The Correspondent, January - February 1999

t I Jan/neb 1999

To the editor professionals, However, if even Tbe FromAlbert Cheng #4787 correspondentcouldnotdistinguish utmost my I write to express right from wrong, and continue to

confuse its members bY Publishing

letters and articles which

are

absolutely biased and unfair to the Person being criticised; if even iournalists cannottellwhat is freedom of sPeech and who is fighting for it, how can one expect the Public to be able to do so?

rubbish.

my style was founded on listening to the programme only once, and he did not (or coulcl not) even specify which Gabriel McCarrick Ingenerallfoundmyselfhumming was the newspapef that I had rated as rubbish. If nè ài¿, I am sure your along to Robin Lynam's tune as he

Pool bar opeûs, as the 5Ûth nears

But the overwhelming reason is that the loyalist people did not want it.

Loyalist is the term used to describe the political affiliation of those people in Ireland who consider they are Britisl-r not Irish and want to remain British.

These people, using their political right of reply, called a strike, which becarne known as "The loyalist strike". This is what repudiated Ted Heath's Northeln Ireland solution. When 60% of the

belated Happy NewYear and, inadvance, Kung Hei Fat Choi to you all. By the time this edition of The CorresPondent reaches You, the fine-tuning of the newly revamped

population refuse to cooperate with

of the "Conservative and Unionist Party" to give it its full title, knows ftrll

given the membership's hald-bitten reputation, I can only conclude that eithel the Moonies have found the main bar a fertile hunting grottnd or the New Year celebrations were so spectacular that the warm glow has yet to wear off.

Youngblood sPenI hours arranging the mùsic and sound system' Another iug of Margarjtas for those two men, pléase. On second thotrghts, make

Purely by chance, the soft opening coincided with RTHK's Media -ùØatch programme filming a piece about the forthcoming 50th anniversary. So we

committee underTim Cribb and Ben

exhibition or something we haven't thought of (yet) we'd be delighted to hear from you.

details. The grand party on Saturday,

of General Manager Bob Sanders,

Indeed, demonstrating he did know the difference between Irish and British people, Heath, snapped selfrighteously, at lrish Taoiseach (Plime Minister) Jack Lynch, to keep out of Britain's internal affairs, whenthe l¿ìtter wrote to him, expressing concern fbr the safety of nationalists, during rioting in Derry and Belfast.

Tbe

Conespond,ent, there is a t'evien' of

a

book on page 14 called Looted: T'he Pbilippines After tbe uotnt. Oo t'c,'t knowwhere I can getthis book please?

Thanks.

(Editor's e-mailto tbe boc¡k' such an act by publishing- a letter endorses it?

that

the Heath govefnment came to bringing peace to the part of Irelancl

ngdom lt by e attempt, to will continue and attack, this s failure is clemonstrate to the world that Hong Kong is still a free wodd for media attributedtomanypeopleandevents.

I

surely was not intimidated

r

e¿uecl

ccttt't

recall seeing tbe book in Hong Kortg bookstores.Às a last resort, contÓtd lhe

autb Stree USA.

luck.

wele lucky enough to get publicity for our newest facility from the very start. That enabled us to exploit the opening to spread the rnessage about out anniversary membership drive.

Filst Vice President Philip Segal was Iured away from his keyboard long

enough to be interviewed within hor.rrs of all systems go andwas fi.lmed

against a backdlop qf the new pool bar. So was Bob Davis of the Stockhouse photo-agency who

blandished the elusive,

UPI

photograph he'd tracked down of Mao ))ott

thoràzone him with tequila in order

surplisingly positive. Especially

Irish.

From Robert IãlaÃand #28.26 In the November issue of

been

completed. This column, however, is being pecked out on the first daY of the soft opening in the early days of 1999 and the response has been

disingenuous of him to lay the blame

the Heath government was known. theunfaircriticismthatthebmtaiattack This agreement established the power

record time. Dave Garcia was indefatigable in his enthusiasm' Despite Periodic attemPts to

' and pass on the word abor-rt the event. Sponsors, including hotels, airlines and purveyors of fine goodies, are volunteering. An exhibi¡'ion of 50 years of reporting Asla through the eyes of the FCC is ' ;'being arranged and the programme óf speakers and seminals fine-tuned. .,.When it comes to sponsorship we are negotiating with potential donors.

This is an event that is aheady

clownstairs bar

for the failure of his efforts with the

I9l3 was how the deal brokered by

and contractors who worked so hard to transform the former Pool bar in

its government, as happened then in Nofihern Ireland, it made the power sharing assembly r,rnworkable. Dilect rule from \Øestminster followed and has been there since.

Ted Heath of a1l people, as leacler

well, how loyalists wish to be identified, making it all the r¡.ole

way related to my personal affairs. I am therefore more than annoyed at

will have

All kr¡dos to the members, staff

Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek

leluctantly toasting each other in the original FCC building in Chungking.

It is astonishing to think that . despite the plethora of histories,

documentaries and stories produced

about ear'ly post-war China, this historic phorograph slipped through the cracks.

attracting considerable meclia interest

that two each.

\øith the 50th Annivefsafy drawing closer, the organising Beaumont is nailing down the

March 27 v¡tl| take the theme "Comrades and Capitalists"'W'e've the pnce at HK$888 a head to include iood and drink lt won't bè a set

sit-down affair ' Each level will have its own "feel" to include music and comestibles. \Øe're going to set uP "food stations" and "music stations" and members will be encouraged to circulate throughout the Club as they wish. Or not. Those who wish to stake out a section and chain themselves t o a chait for the duration of the evening will be PerfectlY welcome to do so.

'Sü'e've shot off invitation letters to extanÍ Past Presidents and distinguished (notorious?) former membèrs to join us for the event lf anyone has a suggestion on who should be on the gr-lest list, please don't hesitate to let the office know

world wide. If you or your company is in a position to support ihe event it's an ad in thismagazine, -whether a donation of services or cash, the

hosting of a cocktail party or' sponsorship of a seminar or

The office, r-rnder the stewardship

has ordered a range of golden anniversary merchandise, from crystal beer schooners to baseball caps, to pins, ties, polo shirts,

windcheaters and more. -ùØatch out for them. Plus we're packaging the

wine and shot glasses for sale. 'Who said hacks live in a FCC beer,

commercial cloud cuckoo-land? \Øe don't. But one thing we're not going to colÌntenance, anniversary or not, is to jettison what we're about. That is we're going to raise a glass to the next 50 years of freedom of speech and freedom to report.

January/Febluary

DianeStormont 1

Macau

in ttansition

Irr less than a. yea-r, À4aca-u, tl-re rnost venerzrble of thre foreign entities that at one tirne dotted tl-re coast of China, re\/erts back to tl-re À4otl-redand. ,t)otuicJ Il¿zircl, correspondent f<>r ,A4¿zcle¿zr¿'s ,11{rzgct.zitze zlrld eclitor of A4czcctt¿ 7-rczuel 7-¿zlk, looks at hov,z tl-re Portr'rgLlese er-rclerve is col2ing lecently, nrernbels oltlre J\--,,l"tif Macau governllìent wcrext pains

public liolidays "with colonial

to point out the srnoothness of their transition pfocess in contrast to the bittel disputes that markecl the last days of British rule in Hong Kong.

will go some of the most cherished celebrations, including Pot'tttgr-tese National Day and City Day, wl'ren

Relations with Beijing were amicable, the through train was guaranteecl, alrtonomy and the way of life would be respected. It appeared that the process leading to the transfer

of administr:ation

midnight on December

was ticking away

Next carne the annollncel.rrent that

overtones" wouiclbe abolishecl. Away

Macau honor,rrs its patron saint. One cir.il serwant holding a PortllgLÌese passpor-t noted: "Those holidays ale r.ery important to the Porlttgttese comrnunity here. I was moue

at 19

as

the countdown clock in Tiananrnen Square.

smoothly

as

Until recently.

generations ancl long folrned the backbone ol the civil scrvice.

Such a row el'Lrpted that the committee backpeclalled. Now it is proposecl that the Eurasian minolity will be allowed to l'etain Portr.rgnese citizenship while having the light to opt, when tl-rey choose, for Chinese nationality.

But these recent developments have set off tremols. Some residents previously cleterrninecl to stay on after the Handover qrolly that the "one coLrntry, Nvo systems" glrarantss on the same lines as Hong Kong's is ah'eady being

- and that diluted

And then Beijing

withaGoliath-ancl

the Preparatory Colnrnittee is trying to bypass the Joint Liaison Gloup. It would be a pity if acrimony rnar:red the last year of Porluguese

whatever the guarantees of the Sino-PortLlgllese Joint

rule as East and'ùØest have shared this peninsula with

dropped

a

fewbombshe lls.

Abruptly, Lisbon and Macau were rerninded that they were dealing

.

Declaration, when Beijing I

Chitx6t. noxu þrouides its otun fireuorks. flexes its muscles, thele's preciotrs little the 22 sqkrr territory can do but make the best opti-i-ristic, but now I see China is of it. stalting to create problen-rs over The blows came in quick nationality, and which language is snccession, without consnltation or more impoltant." prior notification. The first was the The question of nationality is a

announcement that a PLA detachment

wouldbe stationedinMacar-r. Poltngal withdrew its garrison inL975 and the authorities were confident no troops wor-rldbe stationed there in the future.

"China has the right to station the PLA here, but is there any need? We clon't think so," says Dr Rangel, Secretary

for Public Adrninistration, Education and Youth. HoweveL, China saw the

move as a syrnbolic exercise of sovereignty and most Macau residents

appeil to approve, feeling this will send a shalp message to destabilising criminal elements.

hot issue as, olrt of 420,000 residents, about 110,000 (most of them ethnic Chinese) hold Portuguese passports.

