The Correspondent, April 1997 by The Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong

SPOIIIIENT

in Young

i to Lion Rock

Golf in Guarrr PLA Inc.

lloweuer Good You fue, You Can D0 Better ,,,

Nîkon IF90X

THE CORRXSPONDDNT Ãprtl1997

Gauin Young was recently in tolDn r.o

THE FOREIGN CORRESPO¡IDENTS'

updateBeyondLton

CLTJB

Rock, bls history

2 Lower Alben Road, Hong Kong Fax: 2868 4O92 Teleohone: 2521

l51l

E-mail:fcc@fcchk.org

Pr€sldent

Catbay Pacific Airutays He spoke to Robin I,ynøm

G¡annini

-John Paul Bayfield Flrst Vlce Presldef,tKarin Malmström second vlc€ Presldent

Mountfort, Keith Richburg, Christopher Slaughter, Hubert van Es Sec re Ia ry: Cathy Hilbor n

Mark Graham "On tbe 'Wall" in tbe Main Bar

Joumallst Memb€r Govemors Saul Lockhart, Fmncis lvloriarty

Assoclate Member Goveñrors '\villiam H. Areson, John Corbett, Ronald Ling, Julian Valsh

Pmfesslonal Commlttee

Cbina uatcher, Tai Ming-cbeung recently sþoke to Club members

Con ue n or: Michzel Mackey

Hoùse Coffnlttee Conaenor: Ronald Ling Multi-medla Commlttee

about tbe PLA business emPire

Con uenof: Kees Metselaàr

Flnance Commlttee Co

nueno n W illiam H. .A.reson

Membershlp Com¡nlttee Conuenor: Hut¡eft van Es F&

neasurer: Jxli^qw^lsh afld Entertaiment Conrtrlttee Con uenor: Karin Malmström

wall ComÍrlttee Conuenor Bob Davis Freedom of the Press Comfnlttee Con ue nor

FCC

r^îcis MoriarrY

GeneralMmager Roben Sanders

The FCC Golf Society

The Correspondent

goes to Guam

EDITORIAL OFFTCE Jeff Heselwood, Editor 2A152530 Telephone: .com E-mail

Assistant

Persson

Publicatlo¡s Coñmlttee Conuenor:Prul BaYñeld

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Co\zer Stor5r Gavin Young - Back to Lion Rock

a. aO-

\X'IPS

fBook fRerzieuz

Portfolio Photoglaphs by Mark Gr-aham

20.

l\4errrl>ers at l:arge FCC takes 2nc1 place in Pacific News

Annual Human Rights An'alds

Inteñ¡ielr¡ An author's tale

Be cagey during salary negotiations

llzledia Reuters links with EIU

PRODUCTION As¡aDix Print Seruices Tel: 2572' 9544 Fax: 257 5 a6OO E-mail: asiaPix@hk linkage.net

Travel Cup

22-

Obituar5r GraharnJenkins

A l{/'aueñng Grace

24-

ProfessionalContacts

Lrrnchlines

2a-

Social

PLA Inc.

32.

FCC Faces

George Melly

David Bell

@ 1997 The Foreign Correspondenrs'

Club ofHong Kong

SOle

Tbe Correspondent is published monthly by The Foreþ Corepondenrs'Club of Hong Kong

matrix metering computations. Better still, it forms the core of a powedul system that includes a vertical shoot-

Fr.ofir ttre Preside¡rt Presidentrs repolt

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Cover photograph by Hubet'r van Es

ApttI 1997 THE

CORRXSPONIIDNT

IN COS WC TRUsT a

To the editor ¡'ti

a'.arrarrtli l, @ !

From Mr Arnie Matanþ, president, Irrternatíonal Press Club of Chicago

magnificent city. As such he is eligible to play for the \X/elsh rugby team.

The letters about reciprocal clubs

Looking at his present girth -

death of my oldfriend GrahamJenkins.

ebrtary)

obviously the French connection was

were quite interesting. Clubs do come

expansive - I suggest he would make an off-beat front row,

\X¡hile I hardly aspire to be Obit correspondent with one report on - the pipeline and David Davies in unable, certainly, to better anything Sinclair could do I would like to pay a brief tribute to -a great journalist.

( Th e C o re sp

o n d. e

ntJ anuary / F

and go, br-rt a phone call to a local 1et you know

news outlet will usually

where the correspondents hang out. Hele in Chicago, we have lunch in oul club rooms at 12 noon every 'ùØednesdayandFriday, aswellas other special events. A call to the club office will always let a visitor know the current statLrs. \We also offer a special rate at

our host hotel for members of

recipr-ocal clubs. I have been an appreciative grrest

at your fine club at a number of locations, including the top of the

From Mr Phillip Bruce Last night a three-foot parrot and the member upon whose shoulder it was quietly sitting were tossed out of the Club by the management. The parrot was better dressed

and considerably better behaved than members such as myself. It did not drink, smoke of make offensive remarks.

Perhaps that is why ejected.

Hilton. The club in Phnom Penh, now listed on Preah Sisovath, used to have the address of 363Karl Marx Quay, at the same location. The Press Club of San Francisco is currently without a home but wili reopen in a new location later this year.

was

From Mr Russell Spurr Am most distressed to learn of the

STf)LICHNAYA Ietters to tbe editor are always ¿eslçsl?xs win yourself ø bottle of Stolicbnayaþr an original or

witty lefter- but we resetue tbe rigbt to editfor clarity orfor reaßons of sþace.

P..... øs ap6,rrot? Ed.

THE ZOO

ÞY

WHAT DOES THE ÞASIC LAW SAY ABOUT SHANGHAI PEOPLE

Interncttional Press Club of Chicago Tel: 312 787 2679 Fax: 312

RULING HONG KONO?

787 2680

THE C0RRESP0ilDENT Aprit 1997

I al

s / n...,,r,,'\

-EL]s

ç"t

ARTHUR HA¿KER

{v v !

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ond mony others ore Conon's innovotions pioneering the development of S[Rs. All these sophisticoted feotures reflect lhe commitment of €onon in fulfilling the true needs of photogrophers, professionols ond qmoteurs olike.

photograph of that old leprobate John

I believe, if my fading memory is correct, in the aptly named Dogfield Street in the Cathays area of this

ori

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From MrJ. Roger Thomas I see in the January/February edition of The Correspondent a 'Flasher' Norman. However, I feel I must expose a Hong Kong m¡h. He may sound like an out of work pearly queen, but in fact he was born in my old stomping ground - Cardiff.

,¡ a,..,,,n,\

o o

Canoil WORLD's NO.I CAMERA MANUFACTURER

THE BRAND TO TRUST

Reuters links with EIU Complementing the LÌp-tothe-minute news offered on

euters Business Infolmation

has linked up with the Economist Intelligence Unit to provide specialised business

Good news anordbad news now you

intelligence in Asia.

business developments in 180 world

In an aggressive move to

nave seen rne t letter I senl- at the end of Nlarch

In spite of receiving about twenty new

members per month, active

I hope that everyone will come in and give Stephen's food a try, especially

informing you of the rise in the monthiy subscription fee. I regret thatthis action had to be taken, but I firmly believe it was the right thing to do and I'd like to

membership has hovered around 1,400. That means the influx of new members is only keeping up with the deparlure of qld members. \Øe need

those members that haven't visited our restaurants for some time.

explain why.

1,600 active membels to break even.

The board has established the principle, which I hope will eventually be added to the Articles ofAssociation,

The membership drive I spoke of in previous columns is obviouslythe long term solution. Areas in which we can reduce costs wiLhout compromising selices are also being investigated. But fol now a higher subscliption fee is the only answer.

R IJ

that the Club must operate on monthly

subscription fees and F&B income. For some tirne the Club has been operating at a loss and those losses have been made up by dipping into our cash reselves. In the fiscal year ending March 37,7996, had we not relied on our resetves, the loss would

encourage any members to make any constructive suggestions. Please I

send them to me

ol the general

managef.

have been HK$ 1 .5 million . Ayear ago,

The renovations we were forced to undertake to be able to renew our lease costusHK$13 million, leavingus with around HK$7 million. There is bound to be further maintenance cost of a building as old as ouls and the Club's computer systems have to be replaced at a minimum cost of HK$1 million. Ifviewed in that light, our real reselves are closer to HK$5 million. Therefore, without a substantial rise in subscription fees to offset our losses

editing process. The site which I said would give you links to all the newspapers in the wolld that have Internet editions, www.news.com, was supposed to

www.newo.com. This

is a

site,

which

subsidiary of Intel Corp. , compiles

news from publications all over the

when we had reserves of HK$20 mil1ion, that might have been acceptable, but now it is not.

Last month I wrote about usefui sites on the InterneÏ. I have to apologise for an error that seems to be attributable to gremlins invading

world into a 'front page' of daily technology and computer stolies This month we welcome olrr new executive chef Stephen -üØarren. He replaces Alan Chan, who is leaving us after eight years. Stephen is a winner of the Haute Cuisine award, which was presented to him by the Princess Royal. He has most recently been the executive chef at the Century Hotel in \Øanchai. He loves the challenge that working at the FCC presents, from sourcing new

ingredients

to training his staff

to provide

br-rsiness executives and managers

Asia with online daily briefings on key developments in the legion and around

R¡gbt. Ma rk Tro nsentet'. tttartagi ng dit"ector, Reu.ters Business hlþrlncttion,

the world.

A.çia

EIU is compiled daily by EIU analysts and editors. Views'!l'ire on Reuters Business Briefingis a premittm selice and subscribers will be allowed to download up to 300 arlicles a month.

Mongoliatrjourrralrsm alive anidthriving Ba,rry Lovze, a lecturer in journa-lisrrr at tkre Cit¡z lJnirzersit¡z of Hong l(ong, .n/as 1>a.tt <>r a tearrr qzhrich rzisited lJlan Bator to guide br.rdding qzriters ince emerging fi'om 70 years of Soviet-guided authoritarian rule, Mongolians have gone newspaper

past six years - aIl for a population of just 2.5 rnillion. But this explosion of news activily has left some problems

in its wake, not the least of which is the

quality of reporting and news-writing in a country still largely unawale of \øestern news values and media ethics.

Enter the

Institute of Mongolia,

revolution that ended

trying to

candidates submit their biographical information in tine to accompany the

ballot mailing. There will be no additional mailing.

Stephen's services as ournew exectttive

prices beyond the normal inflation rate

chef. His expelience will be a great

last year. I urge all members to return their ballots. After all, the FCC is one

would be unfair to the members who are freqnent Club users. The best

asset to the Club and we can al1 look

forward to improved quality, variety,

solution

and presentation in ottr cuisine."

G0RRDSP0ilDENT Apr.il 1997

Business Briefing aims

Lou Celi, left, senior uice president a.n,d managirtg director, EIU Electron ic;

mushrooms following the country's 7990

election even more memorable than

TIE

intelligence.

EIU Views 'Slire on Reuters

been splouting like

obtained

membership.

(EIU).

and figures, economic indicators,

the ballots for this years

thinkwe

is an increase in

business regulalions and business

assessments, as well as country facts

of Governors went olrt. This time I insisted that a1l the

On April FCC Board

There were other choices. \øe could have raised prices, but to raise

are fofiLÌnate to have

analysis, forecasts and risk

captlue a \arger proportion of the burgeoning business information market in Asia, RelÌters has linked with the Economist Intelligence Unit

mad. Independent newspapers have

I am happy to report that there are real contests in every category

three years.

markets. Briefings include coLtntry

useful site for technology writers and computer buffs in general.

creating new menus. According to general manager Bob Sanders, who found Chef \Øarren: "I

we would be broke in a little over

Business Briefing, EIU Views'Sí'ire

will deliver between 100 and 150 daily online briefings on crttcial

and it looks as though we wili have an

of the oldest clemoclatic institutions in Hong Kong.

the communist government's on monopoly

among journalists by ploviding training courses in reporting and

The Mongolian *ç

writing skills.

