The Correspondent, October - November 2001

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THE FOREIGN

COhüTENTS

CORRESPONDENTS'

CLUB 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2521 7511 Fax: (852) 2868 4092

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E-nail: <fcc@fcchk.org>

<w.fcchk. org>

Website:

m The President

President Laurie Fret Vice Præident -Jim Kate Pound Dawson Second Vice President Ray Rudowski,

(Hon. Sec.)

lub Activities

Correspondent Member Governors Paul Ba¡field, Thomas Crampton, Hubert van Es, Luke Hunt, Akiko Kato, Mark Landle¡ Anthony.l Lawrence,

5 6 7

Sarah McBride

Jounalist Member Governors

I I

C P Ho, Francis Moriarty

Associate Member Governors Kevin Egan, David Carcia, Martin Merz, Marilyn Hood

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mu :'|h omas Cramptou

Constitutional Comittee Conuanor: Kenn Egan Membership Comittee Cozuøor. Hubert van Es

Houe/F&B Comittee

-

Wall

Club Speakers

Es

32 Sam Rainsy PoliticalJustice in Cambodia?

33 lan Morris - Chronicler of Cities 35 Gordon G Chang Is China Stable?

General Manager Gilbert Cheng

The Correspondent

-

The Foreign Correspondents' Club ofHong Kong

fn Memoriam

The Correspondent is published 6 times a yean Opinions expressed by writers in magazine are not necessarily those of

Book Review Doctor! Doctor! An Investment Analyst on the Couch byJake van der Ku-p

the Club.

38 t.ot.

I

Jane E Kirtley

-

Privacy Intrusion: Where to Draw the Line

Travel

E-mail; lockhart@hkstancom

AVillage in Spain

Production Asiapix Print Services 'lel:2572 9544 Fax: 2575 8ô00 E-mail; asiapix@hk.linkage.net

Terrorism Strikes the United Stàtes

Legitimate Targets?

28 V G Kulkarni Afghanistan, Afghanistan!

29 Joe Kainz

Freedom of the Press Comittee Cona nor: F rancis Morjarty

Editorial Editor: Saul Lockhart Tel: 2813 5284 Fx: 2873 6394 Mobile: 9836 1210

i

-

Conuenu: David. Garcia

Publications Comittec Conunor: Luke Hunt D eputy Conu mu : Paul Bayfi eld È7itor Saul Lockhart Production: Terry Duckham

Awards

Eyewitness to }lorror - Dispatches from the Outer Circle 14 Jack Maisano 16 Walter Kent - It was like any other Tuesday...

18 Jonathan Sharp Could It Happen in Hong Kong?

-Trauma Strikes the Urban War Correspondents 21 Chris Cramer Report from GroundZero 23 Francis Moriarty - George Soros, A Financier's View 26 Jonathan Sharp 27 ColJohn Corbett A Pentagon Perspective

Mæketing Comittee Conuenor: fin Laurie

@

B,ar

12 Mark McCord

Professional & Entertaiment Committee

Comittee Co-conamor: I{tbert van

Health and Golf Wine

Cover Story

Finance Comittee Conuenor: Kate Pound Darvson (Treasurer) Conu

& Announcements

40

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Cover Photographed by Seth McCallister

<w.fcchk.org> THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\IEMBER

-

2OOI

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Photo

Crue AcrruuEs - HnarrH & Gorn

Ullhy WoFkoHt when you Gâ,H wal|tEHrt!

Frem the Fresident eptember 11th, 2001, I suspect for most of us, is a day we will never forgeq a day when we will remember where we were, what we were doing.

Just after 9 p.-. that evening, our Club, in a small way, became a gathering place for those in search of information, solace, or the communion of shared shock and grief.

Dozens of people gathered around the big screen near the Main Bar to watch CNN or in the non-smoking bunker to watch BBC.

As the evening progressed in its horrors, more people came to the Club, either because they did not have cable television at home (Iocal Hong Kong television was painfully late in its coverage), or because they desperately needed a place to share shattered emotions stirred by one of the most deadly series of terrorist attacks in world history.

Many Club members had friends or acquaintances in the financial community in New York, some with ofhces in the World Trade Cenler.

One Club member was heard trying to comfort a tearful young woman as they emerged from the main bar. "I'm sure he is all right," he said. But it would be days, even weeks before some knew for sure.

Others could be heard in the CIub lobby frantically trying to make cell phone calls to the United States.

Jammed circuits frustrated callers for hours. Though thousands of miles from the event, whether we were in

the Club, at home or summoned to work by

the

catastrophe, the 'Attacks on America" as the television channels called them had a profound effect on us all.

hat is likely to happen down at

fundamentalists of Afghanistan. Her reception in Kandahar, the home base of the ruling Taliban, bordered on hostility.

Her visit to a hospital in Kabul was an eye opener on the plight of women. "The women who worked at the hospital were afraid to talk to me, even in private," Lara recalls "they wanted to protect their families and patients." Criticising the Taliban was bound to do both.

Still the female hospital staff could not hide feelings of hopelessness in a nation ruled by Islamic clerics who have confined trained women doctors, lawyers, professionals to their homes to lead unproductive lives.

you that your President heads news operations at. Star and dispatched the team led by reporter Joe Kainz to the land of the Taliban.) Among the team was Club member and producer Lara Hartzenbusch, who came away shocked and saddened by the plight of women. A woman reporter is not easily received by the Islamic 4

I

will find

among the Letters to the Editor comments on

a memo your President dispatched some months ago urging 'Absentee" Members to abide by Club rules.

The letter was described as "offensive" by some.

Others have accused me of being "high handed", "indelicate" and "discourteous".

Your President never intended to cause offence, though an embarrassing "Qpo" in the letter offended grammarians ever).lvhere.

The Club's Board of Governors was simply trying to deal with a problem that has plagued the Club for some time: that is some 'Absentee" Members of the Club were fortunately only a discourteous minority actually spending a good deal of time in Hong Kong,

We are now satisfied the problem has been rectified.

The letter may have had some effect. But if it offended our good and faithful Absent Members, then your humble President humbly apologises.

Jim Laurie THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

2OOI

you'll probably be using about 8-9 K/

most part there are, but in transport-efficient Hong Kong, it is difficult not to ignore the daily options of i parking our backsides or feet on technology that is able to do the work for us.

Staying moderately ht and healthy whilst you're on a circuit of long lunches and evenings at the bar is difficult at the best of times. But there are still ways you can trim the waistline and stay in moderately good shape. \¡Vhether you're a wearer of trousers or skirts, there are some basic principles which will help you stay trim and firm up.

The DailyWalkout

business. You

using Club facilities and not paying their monthly subscriptions like everyone else.

In this issue of The Corresþondent,yow will find some reporting from Afghanistan written before the recent crisis. (See page 29.) A team from Star TV travelled there. (In the interests of full disclosure I must tell

room for a kitchen extension. Well, whatever happens we will still need to shower and also have a bit of space in which to burn off some calories.

However without the use of gyms and fitness centres, are there still ways that we can make fitness fit? For the

aaaaaaaaaaaaa

nd a final bit of Club

Some facts on walking: . If you walk at a brisk pace along a flat level parzement at about 5km/h and you weigh between 120-180 lbs, you'll be using up about 5Klcals per minute. If you go up hill at around the same pace you'll be using about 7 K/cals per minute. If you add a backpack or healy briefcase

the

Health Corner in the Club? There's talk of annexing part of this facility to make

Walking is a form of exercise available for most of us. But modern human legs are not being used enough.