A proposal by Macar,r's 1O0-rnember Preparatory Cornmittee that anybody failing to opt for Chinese nationality

wotrld be regarded as a foleign resident; pl'ompted cliticisrn by the Governor, General Vasco Rocha

Vieila. It was "unilateral

and

ambiguous", he rnaintained.

was

It

pafticularly worrying to the

"Macanese", the 10,000 PeoPle of rnixed Cl-iinese-Portltgltese descent,

who have lived in Macau for

little conflict since MacalL was established as a trading

post more than four

centuries ago. Relatively 1ittle conflict, that is in a notorious incident last centlìry- a Portr-rgr-rese governor was ambushed and beheadecl.

Macau's exact statrÌs u.as left unclear until in 7844Portuga1 named it an overseas province. By then it was

losing outtoHongKong, whose deep,

shelteled anchorage offered rnany advantages over Macau's shallow Inner Halbour. In 1888 a Sino-Portttgr-tese

teaty recognised

Portr-rgttese sovereignty, but China never ratified it. For manyyeals, Macau was virtr-rally

left to its own resources. Throughout Portugal's 40years of clictatorship, only

one ministel paid a visit. The last Poltr-rguese naval vessel, British-built ancl clairned to be the wodd's oldest seruing warship, limped aw ay in 19 64.

lVho will control tbe profitable casino business?

will climinish, although

' ,tytiLtng." Critics fear the belated rush to

About that tirne the enclave's economy startecl to bttrgeon, thanks

violence

to gambling. Today the Sociedade Turismo e Divelsões de Macatt (STDM), which has exclusive garnbling dghts, rlrns nine casinos, the Jockey Club, the dog track, Far East Jetfoils and several hotels, and has a finger in

when jor-rrnalists and police suffered in a bomb blast."\Øe ale facing olganised

people into senior positions. This is

groups who don't know any fi'ontiers," says Lt Col Manuel Geralcles, adviser'

graduated only in7993.

Seculity.

"Remembel, about 50,000 people come into Macau every day, but a new coordination depaltment has implovecl liaison between the two

Group's continLred delays in agreeing on a new high-court system recently

cle

just about every pie in

Macar-t.

Employing arouncl 20, 000, directly and indirectly, gambling generated abottt HK$15 billion in 1998. About 600/o of

governlnent revenlre cotnes frorn the casinos.

The futr-rle of this colossally profitable business appears assured as

the Basic Law pennits " the traditional

entertainment industry" to continue but in whose hands? When STDM's -licence rlrns oLrt in 2001 , the rr,tmottl is

that other enterprises will

be

encouraged to bid. ffthe licence were splitbetweenlivals, it could be a further incitement to gang violence. Tliad war over the past Nvo yeafs häs generaJed more than enough negative publicity.

The autholities cringe when thçy pick up the Hong Kong press, demanding "\Øhy does Macau always make page one while l'eports of terrible crimes over there are buried inside?" Even they, however, have to recognise thal it's difficult to give a positive spin to very public gangland executions. \Øith Macau's most notoriotts triad

leadel awaiting tlial, along with four of his lieutenants, the hope is that the

retaliatory actions continue, sucþ

as

the September incicle nt

to the Secretary for

police forces and the frontier police...

The administration is determined to ensr.rre Macau has the conditions for a

smooth transition ancl for a good economy."

So what condition is Macar,t in?

The infrastrlrctlrre is impressivè, . new buildings, new bridges, new roads. The enclave has no external debt and the current account is balanced. But the gro\Á/th rate is .

negative, gambling receipts arc

160/o

localise has pushed inexperienced a

particr,rlar worry with regard to the judiciary; the filst bilingual magistrates

In addition, the Joint

Liaison

provoked an unusual otttburst from GovernorRocha Vieira.

"'$(l'e

don't have

dates, we don't have prospects, we don't have agleements, " he said, noting it would be "difficult" to ensure competent judges after the Handover.

A Selection Committee will shortly be named to pick the fifst chief executive.

The front-r-unner is Canaclian-educated

banker Edmund Ho Hau-wah. Aged 43, a member of China's National People's Congress, he is legarded as dynamic but moderate in his views.

Significantly perhaps, he speaks

English and Mandarin, but not

down and tourism figures ale

Portuguese.

stagnant. Thousands of apartments stand en-ipty. Even so, Macau is no paLlper. Per capita annual income is US$17,000 and flashy new cars and motor-cycles clog the streets.

Although the govelnor envisages Nlacau as a blidge betlveen Eulope andAsia, hou, long canthe tinyterritory retain its unique identity? Rangel, himself a Macanese, spells it out: "If

Under presslrre from China, localisation is proceeding apace and Rangel, in charge of training new civil service leadels, says the 50 to 60 senior clepaltment clirectors will all be local

by Malcl'r. He insists: "They're very qr-ralified people, although they'r'e

we don't fight for ottr history

ancl

will lté gone. -üØe mr"rst fight fo| it so it's lespected by the Chinese. Or you will only have the stones to recall the cr-tlture, after one generation it

people and culture that were here."

Janr.raryrFeblualy 1999 IHD

@

C0RRXSPONDENT

Macau's wine seum is arr oneologic al delight o

llou cannot eat ir-r. À4a-ca-r-r v,zitl-rout q¿ashing it dou.n qzitkr superl> PortLlguese v.zine. lfl-re intrepid I{euitz Sitz<-lair contir-l-res his inrzestigations on t>el-ra-lf of 7-/ce Corres]>orzdertt. l-ris tirrre 1-re kreads straigLrt for thre À4a"ca-lrJÇzine A4r-rseurn vzhere tkre entr-y price includes glasses of vzine. life-sized models dressed in

\Xk:;:;,ïtï.:xn:H;:H

Poltuguese regional dless standing guard over wall displays of wines from that district. \Øalk in, and the visitor ir¡mediately gets the idea that

gfocery stofes, wine shops and restaurants of Macau offered about 160 clifferent labels. Today, there are

working rn a vrneyarcl

600 dilferent Portrrguese wines on sale in Macau

before motor vehicles was no easy task. There's a huge press, a long-

and those bottles are

being bought -and drunk.

"The muser,rm has sparked a

in the age

Ibe

ñ

fruit.

Below; (From left) Portuguese uine consultant Frøncisco Esteues Goncalues, the depufy director

of

Macau Tourism, Maria Helenq. de Senna Fentandes, and rbe bead of tbe wine museuft4 Jose Braga Goncalues, relax at a tasting table in tbe d.isplay areø.

invented a horse-dlawn buggy with iron chains which were slung under the ban'el, saving a lot of backwrenching labour.

'theré is even a wine shop that sells ."'dnly French vintages. The hardy, hearty reds, inexpensive peasant wines, that Hong Kong visitors used to quaff by the gallon over at the open air restaurants on Taipa and Coloane (well, some Hong Kong visitors, such as myselfl are still

T

ploclaims

s

Francisco Esteves Goncalves, one of Poltugal's leading wine

ñ

gLr

^s q,

once used to pound gra.pes. Tbe arm zuøs pusbed d.own by band, tben released so tbe stone couldfall on

was difficult. Imagine trying to sling that 500 litre barrel onto the back of a cart. No wonder the crafty artisans

revoh,rtion in wine drinking

in the province,"

Rl.ght: Tbis massiue old press was

câ

S.

avallable.

But alongside them on restaurant

nrs. The Lisbon wine

consultant, called in to advise the Macau Tourist Office about

the subterranean landmark to the glape, enthuses about the project ovel' a glass of delicate white lrom the northeln legion better known for heavy port.

"There's many secrets about Portuguese wine," he muses.

"rùØe

on sale, and, more importantly,

try to explain them.

There is nothing like this in Portugal. It's strictly

a

Macanese

sLÌccess story."

Indeed, it is. Created with imaginative flair', the museum is a living an,J loving testament to- the winemake¡'s (naturally) afi.Ina cellar a short stroll from the ferry piers, the displays vividly trace the histoly

of wine from forgotten

and knowledge is growing constantly.

People are drinking more, and they are drinking a lot bener."

Just a few years ago, that green-

Chinese restaurants and coffee shops andyou see a good selection ofbottles

It's a fascinating place. It's also thilsty work, which can be remedied with a few glasses of wine; every day, there are five or six different Portuguese wines by the glass, included in the HK$15 admission price.

people drinking good wine.

More than 900 wines are stored in the locked alcoves and glass

mLlseum has not only become stand-

display cases the oldest a Madeila from -1815. It's more than a mlrseuû1, insists its amphorø c¡nce used to hold fermenting tuine is one fealure of tbe musettm, wbich traces eueiy step of n'raking wine fr"om grape to bodegø.

A

baLge

civilisations in the Caucasus in 10,000

BC to the ploductive vineyards of modern Poltugal.

In between, the story is told of man's affair with wine, lold in maps ancl on tiles, in paintings and on

closed-cilcuit television. There are

arm created by a stout tree trtlnk which lifts a square block of granite, big as a modern refrigerator. This weight was dropped onto glapes in a wide wooden vat. The glape jr-rice ran out a sproltt in the bottom.

Getting the ploduce to market

THE C0RRESPONDENT Jaru-rary/Fel¡r'uary 1999

clirector, Jose Blaga Goncalves.

A continuous series of

It's also a major prop for the tourism industry. "'We've got more to offer than gambling," contends the

tinged, slightly effervescent uinbo uerde was fhe ubiquitous white wine in Macanese restaurants. Now, there

deputy director of Macau's

are sophisticated Portuguèse sauvignon blancs and lean chardonnays. In one main street,

Government Tourist Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes. Thewine alone attraction for visitors, but has also boosted restaurant business,' a core Macanese tourist sfaple. t

of

10

seminars, conferences and wine tastings are held in the cellars. Museum staff work closely with wine importels, to tell the story of Portuguese wíne and to awaken interest in wine culture. This is a ptogramlne that celtainly seems to have borne a ripe harvest for

irrporters selling dozens of wines set up in the scenic restored glory of the Leal Senado, the main cobblestoned square in the centre of town, Macat

importels and restalrlateurs; go into

Esteves Goncalves. "'Wlne appreciation

spent three weeks talking about wine

and drinking it.