After an invitation

people's desire for news in all its infinite variety seems insatiable, 550

improve

professional standards

publishing.

new newspapers have been registered in the

Danish foreign aidfunded outfit that is

democratic

so much so that

Press

Hong Kong team: Batry lowe , Velo Mitrouich ancl (seated. cenh'e), flanleed. by class m.etnbers at tbe Press Institute of Mongolia

APlil

from press institute director Tsendiin Enkhbat to deliver a colÌrse on core repol ling

skills,

recently found

myself staring down onto avastsnowy

wilderness from a Mongolian Airlines Boeing 727 on its twìce-weekly flight from Beijing. The training team I brought witli

me fol the week-long compriseclmyself,

coul'se

journalismlecturer

was thleatening to devonr the

sr-rn.

News stands on Ulan Bator's broad

main cL'ag, Peace Avenue, displayed a bewildering varieLy of titles flapping abor-rt in the icy wincl fron'r under the slabs of masonry that pinned them to lhe pavement.

experienced pr-int and broaclcast journalists both from the capital and from rural centres. They displayed an enthusiasm for'

their craft that was sometimes difficr¡lt to restrain. The wliting

exelcises we gave them that caliecl for

at the City University of Hong l(ong

But at least thete was

and freelance TV producer; Cecile Torda Lowe, a trainer from the

300 word pieces often produced

polnogr-aphy in sight. The city council

outpourings of pr-rlple plose that could have easily filled a broadsheet page. But they were keen to leal'n about

Australian Broadcasting Colporation; and Velo Mitrovich, senior writer fol the Hongkong Standarcl. \Ve found Ulan Bator, the austele

but pleasantly empty Mongolian capital, in a whirl of excitement over an impending eclipse of the sun that was sr-Ìpposedto spalk a tourismboom. Clerical leaders ofthe state religion,

had lecently taken action against

proliferation of lewdly pictorial newspapers by banning them fiom the streets and restricting their sale to inside the main post office. Mongolian newspaper proprietors have a relaxed approachto publication deadlines. Of the 40 or 50 titleswe saw

on sale, fewer than half come out regularly. Most wele desíned to suffer

Lamanism, were issuing front page prcss appeals forpeople to beattheirdogs on

tlie fate of their many predecessors

the morning of the eclipse to make them howl loud enor-rgh so they would fi'ighten away the evil deity Rah who

a few issues.

and disappeal without tlace after just

The 18 parlicipants in the course

we condr-rcted were

\ùØestern approaches

Back to Lion Rock

to journalism.

One of the many complaints lhey voiced about theil u.'olking conditions

was the use of punitive defamation actions bypoliticians. The coults were

corrupt and verdicts wet'e often influenced by bribes. The journalists' bestway of avoiding ruinor-rs damages awarded against them was to get in

first and buy the judge before the plaintiff could - Mongolia's version of cheque book

journalism.

mostly

elebrate d zrutl-ror G-¿rzin l-c;ung'ñzas re cer-rtl¡z in to.tl/n f<>r 'an r-r¡>date of the Catl-r'.ty Pacilic Airuzays stol-y- He spoke t<> Rot>in Lyrl.arrt C

Annual Human Rights Awards by Yictoria Finlay

the second Annual the FCC and the Hong Kong providing unbiased and leliable W/n." W uu-nn Rights Press Awards Journalists Association - is co- reportage, he said, the fesponsibility in Hong Kong are presented at the

Foreign Correspondents' Club on May J1, organisers hope theywill represent

the courage, professionalism and individual determination of local meclia members in repofiing situations where people's rights ale under thu'eat. \øith the ceremony timed for just

one month before the change of soveleignty, with its associated fears and concerns about individual freedoms in Hong Kong, these awards

likely to attract considerzble media attention both within the territory and are

internationally.

However, the judges inclu

de media

who

pr-ofessionals,

academics, lawyers and human rights campaigners - will not only be looking at stories about political freedoms.

These awards are all about a broad definition of human rights, as defined in the Universal Declaration

Hr,rman Rights,

said Robyn

Ifi lpatrick, spokesperson fol Amnesty

International Hong Kong which - with

sponsoring the event.

'Human rights are sometimes defined nalrowly; sometimes people just think of political dissidents. But we also want to recognise it can also refer to the rule of law, or an independent judiciary, or the right to N4s Kilpatlick said. Awards and certificates were given last year to a wide range of stories and subjects, including cage

eat,'

men, studentrights, the elderþ, single parents, the disabled, street children,

and the problems of news-r'eporting in China. This time, as well as last year's categories for newspaper news and features, mag azines, ndio, television, photojournalism and cartoons, the committee has added a section for commentary and analysis. '\Øe wanted people who write

leaders and columns to be able to submit their work too,' said Francis

Moriarty, member of the FCC organising committee. As well as

avin Young doesn't remertber exactly when he joined the FCC, but he has celt4inly been on the

well-

books as either a present or absent

resealched and lair opi nion pieces. 'One of our aims is to lecognise people in the media who are abeady doing a lot of work in this alea. \ùØe also want to help get the intellectual

member since the mid-1960s when he

of journalists extends to writing

wheels turning, and encoulage everyone to think about how they are reporting the news. 'You can do a stlaight covel'age

of an election, for example, or you can do as some reporters did, and have a look at some of the mol'e diilicult angles, like u hy prisonels in Hong Kong do not have the sallie voting rights as othel people.'

Last year there were 224 submissions from 115 jor-rrnalists and photographers; this year many more are expected, especially in the Chinese language newspaper and magazrne section. All entries rnust be postrnarked April 15 atthe latest; forrns and cletails are avail.able from Ada Ma of the

HKJAon25970692. @

began covering the Vietnam war for The Obseruer.

Since then one of Britain's most

distinguished foreign correspondents has reinvented hirnself as a best selling authol of idiosyncratic books about travel, in which capacity he recently found himself reopening his bar bill. Young was in town for an extended visitworking on an updatedversion of BeyondLionÃocþ his history of Cathay Pacific Aí'ways. Although he no longer works as a jor-rrnalist, Young's books read very mr-rch as an extension of the long,

thoughtful and personally engaged reports he used to file for his paper from valious war zones alound the world. "It is quite a different discipline fiom journalism," he comments. "I was very lucky in working lor The Obsetver,

weekly paper that allowed

one to wrile as one wanted and at length. They never

rH[

C0RRESPONIIDNT

Aplil

1997

cì.rt

anything much.

live for

It was good practice for writing books

and he left the company

while I was still leasonably yoLrng Slow Boats to Cbina was in 7979.I

time amongst the Malsh Arabs dwelling between the Tigris and Euphrates rivet's in Southern Iraq, a stoly he later told in Return lo tbe Marsbes.

wl-rich I finally pLrt to good use, I suppose. I did it just in time, I think,

don't think you could do that now. By cr-uise ship, I suppose, br-rt not by cargo vessel. Nou,adays ships are

huge, tl'iey're all computerised and driven by schedules. It's terrible." The sea exercised ils fascination over Gavin Yor-tng fi'om an early age. He grew up in South \Øales and Cornwall where he acquirecl the passions for boats and the novels of Joseph Conrad which wele later to sulface in his books. He also decided thatwhateverhe didu.ith his life itwas not going to be conventional or dul1. Young studied moclern history at Oxford before going to Basra, Iraq, to work for a shipping company, picking Ltp an Lrnderstanding of the world of

international rnarine cargo which seryed him well much latel when he r-rnderlook the complicated voyages described tn Slow Boats to Cbinøand

rVantingto broaden his experience

of Arab life Young then stayed with the people of the plains andmountains

sor-rth-western Arabia and htlng around the region, r-tntil fate took a hand. "In Tangier I met Ian Fleming in a

bar," recalls Yor-rng. "He was then embarking on his careeras the creator of James Bond, but he was also the foreign mana ger of Tbe Sttrtday Times of London. 'He said why clon't Yotr become a joulnalist? It's the best thing you can possibly be '." Young had ah'eady explained to Fleming that he didn't want to be a banker or a businessman, but said in response to this suggestion that he didn't think he coulcl. The buclding novelist insistecl that he could do an)thing he wanted to, and gave l"rin a contact nltmber in London. Mulling the idea over, Yottng spent

Slotu Boats Home

An office job was not enoLlgh to satisf ),'his taste for

adventule however,

ye:: in Morocco during which

^ more and more symPathetic becarne APril

GÀV\N

YOUNG . (ìtat' tì 5\,. . I 1,.,

A Wøaer¡ng Grøce

to the cause of the Algerians fighting for independence fi'om Fnnce. 7he Sund.ay Times díd not share his point ofvieu'onthe subject, but The Obseruer

plight, he was lalgely lesponsible for'

wor k of the Polish seaman turned great

allanging and financing their escapes

English language novelist, and From

from the country. He continues to l'relp

Sea to Sbinittg Seøis a no less litelary 'accoLlnt of a rorlantic search fol a

did. He decided to take Fleming's

expenses.

advice but not his job offer, and flom

Tunis he loined Tbe Obseruer as a stringer. His career as a foreign correspondent had begun.

by Gavin Young

the Congo - now

Reviewed by Robin Lynam

the first time in Asia, when the paper sent him to Singapore to co\/er events

Assignments followed in Algeria,

Zaire-andinl964for

in nearby Indonesia in the last two years before Sukalno was toppled.

"Then other wars started too.

(]nrin Yor-rng s Iatest book, \-f subtitled A Vietnamese Family in War and Peace, is a highly

in ttre United States. One of the saddest witness the destnrction of Hue. ironies howeve¡ gives the book its After-wards he retumed to the US and

personal history of the country since

Vietnam in7995 only to find that Que, his friend of 30 years whose life was impossible aft er 1975,after waiting ten years to get out, no Ìonger wanted to leave but having applied had no further choice in the matter.

he first visited ir in 1.965, as seen through his eyes and those of a family in Hue. It is a harrowing story, which, merciÍùlly, has an optimistic conclusion well summed up in its epigraph from a poem by Herben Read "No might can win against this

wandering wavering grace of humble men". The book is dedicated to "Madame

Ngo Thi Bong and all the other courageous and long-suffering mothers

and widows of Vietnam, North and South," and is a moving tribute to their resilience, and that of their surviving children and grandchildren.

Structurally the book shifts constantly from past to present and back agarn, but broadly speaking Young has divided it into four sections. The first, Recollections of tX/ør, tells the story of how he came to develop his

fiÌendship with the family and through it to begin to understand the country.

Celebration 7985 tells of rhe reunions that took place when he returned to Vietnam and found them

again, and of the first steps taken towards getting them out.

In lettersfrom Exilehe allows his refugee friends - wisely I think - to speak for themselves and produces

their correspondence in full with accompanying explanation. Going Back tells us about the new Vietnam and also about the new lives the family are making for themselves

THX C0RRESP0NIIXNT

April 1997

starting point. Young returned to went back to her home in

'ùØest

Holl),u¡ood to finísh his story. As he left she apparently hinted strongly that while staying at the Cadton Hotel in London in the 1920s she had a fling with a young waitel by the name of Ho Chi Minh. He checked the dates and "The horor was that when at long found that they had indeed been at the last Que's permission came through, hotel at the .same time. Vietnam had once rnore become a A Wøuering Grøce deplores the leasonable place to live in; yetforhim it waste of the past in Vietnam while was too late . He could not withdraw his embracing hope for the future. The application. He no longer wanted, or- heart of the book's message is to be needed, to go. Yet now he had no found in two of tl-re many quotations of

Bangladesh; Thailand was in the grip of a communist insurgency; and then Vietnam of course. I spent nine years in Vietnam, on and off, going back to London and going to other wars - the middle East in 1972, Bangladesh at around the same time."

them with l-rousing and education

nation's past.

"The micldle part of the book is

about how they tried to leave the colrntly, the letters they wrote to me, and where they are now in Virginia, str-rdying to be useful American citizens, I suppose. I'rn very fond of these people, They call me Daddy," says Young who is punctiliously guarded on the sr-rbject of his age. "sometimes they call me Glanddad. Theyforgetthemselves of course. They go too far."

