deni-

als, deep background, off{he-record, handouts and handshakes.

The marriage of the emperor-to-be and his princess-to-bé, who was a foreign ministry officer before her engage-

guests and ensure that they observe the rules of the Club. Guests are not

entitled to make use of any credit facilities which the Club may provide

to its members and the member will be liable for all charges incurred by the guest.

D No babies are permitted under any

circumtances.

No children under the age of six

tr

18

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

oP,,. Llvg ,N A Pe^ls,o

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from reporting anything about the prince's engagement, even though an official announcement was forthcomThe agreement lasted nearly a year when the 1 73 major Japanese newspapers agreed to extend it until January 31.

Although unthinkable in the West, a similar restraint on the media had been instituted 35 years ago for Crown Prince Akihito's engagement.

Although an American news magazine reported the engagement prior to the end of the agreement, the Japanese

Note to members The following serves as a guideline to new members and as a reminder to long-time members. tr The use of portable telephones is not permitted on the Club premises. tr Members bringing guests into the Club shall be responsible for their

\

The identity of the prince's fiance was kept secret through a gentlemen's agreement of more than 400 major Japanese newspapers, television stations and magazines with the lmperial Household Agency, which is in charge of lmperial family affairs.

The media promised it would refrain

are allowed on the Club premises except Sunday and public holidays.

D No children under the age of 12 are allowed on the Club premises after 7pm unless given permission by the Board of Governors. They must always be accompanied by their parents who are expected to

exercise control over them at all times. tr No person under the age of 18 is permitted atthe Main Baror Pool Bar at any time under any circumstances.

:^¡S

Princess-to-be Masako Owada. media did not report the story until the agreed-upon-date.

Shigehiko Togo, a Washington Post reporter with 20 years' experience in Tokyo, was instrumental in breaking the story. At the same time he upholds the necessity of some privacy for the principals. "l personally think the agreement was necessary to protect the privacy of the candidates for the engagement. I think there was a consensus among the public that some kind of media agreement was necessary."

As for the candidate herself, Togo believes Owada is the perfect choice and a good example of the new Japanese woman.

"Equality has been established in the imperial family. They are equal partners. Owada wilfemerge as a role model for Japanese women. Her contribution in this regard will be enormous. She will open a new chapter in the history of Japan'silmperial family."

D The Club does not accept any private parties involving children.

D No baby carriages are permitted on the Club

premises. K

loÚ

Ed Neilan is an absent member of the FCC and is presently based in Tokyo as a correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle.

@

CO)]L]Ð]R1I]DXG]EC(O]L]Ð.&]Rì(O)]Bì]Ð]Rì]| SS(O)N Coleridge Cole & Robertson 20e sheil

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ce¡trar, Hong Kong

Please provide me with more information on your services.

I am (please tick the appropriate boxes):

Without school fee arrangements Without pension arrangements

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Looking for residential finance ln need of university fee advice ln a muddle and need help

Name

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Address

Tel (Office) Date

r PHOTO ESSAY

By Mike Smith

A grotesque map of Cambodia made from human skulls, right.

Cambodia's nightmare

A photo exhibition at the site, below left, states that nine foreigners were among the dead, including David Lidy Scott, a

reporter.

Cambodians go to the polls this month in what many see as the country's last chance for peace after two decades of war.

The outcome does not

Below right, all Cambodians, except uneducated peasants, were suspected enemies of the Maoist state.

look good. The Khmer

Saloth Sar, bottom left, known as Pol Pot, who from 1975-79 was

Rouge refused to disarm,

.f-Ð

responsible for the murder of more than one million people. . . a

casting a shadow over the United Nations' attempts to conduct free and fair elections in this tragic country.

The Khmer Rouge is still slaughtering civilians and is expanding its hold over vast swathes of the country.

quarter of the country's population.

/

The Khmer Rouge kept photographic records, bottom right, of its victims.

Mike Smith is an Associate member of the FCC.

And the biggest irony of all is that Pol Pot,evil incarnate, was invited by the UN

to participate in the elections.

In

1975 Khmer

Rouge cadres

converted the Tuol Suay Prey high

,trÌ

school (above) into Security Office

Number

2l

which

was used for

interrogation.

r

Left, skulls are grouped according to sex and mode of death (chopper, iron gole, hammer, bullet).