"There's no doubt there is a wine resurgence in Macau," says Francisco

Portuguese and international tourists.

@

Sipping Portuguese víntages

The museum was the focal point for the first Macau'$Øíne FestiçI, held

last December. With stalls

shelves you now find scores of distinguished Portuguese wines which before the opening of the museum never made their way to the Pead River Delta. Much of the reason for this boosted interest in quality wines can be traced directly to the museum, which has helped in the wine education of Macanese,

.

Portugal is in the second runk of uinbo.ThePortuguese are following world wine producers. France and glotral trends and are drinking less Italy arc the giants, both producing wine, but of much better quality. In about 62 billion hectolitres a year. the earþ l9S0s, Portuguese whacked Spain's crush means an average back an incredible 78 litres of wine annual output of 35 billion (mostþcheapred)perheadayear. hectolitres. Pornrgal makes about 10 That has now dropped to about 60 billion hectolitres every year. litres per capita every year, about A hectolitre is 1,000 litres which the same as the French. means 1,250 bottles. That's a lot of

Jantrtry /F ettntart' 1999 ff,E 00RtrXSPOtllDtl

@

ß,at,

drink arrd be Macatrese

A hra-pplz ttlra,rria,ge of Ckrinese and PortLrgLrese culinary traditions has created a- ga.str<)notrric deligl-rt. I{euitz Sitz<-lair sailed acro,ss tl-re Pearl Rirzer Delta to sarnple lWa.<:an. 's food

poodies are consumed wiLh rhe I notion ol fusion. Trendy chels between Osaka and Boston endlessly fuss about adding a sprig of coriander

to a mini-cutlet of lamb

and

proclaiming they have melded east and west. Glossy magazines never tire of breathlessly reporting these stirring events.

Ho hum...Asia and the

Orient collided happily in

I was thinking of this white-

available ingredients that makes

haired, blue-eyed Macau native daughter last month as I sat in the Restaurante Caravela with a bowl of

Macau's delectable cu isine.

Going over the estuary for lunch is a challenging affair. You become set in your ways. The day takes an

olives, a platter of spicy saus age and onions and a meaningftrl bottle of soft Romeira Palmela red.

How come the British culinary influence on Hong Kong has been

a

noodle bowl in the Pearl River Delta centuries ago, and the lesult is Macanese cuisine.

invariable colrrse which has

marcrage, sensible Chinese and Portuguese have for centuries

then into the old village for a beer. Then it's another cab to Coloane for a beer and fiery sausage in the dai pai dong in the shade of the church where some ancient Lusiatanian

been tucking with vim into things like curried crab and

martyr has left his finger, before heading down a narrowlane to

Instead of sitting ealnestly analysing this gastronomic

garlic shrimp. They don't waste

the absolutely wonderful

time talking about this natural phenomena; they're too busy

Cacarola restaurant where Luisa YaIe, a lovely housewife from Lisbon, creates homelyrecipes.

There, you dive into the special wines imported by her husband, Mario, a soldier from the African campaigns who was Surveyor-General in Macau

eating.

The first

Poltuguese

dropped anchor nearthe temple of A-Ma In 7557 .I reckon that by breakfast the next day (sardines with congee, maybe), the solid

foundations were laid for Macanese cuisine. It's been

t

slow. \X/hile Hong Kong's toulism

unbelievable $55, There's anothel new place over on Taipa, where I went fol coffee and

nnmbers dropped 10 percent in 1988, Macau saw only a 2 percent decline,

Portuguese pizza. TLre hard-clusted

gamblers are not deterred by shoving their way through a serious gang war to get to the dai-sai tables.

Nor am I; nothing short of major hostilities is going to prevent me

a

pie with codfish, saity bacon, strong cheese and onions is a real delight.

Sol Nascente (tel: 836288) is run by Veronica Chan. She's a Frenchtrained, Hong Kong pastry chef whose

extensive wine list is conducive to sitting in the welllit restaurant looking out over the banana plantations.

All the old favolrrites are still doing business. Few seern to be hard hit by

the recession, although business

which goes to show that fanatical

from my monthly sojourn over the estuary to attack the Afi'ican chicken and the chilli crab. The trouble with going to lunch in Macau is that if you are going to do it properly, the meal would take af least five days.

@

is

Pool bar opens The lefurbished pool bar hasn't been empty since it opened. So why not drop in for a 1ook, lunch or a spot of jazz.

Remernber, as part of the 50th anniversary membership drive, associates now pay $5,000 to join, correspondents $2,000 and journalists $1,000.

il '

..1:Ë -:"

.

before getting into

the restaurant business, and the chances are about 33 to one developing without fanfare ever that you miss the damn 5pm slnce. ferry connection and have to In the early 1980s, an Celia Tam Yee-pingpours a sofily generous Romeira stay on Coloane fol at least tbe Carauela across Restaurante engagingBolivianhotelier,Juan Palmela red in another beer and probably Macatt.. in tbe beaû of old Leal Senad.o tbe streetfrom de Pablos, was running the dinner at Fernando's before newly opened Hyatt Resort on Taipa,HestagedanannualMacanese so meagre, while the gastronomic getting the midnight jetfoil back to FoodFestival. Iwasoneofthe judges, legacy of Portugal is so enduring? HongKong.Doesthatsoundfamiliar? a challenging task. Macau's home- $lell, Poltuguese food is delicious, Does it ever,,.

Notthistlip,Itoldn-iyselfsternly, made cuisine is very much a family to start with, and the olives, garlic affatr, and the entrants were mostly and salted fish seem to have looking at the menu in Caravela. sturdygrandmotherswhohadcooked effortlessly romanced the fresh Munching on the sausages, I opted forhungryoffspringforahaif century. vegetables, prawns, fish and tofu of for creamed cod. This comes served AregularwinnerwasoldMrsdaSilva, the surrounding fertile flatlands of inabigroundloafofbread,hollowed a statuesqu e 71-year-old with a the delta. It's this mix of cooking oul to contain the large chunks of passion for seafood stews. techniques, herbs and spices and stewedcod,potatoandarichcreamy TED CORRESP0ilDEI|T JanuarylFebruary 7999

middle of Avenida Almeida Ribeiro (tel: 356888), this is a good addition to the city's restaurant portfolio. The set lunch, choice of three starters,

five rnains and two desserts, is an

an

inevitable end: after olives and vinho verde on the Bela Vista veranda and more of the same at the Posada de Santiago, yolr get a taxi to Taipa. ^s5. Stroll down food street with its half-dozen lovely little eateries, 9) q

sallce. As you eat the stew, yoll cut the loaf and mop Llp the salrce. Then I had an oxtail stew, which showed that chef Lai Chi-kong, a veteran of 20 years in Portuguese kitchens in Macau is a man not afraid of garlic.

The wine cost $100, the bill for this massive feast came to $300. Over coffee, I looked at the pedestrians wandering into the Leal Senado, just over the road, ancl at the huge wallsize mural of olcl Macau. Right in the

Photos by Terry Duckham

January'Febrr-raly 1999 THD

GORRXSPONDDNT

TDM, Macau's television

challenged the secret crime rings by trying to curb their activities. This created awave of violence which has been amplified in Hong Kong.

China has used the violence as an excuse to justify the

I also organised President station, as special consultant;

Ramalho Eanes's state visit to China and his 25-hour stopover

in Macau, while acting

as

is

spokesman and pless secretary. This was a politically

future presence of PLAsoldiers

designed manoevre, avoiding

in the territory.

the president's further

I believe that this is

involvement in the territory's

probably not the best way to

h

then controversial

situation.

The mid-eighties were a time when you could feel the beginning of progress and

deal with such organisations,

B

I

Secretary to former Macau governor Garcia Leandro in the early seventies.

iollective ego, making believe

housing and office buildings elaÌpted like mushrooms. Public selvants and political-party officials returned rich

Under his

to wash our hands clean and cîeafe a feeling of self-respect.

Gtíme rates are low, in European

to Portugal as rampant corruption

its new landlords. terms, but while the violence which To be an honest administraÍor of d :' hit Albert Cheng and other fellow swashbucklingplace like Macau is not journalists in Hong Kong is an easy task. But that was

modeln development in Macau. Pttblic

works were swinging high, new

invaded most of the areas of public administration and political decision centres.

The Portuguese public were shocked and ashamed by what was going on in Macau in those days: slave labour; hnman rights violations; boat people suffering or-rtrageous violence ; organised crime and gambling as a

Cops,'goodfellas' anid sophis ticated politics

form of franchised activity; Russian rnafia occupying positions in the prostitution netwolks; across lhe border, Chinese officials invested hot money in the tiny territory and pumped

in young illegal workers and fi'esh p1'ostitutes.

Ifo.g,z is ÌWa-ca-u rzieqzed frorrr afar? List>on-basecl Joaqtt'itzl Letrict, teackrer of jor.rrnalisrrr a-r-ld in<lepenclent rnedia consr-rltant, e><-correspolldent and forrrrer s1>okesrrra.rt f<>r tkre PortLrgr.rese President, is r,rniquel;z placed to arìss/er tkrat question

f I

visited Macau for the first time

in

stepped down from footpaths when a

tg6gonspecialassignmentrelated Portuguese passed by.

I remember discussing this with to the Vietnam \ùØar. Back then, Macau wassmall,mysteriousandpathetically the governor, Nobre Catvalho, a defended by Portuguese-African brigadier general I had met long troops, the fierce land.ins from before as a colonel during the comic Mozambique-theAfricanversionof military manouevres in the south of the Gurkhas.

Spain under the Iberian Pact, an I was impressed by the silent alliance of Spain's Francisco Franco aversion of the Chinese community to and Portugal's AntontoSalazarforged the few Portuguese residents. tofightinvisiblecommunistinvaders.