The book is perhaps the most personal he has yet written, and chronicles an experience he cleally felt he had to get down on paper-. Like many who took palt in the conflict in whatever way, his memodes of the

there, Young, like many other correspondents, fell in love with Vietnam and its people. "I like the Vietnamese vely tnttch, "

he says with conviction. "Charming people. It's a lovely country. Evetyone shor"rld go there."

The story of tþat passion, and of

It rnay go very/ vøell, l>r:t to see the re<1 flag going r-rp and thre IJnion Jack corning doq.n is not t1-r),2 scene I'l¡rt a"fraid;

which Young makes use - one from The book is much preoccupiedwith Madame Bong, speaking after the the strong connection between the catastrophe at Hue, and one from

the tragedy of the coLlntry as

experienced by an extended family who befriended him, andvice versa, is

war are vivid. For this inten iew we sat

Vietnamese people and the land they live in, and this needless exile is one of manytragedies, small andlarge, itseeks not to explain but to make just a little more comprehensible. Young himself does not claim to be able to make any sense of the whole desperate mess, and as Que told him "There is onlyone questionone canask after all that's happened. And it can be summed up in one word...the word is

the subject of his latest book, -4 'Wøuering Grace, subtitled A

around

alternative."

Graham Greene's classic novel set in Saigon. Tbe Quiel American.

Madame Bong said to Young, "You know, during the bombardment I sat thinking, 'suppose President Ho Chi Minh and PresidentJohnsonvisited

Hue at the same time and saw all this, and they said to each other: 'why are we doing this?' and shook hands."' She thought she was being fancifu 1. Young knew she was right. 'pourquoi?"'- why? Greene was right too when he The book is suffused with tragedy, had one of his characters say, "'ù7e but it does not lack hope - Young's are professionals: we have to go on recent visits to a country, which after fighting till the politicians tell us ro four decades of war has finally become stop. Probably they will get together accustomed to peace, have made him and agree to the same peace that we optimistic. Nor does itlackhumour. He could have had at the beginning, has an eye fol the absurd and the making nonsense of all these years. " A Wauering Grace is a fine book incongmous, anda gift for bathos. Young lushed back from a relief and a fining tribute to the suffering and assignrnent in Los Angeles where he the courage ofthe people towhomit is hacl been interviewing Mae'$øest to dedicated.

Vietnamese Førnily in

rX/ar ancl Peøc e.

"It's about the Vietnamese I knew there," Young explains. "I got to know the Vietnamese very well, particlÌlarly

one family in Hue, and when the communists won they were put in jail -

re-education camps they calledthem

- and they stayed there for seven or eight years which is a long time. \Øhen they came out they couldn't get jobs, they couldn't send their kids to school even, so they clecided to leave the

country." Youngwas in Cyprr-rs in 1975 when the Americans pulled out, and his lines of communication with what he had

come to rcgard as his 'Vietnamese family'were severed. He was able to renew contact, however, in 1985 when Tbe Obseruer sent him back to cover' the tenth annivelsary victory palade in Saigon. Having discovered their

an enthusiasm was On Lion Rock possibly the most readable corporate history yet written. Young makes no bones about his preference fol boats ovel planes, but as his research into Cathay's pastprogressedhe

didbecorle

lascin:lted by the story.

The invitation to write the book

Notwithstanding the bloody cilcumstances which had brou ght him

"Frotn Sea to Sbining Seatookin Melvìlle, Sherman - the Alarno which I thought was a rivel and turned olÌt not to be - Raymond Chandler and Philip Madowe in Los Angeles,John Steinbeck and the Grøþes of Wrøtb, and finally Jack London. I went up to the Yukon to Dawson City, Klondike. Temperatutes of 50 below zero. I don't think I'11 do that again," obseles Young wrylY. One book not palticulally born of

in 'The Bunker' and as he looked at the

pictures on the walls, he

recalled old friends who had not surwived, including Lalty Burrou,s, while anotherwho did - Van Es - took his picture. "After all that happened there I feel I'r,e been in Vietnam half a lifetime. It was an extraordinary time - a time one cloesn't forget - and I wanted to record it. It's all about those people. I come into the book because I was there at the time but it's all about lhern."

Although A rïlauering Grace contains far mole tragecly than its pledecessors, it shares one chalacteristic with almost all of them - it is essentially the story of a love affair. Return to tbe Marchesand lraq: Land. o.f Two Riuers describe his enthusiasm for the Middie East; the two Slow Boats books his love for boats andthe seà; InSea.rch of Conrad is the lesult of a lifelong passion for the

came fi'om John Swire - with whom Young was at Oxford - and he accepted on condition that the full stoty could be told and that he had access to all the relevant papers, including confidential diaries. Surprisingly Swile agreed. Equally surprising, in view of the

fact that an updated accoltnt filltst necessalily take in'the perfumed picket line' and the agreement under pressure from China lastyear to increase CITIC's

shareholding in the airlìne fo 250/0, ts that CX wanted an update at all. The aidine does have final sayonthe book's content, br-rt according to Young did not exercise its r-ight to make cuts last time. The book n,ill presumably remain a 'wafis and all' accollnt.

Young will be retulning to Hong Kong in June - and to the FCC which receives an honotuable mentionin Slou l{onxe-to finalise the newedition of Beyoncl Iion Rocle, andl-rad originally booked himself into the Mandarin for' the periocl arottncl the handover. He has now decided, however, that this is one stoly he doesn't want to write. "I cliscoveled that thele are going to be 8000 journalists hele to coverthat. I don't want to be one of a gang, and I Bocrls

don't want to be here when the transition takes place. It will be a sad occasion. Itmaygovelywell, butto see the red flag going ttp and the Union Jack con-ring down is not my scene I'm afrald." Þ,pril 7997 IHD CORRf,SP0NIIEIIT

I budgetby the central govelnment. That plus the demobilisation of up to one qualter of the army, and let's not forget that's around one million men, freed surplus capacrqr. A case it would seem

Tai called'a significant niche presence'.

tax profits,' saidTai to an Llnstunned

Not that this is an r-rnreseled good, noted Tai who listed the major problems it had created. By Chinese

although still clearly attentive audience. (Maybe we are all so used by now

of needs must rather than greed must; at least in the beginning.

but in military terms they are much

standalds they are fairly run of the mill more damaging and, said Tai, involve

There are distinct phases of growth,

'smuggling, corruption and falling

Tai reported. Firstly the years up to \993 saw'massive growth with very

standards' as units spend more time

little supervision'. In this period several hundred businesses became around twenty thousand. In its turn, that was followed by a

period of consolidatton, 7993-1'995, which saw a great number of businesses merged and closed down.

making money than training, weakening cohesiveness.

This of course prompts the

inevitable question, where does it end? One solution is for the army and its enterprises to become separate

entities which is already happening, with at least one venture being floated

Since then the focus has been on quality not quantity

which

comes

to the weird and wonderfr-tl ways of modern China that the notion of the PLA which is nominally a communist army using the territory to move undeclared plofits to the British Virgin...no, it's all too much.) There is though a further twist to all this, one that Tai referred to as a 'scary proposition'. Although if you remember that action was ultimately taken, itshows the Chinese authorities as having at least some willingness to deal with the problem. So extreme (Tai's words not mine) was the PLA's involvement in business in Shenzhen that

during the 7993 alrsterily drive, PIA Headquarters

via

establishing conglomerates

cracked down in Shenzhen doubly hard and ciosed or merged fwo-thirds of the businesses there. Simply to, as Tai put it, 'nip in the bud using (it) as a jumping off stop for Hong Kong'.

or entefpflse gfoups.

One of the

greaf questions of all this which is in turn one of the great myths of PLA Inc., is how much is this worth? A lot

but not

mr-rch more was

The next answer qualifies any warm fuzzy

Tai's basic although heavìly

couched answer. 'PLA statistics which are even more difficult to get than official Chinese statistics and you know how reliable

\Y/h."Jonathan Mirsky gives a W rp.rt er a good introduction as

PIA Inc.

he didwith Tai Ming-cheung you sit

up and listen. Not it must be said because Tai Ming-cheun gis

greatorator, the style

being very stop-go, stop-go and fast with it. But simply because the subject matter, the PLA and its business empire,

highly relevant to Hong Kong, China and the region. By his own admission this is a 'a fairly large topic'. Modestþ, however he began his comments by saying he would give a 'matchstick sketch' of his knowledge ol the PtA. is

Chrina qzatcLrer, -f ai À4ing-chrerlng, rna-de solTre startling rerzelations at>or,rt thre Peol>le's Liberation Arrn¡r at a recent Club h-rnckr. À4ickrael À4a"cke¡z s/as threre

Some matchstick, you found yourself thinking, as he tore through what was cleady extensive knowledge and research at a breakneck speed.

\Øhat precipitated its headlong involvement in business as a way of life was the reduction of the defence THE CORRf,SP0ilDENT

April

1997

feelings that more chalitable

Tai Ming-cheung ød,dresses FCC m.embers

official Chinese statistics are,' began his answer which ended 'turnover of PLA (is) comparable to a medium sized

province such as Fujian.' So fairly large but not massive. This being Hong Kong and most

journalists having a bad grasp of geography, as well as money, the best way to view it is to remember official profits (which) Tai quoted as being 'US$ 1 billion'. However he estimates this is 'a gross under-estimate' and puts

the real figure at two, possibly three times that. For those of us not used to dealing with such large sums there is a more down to earth way of grasping not just the scale but the variety of PLA enterprises. You can go into China, stay inahotel, getsickandreceivetreatment, and if you want, at each stage the relevant goocls or service can be provided by a different pafi of PLA Inc. The tendency is not for the PLA to dominate each sector but to have what

readers (well, those who have got this far) might still be harbouring about the

tbe Albert Room

PLA.

A journalist from

onthe Shanghai stock exchange at the end of last year. Equally pertinent is the question, the first of the Q+6 session, r'aised by

Toine Berbers of de Volksl¿rant, a Dutch national daily: what is the political impact of all this? 'In general, a backlash,'was Tai's immediate reply, adding there were 'increasingly, voices raised both within the military and political leadels and business circles'. Greg Shay of the Commission for

Canada

then asked about capital

raising which in this correspondent's notes blought out the interesting detail about the PLA's use of off-shole tax-

havens such as the British Virgin Islands and the role of Hong Kong. Hong Kong as well as beinganew base for the PLA as of July 1 this year abeady has another', let's say more interesting function.'PI'A. companies use Hong Kong to rnove undeclared

Asiaweek asked the sort of general question which is ol g|eat tneaning. Does the PLA ever use its clout to applyundue pressltre and is itinvolved in joint ventures with foreign partners

who have tliad backgrounds? Tai folgot to answer the second question althouglr it was probably covered by the answer to the first. His advice is simple. To those involved in hostile take-over bids 'you don't want to get in the way'. (A warning which need not have a particularly Chinese tag it should be said).

However when you think about

what Tai went on to say, using

evidence which was'pretty anecdotal (but) I don't see a systematic process that the PLA runs roughshod (although) there is a lot of griping when you taÌk

to civilian businesses in China', it becomes clearer that the situation is

very different. And probably not

necessarilybetter. Aprl1,997

THE GORRDSP0IIIIENT

Paradise is iust four hours away.