Right, mass grayes in the suburbs of Phnom Penh. A Buddhist shrine was erected on the site.

20

THECORRESPONDENT

MAY

¡

lfl ôn ;l 18

3\ J

1993

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 2I

*FCC SALE *FCC SALE *FCC SALE *FCC SALE *FCC SALE ,KFCC SALE

you thought you had eaerything. l,J ow -- with these delights spreød before you -- you realise that you høaen't euen started. Unique is the watchword. INhere else can you get items utith the distinctiae FCC logo and colours. They are øIl reøsonably príced, too

*FCC SALE *FCC SALE

T?FCC

SALE *FCC SALE *FCC SALE *FCC SALE

D Polo Shirts in three colours -'pink,

So

blue and white.

D Club ties in two colours -- red and blue.

E Leather wallets with an FCC logo. tr Folded cards with a drawing of the FCC. D Get in early with some Club Christmas cards. tr Club sweaters in three colours -- red, dark blue and light blue. tr Watches for men and women.

D Umbrellas -- big enough for two, blue with gold logo.

E Postcard book, a colletion of historic Hong Kong cards tr Headlines of the world postcard. tr Club lighters in the new squat design.

Diaries and address books

Watches

$90

$150 $130 $40 $so $1e0

$re0 $140 $21s

$¡ $o

Wallets Polo shirts

Postcard book

Ties

Umbrellas

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Sweaters T?FCC

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OBITUARIES jargon.

'Written by a minor angel' Alan Chalkley 1918-93

He could explain inflation, reflation, devaluation, demonetisation and a myriad of themes which were becoming important features of the economic landscape of the

post-World War ll world, so that

the least literate reader whose pocketbook was effected by one

or other of these economic

lan Chalkley, one of the best-

24

THECORRESPONDENT MAY 1993

or

Kong, died in Washington DC on Febru-

ary 11 after treatment for a brain tumour. He was ô0.

Conley was sent to the United States in December last year when it was determined that he had a massive tumour.

well.

It was partially removed at George Washington University Hospital and he was undergoing radiation treatment.

Ed was an active member of the FCC Japan and headed the media committee, which looked after the problems of journalists in Japan and elsewhere.

He was a correspondent for VOA for 32 years, much of it in Asia. He helped cover the last days of the lndochina war in Cambodia and Vietnam while VOA East Asian bureau chief in Hong Kong from 1973 to 1975. He was Tokyo bureau chief lrom 1977 to 1981 and from 1989 until his death.

Conley also covered the State De-

Alan was more than a "mere" economics editor. He was THE most accomplished all-round journalist in the world. He could set up

a

newspaper singlehandedly if challenged. He could take and crop a photograph, draw a chart, write a news piece, subedit it, fit an interesting headline over it, set it up on one of those barbarous linotype machines we had, and fit it into the page design.

He went back to London after a spell in Colombo and when the Press Foun-

dation of Asia needed an editor for

ome 43 years ago I placed a wanted ¡otice in The Econo-

Depthnews,The weekly package of news features on developmentthatwe started in 1968, I sent him a cable (those were the prefax middle ages) saying "Come".

He cabled back saying "Where? What?

When?" I replied "Manila. Edit development economics package. Now." And, within a week, he was on his way again to Asia. I asked my colleague Betty lldefonso if she would kindly meet him at the airport with a garland of sampaguita.

She did. And that's why she is here today.

Later when I was editing The Asian, Alan and lshared an apartment in Hong Kong. At breakfast we had a daily up-

mist and' The Sfatisf for an economics editor lorThe Ceylon Daily News.

which was bitingly criticalof every coun-

The publisher had flown to London to pick our man, and we interviewed six

try in which The Asian was sold. They were so sensitive about their nation-

candidates. We chose Alan N. Chalkley, not because he was a very competent editor of lhe Economics Dþesf of London but because, during the half hour he spent with us talking economics, he did not use a single word of economics

hood that they would ban the paper at the slightest hint of crit¡cism.

were both funny and usually well di-

Chalkley's writings had an impact comparable with the columns of Richard Hughes, then regarded as the doyen of the Asia hands.