Portuguese troops used to come out Carvalho endured the humiliations of their barracks in civilian dress so as the Chinese inflicted on Portugal and to avoid social friction, but one thing its representative at the height of the that shocked me was the way the Maoist Cultural Revolution which, Chinese kept their eyes low and ironically,failedtoregainMacaufrom

rule, the Portuguese

authorities are trying to hand over a clean and forward looking Macau to

something right is being finally done

whatVieira acceptedwhen he was sworn into office by lormer President Mario Soares. Síhen he accepted

the job he was far frorn thinking he would enter history books the ^s I a s t Portugeuse govelnor,

but that was what

happened when President $

Jolge Sampaio confirmed i his position in 1.995. Ë

I believe thatÈ

faced when he took over as govelnor, having come fi'om Brussels where he

Public works ptogrammes entþted. garnbling, prostitution and drugs are businesses that minimised by a frightened Macau cannot exist without organised crime

was Portugal's ambassador to NATO.

and

This was what Gen Rocha Vieira

Befor-e that appointment, he was Army Chief of Staff , after being Public'Works

Salazal s fascist dictatorship (whicl-l

lasted for 48 yeats).

I returned to Macau manY times' In 1970, on mY waY back from the

corruptinstitutions. And that has been the backdrop agaìnst

which they have survived and coexisted since Portugal received Macau as a

19f 4 to me et Governor Garc iaLeandt o,

today a distinguished olficial and celebrated strategist who recently

gift from a Chinese Mandarin for whom

against pirates and the Dutch. Modern piracy, however, is rather more sophisticated.

feeling curious about the outcome of the current fight between tough cops and Chinese "goodfellasn.

Macau is more than a cops and robbers fight: it is highly political spot on the verge of the 2Lst century.

António Marques

E

Baptista, Macau's

aI ò

Rambo-like Criminal Police Director and a relative of the

N

Ê Has the bell tolled for crime?

press, crimes are magnified by correspondents trying to sell their stories outside of Macau. But I discovered that Macau's streets are largely safer than Lisbon's.

Two things whet my interest in Macau at this point in history. I'd love to share in Macau's future, but I probably will not. And I can't help

the PortLrguese warships helped fight in the 16th century

Osaka \Øorld Exhibition and again in

hea<led UN troops in Bosnia ancl the Sahara, and tn 1'97 5 to cover the Timol' summit. In 79-77, I retr'tt'ned again, twice, on my way to and fromAustralia and Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific, a paradise regularþ used by the French for nuclear iests. Betu'een 1980 and ir986,Ihelped to create the territory's

some of which have historic and respectful origins. But at least it fulfills the Portuguese

Macau streets are safer tban Lisbon's.

governor, openly -f

aur rr a

Successful reunification

with China,

combined with Hong Kong's, could have repercussions as China looks towards Taiwan.

r1,,'psþ ¡¡12tr t-

@ 7999 THI

C0RRXSPOI|IIENT

-l

Oasis across the water

portals of this sister club of the FCC, one hour away across the water, and you immediately feel yourself in a more spacious, gracious age. A

monthly subscription just 720 patacas). FCC members are particularly welcome, enjoying reciprocal rights which among other things, means you pay the member's

price which amounts to a

30o/o

discount on menu prices. Just flash your FCC card.

dignified pink facade, polished

Across the imposing lobby smiling

wood, pillars, lofty ceilings, elegant furnishings all add to the illusion.

Those who felt a tremor at the news that Beijing intends

receptionists greet yolÌ. To the left lie a coffee l¡ar and the lounge, with its

the club has

by grim-faced cadres can relax. Despite its name, the club is no

pub is a popular late-

night lendezvous, with live music

longer a militaly

establishment; the property belongs to the club and its members. Indeed, the Clube Militar is enjoying a second golden age in ple-

by the scaffolding of the new structure, which was valued at the time at 12,000 patacas.It would be

hard to put a price on today's building.

Let's climb those steps and enter the club (entrance fee 3,000 patacas,

fH[

an

exhibition ga11ely, a games room and a large pub with snookel table. The

envisaged the club

columns and balustrades, stands well away from the sea, but, when erected in 1870, it lay on the waterfront. An old photograph shows junks drifting

ports. There's a four-course buffet Iunch for 730 patacas, but as an FCC member you get it for 90.

Presiding over all is bar and

library. Downstairs,

being taken over

club has survived plenty of political and social conflict, not to mention near-financial disaster. The noble coÌonial-style building, with its

Portuguese wines, ph-rs a range of

restaurant chiefJoelito

Handover and

mises magnificently refurbished four years ago.

It wasn't aiways this easy. The

or cataplana de peixes e mariscos (seafood stew in white wine), this last a mere 200 patacas fol two persons. Then there's the wine, as good a reason as any to visit. The restaurant offels more than 40

F S. Rrriz; he's florn $ Mindanao and snliles $ a lot. Upstails are a meeting loorn and

to station the PLA in Macan after the December L999

from 6 p.m. (except

comfofiable armchairs. To the right of reception is the restaurant, a vision of polished wood floor, overhead fans, Portuguese ceramics in wall cabinets.

The cuisine is Portuguese, under the supelision of Fir-minio Pinto. He was chef of an armyhotel in Portugalbefore moving to Macau last April. He

promptly carried off first prize in Macau's Tasting Portugal contest

members. The merger never took p1ace.

no doubt bored with routine garrison duty in sleepy Macan founded the - first known) Grémio Militar' (as it was on April 20,1870. The officers' later careers proved adventurous.

Lientenant Henrique Augusto Dias de Carwalho, first club president,

and win some of Portugal's highest honours, The first secretary, Ensign Rafael das Dores, had eally troubles

leading Portuguese chefs to

CORRXSPOilDENT Jantrary.r Feblr,Lar-y 1999

1889, when the élite gathered to listen to a recital. O Indeþendiente reported: "Miss Howard revealecl herself as an artist of lecognised merits, the beholder of a voice rarely found outside the world's major lyrical stages. The Grémio's ballroom became too small to embrace the powerful vibratos of that resotlnding and voluminous voice." \Øhile the cream of local society enjoyed the such as club facilities, others sergeants and locally- promoted police were excluded, creating

Portuguese infantry officers

Try such specialities as bacalau douraclo de Elvas (shredded codwith allunette potatoes mixed with eggs)

other restaurants. From time

in repot'ting events there.

Lnagine the scene in December, sophistication

been pretty limited when three

dem'onstrate their skills.

1.4

rivalling the soirées held by the governor in his palace. The local press left no hypelbole unstated when it sought to demonstrate its

Entertainment of any solt must have

escorts in tuxedos recall the social whirl of the past.

distinguished himself in Africa. At one time he spent nearly ayear in jail on a trumped-up charge, but went on to become a colonial governor

against

to time the club is also bringing over

provided of course they were "by their social standing and eclucation... worthy of frequenting the club". Very soon social events at the club wele

was selective as the club had 15 Macanese as well as even British among its

old photographs of

à

Portuguese army expedition to

gownecl women with

Ontheclubwalls,

Q

Mozambique and ended ttp a mr'rchdecorated brigadier-genera1.

Initially restricted to the militaly, the club was soon admitting civilians,

- A move to merge in 1890 resentment. with the Clube União, which had many locally born members, sparked angry debate and charges of racism.

Monday).

ornate chandelier, wall rrrirrors and

a

Macau. A member of Lisbon's Geographic Society, he had a keen interest in building up a good libnry in the enciave. The thild founding member, Captain Manuel Azevedo Cor-rtinho, later commanded the first

to

N4acau's kristoric ü/a-tering-l-role has reciç>r<>czrI rights uzitkr thre FCC. If ¡zor-r krave 1-rot partaken of tl-reir facilities, you a-re definitely missing sorrrethring.

I)ctuicl B¿zircl reports

[ -ong tne comloltable wateling,( \holes dotted across Asia, few can match the Clube Militar de Macau in history ol style. Step through the

Þ

too, suffering deportation from Timor

If thele was discrimination, it

In 1909 Pot'tugal was tin the throes of ousting its monalch, this too was reflected i¡i Macau \Øhen

and club functions were r¡arked between rlonarchists and republicans over what was happening a world away.

by stofmy arguments

By the time the club neared its 50th sounds birthday, its finances were - Even . in dismal state. faniliar'?

with only- 100 ^patacas reportedly in reserve, however, a patty L'ad to be thlown. It was a grand af lair, but it gave indigestion to a

commentator from the papet:' Jnd 40-O persons joined the C) Møcaense. Slamming the, 'clubbetween7991 andL993. entertainers' "grotesque and- ..' ,' "Todaywe have 1,000 members, pedantic performances", he wrote: "Unbelievablethatsomeoneactually had the inspilation to stage a square dance of honour, in Republican times,whendemocracyreigns,right

50 per cent of whom are Portuguese

and 40 percent Chinese," Lieutenant Colonel Manttel

says

Ant-nio

Geraldes, who helped engineer reforms during his six years as president and is adviser to Macau's

thele at the Gr'émio, where we are all deemed equal before the statlltes SecletaryforSecurity.Theincumbe1t and the membership fees we pay." president is Ant-nio Santos Ramos, DuringthePacific'ùØar,fuom1,941 an administrator in the Macatl to 7945, the premises shelteled Monetary Authority, and banker Dr refugees from Hong Kong. And in Edmund Ho (predicted to become 7945 Macau's Public Treasury was Macau's first Chief Executive) chairs

installedthere.\Øhenthegovernment the general assembly. \Øithdonations of about 14million moved out in 1951, major restoration .In 1953 , when the word pafacas fromsuch community leaders "Grémio" was dropped in favour of as STDM chief Dr Stanley Ho and "Clube", a significant change in the EdmundHo,thehistoricclubbuilding

was needed

statutes put the emphasis 'on

was completely renovated

in 7994-

A 95. Over 10 months, the interior was unique library collected over 80 years stripped out, old walls reinforced and fell into neglect, some volumes being modern techniques employed to eaten by ants. In 1959 the "useful" create a building in traditional style. books were handed to the military After 128 years, lovers of good food, lecreation rather than education.

and the others burned.