Georg Cclel>r-¿tt<:c1 j'.tzz 1-tl2Lra, l-¿LC()lltcLrr- ¿rr-rcì uzit, Cieor5¡e N4elly ent€ìrt2rinecl lrLnch in tl-re rr-rutin cl inin53 rc)c)lr-t. No lnr-tsic, rncl¡- l>ers ¿Lt 2t urell-attenc'lecl

jtrst tl-ri.s ';'rtlzt"zinp4 7I-y<=;u: crlcl's

J,l ,t,'iri g tlri: r't r icn ,ri Ct'c,t'ge I \l.llt t rlrrtrrl t,f ltttrll,rtlr', J l,ol<crl trp zt Cct,rrespcntclent piece br. a fbrue r incur-nbent of the eclitor''.s chair, lìor-i I(nori.les, r,r'ho t'cpot'tecl <tn zr i\lell1' st1'le hurch sìx year's ago, Êr*l

Four hours is all it takes. ln just four hours, you can find

Inevitabl)', sc¡le of tl-re stories - fbr' tl'rev ref-lcct t\lell1''s colotu'ful liÍè - s'cr-c repeâtccl clnling the 199- r'et'sion, notel>ly' 'ÀIuck1. Alice', a Blaclfìtr-cl girl

s'illin g

yourself in a vacat¡on paradise Qu¿rn. Excitement.ican be yours on this island gateway whether you'd like sorn6.fün ir'i the sun or just a little relaxation under the swaying palm trees. Golf to your heart's content on our lush, green courses, windsurf in the picturesque,

r'rrho, :rppa rently', uras urot'c tl-ran

blue waters or scuba dive

Thc fact that tl-resc stories her c stoocl the test of ti nie i.s inclicatir.e of tltc

to oblige

Theres.ele

also the boalcliug hotrsc

'fì'ec r-zrnge buclgcr'ìgals' at NL's t\lack'.s t\lar-ichester establi shn-rent u.l-ricl-r m¿rcle

boilccl eggs tlìc farrrut'i[c l¡reakf:tst

rval' Gcorge r\Icllv

tI'rc, clever

cltoice

i.s

:rlrlc to lrolcl arr

erfuLl f-r-rncl c>f'st<>rics

auclience ¿rr-icl net.er oncc lose its attentiol-l IIc hacl the pl:rce in ttproltt'

IIc

regalecl us

lith

such talcs

:rs,

rl,l-rcn he \\-xs ).-olln!l he s'zts gar' - ìre blarles l-ris rxrthcr - l¡ut l-ie n as glacl r,ral11' u'canecl off .slrch clubious h¿ibits b), an LLnl ikely sor-rncli t-tg Ilelgian sltrrertlist.

fincling convention:rl scx 'tluch thc sarÌe exccpt )roLÌ câ1-l scc theil' f¿rces He clcscribes l-ris folrlatir.e \-e:u-s

sper-il rn'pnlstring rl'ctttten cll.t

r¡.c>r-rcl

nkcnness'. On mrrsic.

¿t

lueultcL

¿rskecl

'.ts

¿tt-icl

ri'hat

NIellr- thouglrt ol Chincse jaz.z,. In (ìeolgc's opinior-r. 'thcle is no Chinesc jttzz'| Onrlocleln jazz,itis, he saicl, 'likc a fire irr a pet shop , On.lohn Nlajor: 'Flc wcars !lre)-Lrllclelpents xncl is appalcntlr thc <>nh' nl¿tn tc) 1-Lrn e\\'ay fì'ottt a cil'cr-ts.

Àlell1' u'as in Hor-rg I(ong ftrr-:rnotlter stint ât the Lan l(s¡ai FongJazz Clult - tct

n-hom the FCC is gr'atefr-rl fbr' its cooperation for' :L|r'anging the gr-c:rt l-nzLu as e lunchtir-r-re spcaker,

lrr llis

(

iìl)it( il) il\ :t j;tzzlttltl.

George NIellv has appearecl ât thc'late Ronnic Scott's club iu Soho fbr'the last 23 Clrfrst|na.ses As]<ecl if tl're chrlr s.oulcl continuc, follos'ing Scott's cleatli, ÀJellv r,¿ts of the opìr-rìon it ri'olLlcl czìnlr ()11 as befbre, although he s¿ricl. Ronr-rie Scott n'as ¿t preselrce'

rl'ho n'oulcl lrc tnissecl ¡\11 rr a1l a strpcllt speakcr' lbr

Chrb luncl-r, Corr-rc bacl< soon. George \\'e n'ant to he¿u- more ¿tltout Nlttckt'

Alice ancl NIr's r\lack

\pril l!!-

.//

THE C0RRXSP0IIIIENT

swapped them and read them in the wilds of Thailand, Tibet, China or

An author's tale Anthon;z Gre¡z hra-s v,zritterì man¡z norzels based on his e><periences xzithir-r Asia. Ha-ving l>een hreld hrostage in Cl-rina 30 years àgo, Gre¡z believes l-re l-ras a l;r-rique insighrt irrto Asian culture. He ta"lks to À4ark Grakrarn

\lou.list Anthony Crey will be I \ rotlo*ing this yáar''s hanclover, with its concomitant arguments about press freedom, individual liberty and political alltonomy, with a watchful and knowing eye. Grey values the

vow to never, ever take a staff job

maybe I was beingsentenced to death;

was

the texts on the walls, were they

with its prisonJike strictures of office

about

ru1es, regulations and imposed

me?'

Grey later founcl out the detention

was retaliation for the 1.967 jailing of

deadlines.

Gladually, after the media

hullaballoo died

down, the young writer went back to his first love, putting down words on paper. A ÍIostage in

preciousness of freedom more than most: 30 years ago

the young Reuters colrespondent was kept under house arrest for tlvo years, an innocent victim

Peking, telling of the

two years' isolation in the Chinese

of the typewriter, followed some

Cultural Revolution.

time laterby Søigon,

prevented him from

a novel of modernday Vietnam. The

Guards

leaving his Beijing g honse compound, $ taunted him daily $

book has a studiously

researched factbased frarnework, which has led to it

with insults and slogans and Anthcttty Grey wítb his latest book, Tokyo Bay, tbefirst in a rrilogy ttbout Japan being nsed as a embalgoed news of teaching tool in the outside world. There were times two Xnhua employees in Hong Kong American and Vietnamese when the befuddled captive thought

during the civil disturbances here. The

he might be destined for execntion or

moment they were released from British colonial prison, Gley was allowed to walk fi'ee. The journalist, who originally arrived at ReLrters via provincial

atbest- a lifetime underlockandkey. 'll you have an experience as a hostage it does continue to live with yolÌ,' says Grey, whose easy manner -

and healthy demeanour tend to contradict the assertion. 'I have not suffered nightmares about it. I think it changes you in that you have known

persecution as an individual by a government. That leaves something inside you. I am not sure it is all

I think it makes you more compassionate, to value freedom negative.

mofe. '!Øhen I was a hostage I hacl no access to oulside information. I tlior-rght THE G0RRXSP0ilDENT

Grey is forcing himself to look to the future, in particular to the events

Vietnam, relishing the stolies bttt knowing they were learning vital facts, reliable background and history at the same time. This u.'as very gratifying. 'I think my t'eaclels are people with a reasonable level of education interested in understanding the facts of history in the context of an entertaining story. I hope my field is global: I think the books sell better in Asia than in Britain.' The latest book to be published, Tokyo Bay,is the firstin a trilogy about Japan, a countly Grey was due to be posted to before the Red Guards put an embargo on any kind of travel. The author has still not set foot in Japan, preferring to use library books and

capitals with libraries.'

long-distance writer has been

journalists, are answered witl-t

imagination to begin the story ofJapan in modern times. 'I wrestled with putting it into one volume but I decided halfway through that it needed to be more than one book. It stafis in 1853 and will end in the present. It is big in scope. 'I haven't been to Japan but no-

compounded by two recent events: the painfui, lingering deaths of mother'

gracious patience, 'Hong Kong was the cause of all my troubles,' he says. 'One can only hope the Chinesewon'tbe foolish and

The writer's days of filing breaking

news stories are long-gone. But the habit of rattling outwords at a clipped pace remains;whenthe muse is awake

and singing lustily, Grey aims to put 1,000 words daily onto disk, a regimen which culminates in a novel some 100 days later.

'It's like cooking up ingredients from a recipe and bringing them to the boil,' he says. 'I like to get the colour and background and then weave the characters in. 'ùØriting is an isolating experience but it can be rewarding.' The inevitable loneliness of the

Agnes andwífe Shidey. During Grey's

confinement in China, the women agitated loudly and persistentiy to

speech.

After more than 30 years away from mainstream journalisrn, Grey can still hold his own at a gossipy, beer-fueled bar, trading anecdotes and moaning about money in the manner of a hardened hack. Qr-restions about the handover and lhe earlier Beijing imprisonment, asked

hundred titnes by a thousand

ensure the case file did not gather dust

ruin Hong Kong. I think they are worldly enough to realise its

in a the drawer of a Foreign Office

importance and not pull it all down.'

mandarin.

Aplil

1997

journalism in Britain, had become the

world's first modern-day political hostage, long pre-dating John

UNHCR

visít to Club

educational and military institutions. The accolade is a source of pleasure and pricle. 'I hope this means I got the balance right,' says the 58-year-old writer. 'It was also the first book translated into

Thai about Vietnam. In recent years, GCSE and A-level students have

approached me, building history cour-se work projects on such topics as

McCarthy, Blian Keenan, Terry'$l'aite and Terry Anderson. Atthetime therewere no organised

war and r-evolution around rny novels.

support groLlps, or sophisticated systems for gently preparing traumatised individuals for a gradtal and sensitive return to the outside wodd. Grey had to make it up as he

producer told me that she was delighted to meet me since she had read Saigon, Peking, The Bøngkok Secret, etc., while backpackìng around Asia. Al1 backpackers carried my novels in their

went along. The first stage of recovety

rucksacks, she said, and avidly

'A young BBC \Øorld

service

1997.W|rh the launch of Tokyo Bay, plus the need for more contemqorary research inJapan, a trip to Asia is on the calds. Naturally, it will be accompaniedby a stopover in Hong Kong and a walk up the hill to the FCC for drinks and possibly a luncheon

anything in any of the major world

capital, was first out

caught in the maelstrom of the Red

one can go back to 1853 ... I don'tthink a deal has been lost. You can research

UNHCR deomonstrottors outside the FCC

the attention of the intern ational

rs Sadako Ogafa, the United

community to the need to find a durable solution for the Vietnamese remaining in Hong Kong. Around 100 demonstrators gathered

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees paíd a short visit to the Club

last month, where she made a búef speech and then answered questions on Hong Kong's unique refugee

outside the Club to demand that the UNHCR

situation. The purpose of Mrs Ogata's visit to

refund HK$1.5 billion spent by the Hong Kong government on the boat people's welfare. Mrs Ogata appeared somewhat