Above all Chalkley was a consummate pro. "You had a problem, a storyto write, the deadline half an hour away, and Alan was your man," an old colleague said with reminiscent affection.

"Give him a few cuttings and the day's

Hong

-

schoolboy and the columns now have a distinctly dated look but his barbs against the foibles and follies of Asiatic leaders

some malodorous cell, ln their time

Edward F. Conley, a veteran Asia corre-

spondenl for the Voice of America and active member of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan and Hong

that meant lndia and Japan as

Some of Chalkley's humour was

would have sent reporters straight off to

The Book of

monetary decisions, could make sense of it. So Alan Chalkley became the first-ever economics editor in the Asian press and

known, respected and loved Asia hands, died on April4. He was 74. Though he had been in poor health for some time he was stillwriting columns for various magazines right up to his death.

Allhe FinancialTimes he rose to the backbench and became chief sub-editor. By his Ff colleagues Chalkley was regarded as the complete professional journalist, able to turn his hand to any job and sort out any crisis. But then he left Britain to become one of the founding members of the Press Foundation of Asia in Manila, which in its time did much to encourage the news media throughout the continent and develop young journalistic talent. ln the middle 1970s Chalkley wrote a weekly column lor lhe Far Eastern Economic Review, Report from Amnesia, under the byline Nicholas Dutt.

Chalkley also wrote a popular Hong Kong column, The Book of Hong, in the style of the Bible, which was later turned into a successful play.

rected. He got away with comment for which some of the continent's dictators

Ed Conley

Alan Chalkley news and he would turn out a story that seemed to come from the world's expert in the field, written by a minor angel.,'

Chalkley's widow Betty said that,,living with Alan was like earning a double PhD. Whenever a word came up, he was able to discuss its etymology, its history and various uses. lt was a learning experience spending 25 years of married life with him."

Kevin Rafferty, The Guardian

roar preparing the Amnesia column

So we invented the Sovereign Repub-

lic of Amnesia which we could criticise with impunity. lts Prime Minister was Sir Portly Rumbel, its currency was the

Twit, its language was Krit (sans krit, you see?), its capital was Rapacity, its hillcapitalwas Mendacity, and its airport was Skyjack lnternational Airport. Alan did most of the lnventing and I did most of the laughing.

Sir Portly Rumbel dispatched a high level delegation to the lnternational Scatalogical Congress. lt never reached its destination. The Amnesian delegation to the United Nations General As-

partment, the White House and the

sembly consisting of many of Alan's

States.

friends was skyjacked and blown up just as it took off . Alan was certain that each

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ed was a 1954 graduate of Boston

United Nations during tours in the United

one of them reached a place in a far

University. He and his wife, Joyce, a former VOA correspondent, were the

away galaxy that is reserued for special people. I hope so. Because that is where Alan is bound and he likes merry company.

parents of four daughters.

The Foreign Correspondents, Club of Japan

Tarzie Vittachi

Guest policy in the

Guests shall not be entitled to credit facilities which the Club may provide to its members. lt is the responsibility of members

Members may entertain guests the Club provided they observe bringing guests to ensure that their followingArticlesand By-Laws. Mem- guests do not make use of clubcredit bers bringing guests ¡nto the Club facilities. shall be responsible for

their'observ-

ance of the rules and liability to Club if

any.

the

lf a guest makes use of such facili-

ties the member bringing the guest sha¡ be tiable to pay a¡ chargel.

THECORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 25

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The lowest form of wit

been made to attract business people (like myself) to join the Ctub. Atthough we (Associate members) pay a hefty

As one of the many "passive" Associate members of the Club, I have for several years enjoyed the dining and bar facilities available whilst suffering the (inevitable?) hefty annual increases in the subscription fee. For all the negative ideas that have been introduced (appalling ltalian verandah restaurant, disposal of a pool table to make way for a

entrance fee and the hefty monthly subscription fee, we have virtually no say in the running of the Club. Our only "representatives" are a Second Vice President and the four Associate Member Governors. This is clearly not democracy in action, as Vines would so happily have us believe in his letter

still be taken into consideration and not ridiculed, as Vines apparently so loves to do.