Escalators, elevators, cabs, trains etc. for the most part deprive our legs of needed responsibilities. The simple rule is: where possible, don't use mechanised transport, but instead focus on getting in a greatwalkout. Walking uses energ'y, which means heat is being produced. This in turn means calories are being burnt and as a result the metabolic rate is being pumped up. Even better is the activity of walking up hill and climbing stairs. Ever walked from Central MTR to the FCC? This for a start is an excellent short walkout and it'll help get your heart rate and metabolism up ready for dinner or bar snacking.

cals

per minute.

Walking continuously lor 45 minutes a day will significantly reduce body fat, fat folds and waist girth.

Walking is equally effective as running or cycling in being able to alter your body shape.

There are significantly lower chances of succumbing to injury if one walks for exercise.

Walking can be sociable and group orientated.

Walking is the ultimate endurance exercise. It can be done continuously non-stop for days, weeks and even months at low intensities.

Mark Sharp mark@marksharp.com

Gotrf Notice All

FCCGS notices are sent by e-mail only

these days. Each time I send a message a number

of the

- no doubt where their address. Please update me at jþwakh@jþwalshco.com with any e-mails get returned

members have changed

changes to your email address so that you will

continue to be informed of upcoming events.

Crun Acrrvrrßs - Ben

Spanish \Mine

Every Picture Tells A Story It occurred to me that it's likely that new members are not aware of the rich treasure trove of historic

not an Indian restaurant? It would certainly be more popular than the Chinese restaurant has proved to be.

Sexist Rubbish

photographs that adorn the r'r'all of the FCC. The Hugh van Es classic of the last helicopter flight out of Saigon, the only existing photograph of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek being civil to each othe¡ the fluttering

panish wines are emerging as the equal of those mirabile from France and Italy, while there are dictu actually some French wines available in Hong-Kong that are both good and affordable.

We'll be highlighting these two groups in October and November, along with some culinary accompaniment from the kitchen.

Spain has long had red wines that are world class, such as the wines of the Ribera del Duero district of Rioja, but they've tended to be hugely expensive, and

Fransola, a delightful combination from Miguel Torres of Chardonnay and local Parelada. (Fransola is on our regular list.

One has to pick carefully through French wines to find anything good in the lower price ranges, but again, they do exist and they can be found here. Some of the nicest of these come from southwestern France,

Spanish winemakers have lagged behind their counterparts in ltaly, Australia and Chile in promoting their products to the rest of the world.

The Spanish are learning atrout marketing, however, and some of their more affordable wines, which will sell here in the $175-$325 range, are appearing regularly on the market.

Spanish wines essentially follow the Old World style, being complex, distinctive and made for drinking with food. Some of the best are blends of international and indigenous grapes, such as

few people outside the region have ever heard of but along with such well-known varietals as Syrah anyone who has travelled in that part of France knows that the wines can be thoroughly enjoyable.

We'll be featuring some of these affordable French

each party i completely oblivious of the other, yet separated only by a seven-foot wall. If ever a picture was worth a

the month.

The Guild Takes Off

especially the Languedoc-Roussillon region that curves southward along the Mediterranean and feeds into the east coast of Spain. They tend to be blends of grapes

wines in November, along with the traditional Beaujolais Nouveau promotion in the middle of

laying to rest all speculation about what is worn under the kilt and the marvellously evocative Steve Knipp picture showing tlvo sides of the wall at the Hong Kong Football Club, where expatriate gweilos are sipping cocktails at the poolside whilst on the other side of

that wall over a million outraged Chinese

are

demonstrating about the PIA's brutal suppression

of '

thousand words!

Broadcasters celebrated something or other by going to Macau a couple of weeks ago. A grand lunch was hosted at the Clube Militaire by Ian Smith, the resident host,

Barry Kalb bkalb@asiaonline.net

HK$20,000 (yes that's

for a single chip), you'll

understand why we were not patronising the blackjack tables. Somewhere along the way we celebrated \{arren

Rooke's sixtieth birthda¡ but by that time Tony Lawrence and Hal Archer had tottered off to the ferry and were probably safe abed.

A Gay Bar A number of members

have asked me

if it

was

possible to introduce a gay bar at the FCC. Given that, according to Dr. Kinsey, l0% of males and a rather higher percentage of females are inclined that wa¡ they have a case. Certainly less than l.}Vo of tl:re members (about 150) will ever use a newly renovated eym, so why not? And if we're talking of minorities, why

!

Trade news ... free email trade alerts ... ... market profiles ... and much more, FAST. webcasts topical

,

the rioters in Tiananmen Square

Members of The Guild of Professional Writers and

M

clients both existing and potential. Early on

kilt and knotted buttocks of the Black Watch soldier

and dinner was courtesy of Adriano Pinto Marques, Vice President of The Club Legend. \À4ren I mention that the minimum bet at the gambling tables u'as

/4 ,ttr¿l f*,

A short while ago I was giving a talk to a roomful of lawyers on the importance of communicating with their

in

the

proceedings I set out to define public relations, and quoted from an article in The Sþectator which quoted (Lord) Tim Bell, the London PR guru. Tim had said that PR was not all attractive young ladies with earpieces and clipboards. I added the flippant observation that quite a lot of PR work was indeed carried out by attractive young ladies with earpieces etc. This is in line with my view that in general women do PR better than men, being more meticulous where detail is concerned, better organised and less likely to spend the afternoons falling off a barstool in the FCC. There was a gasp of horror, a shuffling of chairs and serteral young lady lawyers stood up and walked out. Thinking they'd probably all shared the same curry lunch and needed the potty, I plunged on. Afterwards at a postconference drinks pal.ty a number of the lady lanl,ers opined that my talk had been blatantly sexist. Am I missing something or has the world really gone mad?

CelI Phone Menace Like it or not mobile phones are here to stay, so perhaps it's not too early to start dealing with the hysteria which confronts anyone in the bar foolish enough to forget to switch the damn thing off when

entering the Club. Could not those indispensable workaholics, who cannot be out of touch with their ofhces for more than a microsecond or two, deal with this sensitive subject by switching their cell phones to vibrate, and upon feeling that delicious tingle in their trouser pocket that heralds a call, walk to the nearest wall phone, remove their mobile and talk normally into it, therefore causing no more of a fuss than if they were merely answering a call on the main exchange phone?

Ted Thomas corpcom@hk.linkage.com

The vital commun¡cation link...

For further ass¡stance, please contact : Cheryl Le Butt (tel :2584 4501) Winnie Wong (tel : 2584 4390)

^á\æÌËHAÉ+R.Ê Development Council Hong Kong Trade

THE CORRNSPONDENT OCIOBER.NOVEMBER

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Court judgements. Now I

FCC member and freelance journalist Marh McCord found himself a reluctant eyewitness

to history.

of, New York's World Trade Center, the rvorld actually stopped.

I can pinpoint exactly when time seemed to stand still, a moment when equal measures of horror, disbelief, fear and intense sadness overwhelmed our senses, rendering us incapable of reaction: the moment

that the second tower collapsed in an

obscene candelabra of dust, soot, ash, masonry and tr'visted steel.