progress achieved on the issue of the Vietnamese boat people and to draw

taken aback, but the demonstration passed

Hong Kong was to underline the

without incident. Sad.ako Ogata, UNHCR

APril

THE FCC BOOK 1997. EYEWITNESS ON ASIA. UP TO 1997 AND BEYOND .248 PAGES .614 IMAGES . A COLLECTORS' |TEM

i ri +þ5T#S"Cê _-4

Be cagey during salary negotiations

Ë SË

urges Women in Publíshing Society

"CHFfS PATTEI] BEAR WITNESSTOTI.IË INTEGRIîY OF PBOMISES {:ÛREWOFID.BAI]RY GRf NDROD FROM CHUNGKINGTO HONG KONG ÀCAPSULEHISTOFYOFTHE FOI]FIGN CORRËSPONDENTS.CLUB"AL BFFTRAVENHOLT/ASHL-EYFORD FEPRESENTÍ NGA PROFESSION, NOT A lriloB THE LAST SURVIVoR OF I'HË FCC FOUNDERS RECOUNTS -tHE CLUB'S l-ARLY YEAUS. KEVIN SiNCLA|R EDDTE TSENGT ONË ÕF I'[.iH FIRST TELEGNA\,iS FROM THE FRONT LìNF . DEREK DAVIS MEMORIËS OF.¡OI-IN I-E CAHFE TI-I[: FCC AND THF HONOUI]ABLE SCHOÛl.BOY'SAUL LOCKHAFT TF{E FCc's F¡NEST HOUR RESCUiNG A VIETNA[\,/ËSE JOUFNAL¡ST FIìOtvl HONG KONG'S ÊìËFUcFE CALIPS . \¡VALTEF LOGAN I!1Y EVEI'.IINIG WIT¡-{ ZHOI.,' ENLAI MAO TAI \¡/ITH THE RFVOTUTIONARIÉS. AL KAFF PING-PONG DIPLOMACV VVI1E\] CH]NAOPENF:D¡TSDOORS".JAf\4ES[4ILESWHEBEWEWEREWRONGCOVERINGTIANANiVIENSQUARETKEITHB F]CHBIJFG íal\rÌts NG FORETGN BABES CHINA WARY OF CFìOSS'CULTURAL DATlNc, BUT -TWISTED DL:LIGHTS lN'lV SHOW " PETEF SEIDLITZ f\¡O FUTURF, Í3UT E HAPPY CI lII\]A I]EPOI]TING , I(ARI\I .VIALh4STRÖ¡/ FOÍIKED LOGIC, TOhIüUE ESSENTIAL JOURNO-SPEAK FOF GRFA IER CHII.]A HAOKS , IÛIFL WILSON -,'UNK BAV THE KUOMINTANG WFRE HERF . FII IILII) I3OWR¡NG TI¡VIES oF TRANsITtoN FACING A RED.CI'IIP FUTURF " AFTHUR HACKEFì TAKING POSSESS¡ON OF POSSESSION STRËET'fHË CI_IALLËNGE TO FIND POLITICAT.LY ÜOÍIRECT STRËET.NAIV]ËS " HANS VRLËNS A TALE OF TWO TIONGS HONG KONG'S Ì:IRS'I OPIUM-TIIAÚEFS ARE ìJOSTAGES TO TI-¡E FUTUREAIID PHISONERS OFTHË PAST.STËPHEN VTNESJOURNALISM lN I-IONG KONG COLONIAL PRESS FnËEDOMS-fHOUcH Ltf\4iIED WILL BE LOST'ElvllLY LAU 1SS7 - A Qt,¡EST|ON OF l-iONOUR HOW BRITAIN lS CH[:ATìNG HONG KONG'VAUDtNE ENGLAND'HONG KOhtG'S GANG OFFOUR WO[4EN IN]fI.]ËCOL-ONYSPOLITICS.ANDBEAKOPPELHONG KONG",,OUHNAI-ISTSAFTER'gTINTERVIEWWITH LU PING, DIFECTOR OF HONG KONG AND N4ACAU AFf-AIRS OFFICE . ¡/AFTIN C fu4. LEE SEI-F-CENSORS}{IP IS THE SILENT ENE[!]Y AhJD ANOTHER WORD FOB FEAR'CLARI. HOLI-lI\IGWOÊ-1|.1 FRONT LINE MY BAPT|SM OF FIRE: OUTBREAK OF WORLD \ iAB ll . ANTI"IONY LA\,,\IRENCE ¡IROM OUB OWN COfìF¡ì$PONI]E¡{TTHE LONELINESSOFALONG DIS]'ANCE RADJO FEPORTEF TJETER ARNETTENHOLJTFTOASIA I]OW " I VJALKED II.]TO JOL; J¡.,LISIYI . TIZIANO TEI]ZANI A DEAFENING SILENCE SAIGCN,S LASI DAY. JON SWAIN ÊIVEH oF TII\48 CAfVlI3oDf Af\I IJIìEAN4S AND iiIGi-] ì|V]ÁRES.JONJAI'HAN SHARP DOTS, BASHFS ANÐ THE DAWN D¡F SOIVIE OF THE MODES Af\D WOES OT COi'4lilUl'JÍCATIONS lN-ll1Ë PFE.COfvIPUTER AGE . SANDRA BUFII-ON WATCHINc MAFCOS FAI-¡- THË GRAVITY OF HtSTORy . FìODNEy l-liSKEF BRlh¡G¡NiG IIOWN A Dltl-ATORSF{iP WATCHlNG THE GËNERALS " TONY CLIFTOilI TOÐAY'S VOUNG JOURNALTST ABE SO DAfltr\¡ SËRIOUS TI-]F I ËGACY Of:WOODWARD Af\It] BEF]NSTFIN. PETER CI-]ARLESWORTH NN SEARCH OFT¡-{E B¡G PICTURE BEI.¡/ARE oF PHOTO [:l-ìI-.ORS \'!lTH V SIONS' EtìlCH FOLI ATH NÐW lT lS tUR TURN INTERVIËW WlTi-l NIALAYS¡A'S PRllviF IV]lNl|STFR N4AHATHIR I!4OHAIVìAD " IJHiLIP BOIVRING PRËSS FREEDCIV PU-T YOUB fi¡ONEY V!¡I.IERE YOTJII ÍVIOUTH IS . RICHARI] HOFNIK THE LIMITS OF GONFUC¡ANISII.4 V\/HAT ARE THESE ASIAI.I VAi UES? . STUÀFT I'/OLFENDALE ASIA'S T'-IRIVING MONABCHICAL B[-,'SINËSS I^/HERE FAITI] IS MORE TI-iA]\ I]ANJTASY.DA\/IDGARCIATi-,IãFûTONTOURI"iISSTìBETAf.IDENLIGH|E¡JMENT.THEYCAME. I-HEYSA\,,V.THEYRFCOLLECTED ABAO CHI REUI'J|ON TWO DECADL:S ON 'VAUDII\.IF i;NGLAND CONVË¡ISATIONS BEHiNm THE BAB THE SFNIOB STAFF OF THE FCC . FCC Fi]ESiDENTS " FCC GUESTS " FCC MEMBË'qS ". PI{OTOS FFOIV1 I IlE FCC ARCI ]iVES " EDDIE ADAI\,IS . JOSEPH BECK . JACK BIRNS . WËRNER BISCFjOF " LAFRY tSi.lRROWS " FIOLI[:R'] CAPA . FETEB CHARLES\,VOFìTH " RAY CRANBOURNE . BOB DAVIS . cFEG DAV¡S . rìlcHÂRD ÐOBSCI'.1 ".1-ERFY DIJCKHAhI " HUGH VAf! ES " JOHN GiANNtNt . cREG GtH.\tit). GERHARD JOFtÊN. KEES. STEVEN KNipp..JAll i AÌi,]BÉRi'i,FOi\JG KÁ TAi . ÊOBIN I,4OYËF. fìOETHT NIG . BASìL PAO. DANTE PERAL-]-A, FOBER'I PICOUS. KYOICHI SAWAD¡\. SI'EPHEN fltrAYÊll " DAV|ti ll.lURSTOi\'l TIL-L'/EF . PEI-ER TURNLEY. fvllCHAFL WOLF. E:DV/ARD \¡t/ONc .'Í3{JBI-ISHED BY STÊFAF] RETSNER &

nESCI-lKf"-.fHE FOIlãiGld CORRËSPClll llEN-fS'CLUB 2 i-OWER ALBERT ROAD, HONG KONc, PHONF +s522E2l 1s11 |J¡TX *8ã2 2388 ¿I-ìç2 ", [:üITED BV PÂUL- EA'/FIELD. VAUDII,JE ENGLAND,. SAUL LOCKHAFT AND I-IUF]ERT VAN ES K,A

MAIL YOUR ORDER NOW TO THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB, 2 LOWER ALBERT ROAD, HK OR FAX lT TO +852 2868 4092 I

ORDER......... . . COPY/COPTES OF THE FCC BOOK

AT HK $368.00/US $48,00 PER COpy

D PLEASE CHARGE THE AMOUNT OF HK $/US $.............,..... Û ENCLOSE A CHEQUE TO THE AMOUNT OF HK $/US $....,.,

.TO MY MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT NO

otrry negotiation

like any other'

\Jcontest: Tlie interviewel and tlle candidate are each trying to determine the other's position on money befole

levealing their own hands. Patlick Nlaule of Renwick McCormick &

Nlaule Limitecl, a management

consultancy, explained to members of Sí'omen in Publishing Society at their last rneeting, ç,hat both sides of the negotiating party will want to

D PLEASE SEND TO (PACKING AND IVAILING HK $45.00/US $6

FOR ONE COPY, ADDITIONAL COPIES ACC TO POSTAGE RATES):

..,... SIGNATUFìE

a freel hand in

. If someone

Embellish the job she's reaching

she can add to enhance the position;

company, hou. many others

moment

cloing this sarne job.

Maule, w-ho formerly headed hunan resollrces for the MTRC r,rntil his retirement last year, cautioned

Unc<¡ver u.here she will fit in this

will

Before agleeing terms,

about rnentioning salary expectations

essential to determine exactly what is included in the salaly package:

too earllr. Especially if one's fesume

base pay, bonuses (contractual or

is stl'ong, mentioning

in place but may offer higher salaries than the former'.

fol by pitching any other skills wliich

1arge,

will have r:igid strr-rctr-ues of job ranges hacl the position

before, ask what salary the predecessor' received;

erlplol,er than with the

fi'equently intelnational firms, which

negotiating for hel demands;

clefer revealing their lequirements abolrt salary until the last possible

'ùØIPS member,

Ann Reatty,

clrrrently clesigning a website for the

Hong Kong chapter of lflPS. The hon-re and linked paÉles are complete ancl it remains onlyfor'\flPS members' consent to have their names and contact nullbers posted theleon, in compliance with legislation

sa1a11,

based on profits?), housing

The Hong Kong chapter of \(4PS

requirements coulcl put an employer off c¡r leave no roolrr to negotiate. If

allowances and other fì-inge benefits.

Maule ulgecl job-seekels

rneets the first \i¡ednesday of the rnontl-r in the Hr-rghes Room at the FCC. Non-

the inteffies,'erasks the candidate verl early what she llade recentll, or whal

package.

ale welcorned to attend if they

The consr,rltant also explained the tn'o kinds of employers vn'hom candidates il'il1 plobably encollnter

accolnpany merlbers as guests. A $60 cl-ralge at the dool co\¡ers one dlink

is clenrancling, she sl'ror-rld delay responding with a polite: 'Let's come sl-re

back to that later'. À4eanwhile, the 1ob canclidale can

try a nurnber of tactics to increase the

amolrnt of mone1, the employel is w-illing to part with by cliscoveling as mnch about the compzrny and the job as possible befole narning l'iel salary demands. She can:

wrLL coLLEcT THE BOOK(S) Ar THE FCC

canclidate has

Ask if zrnyone evel had this exact position befole? If not, tl-re

to distinguish base pay from the total

mernbers are invited to attend. Men

and hol's d'oeuvres.

here in Hong Kong. The small, familyled film rl'ill plobably have no salary

slrlrctlrres established nor anything film in the u'ay of job descliptions. Such filrns will u'ant to hire 1,e¡1 fol tlie lou''est price possible without necessalily havinÉl mucli knowledge abor-rt the value of your skills in the rttrrrketpìat c. Rut thcre is llrole

lattitude haggling r'vith such an

\Y/otnen

in PtLblisbing is

rofe s s i o n a I ass o c i a Ti o n ubose n'ten'tbei"s rept'esenl tbe spectrun't oJ' pu b lis b ing p rofessiona ls, in

I e nx

6t I

i o tx ã I p

Tbe only requirentent

J'or

men'tbersbip is tbat one befentale ctnd bcLue cn't 'interesl in publisbing @ AptiJ

199r THI

CORRDSPOIIIDEI{T

On the wall Photographs by Mark GraharrÌ l\ /f"rk c.ahamhas been an FCC memberfornine lVIyears. The ímages are a personal selection, although several have appeared in the regional and international magazines Graham regulady files for. Graham, who comes primarily from a writing and editing background, was editor of the Eastern Exþressmagazine Weeleend,;he then had a spell with Profile photo library before resuming as a freelance

Clockwise

writer-photographer. "I think, like mosthacks living here, the enormous changes in China hzrve come to dominate my professional life," l-re said. "I an-i always amazedby expats and Chine se who have livecl in Hong Kong for yeals and never set foot in China. I hope my pictures and stories have contributed a little bit to people's knou4edge ofthe place "

Prints uy THE C0IRDSPONIIEIIT

April 1997

Colorsix

front far left: The Main M:aî:

Tlre

gig;tntic

Tianantnen Squ.are portrait of Mao Zeclong is sprucecl up euety lecff beþrc National Day; Stone-Age Style. For marqt tribesnten in tbe Highlat'tcls of Papua New Gninea tbe most exciting itnponfronl tbe modetw world is paint; Son of the Soil; ,4 Cbinese peasalxt in dill-poor nortbenl Henan; Brave Shot: Tltis picttn"e uas taken in Crossrnads, a black slum in Cape Towt1 on tbe clay tbe .4þartbeid s))stem uas fficialþ scrappecl;A Close Shave' Tltis young m.c¡nle in Cbiang Møi finds tbe íniti'ttion þrocess a bit of a giggle; Fillìng his Face: Tl:e Pie .X4an is an annttal @ traditìon at rhe Hong l(ong RlLgby Seuens Ãprrl 7997 THE CORRXSPOIIIIENT

FCC takes Znd

s s a

place in Pacific News Travel Cup

€þ

a È &

Ê 's

f n VaLch the FCC Colf Society tool< Ir..ond place in the lirst lnnlrrl Guam Pacific News Travel Cup. Trventy-eight of the finest golf society players replesented the Club against a select team from Gr-ram. A sclamble competition was held on the first day to help us acclimatise to the challenging course at the Leo Palace Resort locatecl at Manenggon Hills in Guam's lr-rggeci interior . The Leo Palace Resort is a 27-ho1e course,

with 18 lioles Palnel

designecl

by Arnold

ancl nine byJack Nicklaus, and

will be the venue Êor the Asian PGA to be held this April. Tl'ie course, described as 'wild ancl

five , took overall lionor-trs with a 73 whìcl'r gave f iim 40 stableford points. OLrr star performer on the day was Patric \Øeill with a highly cledible 39 stableford points. Astonishingly Patric finished the ror-rnd with t1-re san-re ball he startecl s'ith Bluce Maxu,'ell was a close seconcl witl-r 38 points followed by our only lady player that clay, Stella Ng. Special

rnention mr.Ìst go to Cl-ialles Micklewight w.ho five putted one green, which earned hin the same number of stableford points as Jeff Heselwoocl managed to scol'e on the

entile back nine The Governor of Guam, .

tl-re

Hon.

r-rntamed', plovecla chalienge foltl'rose

Carl T.C. Gr,rtierrez, graciously

of us who do not hit the ball long and straight- so 28 of us u,'ele challenged.

plesented the trophies and plizes at the aqrards clinner at the Onward Agana Beacl-r Hotel, or-tl host hotel for the totrr, on Sunday night, after a short political orientation speecl-r for the benefit of the Colresponclent members plesent. Governol Gutielrez also callecl an irnpromptlr press conference on the Monday and gave mernbers the opportr-rnity to cliscuss local social ancl economic issr-res, the

that on the wayback to the colrlse the next dayforthe conpetition proper, the bus was diverted to the nearest K Mart where vast quantities of cheap golf balls were purchased. A sweepstake vn.as held to glÌess tl-re number of balls that wor-rld be lost that day. The gr-resses ranged fi'om an So mr-rch so

optimistic 86 to a slightly offensive guess of 405 fi'om Spencel Robinson (l"re l-rad played q,ith Julian on the

impact of tonrism on Gnan ¿rnd its people, and Guam's future regional

Saturday and somehow assurneci we vr'ere all as bad). The final tally ol lost balls r¡,as a moclest 199 - accnrzrtely preclicted by Ray Clanbor-rrne. \Øe were nalrowly beaten by our'

lole in Asia ancl

friencls trom Guarn, but enjo)¡ecl the

but en op¡oltLLnity to expcliencc

golf ancl l-rospitality enormously. Gr-ram's

Randall S Cunliffe, playing off TIIE

GORRXSPOIIDENT

April i997

the Pacific Rim.

This event was extremely rvell organised andgave mernbel's not only

a candicl look at one of Asia Pacific's

neu,'growth centres. Special thanks must go to Douglas

King of the Guam Visitors Buleau (GVB) in Hong Kong and his Guam colleagues Gina Kono, Pilar- Laguana and GVts general managel' James Nelson. Lee \lebber, a recent member of the FCC and publishel ancl editorin-chief of the Pacific Daily Netus-th.e

principal sponsor of the event

We all look forwarcl to the opportnnity to visit Guam again next year ancl hopefr-rlly bring the cup back

well

being given

Dctuiclsrnt tries a long one ort lbe C'locktuiseJiotlx top rigllt: 'Vlitclt hole oJ the Palnter D Cotu"se; Dctuicl Thtnstc¡rt ancl Milze Gerorghtlt uith GtLanz's Sicl Siluer ancl Ricbcu"cl MarL; Jcnt Atrclerson of Gtrnm Cable sbozus t.s bou it's claxe ot't tbe nintb bole cf tbe NÌcklctt Ls E Cotu"se; Gr¡uentor GLftien'ez congratLLlates Jcmtes Nelsott of GI,'B on tbe GtLam teóuil's uictoty while Lee \.Yl'ebber,.ltùiatt lilhlsh ancl Spencer Robinson look ott, Pah"ic weill denxonstrates the fornt tli;tl toþþed the FCC tecmt; Sing Sbeng ancl Jantes Fu.

fotnlb

decided to sample Gnam's sports

\X¡hile the FCC team serionsly

advantage of our hosts' hospitality tcr explore Guarn's many attl'actions. Jin-rmy Dee, chailman of GVB, entertained the gror,rp with an islancl

Each evening, following the

fisl'ring and diving. Tl-re fishermen and fisheru.'omen were rewarded with a catch of four lalge Mahi Mahi, which found theil way onto the h-rnch table

dedicated themselves to tl-re tolrrnament, they also took fu11

shou' ancl dinner at his home on also featuled a glres[ appealance by

lesolt facilities,

Show, a cornbinationof cabaret, dance and magic straight from the stages of Las Vegas.

golf tor-rlnament in

GLram's lenow'necl hospitality ancl

lavish sets of Sandcastle's Cocktail

to the FCC

Satr-rlday niglrt. A spectacle of exotic Chamollittas anclfire dancers, the show

new clesúnation,

donated the cup and co-ordinated the activities. Kenneth tVan and H C I(wok of Continental Miclonesia assisted with the travel arrangements and donated a titanium drivel as the prize fol the FCC's best player, which u,'as won by Patlic 'ùØei11. Thanks to ¿rl1 of these people and their associates, the tlip was an or-rtstanding sllccess.

a chance to compete in a challenging a

FCC's q,ell known entertainers ( Pictrues on Page 28 ). Snnclay night took the grotip to the

some

of the

organised entertainment, members into greater Gllam nightlife in the true spirit of investigative jor-rrnalism, some not finishing until tlre wcc llouls ol tlte rnorning. r.vent forth

Gr-ram has nine intel'national standard golf courses and plans for' another ten. Most membels took the

opportunity to play one of these coLlrses on tl-ie Nlonclay, u.hile otl-iers

back at

t1-re

hotel.

The divers v"'ere treated to Guam's vn'ealth of marine life and incredible

nnderwater visibility.

Gr-ram also

nnmbel of spectacr-rlar w'reck dives on ailclaft and ships sunk duling offers

\ùØorld

'ùØar

II. A mlrst for an FCC

Divelsions Sot'ictl cxt Lrlsion. A prosperons resort destination, Gnam is sr,rrprisingly accessible, just

for-rr hor,rrs flying time fi'om Hong Kong with Continental Miclonesia's direct flights tq.ice weekly, Mondays and Flidays. It is

str-rnninglybeautiful

island of rolling hills, lush jungle, white sand beaches, clean, clear lagoons and fi'inging coral reefs. Gtrarn has more than 35 hotels, including the luxr,rry facilities of Pacific Islands Club, Hyatt Regency, Nikko, \Øestin, Palace, Pacific St¿rr, Onu.ard Agana ancl Hilton hotels.Juliøn \Yalsh, Jef/' Hesehuood, Teny Duckban't

@ April 1997 THE

CORRISPOIIDDNT

Not Jenkins. He roamed south-east Asia for Reuters after the Shanghai bureau was closed down, through Vietnam, what is nowASEAN and other areas, then trouble spots, now centres

GrahamJenkins by I(evin Sinclair

of explosive economic growlh. Then, back in Hong Kong, he cttt tieswith the news agencyandbecame editor of the old Tiger Støndørd,.That's where he got the name The Gunboat; 'he'd go down through the ranks of reporters' desks, all barrels blazing'. He stafted Tb e Star,with financial backing fi'om Aw Sian, owner of Sing Tøo,

7965.

It was a new sort of

newspaper andhad instant success.

scribe hoping

for the emerging middle class of the new Hong Kong. In the mid-60s, he saw those ambitious young bilingual Chinese as the vital key to the future of the colony. He was right, decades before his time. The vehicle he contrived was Tbe Stør, armed squarely at this audi2ence.

Bouncy, lively, irreverent, the afternoon tabloid was packed with

blightly laid-out stories, News, news, news was dominant, with strong emphasis insicle onpop songs, football, horse racing and pin-up girls - discreet

by today's standards but electrifying back then. Then there were politics, both local and China's internal affahs,

to solve the world's

problems, then you'd better piss off. Lots of would-be reporters swiftly took that advice, catching a tram from Causeway Bay down to Central to

apply for a job with a 'normal'

publication. But there. were always ample applicants thlonging to join The Star stable. Some of them went on to great things. .Robert Chow lo found Recru.ir magazine, Sam Lam to form his .

Broadcom PR-communications empire, Henry Parwani, whose chequered executive career now sees

himaslegional chief of aUS publishing house. Many more. 'ùØhen Tbe

Star finally fizzled

ott

turned out to be acculate.Jenkins was a compulsive reader on Chinese affairs and into the office every day would come

diminutive Chinese gentleman

dressed in hat and raincoat. This was the shadowy'014' so named because,

Jenkins growled, he was 'twice as bloody good as 007'. Nobody ever source. It could have been afi'iendship he forgedinShanghai, becausetohis dying day, Jenkins had a great admiration for Shanghainese. He knew the city well; he was sentenced to death thele, lined up against a wall and had two Chinese shot dead next to him. Jenkins grew r-rp in rural Australia,

and fell to earth in 1984, it was a sad

worked on a country newspaper,

day for many. The Boss put out his last

gradnated to the big time of TIte Argus in Melbourne, joined the army and served as an ordinance clerk before

mixed feadessly with the rioters in 7967, dazzled readers. It was a whole new style of journalism, and one that poked fun at the incredibly stuffy

McGregor; he had received vigorous support from Tbe Størwhen as a senior

colonial administrative class, In the course of seeing his dream come true, GrahamJenkins also created

an entire generation of Hong Kong newspapermen. Virtualiy anyone could get a 1ob on The Star, Keeping it was a damn sight harder. The'Thoughts' of GrahamJenkins were that a good journalist was ahardworking reporter. He toiled, seven days a week, from before dawn until after dusk had fal1en on the old newsroom

in Hysan Avenue, and he expected everyone else to do the same. If you didn't like it, as one-time news editor Geoffrey Somers told many an idealistic THE C0RRDSP0ilDENT April 1997

Chamberof Commerce. The executive

director in those days was Jimmy

public selvant he had urged yeals earlier that strikers who stopped work tn the 1967 disturbances should get their jobs back.

Being the salaried editor of

monthly trade paperwas not as exciting as the spicy political coverage of the Cultural Revolution, when 7he Star's own sources inside China broke many a stoly. Some were astonishing, like

the exclusive account when 'Zhou's

(Enlai) face turned gray and

collapsed into the congee'. How on earth did a small Hong Kong daily know what was happening inside the Forbidden City? Some ignored Tbe Stør's regular political scoops which many years later

reporter going unsteadily

to a

predawn shift in the chaotic newsroom,

straight from a demanding night in \Øanchai, could say it was dull. Life was explosive, and so was the

paper, It was irreverent and lively. lt poked fun at a colonial establishment of incredible stuffiness. lt was introduced to the emelging spending classes

of Hong Kong, the bilingual

'Our job is to bear witness,' he

young Chinese, who had been largely

would growl to young reporters. Being a journalistwas a hear,y responsibility, he felt. You were there to serue the people. There were many things you could say about toiling 12-hour days

ignored by the English language media.

on 7he Slar.

mouthpiece, and it faithfully reflected

Above all, it was a newsy newspaper. The Boss saw to that. GrahamJenkins was The Boss. It was

his newspaper, a personal one-man

some of his many beliefs and prejudices. \Øhat fun it was, looking back.