The President may have enjoyed his monthly attempt at witticism in The Correspondent, which I among many shall

not miss, but perhaps he should remember that "sarcasm is the lowest form of wit"

(March issue of The Correspondent), but is more akin to minority rule.

work room that appears continually

As the female Club member who was

empty), there are many positive ones

so savaged by Vines in his letter cor-

(excellent selection of speakers, the remaining pool and snooker table, a

rectly pointed out, we (Associate mem-

gym and sauna, the no-smoking reading area). ilowever, I really must protest at the way the President of ouR club apparently views with disdain those of us (the majority)who are not journaiists.

A great deal of effort has apparently

that we have the misfortune of NOT being journalists, our interests should

bers) do understand that the FCC re-

Paul Bromberg

Baptist College scholarships

time jobs between their lectures, their dissertations and the student newspaper. lt's a lean three years for most.

Scholarships ease the pain, and we are most grateful this year to the For-

Ask around at any newspaper in Hong Kong, and you willfind that afair number

ous contribution. A large amount

mains a Club for journalists (specifically

foreign correspondents). Yet, as the (literally) silent majority, we do not expect to be regarded with disdain by the President and those in charge of the Club's administration. Despite the fact

TH E- ZOO

newsrooms. This is no coincidence; the college's journalism course is by far the longest established in the territory, having started up 25 years ago, and it has become an accepted passport into the profession. ln 1987, Baptist upgraded the course from diploma to degree level, and competition for places has become keener than ever.

Getting in is difficult, but students face more problems when the Government presents the bill: fees now stand at $12,000 ayear and rise at a rate way beyond inflation. Grants are available only to a few, so students juggle part-

eign Correspondents' Club for its gener-

who work there learnt their journalism at

Baptist College. The same goes for magazines, and for radio and television

was raised rom the showing in March of a 1960s documentary about $1

0,200

f

Hong Kong made by the late James Cameron (the event was a sellout) and

a donation from Club funds equalling the amount collected,that night. We at Baptist College are particularly happy

ambience of the FCC added significantly to our visit to Hong Kong.

To the members of the Alcoholics Synonymous, I appreciated being in-

that the FCC decided to do this because we run Hong Kong'sonly English-speaking journalism course, andfind the Club's support very encouraging. We plan to use the funds for an overseas internship, something we have never been able to afford before, and something

brought back a flood of memories from my association with the group in 19671972,when lwas an anonymous member from Garden Road.

Hopefully, we will have an oppoftunity

that we feel is very appropriate for an

to return to Hong Kong in the not too

FCC donation.

distant future and look fon¿vard to seeing you again at that time.

To all FCC members, our heartfelt

cluded in their March 20 session. lt

thanks.

Judith Clarke, Hong Kong Baptist College.

A welcome return

Donald Healey, Director of Political Analysis and Special Assistant to the Ambassador, American Embassy, Tokyo.

Letters to the Edltor are weh come. Please lnclude your full

Mrs Healey and I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the Foreign Correspondents' Club recently and we were very appreciative of the opportunity to use the Club's facilities once again. As always, the food, fellowship and overall

name and address. Address your letters to the Edltor, Karl Wilson, c/o The FCC.

ÐYARTHUR HACKEF

I,M TO LÞ E IN -WORD

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26

THECORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

THECORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 27

T

LETTER FROM SYDNEY ...

Ron Knowles

BOOKS

a series of sensational allegations

Protecting a source: but at what cost? erhaps it is because there are more than enough journalists to

go around in this age of high unemployment that the New South Wales (NSW) lndependent Commission Against Corruption is doing its utmost to put one of them in jail. ln doing so it has incidentally raised a fascinating

ethical question for media professionals.

The ICAC has Sydney Morning Her-

ald reporler Deborah Cornwall in its sights. lt has cited her for contempt, demanding her imprisonment because she is keeping mum about the identity of

Editors come and editors go wo particularly significant moves have taken place at lhe Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.

Max Priskquillhe Herald on March 26 after five years at the helm and 16 years in various editorial executive posts with the paper. His editorship covered the disastrous period when that eager alumnus of the Harvard Graduate Schoolof Business Administration, Warwick Fairfax, tried to

privatise the family media empire, and the subsequent sale of the wreckage to a consortium led by Canadian press baron, Conrad Black.