'ùØithdrawal of all Portuguese troops from the enclave 1n7975 dealt blow to membership. The club had survived typhoon and turmoil, but

good drink and good conversation can still expect a warm bem'-uindo from the Clube Militar.

EE

a

now lethargy took over, until

a

turning point came in the early 1990s.

The present Governor, General Vasco Rocha Vieira, threw his weight

behind the club's improvement plans; the Macau Government and

the Orient Foundation made a

Clube Militar de Macau ís at 975 Avenida daPraia Grande.

Opening hours: Restaurant noon to3 p.m., 7-ll p.tn.;Bar ll arrn.-ll p.m.; Pub 4 p.n.-l a.rn., 3 a.m. Saturdays and holiday evenings ; Happy Hour 6-8 p.m.

substantial grant towards renovation; JanuarylFebt'r-rary 1999 TllE C0RRDSP0IIIIEIIT

I

today ancl whele the jetfoils,

Goodbye, Macart

helicoptels and ferries arlive. Alas, the riots of the micl-60s put the kibosh on that plan and Macatt slowly began to disintegrate. Mansìons that had lined the Praia Grancle were pulled down to rnake way fol apartment builclings; charming colonial hottses, centlrries old, wele clemolished to allow for the construction of shops ancl offices.

The Hotel Libsoa project, shtit

Forrrrer FCC rrrerrrl>er J<>e Pa.rkes establiskrecl tl-re MLacant lfourist Inforrnation Br.rreau back in thre si><ties f-or tkre l\Lacant governla.lent and tkle À4acan casino syndicate and r\zas its director in Hong I(on5¡ for 10 yeafs  .. you one of, those think the ,[ \development o[modern Macau looks bad? Listen- it could have been worse.

What would you think if I told you

that the Hotel Libsoa was originally supposed to have been pink. Well, it was and I know, because I was there,- back in 7967 when the Lisboa was an abandoned building site, the tallest building in town was the Hotel Central and the most excitement

you could get in a day was

By mid-7967, the Macau governor thä elegantlY named Manuel de

-Souza e Faro Nobre

de Carvalho

and travelled cap in hand to the Casa de Misericordia onLeal Senado Sqttal'e

to be received bY the

Communist

Party's local bosses and to sign a clocument apoligising for his crintes, ancl the crimes of his administration,

against the Chinese comPatriots'

a

leisurely hour sitting outside the Solmar Cafe tuning in on the local

knocked out of it in Decemb er 7966

when the Cultural Revolution spilled across the border from China. The Portuguese administration at first sent its police and troops into the streets to put down the demonstlations, spurring the

was run by Amelico Angelo, the man who invented African Chicken, and his food macle the pousada's sLlnny dining room into a shrine for food lovels. \Øe supped on calclo veLcle,

ha11.

The opening of the Lisboa was taken as a gfe^t sign of confidence in

galinha

Macau's fr-rtr-tre and soon entrepreneurs of,

all lonns and stattre wet'e coming

up with ideas to lttle n'iore punters back to the city's casinos, l'estaurants

and tour br,rses.

I

lemember one of

Stanley Ho's senior factotums asking rne clid I think that le-r-rpholstering the

once-notorious Rua de Felicidade (Stleet of Happiness) with tladitional "sing-song gills" wouldbe a good iclea.

like Lee and StashRadziwill and Sir Robin and Lady Darwin, lttred to this cr-u'ior-rs little scrap of land by

Needless to say, it nevel happenecl

who knows what rny'ths, legencls

Red Guards and their local

resumed

come ancl have a look at this fabulor-ts palace of pleasure. So great was the clemand for a look-see inside the new hotel that the managetnent plÌt oneway signs around the perimetel of the which lobby's r.ast cilculal' carpet (as lesultecl in crowcls of 'bilth-r'ights' they quickly became known) trailing endlessly around the hotel entrance

chintz-cove red beclrooms. The kitchen

ricana,

S

when the whole of Macau decided to

Palacio cle Praia Grande), where a prin, Portuguese chatelaine oversaw an establishment of fottr charming,

af

Þ q

constfl,rction anclfinally openecl in 1970

Poltuguesa, bacalhau, apple ancl banana fi'ittels, wines fi'om Verde and Dao and, latel, thick, black coffee and Maciera blandy.

Onany dayyou could find the por-rsada's favourite sttnny tables occupiecl by people with names

Macau had the stuffing

-

One of tbeJëtu rentaining c.yclos.

but that didn't stop abancl of sleazief

operators leactivating the Rua

- syndicate rirn by knowing casino hacl Stanley Ho and Henry Fok

- like other ideas to cL'aw in the clowds, French stliptease shows fi'om the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris. The Macau establishment sr-rcked in its bleath and folbade such car'ryings on, br¡t the STDM simply moved the shows offshore onto the largest of the traditional Macau felries, the s.s.

Macøu. Now those shows were sornething else; the clientele was

portlayed as a dangerous sot't of place inHollywood movies where Clalk Gable or Carol Lombard would narrowly escape being

with knives in their teeth. But it otd

Macau

was probably the cl-roice of Macau for a dirty weekend by Bill Holden

and .fennifer Jones in Loue Ìs a Many Splend.outed Tbingthat put this ancient city back on the 'mttst visit list' of the q,orld's incurable lomanlics.

It could have stayed there too. In the ear'ly Sixties, the Macau Administlation calre up with a plan to preselve most of the glorìously old and crumbly city and allow mocleln development to take place only on the reclamation area that hadbeen cleated the place on the Outer Harbour where most of lhe modeln hotels exist

.

'

aímost siågulady composecl of dirty 'old men in raincoats ancl the altistes ., a1I of them genuinely irnported from were in looked like they Eulope typhoon nights, as a On stormy shock. lay off Hong Kong waters, the pitching of the olcl ship would be so ferocious that the strippers hacl to grip the low ceiling of their stage with one hancl and get their geal off with the other.

Lovely, lovely stuff.

For a generation that has known

only jetfoils, helicopters and highspeecl ferries between Hong Kong ancl Macau, it is hald to explain about the old Macar-r ferries. The s.s Macauwas the granclest (it was originally a crosschannel ferry cal1ed the s.s. Princess Margar"et) and was the venue of many inclucling a blackamazing events

palty given by tie, surplise birthday club-nen'rber Gilbert Donnay for his wife Bar-bala. Getting a l¡oat load of glrests in folmal drag thlough Hong

filleted by mustachìoed Portlrglrese

bas been kePt'

cle

Felicidade's dubious industry.

The STDM the all-seeing, all-

or images. Macau hacl always been

supporters into fu ll-fl edged rioting.

The town was daubed with slogans and handmade posters denouncing

the Porluguese and their 'running ç dog' allieswith particular attention $ being givento anybuilding owned À or associated with the Catholic $ Church including the ruins of St Paul's - and the British.

Mucb of

down after the liots,

coveled demiiohns of Portugr-tese wine for a tiny handful of Patacas, Maybe one would dlop in for a long, liquid luncl'i at the splendid (but now long gone) Pousada de Macau (next to the

galinha

gossip before everyone went home after lunch for sesta (siesta).

-

-

had conceded defeat to the Red Guards

ñ è

I(ong immigration and on boald befol'e Barbara appeared was one of the greatest of logistical nightmares I have ever encountered, Then there was the s.s Fatsban, the s.s. Cbu,ngSbanand the n't.u. Tøi Sbanwhich were far less

fr ,ll

fl

d

glamorous ancl mttch slower (the trip

cor¡ld take foul hours) but which

E

s

a È

e

The d.ays of olcl, seecþ,, slotu cm.d relaxecl

Macau baue gone

exuded such personality that it was a shame they wele scrapped in pttrsuit of speed.

They wele part of an old, seedy, slorv and relaxed Macatt tl'rat has long gone and it ain't ever comìng back.

I miss-it terribly. @ Jantrary/February 1999 TÃE

CORRXSPOIÐENT

j t

I

t

TOLNADAS A POÊTUGUESA APRESENTANDO EM MACAUjMESTRE BAPTISIA É FREOERICO CÄVÁ¿f/ROS 'OSÉ JULTO E RICARDO CHIBSGA MATAÞORES JOsÉ

CUNHÂ

AÂNDARILHEIROS J05É T¡NOCA, MÁNUEL AAÞÂ'OZ, AGOSftNto ÞOS SANTOS E TOBGE MARqUES

!4@e,Ù.@

@e DtZtMtR0

?0.21, 2e?5, 24 ?8 e 29 de

ìfi1

C@@O lei4

Cu@

e J¡NtlRo l, 1 e 5de 1975

FEI ån flilf, +

Ðs lJ lJ lúürîHätR^ñif,f

Hackef's Nlacarr for rrrarlrY years- He dreqz Artkrr_rr .'acker has been keeping track <>f N4acau these ilh-rstrations ín tkre rlid-7Os

Januarly'Febr-r.rary 7999 TEE CORRf,SPOIIDENI

The quest for Noel Croucher

Reform viathe Intefnet -I-l-rc Internet l-ras rna-de it possible for Lrllcel1sored r-req.s, ar-rd rzieqzs, of of tl-re <loLrn'tÐ'z' Arrr.verr rt>r-¿krirn's tria'l in r(r-rala Lurnpl- r to reach ever)'z corrìer A4iclcatel A4czckey ref)orts c)n a Freedorrr Forurrrr ser-trirra-r on tl-re sr-rbject

An;zone vzho l-ras cl-r-¿tted qzith Vaudine Englancl ir-r tl-re FCC these f)ast cor-rple of ;zears knoqzs she hzr.s t>een'wzorking4 01-ì -¿- biograpLry of Noel Croucl-rer, 'Hong l(or-rg's Quiet PLrilanthrrc>pist', to qLrote fror¡.-r tl-re book title. ]?obir¿ Lj,ttzczrtz rerzieuzs tl-ris book

f t is unlikely that this scholarly ancl - obselvecl that "aman is nothing if Iengaging accoLrllt of Noel he be not clubable", but although he Croucher's life would have been cleally found some solace in the witten

had the charitable

founclation

Bowling Alley Bar, even in this area of

thatbearshisnamenot colr-imissioned his life Croucher appears never to it, but n'iany stlrclents of Hong Kong's have quite enjol'ed the wholehearted social, political and business history acceptance of his peers. will be glacl that it has.