I watched the sickening events unfold from the corner

of Greenwich Street and Reade Street in

downt<¡wn

six blocks from the doomed skyscrapers.

Manhattan New Yorkers rightly pride themselves on the calm way in which they dealt with the situation, but there can be no shame in admitting that there was chaos in the hour or so between the first plane hitting and the f,rnal tower collapsing. I had seen the second plane hit as I stood at the end of my street in Hoboken, across the Hudson from downtown Manhattan. I took the New Jersey subway to Greenwich Village and edged my way the fastest means of transport south on my bicycle from the buildings around through the city. Evacuees the World Trade Center had already made their way that far north through the stilled streets. They looked shaken but unharmed.

Through the West Village, into SoHo, TriBeCa and

enormous distribution centre sits in the middle of SoHo. I had yet to see a TV news report and still had no idea that hijacked planes had hit the towers. I suspected the first crash had resulted from an inexperienced pilot and the second a helicopter that had been disorientated by the smoke from the north tower. From my vantage point, I couldn't even tell that i¡ v¿¿s obscured by the the second tower was ablaze Suddenly a gasp of smoking hulk of the north tower. horror came up from the hundreds of people who were gathered on the street taking snaps with disposable cameras and filming the carnage on video. As I looked up I saw a spew of debris from behind the north tower as its southern sister began to fall in on itself. Panic set in then. And anger. There were shouts of "Noooooooo.." as the rubble fell and the dust cloud rolled up the street, followed by coughing and

from the radios inside. The only traffic on the move was the police and ambulance vehicles that sped noisily to

the east and the sluggish brown vans of UPS, whose

reached the lower floors and revealed themselves to be

been stopped at angles in the middle of normally busy

-their drivers stood at the open doors, attracting knots of passers-b¡ eager for explanations

streets and

12

The silence that followed was deathly.

THE, CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\¡ION,IBER

2OOI

tl-remselves. Some crouched

seeu enough that morning: as a human, I fèlt I'd seen too much.

When the sirens began again and the police began clearing the area, news came over a nearby radio that the Pentagon had also been hit and that more planes may fall from the sky. I headed west on my bike, and then north, calculating that the Hudson waterfront, with just a few mail-sorting centres and giant warehouses, would not be on the target list. Then I rode and rode and

performance of perversity. Right

r-ode.

before us, no more than a quarter of a mile away, one of the most powerful symbols of New York's economic might simply crumbled. The first buildings that had inspired awe within me, the first skyscrapers I had visited

TFIE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\TIVÍ BER 2001

on the

ground sobbing, others crossed their chests and others knelt prostrate facing east in bobbing prayer. As a journalist, I felt I had

was

upon arriving in the city; the first landmark

More

e\¡acuees streamed b)' sobbing, but this time they $rent unnoticed by the onlookers at my corner, who were now broken and in tears

watching dozens of people hurtle to their death. No training had prepared me for this, nor any life experience.

The world stopped half an hour later. It struck me as odd at the time that I could hear the second building collapse and not the first. The alr'ful reason dawned on me with a sickening punch; the ear-splitting crackle of the first collapse had been masked by sirens that had emergency sirens - by the falling been instantþ silenced debris. So when the second tower fell, it was as if we were given a special

screamrng evacuees.

ithin minutes, the tide of people walking north to safety turned from one of chatting office workers to one of whitesoot covered, lifeless and zombie-like ghosts: Four police ofhcers staggered b¡ supporting each other, hat-less, bloodied and stunned; crying women were led away with their faces buried into the arms of older men; a shoeless woman with a torn red dress limped quickly b¡ mumbling agitatedly to herself; a small Japanese car thick with soot reversed the wrong way up the street weaving dangerously at high speed, the driver twitching and pained.

Feeling sick I could only stare up at the remaining tower. From the gaping wound left by the first plane I saw black flecks fall to the ground. I thought it was furniture or panes of glass. Heavily they rode the breeze, floating like paper on the wind, until they

then the downtown area, the further south I moved, the more surreal the scene became. Entire neighbourhoods had come to a standstill. Cars had

show visitors; the buildings with rvhich anyone who has lived in New York had some relationship, were gone.

been spent in comSt chairs, in safe offices writing on mundane subjects like stock market dips and Crown

to HoFrtoF uch has been said of the world changing on September 11, 2001, but for those who were there watching at close range the attack on, and the ultimate collapse

people grasping desperately at the air. At the edge of the hole I could see more people turning over in their minds the least worst way to die: in the inferno or by leaping the 1,000 feet to the ground below. I consider myself fortunate for not having ever seen a dead body: my career to September 11, 2001, had

I

would

I

have returned to the disaster zone only twice since then, to report on the sah'age operation. Each time, I felt scared and each time I fled as soon as I had what I needed. New York, like the rest of the world, indeed changed that morning. And so did I. I

Dispatches From the

way here as the enormity of this crime sinks in. The only US wars in my lifetime were fought in Asia. This

war will be conducted here. You'll see this country come together in ways we've not seen before. It will affect us in ways we can't yet guess. ednesday, September 12,7224 am: New York in shock yesterda¡ as people poured out

was

Absent Member Jack Maisano was at his desk as publisher of the Asian W all Street Journal Weekly at 45th Street and Avenue of the Americas on that fateful morning of September 11, 2001. His impressions: Ø

o !L

Ø.

"Mahe not Allah an obstacle to guarding against nil....Surely Allah does not loae those who exceed the

limits."

"I don't

T ! n = o

Qur'an

care

if

want him home."

he's missing, I

just

- Ibthy Munoz,

searching for her

missing

4

husband, Francisco

hat you didn't hear in Hong Kong was the sirens screaming all day long and most of the night.

What you didn't smell, unless )'ou lived south of l4th Street in Manhattan, was the air frlled with a funny metallic odor that made your eyes tear.

What you didn't feel was the tension born out of 900 bomb scares. !\¡hat you didn't see was the look of fear and confusion on the faces of normally confident New Yorkers, even those nowhere near ground zero.

The white noise of the World Trade Center atrocity once we had included subway announcements

trains were bleating out which subways again running and which stations they were skipping. Even those safe

from the carnage felt the frustration of

blocked phone calls,

as

providers commandeered some

exchanges for emergency use while others simply cracked under the weight of untold demand.

The immediate fallout included long queues for transportation, barricaded roads and other detours. It also created vistas of open highwal's and avenues where usually there is only gridlock. Drivers along Route 80,

which enters the city from New Jerse;,, saw this revelation: "NEW YORK CITY CLOSED. " 14

on to the streets around Times Square to read the moving news boards and listen to car radios that were blasting out bleak reports. In the office, we checked in and out of rwo rooms with TVs, consoled each other and discussed how to caravan home. One woman lives in Staten Island virtually cut off. By evening, midtown was ghost town.

Wednesda¡ September 12, 7234 am: The New Jersey Turnpike was closed halfivay to Delaware. New York south of 14th Street is offrcially closed.

The financial district is no more. The whole World Trade Center holds 50,000 people, but TV stations have been interviewing people who walked away from the tragedy only by the

twos and threes. The death toll could be fantastic.