Prisk has been reticent to give reasons for his departure at the early age

of 46, but there are many Herald devotees who detect a distressing

28

THECORRESPONDENT

MAY

1993

a police officer who told her that one of

Australia's most notorious criminals, Arthur "Neddy" Smith was a regular coppers'nark.

Smith is currently doing a long stretch for murder with only himself for company. He is, after all, not a nice man to be cooped up with. When a motorist irked him by flashing his lights at Smith's erratic driving in a Sydney suburban street in 1987, Smith worked his frustration by stabbing the offending driver's passehger to death.

He has recently been easing the tedium of solitary confinement by making

decline in the quality of the paper in recent months.

This is perhaps not surprising, since

there is such a scarcity of newspaper executive talent in Australiathat Black

had to go to South Africa to find a suitable candidate for the chief ex-

ecutive post at Fairfax in Stephen Mulholland.

Happier news from the capital city.

The Times has created history by becoming the first metropolitan daily to appoint a woman editor- Michelle Grattan, political correspondent of The Age (Melbourne) since 1971 .

Grattan, said to be a workaholic, has been set the task to match her reputation as the best. Imes proprietor Kerry Stokes says he wants her totake the paperdown the same path as the lVashington Post.

Ron Knowles is an absent member of the FCC and former editor of the Correspondent.

of police corruption to the ICAC. For those who take satisfaction in the cruel caprice of providence, the once formidably

physical Smith has now developed

market yet don't quite know where to look.

Directory for Asian freelancers

Parkinson's disease and has been re-

duced to a shambling shadow of his former self.

The zealous corruption busters at the

ICAC believe that Cornwall herself is being corrupted by her source. They are

concerned that Cornwall's story, published last year, is based on falsehoods she has been used by her anony-that mous informantto labelthe jailbird Smith as a canary. This, claims the ICAC, will discourage others from coming forward

to finger any lingering rotten apples

in

the police barrel. also believes that the police informant is one of those who will shortly feel an ICAC hand on their collar.

It

The journalists' code of protecting a source at all costs seems safe with the steadfast Cornwall at present, although

the chairman of the Australian Press Council, Professor David Flint, feels the principle may not be absolute in this instance.

Professor Flint, who is dean of the Faculty of Law at the NSW lnstitute of Technology, says that the usual under-

new annual directory for freelance writers and photographers has just been published

by Media-Link Communications Ltd.

The pocket-size directory, Outlets, describes the kind of articles and photographs that publications are looking for

lournalism. "l remember most of all their enthusiasm and passion for the subject. Many are now established editors and writers around the region. Others are freelanc-

and gives a guide to payments that freelancers can expect.

ers."

Other useful information includes the names of editors and contact people for each publication, circulation and frequency as well as addresses, telephone and fax numbers.

More than 100 publications in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are listed.

An A-Z index cross refers to the titles

Outlets is set to become a yearbook

with enlarged scope, more countries

/,'l I

which are set out in 13 categories including arts/entertainment, computing/ electronics, leisure/lifestyle and travel/

time and occasional freelancers will certainly find this book a useful refer-

inflighVhotel.

ence tool.

Publisher Nigel Lilburn, former night editor of lhe Hongkong Standard and Asian veteran of 14 years, said: "Full

"So will the sizeable community of people who enjoy writing and taking photographs and dream of finding a

standing between a journalist and a source is predicated on the assumption that both padies are behaving honourably and that the source genuinely believes in the integrity of the information passed to the journalist.

Where a source can be shown to have deliberately misled a journalist, the code of protection need not apply.

Cornwall and her lawyers have so far shown no inclination to grab this lifeline.

Their argument is that the ICAC has not demonstrated that the source misled Cornwall.

Of course, all this fuss would not be necessary, if the law offered protection for journalists to preserve the anonymity of their sources. Professor Flint and law,

such as exists in the United States.

and more publications planned for next year.

The shop price of the inaugural issue is $65. Readers ol The Correspondent can get a 20 per cent discount by sending a cheque for $52 plus $5 for postage to: Media-Link Communications Ltd,

PO Box 54767, North Point Post Office, Hong Kong.

CLUB NOTES

Think about it!