The book did not entilely convince

\ØhethertheCroucherFoundation got quite what it was expecting is a rathel clifferent question. Var-rdine Englancl states qlrite clear'ly that the book rnakes no attempt to "transfonn Noel into a better or worse person than he was", ancl in her author's

note

thanks the trllstees of the foundation for allowing hel a free hand.

The result, ancl the first of many agreeable snrplises in The Quest of

Noel Crou.cher, is ihat this is by

me that lts ostensible subject fully warlantedalmost 300pages. Crottchel was a man of note only in Hong Kong ancl even her-e, until his lattel years as a philanthropist, rnerely for having accrr-red alarge pelsonal fofiune.

The author is, I sr-tspect, aware of this weakness. There are moments

when she is compellecl to drag the leacler au'ay from one of many fascinating cligressions on Cloucher's

no times back to some

essenlially

cringinghagioglaplry mundane aspectof his life. Muchmore of a Hong Kong businessman we noticeable, howeveL, is the skill with

meansthe softof

have come to expect of books written r-rndel sinilar arrangements.

This is a "warts and all" portrait of a firan remembered by many for his genelosity and lalgeness of spilit, but

which she has used hitrr as a htttnan thlead of continuity through a compelling and insightful work of local history in the best sense of that term.

The story of his life, and his rise fi'on-i "white trash" origins to a position of high rank in what in I{ong Kong has

by abor-rt as rnany others for a penchant fol petlyvendettas ancl a relLrctance to passed buy a round of clrinks.

for a sort of aristocracy,

is

a'e q'ite sirnply two - maybe in time.) Norrnally tl'ris 'Tnere I r.evolutionsgoingoninMalaysia. would be the sort of thing that one is the struggle berween die- would have newspaper sales andTV

one of Hong Kong's le:rcling iuvcst<¡rs and entrepreneurs.

In 1947 he became ch¿rilntun clf the Hong Kong Stock Exchar-rgc ancl ren-iainecl one of the key plal,cls in the business wolld of the colorrl, tlrloLrgh

its whole extraoldinar)/ p()st-\\'lt' development until his cleath in 19110.

Crouchel saw a great clea I olhistory in close-up, ancl the authol hus clLrite

rightly quoted extensivel)' lì'o¡r his correspondence, wl-iich is fascirratiug notonlyas amatlerofhistolical lccorcl, br,rt also for the insights ol'ferccì int<r

events by an idiosyr-rclatic

ancl

occasionally blilliant rlincl.

The establishrnentof tl're Cxrt tchet

Founclation made Hong l(ortg

tl're

ultimate beneficiary of a lifttirrle devoted to making r-noney, lttrt tllct'e is

in ilte thotrglit thlt he had no personal affections str()llfl enough to den-iand a lltorc llcrsoual some pathos

benefaction of any sr-rbstance.'f hc lltlok also brings otlt the tlnderlf ing saclless of a rnan, regarded eat'lier in his litè as a brilliant racontellr n'ith a

experiences

s'cllth of

to match his lllltterial

forlune, beingwidelythougl.rt of

ir-r

his

This latter point is more irnportant dextlolrsly interwoven with many of than you might irnagine. One of the most inlelesting episodes in the apparent the paladoxes in the life of a colony's history. "loner" who founcl close fi'iendships Born in 1891 in England, Noel anclfamilyrelationshipsdifficultisthat Croucher spent aroltnd 70 of the 91 he was content to be defined as a yealsofhislifeinHongKong,rnanyof socialanimallargelythroughtheroles them as one of its richest and most he assumed in the Royal Hong Kong pron'rinent citizens. He saw active Yacht Club, the Hong Kong Club ancl selvice on tl'ie \Øestern Front in the

lattel years as a ciub borc.\\¡hile

the Royal Society of St George.

Filst $íolld'War, oveLseeing Chinese Sarnuel Johnson who woulcl laboulers. l)uring the Second \Xiodd have approvecl of Cloucher's passion rü/ar he was interned by theJapanese, fol Englancl's langr,rage ancl literatr-re having established himself in the

byVaudine England Hong Kong University Press

handsomely disclialging he l cltttl'lts a bioglapher, the attthot'has cìt¡l-tc I'ls a greatel-senice as a l'ristoliarl 'l'his is ihnt .ur" thing, a well s'ritten, highly reaclable book which is alsc¡ ¿r ser'iotts ancl vah'rable academic

text E@

The Quest for Noel Croucher rsBÑ962-2o

9

-47

which are clairning lp to 2.5 million hits, car-ry a lot of accr-trate repol'tage 'ùØe11, profor the Circulation about Anwar's trial from respected greater with and inrcr.csting Time.s has govefnment Neut Straits international rnedia organisations. revoltltion that how is irìlrlications, droppecl from 200,000 to 130,000 The públic seemingly wants simPle, is lrcing fought. 'l-he answer to that second since Anwar's arrest. Opposition unbiased information about what is ' 'happening. c¡rrc.stictn is "with a computer," weeklies have seen their ci¡culation "I was really stt-ttck by how Aclded rise five-fold to journalist, now 300,000. iic'c'or.cling to former 'êvêr'yone "That's print." was into these web sites," all they can Sesser: Rights Hr-tman Scnior- Fellow at the to about his recent visit to The accorcling Sesser explanation, said California theUniversìtyof Cc¡lcf of is is the fepoltage Malaysia.

Sesser, that who Sesser, Dr Stanley llcrl<eley, urt This, for jor.rrnalists, is probably s¡rol<cattheFreedomForttminHong basically pro-governrlent. "Its grossly distorting what's going on." the best way to look at the situation: Kong lecently. a challenge that will keep us in jobs A quick recap fol those who have And the public wants to know more, providing we continue with r-rnbiased reportage, is very much in demand plinre minister and Asian values government.

Besidestheoppositionweeklies, but the channel is very clifferent.

Mahathir cxl)()r-ìent extrordinaire, The situation goes furtlier. the reformers have found a way I\,1 <rh:rrlad, moved against his protógé,/rival Anwar Ibrahim in to work lound the Malaysian Complrters are not just being used to Sc¡rtcrlbel last year. Anwar, who governlnent's strict control of the spread information that the govel'nment is keeping out of the ltcc:rnte the first finance minister to mediaviacornpr-ttersanclthelnternet. public domain in the traditional "\ü/hat's happening is they (the lrc lreaten in jaiI, by the look of sites, monitoring media; the Internet has also become pi(lurestakenshortlyafterhisarrest, refol'mers) are downloading and printing oLrt or one of the ways that the reform is r¡n tr-ial. movement is organised.

Irlterestingly, the clispule mirneographingtheinforrnationfrom Not only are rallies ancl clemo's ltctu,ccr-l the two men has as one of these sites. The material is then including maps, ¡ts roots a speech given atthe FCC. In distributed every Friday via the publicised - Sesser but the Dcce rnber' 1,994, Ãnwar spoke at the mosques," Sesser pointed out. accorcling to I;C(ì ch,rr-ing a three-day conference Two points should be made organisers within an hour-of the clemo orgunisecl by the Freedom Forum. though. One is the connection ending can post a leport with photos His speecl-r contained the line, "It is between the Internet ancl the more on the web. altosetlìer sharneful, if i4$enious, tb traditional rneclia. The other, is that "And it cloes matter, tl-re whole citc Asian vallres as an excuse for thel'e are only some 50,000 Internet cor-rntly is seeing things. " Sesser gave, iltlt()cr'âtic practices and denial of accounts in Malaysia set against a as an example, farmet's in the nolth of l>rrsic lights ancl civil liberties.," population of 22 mlllion. \ùØhat is Malaysia who are witl'iout electlicity, Not the best way to clrrry favour moving the masses is the transfer of bllt are politically in tlÌne by updates with the boss, but there you have it a this infolmation frorn the e-world to received each Fridayvia the mosqttes. clcrtl ancl principled statement of the realworld-the r-eligiousworld.

"There'cl be no protest moventent rc [ì r rn-l "A1l you neecl is one con.lplÌter to get without the Internet," said Sesser, r\nwat''s cLrrrent trial would . the infolmation, then the traditional who went on to quote a Protest cleli.ght the average Sunclay tabloicl Íteans will take over," explained organiser in Malaysia as saying, as iI t'evolves around allegations of Sesser. "without the Internet we'd be clead." .ùØhat should be pointecl out also srlclotuy and con'r-rption. (Sadly as In years to come they might not be ycl there al'e no British cabinet is that these sites are not all on-line the only ones. tl-tit-listers, soap stars or Royals in it rants against the government with @

har.cl traclitionalists and reformers.

Thc sccond, which is probably rnore

period between the tq,o cr¡nflic'ts as

3'2, ¡¡¡¡$ 1 85

scant regard to facts, acctracY and checking, although there are some like that. More potently, sorne sites,

news programme ratings soaring. not exactly, not this time.

.

þnLtary/Febnaty 19

The GBTAC syndrome

CanOnCanon

By David O,Rear

Services/P rod ucts:

ne of the rnost pr,tzzling things

tn economics this year is the propensity of Arnerican c()nsLluìer.s

Econo¡is¡5 call this negative net savings; I call it a miracle. The US average consumer earns $100 bLlt sPends $lor. The extra clollar may be taken out of the family savings account, but mofe 1ikely

it leflects pr-rrchases on credit calds, or something botrght on Iay-away ilrir.e purchase, ot- mortgage)

tlke a car ot.a llo¡sc.