Wednesday, September 12, ll:27 am: I can't find Kathleen, who was scheduled to fly out of Newark on Tuesday morning. She may have been planning a last-minute visit to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The TAT is in WTC 1. Her cell phone is shut off, and there's no service to her home. Our associate editor hasn't checked in.

Wednesday, September 12, llz35 pm: Yes, George, I'm okay except for the shock and disbelief in the streets, the suspected gas leak at Grand Central Station, the panic through the streets, the closed avenues, the

There were spontaneous acts of kindness far from the action downtown, such as people giving strangers lifts in their cars. There were hugs and prayer meetings, undisguised grief and a growing sense of resolve.

And all the while was it assistance for the rescue - cosmic laughter? was the effort or uncontrollable most beautiful late summer weather any -September ever offered.

Your loved ones didn't have to be in New York that day to want to reach out to them to make sure they were okay. The sense of danger was palpable. While my wife Tina fielded phone calls at home to let friends and relatives know we were safe, from my midtown off,rce I tried to locate my small editorial team. They were based in the downtown offices of DowJones at the World Finance Center, which is directly across the street from where Tower One once stood and which

Washington Bridge, the four-hour trip home, the sirens, the pictures on TV, the police escort across the bridge to New Jersey, the closed roads, tunnels and bridges, the blocked phone circuits, the black thoughts and blacker deeds, the hundreds of heroic cops and frre frghters crushed under rubble, the pictures of people flying through the air from the top floors of the WTC, the evacuated offices of DowJones, the tears, the shredded lives and the retribution and recrimination yet to come. New York is an island, but the US will never

was evacuated at 9 a.m.

be an island again.

Over the next few days, with phones unreliable at best, e-mail provided one way of staying in touch. Here are parts of a few I sent out: Tuesday, September ll, 11:33 pm: Nothing will erase the horror of this day. New York is too shocked to weep. Stella (from Hong Kong) just called, cr,ying at the senseless cruelty of it all. Those tears will wash their THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\¡EìVIBER

2OOI

packed train, the bomb scare at the George

Thursday, September 13, 12:15 am: It's been a stressful and depressing, and now sickening and infuriating, week. We found Kathleen. She never took off from Newark, but decided to stay and wait for another flight who knew at that point how long it would be? As -a colleague said, 'A very short list of people unaccounted for thankfully became one name THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

2OO1

shorter." My cousins live in the neighbourhood of the attacks, and their kids go to school there. When the news first hit, their grandmother, who lives a few blocks just in north, ran to their school to get them out time to watch the second tower get hit. Eight -years old, and they have to see this. Other kids below eight have been insisting to their parents that the "buildings weren't open yet and therefore there were no people in them." It breaks your heart. Some friends saw the second plane hit and the towers go down. You can tell from their voices that they haven't fully processed it yet.

Thursday, September 13, 6:51 pm: Khun Vasana, a long-time friend from Thailand and now the director of the Thai Board of Investment in New York, was arriving at work at WTC 1 as the second plane was crashing above. She must have been sprayed with jet fuel and burning debris. She is in Bellevue Hospital covered in second-degree burns. She

is lucky she got away before the buildings came down. Today there were more bomb threats all over town, each one taken seriousl¡ and the town has an unusual nonNew York sort of edge to it. Not only are rescuers becoming exhausted; apparently they're wearing out the noses of the dogs as well. There is no end to the human sagas, missing

persons, lines of people with pictures looking hopefully for lost relatives, and additional scares of

collapsing buildings and additional attacks. Tomorrow is a nationwide candlelight memorial. Perhaps then we can weep. And then we can begin to heal.

aturda¡ September 15, 10227 am:

The outpouring of support from all over the world is one of the things that has got us through this week. More than physical needs, this country is in need of moral and spiritual support. Political and investigatory responses are grati4ring to see from our allies and are the international equivalent of the rescue work being conducted at the disaster site: necessary, appreciated and brave. The idea that fìremen from Australia would volunteer to come all the way over to help and that people in Sydney are donating blood to give to people in New York is incredibly moving and a testament to the friendship and shared values of Australians and Americans. There are people of many nationalities that were lost and injured. None deserved this fate. Unity in grief, in mutual support and in resolve is what is getting us through. Your heart-felt message means more than you can know. I thought I'd lost my editor. She was worried about her assistant, who in turn was worried about her.

Mutual concern has created a network of wobbly strength. Purpose will pump blood into that network. I

15

till could not reach m1' family in New York using both mv mobile and calling cards.

Results rvere the same for everyone else around the bar. Circuits were busy and no one could get an international line.

David O'Rear and a party of colleagues arrived from

dinner. I just pointed him to the screen. He watched in stunned silence lor a minute or two.

Andy Choworowsky was at home for serial Tuesday when the news started to be flashed on the local TV

The terrible events of Tuesday, September 1 1, are now part of the way we view the world. For American and Associate Member Walter Kent, retired from the Chase Manhattan Bank, being at the FCC as events unfolded showed the importance of our Club as a gathering place at times like these. His chronicle: uesday evening started

others.

I

out much like many

watched the TV news at home and

arrived at about 8.30 p.m., grabbed

a

newspaper and settled down with a bottle of San Mig. About 8:50 p.m., James the barman came over and said, "Walter, breaking news on CNN. \Arhat building is that?" Looking at the corner monitor at the rear of the Main Bar, I saw the upper portion of a building on f,rre.

the screen. \A4rile watching, I was talking with Paul of my most recent visit to New York in May about lowfl1,ing planes around over lower Manhattan and the harbour shooting footage for ads and TV commercials.

I said that maþe one of those hit the north tower.

Within minutes and to our horro¡ a second plane flashed in from the right side of the screen, was momentarily out of sight, and then slammed into the south tower. All we could see was the resulting hreball.

Paul shouted toJake, "Get over here." And the crowds started to gather.

At first it was a trickle of people from other parts of the Club and then became a deluge

as

word passed around at the nearby eateries, while others came who didn't want to stay isolated at home.

Meanwhile, I used my mobile to call a friend at his Hysan Avenue ofhce and told him what was happening and did he want to come to the FCC. It soon became apparent that everyone else who had access to this news was doing the same thing. Within minutes, fellow members started pouring in.

The news spread so quickly, that with my next call minutes later to contact my brothers in Queens and Brooklyn, either the New York or the international telephone circuits were already bus¡ and I could not get through.

From that distance

hen I went back to the screen, the

initially

conversations had shifted to the possibility of terrorist activity, which was confirmed a short while later with the crash of a third

I saw it was very tall and box¡ and thought it was the Sears Tower in Chicago ....walked over to a now gathering group for a closer look, and saw it was New York's World Trade Center.

Went back to my beer on the bar, withJames and head barman Andrew waiting, and told them what it was. Andrew must have sensed my feelings, and on the move quickly asked: "Turn on the big screen and sound?"

I went to the Club entry area and listened for about two minutes, and heard "building hit by an airplane".

Paul Balfield and Jake van der Kamp were chatting in front of the pantry area so I grabbed both to come to 16

I

aircraft into the Pentagon in Washington.

People continued to pour in.

Called my working friend again at his offrce with news of the third hit. He was trying without any response to get CNN on the net. When I described to him the unfolding events, he told me that his company deals with companies that have offices in WTC, and the news would be too sad to watçh. He would go home THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\,T,MBER

2OOI

stations, none of which changed their regular programming to bring coverage. Andy was soon in the club.