Wednesday, May 26 The 1993 Annual General Meeting of the FCC will be held on the 1 st

F.C.C. members represent

Floor of the Club at 6pm for lhe purpose of:

one of the highest earning,

* Hearing reports and abstracts of

per-capita,

the affairs of the Club including the Financial Reports.

consumer spending groups

in Hong Kong.

*

Appointing the Club's Auditors for

the year 1993-94. *

his Press Council colleagues would like

to see Australia adopt a "shield"

"The media industry, generally will also find it a handy compilation of who does what."

Lilburn, a former Fleet Street man who taught journalism for five years while in Singapore, added: "The directory really stafted as a dedication to all the youngsters I helped get a foothold in

Discussing any matters relating to

the affairs of the Club.

For further information please call Kit Myers on Tel: 577 -9331

. lnstalling the new Board of Governors, whose names will appear in the next issue.

THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 29

PRESIDENTS' LETTER

Parting is such sweet sorrow o.o is the only publication produced within the region devoted to:

SP;\O = a-,lc.J COMM ¡JICIATJO}JS S/Yf =l lJ- Eandl A!Jl_ = -f v -r-t MMUNI /Yflofjs =o

have diligently searched for clues

have greatness thrust upon them and

as to how to cope. My counter-

some become ex-presidents of the Foreign Correspondents' Club."

It's salutary to remind oneself that the precocious brat Mozart was composing music at the age of four - music which is still played to this very day. I merely mention this to put life in some perspective and to confuse my fellow members who have been tolerant enough to get

parls have all responded in different ways to the dilemma of retirement.

Dear old ex-president Carter, who

looked so feeble in office, has now stafied to look positively presidential in retirement. Watergate hero ex-president Nixon has demonstrated an ability

to shrug off ignominy and emerge as a statesman, no less.

Perhaps a more suitable role model

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thoughts of an ex-office holder.

would be the affable ex-president

I should rightly have devoted a far

Reagan whose retirement has hardly produced any change to his life-style.

greater amount of space to thanking the many members of the staff who are the real reason why the Club functions so well.

We are now losing our manager Heinz, who has brought this team together and made it work. lt will not be easy to replace him. As one ex to another, I very much hope he will make lavish use of his honourary Club membership, offered by the outgoing Board.

Ah, the Board, a finer body of persons cannot be found anywhere. Like the parson's egg, all FCC Boards are good in parts. What's good is excellent and

He slept through most of his years in the

White House, and I gather he does precisely the same in his lavishly appointed Californian house.

Frankly speaking, departing from office atthe Foreign Correspondents' Club

On the last Friday of each month, at an entirely anti-social hour of the morn-

lwas

lamenting my inability to join fellow Board a members at their monthly meeting to do faces, ever anxious sea of smiling more in the service of the broad masses.

There are indeed so many things I'll miss, I may well become a recluse by way of reaction. I may spend my days reading lhe China Darly newspaper to

is no picnic. Having asked around,

Make an impact on the most dynarnic region in the world.

this far in reading these rambling

quite staggered to discover that retiring presidents were not presented with gold watches, the lifetime use of a limousine and a perpetual supply of Singapore noodles. This must rate pretty highly in the great litany of human rights abuses.

Somehow I must learn to recover from this shock and adjust to the life of a normal (whatever that may mean) member of this august institution. lt won't be easy having a quiet drink without being drawn aside to be given a detailed account of how the'Club should be run from someone who really knows because they have a mate whose cousin's cousin once ran a bar ... a pretty big bar at that.

Then there's the prospect of empty weekends without a series of phone calls from the distinguished members of the diplomatic corps wishing to contact various journalists around town and

thoughtfully saving Hong Kong Telecom's directory of enquiries from the trouble of finding their nümbers.

Anyone would be honoured to act as a sort of superior 108 service.

ing, I shall sit bolt upright in my bed,

what's not so good is well, to put

it

insulate myself from world affairs. My

tactfully, bloody awful. Being a Board

radio may be permanently tuned to

member carries absolutely no reward unless you foolishly believe in viftue. lt is a burden and a drag; the fact that so many willingly perform their duties is a miracle to behold.

Commercial Radio's alleged English language service, devoid of human voices, totally committed to non-verbal communication.

Howeverthere may be momentswhen lcan stand it no longer. You willthen see a forlorn figure haunting the bar, hoping someöne would approach with a really juicy complaint.