Technically, rhis is the

'Cod bless rhe American consLrmer1,, (GBTAC) synclrome, which co'es aror-rnd every clozen years 01'so.

In rhe micl 19g0s, American p f lvate conStìmer spending

accounled for aborrt 660/o of the US economy; this

yeaf

, 1t 1s b8.5070.

\üØhile that

may not seem like much of an increass, it is in fact the

early 1!80s to the mid-1980s. Europe,

which contributed less and less to

10/F,

consltmer austerity campaigns duling the Great Asian Depressicin

global growth from the 1950s to the mid-1980s, has begun to pull its own weight. In the early 1990s, s,hen the US went into a sh-tmp and JaPan prìcked its bubble economy, Eut'ope picked r-rp the slack.

The table below shows just how

(GAD!), thus prolonging rheir- ou,n

ir-nportant the US has become. Fron'i

spencling money. Suggestions langc from eating at home to laying off rhc maid or taking the family to tl-re pall<

1997 ro 1995, the world economy grew an average of 3.20/o a year while

the US econorny glew just

1..9o/o.

In

the 1,996-2000 peliocl, the world econolrry is expectecl to slow, to a

and sorne of the more populrrr. reading is tips on how to avoicl

rather than the movies. Until ancl unless spending returns to nonnll levels, the East Asian econorr-iies u,ill not fecover.

to buy th:rL sn^zzy new piece o1' hardware for his honrc' compLlter, or passc.s up dinnel with frier-rcls, decides not

Share of Growth in Nominal GDP 1qq1-cl5

1qq6-2000

USA

22.2o/o

64.to/o

EU (15)

28.9 -0.1

26.5 10.6 18.6

East Europe/ClS

Latin Amelica Asia-Pacific Japan Non-Japan China ASEAN

Other Change (US$ bn)

10.1

54.2 35.6 18.5 5.3 5.0 -75.3

6,096

he

little rnore 111()11c)/ in his pocket, Al the s¿rmc l-ias a

time, tlie Slraurslrrr i¡rrt shopkeepel or Sol I<r reslauratelrr l-ias a littlc less lnoney. So, tlic

-42.4 -58.1.

15.7 15.0

shopkeeper cleciclecl rrot

to stock up on lì't()rc inventory, ancl thc

_2.3

22.6

restarrrxnt laysoff

:r

n'ltilcr'.

Tlie hardware strpltlict'

3,044

main driving force in the wol'ld econorny. Back in

Ground Floor, 184 StanleY Street, Central, Hong Kong.

æ.æË

continues tintil er.eryone is

or.rt

¡rrtit

of

a

jtlll

Public Relations Marketing

Manager

38/F , Office Tower, Convention Plaza, 1 Harbour Road' Wanchai, Hong Kong' Teì: 2584-4333 F ax 2824-0249 E-mail: hktdc@tdc org.hk Web S¡te: http://www tdc org hk

For Hong Kong trade stat¡stics, information and analys¡s, fast, call TDC's Media Communications

Jessica Chan Enquiry : 2564 9333

Direct

Fax

: 2564 9309

;2856 5004

B¡.lr Anrwonxs Unique, personally-selected quality furniture and furnishings representing the best of Bali, Java" Lombok & Kalimantan.

OPEN HousE

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Ha ðFEE

Hong Kong Trade Development Council

A I.n P O R T A U T H O R I

IY

Manager Phillip Bruce 28247700 MediaEnquiries 28247705,28247152(24hours) Public Relations

Fu nctio n:

Managing the new Hong Kong lnternational Airport

lnternational Section at2584-+333 Ext 7+89'

CROWN

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Consultants

Our experienced team can help you find the right home in Hong Kong. We also provide advice on relocation and offer orientation tours for newcomers on arrival.

CqlI Jenni Tinworth for more information

GROUP

WORLOWIOE HONO KONC

General Manager'

cYclc'

Kodak House 1,321 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong

Digital Retouching & OutPut

BIttYt.S. WONG

thrt nit'c'

Rodak (Far Eâst) Limiled

l¡lt*rX*tËsnea

Tel 2526-0123 ' Fax :2524-9598 JohnnY Lee Managing Director Lam Yan Hung Shop Manager services: Film Processing ' ço¡ot Enlargement

then cttl.s bacl< plocltrctiorr.

of shoes. The

l!

Communications

COLOR SIX LABORATOBIES LTD.

perhaps laying off a fèu' more workers; the s'aitcl' doesn t buy

the micl-l9g0s, Amer.icen

1a

Canon cameras and vide0 camcorders Account Manager Mr Vincent Cheung Te|.2170 2757

In Soulh Korea and

\ùØhenAmicable tWong

Annual averages

Mirror Tower, 61 Mody Rd., Kowloon, Hong Kong

fecovefles.

InclonesirL, most obvior-rsly, newspaper. ar.ticlcs are slrggesting consLllners spencl lcss,

Marketing (Hong Kong) Co', Ltd'

Fax:2537 1885 Tel:2537 5338 E-mail: firhill @ hk.super.net www.firhill.com,hk

CRO'WN'WORLDIWIDE (HK) LIMITED

Sj YueLt, Shatìu, Hong Kong @t2)2636 Nlobile: (852) 9099-9955

Crou'n Worldwicìe Bldg.,9-11 Yuen On St., Tel: (852) 2636-s388 Dlrect Line:

<

A Mentber of the Hong Kong Society of Real Estate Agents Ltd.

F.axt (852) 263 ,1-16-17 Ìì rnail: bn,ong hksha@cro\\,n\\,orld$'jde conl \T/eb Site; htp:wrvn'clot'nworlcln'ide com

(we11, not quite).

So, it is incttmbent on all of us ttr

-e

spend more money. In paltictrlrrr, buy anothel round of drinks at thc Main tsar. Mine's a John Sn.rith,

9/F Citicorp Centre, 18 Whitfield Road, Norlh Point, HK

thanks.

RDSIDENTIAf,

Døuid O'Rear, regional

at tbe Economisî

eco17ottt ¡sI

Intelligence Uttil'

contributes to the GAD! bjt cottstfitt i ttSl

economy-from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, and again from the

economic recovery. unfortr-rnately,

some governments are pursuing

less

than be eørns.

@

Hong Kong Tourist Association

LETTINGS

Peter

Randall

Sally

Brandon Assistant

Property to let in London?

F

'ùØe specialise in letting and maÅagement in Central London and the Hampstead area.

Ifyou are a prospective landlord or teflant, please call Susan on 2537 5443 to fìnd out how we can help you.

FtRsT FLOOR .

28 ARBUTHNOT ROAD

.

CENTRAL

.

HONG KONG

PB Manager

Manager (Editorial)

2807 6527 2807 6373

ax: 28Q7 6595 E-mail:plr@ hkta.org

lnternet: http://www.hkta.org

INFORMATION Ph

oto g r a p h s -V i d e o s- F eat u re s-Li te rat u re- B o o ks

on all aspects of tourism industrY JanrLaly/Februa\, 1999 TÃj,

GORRXSPOI{DENT

lFREELANCE WRITERS

FREELANCE ARTISTS

ROBIN LYNAM - Features and humour pieces on travel, food, wine and spirits, music and literature. Tel: (852) 2827 2873 Fax: (852) 2194 4551 E-mail: RobinLynam@compuserve.com EDWARD PETERS - Features, Travel, Profiles, Research Many Asia Pacific photos Tel: 2328 2553 Faxt 2328 2554 E-mail :edpeters @ netv¡gator.com

GAVIN COATES - "SAY lT WITH A CARTOON!" Call Gavin Coates on

Tel: 2984 2783 E-mail: gavincoa@netvigator.com

PROFESSIONAL

Tel:9460 9457 Fax: 2553 3161 E-mail: rpr@hk.super.net

ISHITA BISSET (SHl) - Shanghai Based Management Trainer with PR & Marketing Services Tel/Fax: (8621) 6219 1029

FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS

FREELANCE EDITOR/WRITER

JENNIFER BOWSKILL - Specialising in portraits,fashion,events, Commercial & Coporate photography TellFax.2il7 ffi78 Pager:71168968 #88Íì8

SAUL LOCKHART -All your editorial needs packed neatly into one avuncular body. Projects (reports, brochures, magazines et al) conceived and produced Articles/features devised, researched and written. All with a friendly smile. Tel: (852) 2813 5284.

Fax: (852) 2813 6394. E-mail: 100426.1233@compuserve.com.

PHILIP ROBERTSON - Script, copy, speeches, corporate brochures.

RAY CRANBOURNE - Editorial, Corporate and lndustrial Tel: (852) 25248482 Fax: (852) 25267630 E-mail: cranS@hkabc.net KEES PHOTOGRAPHY -- News . Features . Online Tel:2547 9671 Fax: 2547 8812 E-mail: kees@hk.super.net HUBERT VAN ES - News, people, travel, commercial & movie stills Tel: 2559 3504 Fax: 2858 1721 E-mail: vanes@asiaonline.net

FRANCOIS BISSON - Film, Video - 10 years in Asia. NTSC - PAL Video Equipmeni Hire Lighting, Sound, etc...

Tel/Fax: (8521 2570 9722 Mobile: 9097 2766

.:

Eady December saw Nvo international press conferences: The \X/odd Bank's SeniorEconomistDeepek Dasgupta (left)

andTirnCullenpresentthebank's GlobalEconomistProspect1998.llhile,right,theILO'seconomistEddyLeepresented the ILO report Tbe Asian Financial Cñsis: tbe chøllengefor sociøl policy.

HAPPY SNAPPERS Crossed paths with some ex-FCCers on

FREELANCE CAMERAMEN

ü

The \Vodd Bank arrd the ILO

iTiåffi".1ïåîÈ åffi il;'ff ,î,îffix',1 b.tr. Asra ano Ine

'We'd

love to run it. Put the pic/pix with a nice long caption in The Correspondent box in the basement bar. And please drop the editor an email or phone call to alert him. Thanks your recent trip? Take a happy snap.