Andrew Perrett was in Delaney's in Wanchai with the usual sports channels on when his brother Martin (they are both Club members) called with the news.

With some disbelief, Andrew got the management staff to tune the screens to CNN. The bar went quiet, and the music was turned off. Andrew was also soon in the club.

Allen Youngblood and his group could be heard playing down in Bert's. It soon went quiet, and Allen came upstarrs.

Nigel Binnersley and wife Debbie were at home for a quiet evening when they received a call from a good friend in Bangkok, who knew they' could not get TV reception at home. They listened to the BBC for a few minutes, and then made for the club. Nigel's firm has an office in lower Manhattan a few blocks from the WTC complex.

And so the evening went. The initial 30 or so people around the Main Bar at B:30 p.m. that evening was now about 300. \Arhile some people had to return to their offìces, most didn't move for the next three or four

till 3:00 a.m.

Mobile phones were busy all around the bar, people trying to call friends, family, their bosses and staff, or their workplace. Phone rules went out the window as people stood there watching while trying to get through. Occasionally someone did get through to have short very emotional conversations. Everyone understood and provided what comfort they could. Just being among friends seemed to help. hours. Some of us stayed

I, like many people around the bar that night, never did get to eat dinner.

Keith Shakespeare heard the news at a restaurant on Lantau, phoned the FCC for confirmation apparentl¡ and then got on the next ferry back.

The evening was not without its incidents. Two individuals separately made offensive and uncalled for remarks. Both were quickly put in their place, with the most vocal one quickly leaving under a hail of "get out" shouts.

There was very little talk around the bar of the potential economic impact of the events we were witnessing. Though one person tracking the news monitors commented that insurance underwriters were taking a dive.

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\'Eì\,{BE,R

2OOI

Everyone was focused on what they rvere seeing. For most, shock prevailed over sadness and anger at this

early stage. Hugs and comforting gestures were the order of the day no matter r.t ho you were. The world is now often described as a village, and our village was solidly together that night. Our bar and restaurant staff members were equally as concerned with the unfolding events.

I finally made telephone contact with two of my brothers in New York at 4:30 a.rn. and 5 a.m. the next da1', and my sister in Boston b)' e-mail. All family members are okay. My concern now is with people I may know in the neighbourhood, where my extended family has lived for more than 100 years. It is a mixed white-collar/blue-collar Brooklyn neighbourhood located about 20 minutes by subway from the financial district, with most people of Irish and Italian descent.

Many from the area work in the fìnancial district, and quite a few are policemen and firemen. A few whom I know work in stations located in lower Manhattan. as do many of my former Chase colleagues.

left New York City to work overseas in 1967 before the WTC was built, and ha'r'e been to the upper floors only twice, durirg visits, when Chase had a floor or two housing its international operations and systems management. That unit relocated across the river to the bank's new operations centre in Brooklyn in the mid-l990s. I never visited Windows on the World. I

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17

_T

represented a quantum leap in the history of

hijacks. "The goal posts have not only changed, they are on a different field."

Gilchrist stressed he was talking about a possibility rather than a probability of attacks

in this region on the same horrendous scale as the assaults in the United States, but spelled out in detail why they could occur. lle cited three components necessary for such a

monumental and well-planned assault.

"Firstly you need a target that symbolises what the perpetrators are trying to attack.

That's why the World Trade Center was so important as a q.'rnbol of Western economic might. You need to have that symbol or target in a location where it's going to get maximum publicity, where you have a free press that can report on that and pass the message around the world."

Panel #1 on terrorism (l-r) lVtary Kay Carlson, Alice N/oore, lan Gilchrist and Harry Godfrey

i

he second requirement is a

Terrorism, Aviation and Security was the subject of an FCC panel discussion. The participants were Ian Gilchrist, Director of Operations Asia for Hill & Associates, who is a specialist in airline security; Harry Godfrey, Managing Director of Kroll Associates (Asia) who is a former Special Agent with the FBI who headed the Los Angeles-based Joint Task Force on Terrorism and Crisis Management Center; Alice Moore, Consular Section Chief at the US Consulate-General responsible for protection and safety of US citizens, and Mary I{øy Carlson who heads the American Citizens Services lJnit at the consulate. Jonathan Sharp reports: ould the cataclysmic events that shook the 'Unit.d States to the core on September 11 I-1

\-,4

happen in Asia?

"I think the answer to that is a resounding 'Yes'," was the emphatic and unequivocal view of aviation security

specialist Ian Gilchrist who was among

a rapidly

assembled panel to discuss the aftermath of the disaster.

Gilchrist, Director of Operations Asia at risk

18

management services frrm Hill & Associates, has ample qualifications to discuss safety in aviation: as a former Hong Kong police officer he commanded the Airport Security Unit at Kai Tak Airport and spent nine years working at the International Civil Aviation Organisation, when he inspected 90-odd airports in more than 60 countries He said the attacks on New York and Washington THE CORRTSPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

2OO1

democratic i society where individual rights are upheld and where law enforcement agencies are constrained by rules of procedure. "Terrorism flourishes in an open, democratic society and tends to wilt in a repressive society."

Thirdly and mostly importantl¡ Gilchrist said, terrorist attackers needed to camouflage themselves by immersing in a support group of similar race, language and religion. Terrorist organisations that are capable of mounting such attacks are organised in a cellular structure whereby the people who plan the target and perhaps provide the weaponry are kept totally separate from the actual assault team, which is typically briefed at the last moment.

All these three ingredients for a successful attack apply "to virtually all of the major states within the AsiaPacific region," Gilchrist said. 'T am convinced that there is every possibility, every availability, of an attack like this occurring within the Asia-Pacific."

Painting an alarming picture of wildly varying levels of airport security, he said he had visited airports where

of high cost. (Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department has now ordered Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair to keep cockpit doors closed and locked while in fiighQ. He drew laughter at an otherwise muted occasion when he listed safety measures that sound far-fetched, but had been seriously considered. These included installing systems that sprayed gas to knock out passengers, but not the sealed flight crew, in the event of a commotion on board, or even having hypodermic syringes spring out of the seats.

Gilchrist wants to see more attention paid to screening notjust passengers but also security staff who

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security was "a complete farce".

"I have never been to one single airport that fully complies with all the aviation security standards."

He spoke of the draconian and expensive steps - in the air and- on the needed to tighten security both ground, not just in the United States but elsewhere.

"It's not a simple silver bullet that's going to fix it.

What's certain is that it's not going to be fixed overnight and it's not going to be a cheap solution."

A central issue was access to the flight deck, as achieved by the hijackers on September 11. Gilchrist said recommendations had been issued about ensuring that the cockpit door is closed and locked

and also of armouring and bulletproofing

a

bulkhead separating the cockpit from the rest of the aircraft. But it was only u ,.ìo-.n.nd,ation, which airlines had previously not implemented on grounds IHE CORRESPONDENT OCTOßER-NO\TMBER

2OO1

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often work on minimal wages with poor training for private companies that win airport contracts by submitting the lowest bids. Such workers frequentþ switch jobs. 'You will be amazed at how high the rotations of staff through such companies are. It's almost considered like temporary work in a lot of the Western world."

ilchrist, apologising for hogging

the microphone, called for a multi-national task force to look at security standards across the globe with the power to apply sanctions under which countries forbid their airlines to fly to airports that do not meet those standards or fail to follow up on safety

"It would be nice if we had databases where we could keep control over everybody. Unfortunately in a country like the United States of America, for example, if you attempted something like that you would have every civil liberties organisation complaining about Big

Kroll Associates' Managing Director, Harry Godfre¡

Brother looking over your shoulder." He said the disaster scenario of hijacked aircraft spearing into buildings may have been on every contingency plan, but low on the scale of probability - at least until now.