The ex-president, dimly recalling the glory days of his presidency, could then assume the concerned look, so carefully nurtured during his term of office,

and make judicious comments in

re-

sponse to their concerns.

To paraphrase and misquote the great Peter Cook, assuming the role of Spotty

Muldune, "some are born great, some

Steve Vines

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Whether it is a business lunch, a private party, a press conference or a wedding reception we can meet all your special needs.

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THE CORRESPONDENT MAY 1993 31

'rl

Y_

The SLR c from adiffere

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TEDLLER'S JOURNAL

All this for a fireside chat t

was one of those typical dry, cold

From that day onwards weekend walks

winter evenings in Tokyo. I was sitting in the dining room of our

were dedicated to foraging for wood.

We ranged farther and farther afield.

houseon atree-lined lane in MotoAzabu,

Building sites were the most productive

right in the hearl of the city.

sources but more often than not we found nothing more worthwhile than

Suddenly the stillness was broken by a faint clack¡ng sound coming from thà

was reading and looked up at the clock.

It was 10.50 and the clack, clack was getting louder.

I got up and peered through one ofthe windows facing the lane. passing by on

some kindling wood.

Being seltconscious about being seen dragging wood around the streãts of Tokyo in the daylight hours, when we came upon a trove we would mark the site and return in the evenings after dark with a torch.

covered by a scarf. He was holding in each hand a solid block of wood which

also served the purpose of keep_ .ingThis secret from

end of the lane. I put down the book

I

foot was a small man, his face half

were doing.

he banged together in a time honoured, rhythmic beat. He was the hinoyojiman

One evening my wife told me that while walking home from Hiroo station

making his nightly rounds.

Hinoyojican be directly translated as fire alert. With the same dramatic sound

as that to announce the opening of a new scene in a kabuki drama, the clap clap of his wooden blocks serves as a

reminder to the householders on his beat to extinguish their hibachis and check all gas outlets before going to bed.

He makes his appearance late each autumn, about the same time the Japa_

nese start to change into their long underwear, and continues his nightly patrol until the long underwear is packed

away in early spring.

As testimony to the Japanese peo_

ple's great fear of fire, he has been fulfilling his vital function as long as anyone can remember. lronically, other than decorative pur_ poses, there were no hibachis on the lane where we lived. The houses were large, modern centrally-heated western style dwellings rented for the most part

to foreigners at exorbitant prices with the bill being picked up by their respec_ tive companies.

One of the exceptions was a large brick monstrosity just across from us owned by a former Japanese politician

32

THECORRESPONDENT MAY

1993

our neighbours what we

Shin Kanemaru, perhaps because

Kanemaru lived there but more likely due to Japanese conservatism and

thei

tenacious hold on tradition our hinoyoji

man diligently patrolled our block, seém_ ingly oblivious to the changes which had

taken place over the last 25 years and

the fact that his duties had become largely ceremonial, and he little more

than a curiosity.

We had a fireplace in our house. lt was in good working order but for the first year went unused for lack of wood to burn in it.

Then one day, walking home from our

neighbourhood sake and spirits shop I passed a site where a building had just been torn down.

Several wooden planks which had

been left behind by the workers gave me

the idea.

Since the workers could return at any

time I decided to act quickly and

man_

aged to drag one of the planks home.

My next mission was to search for a

shop where I could buy a saw. That accomplished I went back to the site and got a second plank. That evening we inaugurated our fireplace.

she had seen several dead branches in Arisagawa Park. Grabbing my torch and

saw I rushed to the park and making

myself as inconspicuous as possible in dark grove of trees spent an hour or so sawing them s. a

We

i treasured

ht

them out only

Friends who came to our house were

invariably surprised to see our roaring

Yourpoint of yiew.

fire. When they asked us where on eartñ

we obtained the wood, we only smiled.

Then one Sunday afternoon while carrying a small dried out branch

I

stopped to greet a Swedish friend stand_ ing in his front yard.

Noticing the branch he beckoned me

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his face he opened the door to display a

large pile of neatly cut wood, It had all come from a neighbouring

house which hay' been torn down. Later I learned that many of our expatriate

neighbours, unbeknown to each other were also secretly scouring the neigh_ bourhood for fuel for their fireplacesl

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