Carols atthebar

HacrTrc

Terry Duckham/Asiapix Te!.25729544 Fax. 2575 8600 e-mail: asiapix@ hk.linkage.net website: www.webh k/asiapix/

RICHARD

t

F.

JONES

Video Cameraman / Editor News, Documentary, Corporate

Mobile: 9104 5358 Fax.29821758 e-mail: RFJones@

U

r wAS MTSQUOTED! How to beat news interviewers at tlrcír own game.

The indispensable guide to leveling the playing field when being hassled by radio, TV or press.

By TED THOMAS, written after over 30 years of interviewing celebrities and teaching the tricks of a despicable trade.

Cartoons by Arthur Hacker HK$70 each

New

Edition

Corporale Comtnunicatíons Ltd 1004 EastTown Bldg, 4l Lockhart Road, Wanchcti. Tel: 2527 7077, Fax: 2866 6781

The HKIS International Children's choir entertained Main Bar denzens before Christmas. Mulled wine and mince pies some with a tear were served to an enthttsiastic auclience - carols. in the eye u,'hen tl-iey loined in soue of the

State Fund lnvestment Limited lmpofters of: Black Tower, Green Gold (German Whites) Cognac Moyet Chateau La Bourguette (Bordeaux Superieur) La Tour de La Bourguette, La Madelon (French Red)

Tel: 2891-9188 Fax: 2891-7914 E-mail: btilakoo@ netvigator. com

WHO SAID THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH? The Correspondent requires freelance writers to cover the Club's professional lunches.

And you get paid for your story too!

Contact Saul Lockhart on 5284, faxz 28L3 6394 or e-mail : 100426.1233 @ comnuserve.com

tel: 2813

THE G0RRf,SPONDDI{T Jamrary/Febnary 7999

FCC PRIVATE ROOMS The FCC offers members the use of two large inter-connected rooms, the Albert and Hughes Rooms, for private functions, meetings and seminars.

The Main Dining Room and the Verandah areas can also be used by members for large parties, business conferences and wedding receptions.

For bookings contact Don on or fax2868 4092

telz 25211511

Photos by Bob Davis

New reciprôc¿il clubs Two new clubs have joined the list of the FCC's reciprocal clubs.

Frequent travellers to Shanghai will be pleased to hear they have privileges at the Shanghai International Tennis Centre Club on Hengshan Road, next to the Regal International and the Hengshan Hotels. In spite of its name, the swimming pool, bowlingalley, squash coults, gymnasium, billiards etc. club offers facilities other than ts¡¡i5 - with the American News'W'omen's Club in.Washington, DC. Siruated on The FCC also has reciprocal rights Embassy Row, the club was founded inL933 when the news women, who met weekly in the Ladies Dining Room of the National Press Club, from which they were barred from membership, were asked them to leave. The reason?

Prohibition had been repealed and with grog back in favour, the NPC needed to space to enlarge its popular bar. l)etails and introductions fi'om the office.

Jantrar.y/February 1999 TÃE

CORRDSPONIIENT

Reaching for the stars

Hiking hacks hit the tratl

Bltrce Dormíney, Auiation \Yeel< and Space Tecbnologt's bnreau chief, u'as the winner c¡f the Lucas Aelospace Award for Best Tecl-inology, Systerns or Cotlponents Subrnission at Septernber's Royal Aefonautical Sociely (RAeS) 1998 Aefospace Jotu'nalist of the YearAwarcls in Lonclon. Cliosen fi'om among 500 entl-ies u,-ollcl-q'ic1e, Dorminey q'on for his arlicle 'Mission Sheds Light on Universe'which appeared in May of 1997 on lhe London-

Tlie first FCC Hiking Hacks walk gol undefway in l)ecernber witl-r srlall, but perfectly folmecl, bunch of walkers foliowing a \X¡ild Off Tlail tsriclespool yomp. The hike was ttnder-way fol for-rr to five holrs a

near to Plovel Cove Reservoir ancl tlie lrat Sin Leng Mountain Range in the NTs. Lecl by intrepid gr-ricle ancl FCC n-iember,Joanne "Thele's No

Hills" Br¡nker', the hikels hackecl their way through clense foilage, clambeled ovel rocks, clanglecl off inclines ancl be¿rt olf insects

d,eft to rigl-rt fi'orr-r top) Rícbcu"cl, Jules, Ross, Mcttthetu cntcl RenaÍe

as they followecl a path (what path?) clownstream InclianaJones style ancl plunge pools. through rocks, waterfalls FCC rnember Renate Boelner, dragged along fellow hikers Jules Carrol, Ross Blown, Matthew McGlath and Richard tse¿rl ancl was the only walker who braved the icy depths of a pl-rnge pool fol a qr-rick (very quick) clip in the crystal cleat'w'ater. The u,alk endecl with some u.ell cleserued beers and bravaclo...and no blistels.

If you woulcl like to join the next FCC Hiking Hacks wa1k, check

Fincnlcial Tin'testechnology page The article describes the European Space Agency's Hipparcos spacecraft and its sllccess at precisely rneasuring the distances to over a million stars, a feat which astronomers have l'iailecl as the single biggest advance in star measllrement in ahlost 400 years. He was also a finalist in two other categories: fol tl-ie Matra Marconi Space Awarcl for the Best Space Subrnission for an alticle appealing in the UK's Geograpbical Magazineonthe 40th Anniversary of,the launch of Spr,rtnik ancl in the categoryr Ro1ls-Ro),ce Awarcl for Best Propulsion Submission basecl

otrt the FCC main noticeboa|d or tel: 2575-1339, fax:2893-3486, e-mail: jbunker@netvigatol.com for more information.

Raclette ttaditions

for a Fit'tcntcial Times article on þser propulsion.

New York feuniort

Red Lips farewell È o Þ ã

(Left to rig,ht) Ed Peters, PatLJ Hicks ancl Karett Penlingtott hcnn it uþ tuitb absent tnember Steue lûtiþþ

Tbe Red Iìþs hrigade held a.fcu"euell h.utcb .for Joart Hotuley, one of I he.þtr r ttl ì r tB tt(t t t h(t s t

Chef Steve \Øalren got stuck into

Svr'iss

í'aclitions when he plepared a raclette night or-r the Verandal-i in December. Th.ere *'eren't too many Su''iss, but tl"re odd Flench maiden saw Ettt'ope plor,rcl.

Photos by Bob Davis

I Love Hong Kong Poster Remembel that mal'velor-rs c hangs above the urinals in t1-re m pott .. Unforlunately, the club c clirectly by e-mail on <malhned@iltn-r.net>.

g Kong that prer,'iously hung in the hallway to the loos? Ancl no$' t tl-rat lacliesl). \X/ell, tl're officè has hacl a few lequests regarcling thc r. Hon ever, if yor-r want one, contact the publisl-rer, Mall Meclia Ltcl

Guam

trip prtze

Douglas King of the GuamVisitors Bureau c

aI È P

(right) ptesents Jonathan Sharp (centre) with his prize-winning ticket to Guam as part of the GuamFiesta promotionheld duringNovember.

Club Manager Bob Sanders looks on.

l¿rnl¡ ary' / FebrLr a r y'

7999 THE

GORRXSP0NIIINT

f

Tkre FCC launcl-red 1,999 in fine st;zle as tkre police l>and PiPer kePt r-rp FCC tra-ditions.

Photos try Kees and Hubert van Es Janr-rarJ',/Februa

ry 1999 THf'

CORRDSPONIIEilI

50 years at the FCC A montbly portrøôt of FCC ircepløceøbles

N

\

t ,

T

'¡

,: $

þ

rì.

1999 marks the 50th anniversary of the FCC in Hong Kong

During next March there will be:

o {

monster anniversary party

o

Lunch speaker series

o

Cocktail parties

o

A month of anniversary food

Ì

Come along and meet old friends or iult contemplate your navel over the next 50.Years. *****

The Correspondent plans a bumPer 50th anniversary issue We plan to look a little at the past, a lot of the present, and a little of the future.

Gary arlrd Marnie Marchant

We invite ideas and contributions.

We also want YOUR ADS Member since: Age:

Profession:

Nationality: Least likely to say: Most likely to say:

Who's counting, anryay.

Combined, heading for the century.

Hacks bound fol Paris.

From the land where people go oout and aboout.

Canada, the land of opportunity.

We'llbe back fol a third tenure.

This is a'good.way to support your club and your magazine and give ygur company a high profile in a magazine that will reach the four corners of the globe

Pltotogrøþbed by Kees

7Ã

sponso,ecr

by l[

THE CORRf,SP0NIIXNT Janr-rary/Febru¿tty 7999

Kodak (Far East) Limited

irjË (iËF) Ê-|]R'^"-]

Place your bookings with the Publications Committee representatives (Paul Bayfield, Terry Duckham and Saul Lockhart)

SCl,rBA

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Venture t"yot J À.iu tJ tL" Pu"i{ic. À -hol" new experience, a unique ..rlt.rr", awaits you on G.r-r,'. T-L" o{{ {ot an action p."ln"J ltoliiuy on tLis Paci{i. I.lunJ plt.Jir". Ot to.r"h Jo-n.nJ.ir,'ply r"lut tLe "njoying sLrn/ sea anJ o."u.r tr""r"a.

Treat yo.tt."l{ to tLe lrt.tty o{ tk" Hyatt Regency G.,r-, -hit" .unJ t"u"h"r, ,.,p"rt go1{ courses, great Ji.'ittg, {islt;ttg manner o{ water"ports. From Octoter to Novemter 3O Continental Micronesia is o{{"ring "ttJ "ll .p""iul -""L"nJ pacleages {ot FCC -"-t"r. startin! at just HK3,500.00.

Continental Guam Visitors Bureau Setbision Bisitan Guahan

,lVficronesia

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For more information:

TeI:2524

6118 Fax:2845

0682

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