Panel members offered a variety of advice about

an ex-FBI agent said that while the debate was

commonsense precautions for companies and individuals

recommendations.

centering on aviation security, there was another side to the safety equation. He said that clearly security topics must be addressed, but should not focus just on whether to strengthen protection of potential targets such as government buildings, offìces and schools.

"I think the primary focus should be on the other

side of the equation: where has this threat come from? How can not just the United States, but a coalition address that threat and help the security of

the United States and the rest of the world

conducted by the security firm Pinkerton, which asked corporate security directors in the Asia-Pacifìc region what they thought were the biggest potential threats to their companies' operations, placed 'terrorism' and 'kidnapping,/extortion' at equal 23rd, just below 'sexual harassment'. That survey was for the year 2000. The rankings for 2001 and beyond are obviousþ set to change.

by

eliminating the threat? " Asked why one should have faith in US intelligence services after a catalogue of lapses, Godfre¡ who spent 26 years with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, acknowledged that there had been a history of such examples. 'I¡Ve are still debating December 7,1941" theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Gilchrist took issue with the suggestion that the September 11 attacks necessarily represented a failure by the US intelligence community, for example in the case of suspects on a security watch-list being able to buy air tickets in their own names without being questioned or apprehended.

20

to take in light of the latest attacks. Above all complacency has to be guarded against. A survey

lice Moore of the US Consulate General, which closed briefly to review security following the I Iseptember 11th attacks, urged Americans and other expatriates in Hong Kong "not to be a stranger to

A A

your own consulate" and to register. "After that go about your own life."

"Regardless of what you think about government officials, we are here to serve you in the consulates and we won't know where you are or who you are unless you tell us. It's a whole new situation out there in the world. We all need to think of things differentl¡ but in tþe end, behave differently, act differentþ not to be defeated." I THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOWMBER

2OO1

T o o

How do the people reporting on a tragedy such as happened in the United States on September 11th çop. with the horrific events they are covering, up close, hour after hour, day after day? Chris Cramer, president of CNN International Networks, explains:

T T T J o o

lffii

bout of reporting the New York and Washington terrorist attacks. Elsewhere, on CNN, several correspondents broke down in tears as they reported the aftermath. CNN had, in fact, already deployed counsellors to work with editorial and production staff who were feeling the effects of the trauma.

The issue of traumatic stress in the ranks of the media is a controversial one. Only in the past year have organisations such as the BBC, CNN, the Freedom

Forum and the Rory Peck Trust taken to funding research into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among war correspondents and those who work with them. The terriSring carnage in America has now given them thousands more journalists to study what we

could now call the urban war correspondents.

By and large despite their apparent intellect members of the media have up to now believed they are immune from what they cover. They sally forth in their thousands each year to cover hostilities and disturbances, the world over, safe in the belief that they cannot be touched mentally or physically by the - safety - Then they return to the mayhem around them. of their homes and their families and pick up where they left off.

The majority of the media industry is in denial over the existence of PTSD, as it pertains to them, and has only in recent years accepted the most basic of thinking

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

2OO1

when it comes to preparedness for what many of them

do on a regular basis.

I speak from bitter experience, or in common parlance I have a victim's eye view. In 1980, I was briefly a hostage in the Iranian embassy in London. I was there to take delivery of a visa to visit Tehran on behalf of the BBC, where a large number of other hostages had been seized by Iranian Revolutionaries inside the US embassy. It was a masterpiece of bad timing as, within minutes of arriving inside the building in Princes Gate in Kensington, it was stormed by six lraqi-backed terrorists from a disputed border region in Iran.

Before the siege was broken six days later by Britain's Special Air Services, the gunmen had killed one hostage and were threatening to murder another each hour before blowing the building up and all of us with it. On the second da¡ I faked a heart attack to get 21

out. Back at the BBC my bosses offered me counselling. Another suggested I went out that night and

do that keeps them immune from

unnatural at best and dangerous

got drunk, got laid and got back to work the following day. I passed on the counselling and chose the latter and now know how wrong I was.

I went through many years ol hell, I lo. the most parl concealing this I t..r,rr all those around me. I I .ouron t traver In planes, rn elevators, on escalators. Couldn't go to restaurants, cinemas or theatres.

My problem was typical. I was

at worst.

D=: -l æi-

nerve. Afraid I juicy assignments.

These days I am much wiser and better understand that journalists

cannot be immune from the stories armoured

moment's thought. There virtually no acknowledgement

!

my would lose those

the flak jackets they wear and

vehicles

RTHK reporter and FCC Board member Francis Moriarty was on the road in the US again, this time with the Chief Secretary Donald Tsang, when America was attacked on September 11th. His report:

I find it most curious that in the US of all places, where grief counsellors were invented, most people in the media haven't, until fairly recently, given it a

afraid to admit I had lost

they cover

Report fnom Gnound leFo

what they experience, and to deny it and think otherwise is

the they may travel in are not effective

protection against mental and emotional stress.

At the BBC in the early 1990s, managers introduced confidential counselling for staff and training for managers to spot the effects of PTSD. Itwas and still is very controversial. Now organisations - similar schemes in place.

-such as CNN have But frequentl¡ BBC and CNN bosses are told by their staff that "real" men or women don't need the counselling. Many reject the "r'ictim" belief and continue to deal with their pain in more conventional ways, sometimes through drink or drugs. It has taken the media industry far too long to realise that it is perfectly natural for journalists just like other folk to feel the effects of trauma.

There is nothing particular about the work that they

is

all within most of the industry that PTSD exists among their ranks, even though counselling for the armed forces and police and fire personnel and has been for years. is routine - needs to wake up to The media PTSD as worthy of debate. And there should be an open-minded acceptance that members of the profession are more than likely to be affected by the stories and conflicts they cover. Media bosses need to recognise that and take steps to provide voluntary counselling for staff at every level. and confìdential The grotesque attack on urban America on September 11th, and the obvious effects on our staff, should have brought it to our attention again. I Chris Cramer is president of CNN International Netuorhs and chairman of News Couerage Unlimited, a new charity set uþ to heþ members of the media deal with the \ingering fficß of uitnessing horrific trauma. Neus Couerage Unlimited can be contacted at info@neus couerage.org.