Itwasdifficultforayoungreporter

to be a personal friend of Glaham Jenkins. He didn't carouse with the

boys through the -üØanchai streets. He had his own very private life. Butwhen he was not terrorising you, he could be charming. He was a great raconteur. Not long before he died he wrote

whimsically that he was 'the Hong Kong entrepreneur who failed', \Øhat he meant was The Star never turned out to be the vast Asia-wide daily newspaper empire of his dreams, a paper speaking to and for the new generation he predicted. Tbe Star never made a fortune, true. But nobody I know, and nobody who ever knew Graham Jenkins, would consider him a failure.

worked out the real identity ofJenkins'

covered in a way they had never before been touched. The way he hired squads of young cameramen who swarmed over crime scenes and disaster spots, and who

edition and went off to work on The Bulletin for the Hong Kong General

Life on the bouncy tabloid was no easy ride. The work was tough and the job demanding. Some of the editors verged on the insane and the grossly eccentric was the no¡m. But not even the most hard-pressed, hr-rngover

wrangling his way into a correspondents' uniform and

smuggled himself into Jakarta when

the city was in anarchy during the Sukarno uprising of 7945. He never left Asia. Reuters sent him to China in 1948 with written instructions to make contact with the communists and to cover the war from theil side, as long as he secured good communications. He met agents in a flat in Lockhart Road; one of the rnen who briefed him was later to become Foreign Minister of the People's Republic. In Shanghai and Nanjing, he was a persistent cause of trouble and worry not only to both sides in the conflict but also to British diplomats, who in

those clays had the notion that they

could blithely instruct Australian

David Davies by Russell Spurr

T can t sav I knew David Davies I intimaiely.' l don't think anybody did. He was one of those quiet, non-assertive and essentially prwate men. The most one could expect throughout a long and fruitful association was the occasional

confidence dropped almost apologetically during everyday conversation. Snippets like 'the Admiral was at

prayer when

I repofied on board'.

Come again. lØhat Admiral?

'Admiral Thierry d'Argenlieu, of colÌrse. As you know, he'd been a monk before being called back into service'. \Øell, I didn't know. And it took time to winkle the full story out of David. The service he was referring to

was the French Navy. David it turned out had been seconded to thar. navy during and after !íorld \Øar II as a British naval liaison officer. The secondment took him to what was then Indochina at a time when the French were vainly

trying to reassert control over their

to a lifelong connection. David Davies

old colony.

joined the Frenchnews agency, AFP, in 7948,serwing, among other places, in Hong Kong and Sydney. The French government recognised his services by awarding him the Legion of Honour. His wife, Marcelle, upheld the greattraditions of French cuisine by

The man saddled with this illstarred task was an eccentric exmonk, returned to the navy fi'om a monastery and given the title of High Commissioner. It was essentially a political post run in tandem with the miiitary command headed by the redoubtable General Leclerc, the valiant tank commander whose troops had captured Paris, Strasbourg and Hitler's hideout at Berchtesgaden. Riding in the first French jeep into Berchtesgaden was a French

keeping a magnificent table.

Invitations to dine cbezDavies were eagerly sought after, particularly at their Pokfulam apartment during the late sixties.

David retired tnL989 to a quiet

later

farmhouse in central France.

Mrs Davies. Admiral d'Argenlieu

Marcelle died four years ago and

resistance heroine, Marcelle

refusedto spendhis time in his palatial Palais Norodom in Saigon. He took to

David malried again, to an Australian called Sybil. They

sea whenever possible, usually planned a return trip to Hong Kong aboard the French fleet headquarters, and Australia. But last year David the cruiser Jeanne d'Arc. It was also there that he received Lieutenant David Davies, RNVR,

contracted a wasting disease. Sybil

whose knock on the admiral's door

until his untimely death.

nursed him for months, finally sleeping on a camp bed in his ward

rudely interrupted the great man's prayers. The chapel-going \Øelshman

became

a close confidant of

the admtraland, with his fluent French, a popular associate of the French navy.

The French

connection,

Tbis tribute to Dauid Dauiesfirst

in The Colrespondent, newsletter of the Foreign Corespond.enTs' Club, Austrøliø t

appeared

Soutb Pøcific

established in those difficult days, led

reporters what to do and how to act. ÃpLrl

7997 THE

CORIXSPOI|DENT

FREELANCE WRITERS

CanOn

Canon Hongkong Company Limited

906-911 Mount Parker House, I ll I King's Road, Thikoo Shing Tel: 2BB4 77BB Fav 2568 8505 email.: Krollasia@atnnail com

10/8, M¡rrcrTower,61 Mody Rd., Kowloon, Hong Kong

Services/Products:

Stephen G Vickers Senior Managing Director Managing Director (Operations) David W Holloway

Canon cameras and video camcorders

Sole Distributor : JOS Consumer Electronics

Marketing

Address : 21lF., Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, 979 King's Rd Senior

lvlanâger

MrAlbeft

Ass¡stant Product l\¡arketing

KROLL ASSOCIATES (ASIA) LIMITED

lvlanager

Ouarry Bay, Hong Kong

Chan

2565 2008

Wong

2565 2OO7

Ms Lou¡se

38/F., Office Tower, Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Tel: 2584-4333 FaXj 2824-0249 E-mail: hktdc@tdc org hk Web Site: http://vvww.tdc org hk

Inchcape Pacific Corporate Affaírs

Directot

Corporate Communications Corporate Affairs

1041

Stephen W.

Manager

OfÍicer

Clark

Pun Kenmy Yíp

lrene

Fax:853-336372 Rua de S. Domingos, No.

Macau

lnternet: Http://www.macau.gov,mo E-mail: lnfo@macau,gov.mo

Floq I lvang

Hoi Hoad, Kowloon Bay, Hong

Kong. Fax 2795

Mrs,MinndaLeung

CorporaleRelationsManaget ïel

Miss.l,,laggieSo

ExlemalAfairsManager

2842 4704

l\,|rs,Beg0han PublicRelalionsManager lel

2842 4629

l¿lisClaudiaHo AsistantPublicHelalionsManager MisDaphneMak ExtemalAflairsManagu OulsideOficeHourc

FRANCOIS BISSON - 10 years in Asia. PAL & NTSC Betacam rigs Documentaries, Corporates, News/Features Tel/Fax: (8521 2570-9722 Mobile: 9097-2766 RICHARD JONES - News & Corporale Video/Edlting Tel: 2982 0508 Fax: 2982 1758

FREELANCE ARTISTS ARTHUR HACKER - Art Cartoons Design Tel. 29879iJ43 Fax.29879072 GAVIN COATES - Say it with a cartoon! Tel/Fax: 2984 2783

PUBLICATIONS ACT|ON ASIA MAGAZINE - The region's premier adventure travel and action sports publication, welcomes contribtfions. Also require freelance editors, suÞ editorc and designerc. Tel:2521

THE

Mass Transit Railway Corporation

Chevalier Commercial Centre, 17th

FREELANCE CAMERAMEN

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS

853-574447

2524 5031

lnchcape Pacific Limited is the Greater China regional arm of Inchcape, the international distribution group

9970

Int e lli g enc e

Tel: 853-332887 853-332886

17th Floor, Standard Chartered Bank Building,4 Des Voeux Road, Central,

B us ine s s

Mãcau Government lnformation Services

For Hong Kong trade statistics, ¡nformation and

analysii, fast, call TDC's Media Communications lnternational Section at2584-+333 Ext 7489.

rldw ide

6037

Yasmin R Shaker

International RiskManagement ConsuLtants Inre rnational C o rp o rate Int e s ti g cLto rs

Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Hong Kong feli2842 4666 Fax: 2530

Co-ordinator

Services:

ARTHUR HACKER - Author & Historian Tel. 2987 9043 Fax: 2987 9072 JEFF HESELWOOD - Automotive lndustry & Motor Sport Wriler Tel: 2851 0493 Fax: 2815 2530 E-mail: ihc@netvigator.com ROBIN LYNAM - Features on travel, food, wine and spirits, music and literature. Speeches and corporate copy writing also undedaken Tel: 2827 2873 Fax: 2827 2902 MICHAEL MACKEY - Writer + Researcher, Politics, Economics & Business Tel. 2559 Fax.2575 3860 MELINDA E. PERSSON - Copywriting, proofreading & editing Tel. 2527 Fax. 25280720 EDWARD PETERS - Features, Travel, Profiles, Research, Many Asia/Pacific photos Tel. 2328 2553 Fax.2328 2554 STEFAN REISNEB - freier Korrespondent für deutschsprachige Medien Tel (852) 2982 0989 Fax(852) 2982 6048 E-mail :sreiner@ asiaonline.net CHARLES WEATHERILL -Writer, Literary Services, Researcher Telz 2524 1 901 pa ger: 7 3OO 7 37 3 E-mai : charlesw @ netvagitor.com STUART WOLFENDALE - Writer and columnist Tel: 2804 1925 Fax: 2804 1975 Los Angeles (1-818) 405 0879

HUBERT VAN ES - News, people, travel, commercial & movie stilfs 3504 Fax. 28581721 E-mail: vanes@asiaonline.net

Tel. 2559

9991

Tet 2993

2276

Tel 2993

2136

Editorial Features, Advertising, Corporate and Commercial Photography throughout S.E. Asia and the Pacific

Tel: 2993 2599

Terry Duckham/Asiapix Te!.25729544 Fax. 2575 8600

Ernaitdit@asiaonline.net

ARCHIVE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

COIVIPREHENSIVE

THE STOCK HOUSE LTD. 23lF, 88 Lockhort Rood, Wonchoi Hong Kong

Tel: 2866 0887 Fax: 2866 2212 E-mail: bobdavis@netvigator.com JOHN GIANNINI - News, people, travel, commercial Tel.2541 2540 Fax.2541 4954 E-mail: giannini@fcchk.org @ KEES Photography -- News . features . Online Tel.2547 9671 Fax. 2547 8812 E-mail: vovokees@asiaonline.net DAVID THURSTON - News, people, wacky d¡gilal portraits for 1997 Tel: 2524 4381 Fax: 2525 077 4 E-mai I : thurston @ asiaon line.net

Blitz Video Works Ltd. François BÍsson Director / Cameramen

2993 2175

2993 2929

Fax28681799

Feoturing the best of Asio Represenling leoding ogencies ond photogrophers from oround the world

JENNIFER BOWSKILL - Specialising in podraits,fashion,events, Commercial & Coporate photography TeUFax. 2547 6678 Pager:711 68968 #88Í18 BOB DAVIS - Advertising, corporate and editorial photography

Tel: 2993 216ô

IVO$

GIZ

Crews, Transport, Fixers & equipment hire: Betacam Sp EFP/ENG Rigs in PAL & NTSC Mini DV in PAL & NTSC - Lighting, Sound ++ PhoneÆax: (852) 2570 9722 Mobile: 9097 2766

e-mail: asiapix@ hk.linkage.net

frironl

AInPORT AUIHORITY

Shrto (H.K) Ltd.

2/F, Hutchison House, Central, Hong Kong

Poon Wan

Director Manager

P.L. 25245031 Managing 2524 5031 Jimmy Senior Services/Products: Sole agent of Nikon cameras, Hasselblad cameras, Linhof cameras and Epson LCD portables TVs

Manager Phillip Bruce Manager Terri Lai Enquiries (24 hours)

28247700 28247705 28247152

Public Relations Media Relations Media

Feature writing, fixing for overseas media, colloquial interpretation (English, Cantonese, Mandarin) photos and photo sourcing.