'fhis article includes

extracts

from Sharing the

Front Line and the Back Hills þublished by Baywood Publishing Inc of Amityttille, New Yorh (

boue all, there is the smell. Don't ask uhat it smells of. No smell is like it. Long beþre )ou see

at

baywood@bayuood. com )

1

the grey cloud rising and shrouding

i/

ì

¡

shyscraþers

oun breath and it's so

strong,

Washington, a 10 a.m. meetints- at the Capitol with Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Donald will leave in the morning at 8 a.m. Good thing, as it turns out, he's on

that smell, concentrating

in

a shuttle,

ouer m) nose

and

I can smell my

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financial

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hours of a Monday evening on the last night they stand intact. They would soon disappear into a six-inch-deep carpet of ash, a first glimpse of atomic winter. I take the picture at a happy moment. Donald Tsang has just broken a champagne bottle on the side of the rented ferrl', bedecked for a month in "Brand Hong Kong" colours, and now he's working the crowd. So is Selina Chow, our tourism czar, who's telling people that New York City and Hong Kong are so alike they are "mirror images". By morning this speech will be binned fore't'er, along with the of the released a day earlier promotional photo - of the - sailing directþ in front Brand Hong Kong boat World Trade Center.

It's nearly midnight Monday atJFK airport and my THF, (]ORRF-SPONDF,NT OCTOBF,R-NO\}ìMRF,R

not a long-haul.

journos at the Hong Kong

- incinerated computer taste of Lermi nak, insulntion, lurniture, asbestos, carþets, windows, construction materiak and, of course, bodies cremated uhole or in þart b1 the thousands.

I

i i f i

There is a bus waiting for

uaþours and now forming inLo a taste the indescribably foul

district. The picture shows the

Looking for a souvenir of the Club?

Disable Lighters Zippo Lighters

the the

detonation area, well beþre you reach the no-go barricades blockins off dozens ol city þ166¿s, there is already that smell i,n your nostrils and the burn in your eyes.

I am wearing a surgical mash uith a piece of uire that folds

the foot of the

THE FCC SHOP

around "ground zero",

American Airlines flight is scheduled to leave. But when I climb into the propeller-driven plane and feel the runway disappear it is after 2 a.m. Shit. I should stay in New York, like Donald, sleep decentl¡ get up and take an early flight. But I want to be sure I'm there earl;', detr'¡ want to miss the kickoff of Tsang's trip to

2OO1

Economic and Trade Office on 18th Street NW. I arrive at 8:50. The SCM Post's Greg Torode is already there. He's talking to someone on his phone. "Sorry, I won't be able to stay," he sa1's. Someone has just crashed a plane into the World Trade Center. There's a silence and a voice says flatly 'You're joking." No, he is not joking. The receptionist has small TV about the size of a wallet on her desk; three of us stare, horrified, as a second plane hits the second tower. I think: That's it, the Cheney meeting is impossible. We keep waiting for Donald who, I hgure, is now working the phones.

'm dialing to my desk at RTHK. Getting through is slow Mobile trafhc is jammed, overwhelmed.

Land lines are not much better. It's night time in Hong Kong and I reach the sub. Do they know?

Yes, a news wire flash. I say I'll file, but it may be a long time before I can get another call in or out. Flave to see what Donald does, says. They keep showing the WTC attack f'ootage on the little TV. The signal shifts and the image blurs and moves and it's even more surreal. I glance out the window and see a few people pass by. I am thinking about reaction: The story is in New York but I have.iust left there. I put my microphone next to 23

Lafayette Park is reopened and tourists are getting tickets to tour the \Ahite House, all semblance of

the TV and record what's being said. Then I put in one earphone and listen to local radio, switching attention back and forth, taking notes.

Iä'

The Pentagon too? Yes, just coming in. I notice something odd about the people outside. Everyone is walking in the same direction. Away from downtown. I grab mv recorder and go to work in the street. Tsang,

meanwhile,

is being evacuated from his

hotel

overlooking the \A4rite Flouse.

Filing is a catastrophe. My wireless network is useless. The land line is nearly as bad; when I manage to get through to the studio there is no one to pick up the call. Suddenly my phone rings; an acquaintance in Hong Kong. She cannot reach her colleagues working on the WTC's 90th floor. Am I safe? I am somehow surprised by the question though it turns out to be just the first of many calls and e-mails asking that question.

I am handed a statement by the Chief Secretary for

Administration, saying pretty much all that could be said. It's almost an hour before I can get through to report it live.

What follows are images and moments: flags at halÊmast; National Guardsmen in fatigues taking over the city; the smouldering Pentagon viewed from a distant service station; people queuing outside the Washington Post to buy copies of its 50,000-run special edition; police and Guardsmen throwing a cordon around the \À4:rite House; a homeless person sapng his mother works in a building adjoining the WTC and he can onl¡ reach her answering machine; emergency sirens constant wail in response to bomb hoaxes; growing lines outside airline offices; presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer telling reporters in the White House briefing room, two days after the attacks, that the risk had now subsided signifìcantly outside,

normality returned but the next day the park's - around is extended to its closed, the no-go zone furthest point and we are told the \A¡hite Flouse and Air Force One may also have been targets.

A few days pass: the hotel staff is thinning out; one says that soon those who still have jobs will work only two-day shifts. National Airport is closed indefinitely and I am among the stranded. Washington by now is becoming a political and diplomatic stor¡ and no one is calling the Pentagon effort a rescue operation. I try as everyone does to imagine the mood inside that building; it must be ugly. From somewhere I remember that during World War II, Congress appropriated the money to build the Pentagon on condition that when peace came, it would be used as a veterans hospital. \Arhen I fìnally do leave for New York, I am among those who account for a 60% jurnp in Amtrak's ridership.

In New York, the rescue effort goes on at the World Trade Center, now Ground Zero. I spend hours approaching it from every side, talking to rescuers, volunteers, families. Nothing on television, no picture in the papers, prepares anyone for what we confront at the site. It is simpll¡ an enormous pile, dark and smoking, occasionally bursting into flame, too large for the mind's grasp. A rwisted steel crematorium resting nine storeys high. hen I return to my room I glance at my feet. My shoes are coated in whitish powder. Soot sticks to me everylvhere; something struggles to be expelled from my lungs. I rub the ashes between my fingers and think

is the Anticipation protect¡on ultimate

the unavoidable: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. I have been breathing this stuff, ashes of things, ashes of victims, ashes of perpetrators. It's inside

me, inside anyone who inhales it. Inside all of us, maybe, because what has happened is part of our atmosphere, informing the air we breathe.

The leadership of your company has a dìrect influence on ìts share price and bottom line and yet the protecti0n and assislance provided to these assets is often less than ideal

The sun is rising outside my hotel window. As far as nature's concerned, it will be a beautiful day. I rinse my mouth, flush my sinuses and begin to hle. I

Pr0tecting these indíviduals with an anticipation of lhe threals, remOval 0f potentìal dangers and the prevention of unnecessary disrupti0ns, ¿llows them to focus on key issues with a mrnimum ol distraction or diskess T l

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24

THF, CORRESPONDENT O(]TOBER-NO\¡EMBF,R 2OOI HONGKONG\SHANGHAIiGUANGZHOU\BEUING\l!¡UMBAl,\NEWDELHI,\TAlPAl\NEWYOBK^JAKABTAÀKUALALUI\¡PUB\PENANG\S|NGAPOflE.rT0KY0,\BANGKOKIl\,'lANlLA

T_

A Financier's View

A Pentagolt Per$pectiue

Financial guru turned philanthropist, George Soros still strikes fear in hearts of many. Jonathan Sharp reports on his FCC appearance. cU p =

Flowever Soros believed that the current crisis could eventually be seen just as a bad episode. He noted that

terrorist organisations in Germany and Italy had in recent decades reared their ugly heads and then faded from view, and he thought the present disaster would pass if we "use our heads".