Services: Film Processing

6o¡ot Enlargement

Digital Retouching & Output

Hong Kong Tourist Association

PR Manager

Peter Randall Manager (Editorial) Sally Brandon Assistant

2807 6527 2807 6373

Faxt 2807 6595 E-mail:plr@ hkta.org lnternet: http://www. hkta.org

INFORMATION Ph

otog raph s-V ideos- F eatu re s- L¡te ratu re - Books

on all aspects of tourism industry

NEWS Rm 1006, HK Arts Ceníre,2 Harbour Road, Wanchai Tel: 287'7 7671 Fax: 28'77 1618 E-mail: Newsasia@asiaonline.net

CAMERA CREV/. EDITORS . EDITING SATELLITE FACILITIES PRODUCERS . FIXERS PACKAGED STORIES . LIBRARY FOOTAGES Contact: Vivian McGrath

THD CORRESP0NIIEI{T

April

1997

EDITORIAL . CORPORATE . INDUSTRIAL

Contact Angelica Cheung or Mark Graham Tel: (852) 2191 l43ll279l 9701 Fax: (852) 2791 7431 E-mail : angelica @ asiaonline.net / mrg @ asiaonline.net

9/F Citìcorp Centre, 18 Whitfield Road, Nofth Point, HK

Ground Floor, 184 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong. Tel : 2526-0123 . Fax : 2524-9598 Managing Director Johnny Lee Shop Manager Lam Yan Hung

rql cranb'.rîe photograph/

Funct¡on: Developing Hong Kong's new airporl at Chek Lap Kok

COLOR SIX LABORATORIES LTD.

MEDIA CONSULTANCY

Ray Cranbourne Photography Ltd. FlatB-2 YY Mansion, Hong Kong

96 Pokfulam Road, I 1/F,

Tel: (852) 2524

N vl vl vl

cSJ

vl ¿

PI{

8482

Fax: (852) 2526'7630

Pxgtq L¡g

stv¡lq

ÞlOn¡t

ÞTP

å'SI

LAB

TER RgTgVt}I'NG

9vtsl¡E ÞtsPtAY !5tps 9Vt¡Vl

tlvlTlMEÞtA - QÞ

n¡><

April 7997

MTR T[[

GORRESP0IIItENT

E-mail: profile@hk.linkage.net

Tel'.

25717878

The Hong Kong Handover Exhibition

further details,

if you have any photographic rcquircments

íf"mt for 11 emp

Women in Publishing Society 409 Yu Yuet Lai Bldg,43-55 Wyndham Sl, Central, Hong Kong Tel: (852j2526020ó Fax: (852) 252ó 0378

Fax: 2574 8884

''ON THE \ryALL''

VídoúO7orí.e

Conesondenls'Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, 6-Bpm. All women interested in the publish¡ng industry welcome conlact us for

Neil FarrinPhoogmphy has been esøblished in Hong Kong since 1977, having tavelled worldwide on major advertising campaigu, hotel and corporaæ assignmenls. Moreover, we have overseas plo<luction contacts for all worldwide projects. Please call

tsALT ARTWORI<S

We meet informally, usually on the first Wednesday of each month, ai the Foreign

Ê Ë

28 Wi¡¡rer Commercial Bldg., 4O I :103 Lcrkharl Road, Wanchai, HK

E-mail: pollyu @asiaonline,net

6 Y um'V dLa*, La¡/

Td,t 2606

ConponnTE CoMMUNrcATtoNs ITD.

7093

and,,

ard*'w

Shøfi,w 26Ol ++85

í'nø, Roa.dt, Fa¿¿¿

T¡o Tnomns

Chief Execulive Otficer

/À |@,FVfi"

ooaoo .o aa a

L.-JL-.1

Hong Kong's Mosl Experienced Morkelinq ond Promolions Profess¡onols

oa oa aa o

News

FREE LUNCH

News, Documentaries & Corporate Television Prov¡ding a comprehens¡ve seN¡ce thrcughoul As¡a Pac¡fic

The Correspondent requires freelance writers

Working photojournalists and photographers who are FCC members are invited to submit one (1) image for an exhibition of photographs of Hong Kong to mark the June 30 Handover The exhibition will run from June 15 to July 15 in the Main Bar

to cover the Club's lunch speakers.

Feature Programm¡ng . Beta sP crews . Producers . Journalist. Ed¡t¡ng t Stock library . Avid Editing . f¡¿¡5port & Accommodation

Contact Bob Davis 94601718

Contact Jeff Heselwood 2851 0493

Asia Pacil¡c Vision Ltd.

'1004 EostTown

Suile 1 164, 1 1lh Floor, Telecom House, 3 Gloucester Foad. Wanchai, Hong Kong lel (A54 2A27 2122 Fax: (852) 2802 2687

Building,4l lockhort Rood, Hong Kong

lel:.2527-7O77

tox:28óó-ó781

E-moil: corpcom@hk.linkoge.net

Sallmanns

Residential

Short Term Lease

28 Winner Commercial Bldg , 401-403 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, HK 88 F 25'7 4 8884 E-mail : profile @hk lì nkage net WWW: http://www^xtprofilephoro com hk

1 el: 25'l 4'1'7

R O

Photogrâphs with â strong coverage of Asian material, worldwidetravel generâl ¡nterest, archival, art and fiÌm footage + more

580 sq.

ft.2

Beds, Bath, Kitchen,

DAN RYAN'S

Fullyfurnished, Cutlery,

Crockery,TV, Phone, Walking distance to MTR, FCC and LarÌ Kwai Fong, POOL!! Mor¡e in with suitcase! Rental starts from 2 weeks plus.

324314'7

?ea¿zâcna¿øt

fu¿dtc¿ùr,ré

Place Queensway, HongKong Phone:2845 4600 114 Pacific

PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS The Professional Contacts page appears every month in The Correspondent and on the FCC Correspondent web site at >httpzllwww.fcchk.org < . Let the world know who you are, what you do and how to reach you. There has never been a better time. Listings start at just $100 per month, with a minimum of a six month listing, and are billed monthly to your FCC account. copy

200 Ocean Te¡minal Harbour City, Kowloon

HongKong

@ $100

3lines

@ $150

small box @ $300x6mths / $250x11 mths

E !

4lines

@ $200

0l¡ TllE P E A K

l-ÃFl

€ver 3, rheep€ak

cgàä

Tlt Gnztbo

r"r,íiïä_äïi¿

rm-

The Gazebo Restaurant (first floor) features breakfâst, .A lã carte menu is nlso avâitable dâily. 'lel:2833 5566, ext. 4

lunch and dinner buffet

A GYM AND SWIMMING POOL BY FÄR THE BEST PIZZA IN TOWN. SHOW YOUR FCC CARD WHEN ORDERING TO ENJOY

5ünes @ $250

THECffiftRHOUSE

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2@rl9W¿ù!tud

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Large box @ $600x6mths / $550x11mths

FCC Membership No

There are 4,000 (some say as many as 8,0{X}t hungry journalists arriving in Hong Kong for the Handover

Company Name: Address: Signature:

Hons Kons

pt5TRtJpfll]T;cÈ¡a

A SPECIAL DISCOUNT

Large box w/ spot colour @ $700x6mths / $600x1lmths

Name

copy attached

The Rickshaw Club 22 Robinson Road, Mid Levels Hong Kong Tel: 2525 397'l Fax: 2521 3599

LIVE MUSIC MOST NIGHTS

2lines

Phone:2735 6111

WITIILARRY ALLEN EVERY TUESDAY.

Tronical & Fun

Caribbean & Western Food 9 3 Pan-Asian Cuisine & Dim Sum ! Bar. Live Music.. Indoor & Outdoor Dining ! Open Every Day Ample Parking Available

Call Soni 90828097

. Thailand (662) 6343065

E ERRAC F = o

Call us now for more info¡mat¡on.

. Sñgaporc (65)

CHICAGO GRILL

Would you like to f'eecl tlrat hunger? Tel: 2572 9544

or liax: 2575 86f)0 to advertisc'

For more information telephone 2512 9544 or fax 2575 8600

Lprill997

THE G0RRXSPONIIXI{T

Golf Society atplay on Guam q

s a

a I

è 's õ

a ò È

s a

ê aI È

q I

È Clockuise from top left: Mitcb Dauidsott shou,ed lbe txcttiues bolu ct Scotsrnaït ueaß a skitl ;./am.es Ftt indtr.lging in a little cttlturøl excbange ; Stella Ng ancl Spencer Robitxsot't tryi¡lg tbe latest í.tt Gu.cntt hea.clgear; Ray Cran.botr.nte is on the monelt ; The.fisbing crcw; Magic Girl's skipper anclfisb witlt Jobtt Beny, Ken Dosuell, Gttyone Weill , Bntce Mctxwell, Peter Btt.ntett, Ella Dostuell at'td Bill Aresorx; Mitcb Dauidsotz, Ray tìl'eill s b o uted h í s r n t C ra nbou nt e an cl Ji'ie ncl ; Pat ric fo botlt on and olJ the Golf cotnse

a È

SP0NIIEI|T Aprit 1997

jun.k party markitl.g Pau.l Bayfield's most recent 29tb birthday Tbe

rllT

and Robitt lynam.'s last night of freeclom endecl dis appoirt tinglT, for some with lynam.'s acqtLitt:al tbe

following day.

Photographs by Bob Davis

Aprl 7997

THE CORRDsPOlllIlEItT

Change of date Due to

circumstances

beyond the organisers' control, the Club Quiz Night has had to

be rescheduled to April 21. Contact \Øendy or Jerry Richardson for further details. TeI: 2574 3013 Fax: 2834 8334

Please pick up

your

FCC

book

orders! Some members who have Gauín Young, a noted jazz entbusiast, and George Melly excbange some serious tbougbts on tbe pbilosopby of jazz duñng George's recent uisit to tbe Club.

ordered and paid for their' copies of Eyewitness on Asia have yet to pick them up. They are taking up valuable space in the office.

Accreditation of media at Handovef Ceremony The Handover Ceremony Co-ordination Office (HCCO) is planning to send out application forms to media organisations in March or April for official accredttation of journalists wishing to coyer the transfer of sovereignty ceremony. Freelance journalists must apply through an accredited media organisation.

For further information call Felix Cheng at HCCO on 2526 6487; or fax 2525 797I

rHD GORRf,SP0NIIEIIT ApLil 1997

A neu. members' reception was held in the Hughes

Room in March. The Club regularly hosts a bash to introduce new members to the Board of Gorrernc¡rs

Photographs by Hubert van Es

New Members Correspondent Members

Kohut Frei

= '' David \X/illiaro, " Philippe Ries AndrewSherry Adrian Geiges Elin Elder -

John

Matthias

Asia Inc BBC AFP

AIP FEER

Indira Lakshrnanan HahmYoung-Joon

German TV Asiaweek The Boston Globe Chosun Daily News

Patrick Gal'rett

Freelance

Andrew Sollinger

Institutional Investor Inc Nilron Keizai Shimbu n Inc Newsweek

Hideo Tamura Lynette Clemetson Carla Rapoport Laula Fisher Tsang Kam-Ling Akira Iwase Keith Graves

FENS

Int'l Insider Kyodo News Kyodo News Sky TV News

Associate Members Brian Crossley Ivy Ng Robert Meyel Joey Chow

Wayne \ù(/ilcox Richard !Øong Laurence Porter Raymond Pierce

John

Elmore

Far East Commodities

& Trading Co., Ltd.

'Warco Ltd 'tùØilcox uØorldwide Grznd Union Investments BZ\Ø Asia Ltd

HK Gov't

Hartmut Kunstmann -

Erba Fe Ltd

Joseph Kwok

Master Property Consultants

Journalist Members TVB ATV

Nora Sun Stephen Marshall Moira Shaw

Sunday Exaniner Sing Tao Daily

Liu Kin-Ming Polly Yu

Polly Yu Productions

Sophie Benge Christopher Blackman -

Corporate Member

LEP Int'l (FE) Ltd HSBC Investment Special Assets

Freelance NBC Asia/CNBC

Diplomatic Member ArmandoJarque

Mexico Consul

Aprtl 7997 THE

C0RRXSP0NIIHì|T

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