He also saw some positive fallout in the form of President George W. Bush's government moving away from unilateralist policies. "After the bombing they are reaching out and seeking to build alliances. I think that's

New style Financier George Soros flanked by president Jim Laurie (left) and Professional Committee convenor Thomas Crampton answers questions from Hong Kong and Bangkok

very healthy development. " The US government realises that it cannot act high-handedly on its own.

"I am often accused of being a utopian idealist by advocating a global society. But I think the idea of global hegemony is a more utopian idea because it is a

John Corbett, FCC Life Absent Member who departed Hong Kong for a Pentagon desk in 1998, wrapped rp three decades of service in the IJS At-y on September 10th. He was at home enjoying his first day of retirement when terror struck Washington, DC. Col

eflecting on the terrible events that transpired on September 11th, the first thought that comes to mind is how incredible the entire terrorist atlack was that lateful morning.

I was not in the Pentagon. It was my good fortune to have completed the mpiad of administrative minutiae surrounding retirement from the US Army after nearly 30 years of service. I wrapped up the last details late in the afternoon on Monda¡ September 10th. For me iti my desk clear, my was a nostalgic time

1

farewells said, my responsibilities handed over.

for one nation to dominate the world. I

turned in my treasured building pass that

think that these tragic events have brought this home to America." But asked if he saw reasons for optimism for the global economy in the next year or so, Soros

allowed me to bypass the ever-present and, from

replied: "Not much."

He said that while the prevailing view was that the globaì economy was heading into a V-shaped decline

nerves, not cause panic.

At an FCC dinner packed to the rafters and linked for the f,rrst time by live videophone to the Foreign

and recover¡ the big question was how far

I was working at home Tuesday morning when the television broadcast a news special reporting a mysterious explosion at the World Trade Center. Already glued to the tube, moments later, as the announcer attempted to explain the situation, a second plane slammed into the other tower and disappeared in a spectacular explosion. Watching, it was hard to determine if this was real or a new Hollyrvood disaster f,rlm. Sadly, it was real. No one yet understood that this was not a freak accident but a deliberate terrorist attack.

But there was more. The cameras switched to confusion in Washington. The station I was watching had a camera in a fìxed position showing the Old Executive Offrce Building with clouds of black smoke billowing in the background, possibly from the \A¡hite House. Amid initial speculation, a call came in reporting a massive explosion in the Pentagon. Then came confirmation that a third passenger airplane had crashed into the south side of the building. And then came clarity that these were intentional hijackings with suicide attacks. Tom Clancy's novel was coming to life.

Like the rest of the world, I helplessly watched. My former office and those of most of the military's senior leadership were on the side opposite from the impact area. There was some relief knowing those were not critical concerns. The announcers tried to set the scene and speculate on who occupied the crash site. Others familiar with the layout of the Pentagon realised the impact was along the line between the concluding construction of one segment of the building and the

Correspondents' Club Thailand steered away from jumping to

of an end to the world

in

Bangkok, Soros

apocaþtic conclusions

as we know

it, although

he

the economy would come back after the slump.

Questioned about reports that the attackers may have sought to make money by short-selling certain key stocks, such as those of United Airlines and American Airlines whose planes were hijacked on September 11,

it

was conceivable but highly unlikely,

stressed that what happened now depended very much

Soros said

on how we reacted to the attack.

There was no set speech, as is normal at FCC professional lunches and dinners. Rather, Soros sat around a small table with members of the Board and answered questions from Hong Kong and Bangkok through a videophone line provided by Polycom.

Soros warned against succumbing to "animal

because such activity can be traced by authorities such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which regularly scans transactions to see if there are susprclous patterns.

instincts" in hitting back at the perpetrators of the assault. "If we react to it in arry way in kind, then in fact we are in a downward spiral," he said. !\¡hile by no means playing down the perils stemming from the assaults, he countenanced patience and steady nerves in rooting out the organisation behind the attacks, a task that could take several years against a group that had exhibited tremendous planning ability.

There was a real danger of over-reacting and retaliating in a way that provoked a backlash in Islamic countries and the overthrow of moderate governments by fundamentalists. In the case of Pakistan, he said, if President Pervez Musharraf were ousted by fundamentalists, then the fundamentalists would have their hands on atomic weapons.

26

I

år.,j.i:'åï

(Rumours persist aboutvarious terrorist organisations profrting from their work. American authorities are

trying to trace the money side of the September operation

as

well

as

11

having a new look at regulations to

stem money-laundering. Newspaper reports also indicated that investigations were also going on in France regarding possible short-selling.)

Soros steadfastly declined to make forecasts about future currency movements, particularly the Yen or the Hong Kong dollar peg to the US dollar, but had this advice for what small investors should do with their money in the face of low interest rates for savings and tumbling stock prices: keep it in cash. I THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\EMBER

2OO1

Ø

I

any a central banker may have trembled at the pronouncements of George Soros in the past, but the billionaire financier's current message to the world in general, and to the Bush Administration in particular, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks is calculated to calm

impossible

beginning of the next phase. It was in the heart of Army and Nar,y staff workspaces. With luck, the area might be lightly occupied. But it took days to know The uncertaintywas agonising for those on the outside.

One can only guess the pain of the families who quickly realised their loved ones were in the impact zone.

There was small consolation that the area was not fully occupied, but small consolation was all the tragic events of the day offered. oJ

o o

the perspective of Monday, seemingly unnecessarily

T !

T J ô o

intrusive security guarding the building.

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\¡EMBER

2OO1

rom the outside the scene was chaos. The inside surely was hell. Within minutes the hrst casualties were being pulled out. Police, firemen, soldiers, all pitched in selflessly. officers and civilians - in soot and ash, were Even general off,rcers, covered oblivious of visible helping victims out of the inferno a the danger and of the cameras. A friend of mine general was in the Army section of the impact area, one inside ring removed from the pointwhere the nose of the aircraft stopped. He and those around were blown out of their chairs and engulfed in flames and smoke. Two days later when he was finally conhrmed to have survived, he responded to my e-mail saying: "Fortunate to be here. Discipline, teamwork, and courage of those involved, including our great civilian work force, would make you proud."

Greatly understating the heroics of many that da¡ my friend's statement encapsulates the soldier ethic and inner strength that serves this nation so well I

27

Legitmate Targets?

"Af gh,â,nistîn,

for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Islam of the terrorist attacks on the US? AzmatAli Ranija, Pakistan's Consul-General, Joe l{ainz, \¡Vhat are the implications

Panel #2 on terrorism (l+) AzmaI Ali Raníja and Joe Kainz

Star TV correspondent who was recently in Afghanistan, and Mohamed Yoonus, former Vice President of the International Islamic Society of Hong Kong discussed the issu e. V G Kulkarni reports

ith American

reprisals against the recent airborne terror attacks in New York and Washington almost a certainty, what would be the implications for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Islam? That was supposed to be the weighry topic of

measures in their six-year rule, including oppression of

discussion at the second FCC panel on terrorism, but it turned out to be a lecture on Pakistan's role in its hapless neighbour, Afghanistan.

of violence by misguided extremists. Mohamed Yoonus,

Pakistan's consul general in Hong Kong, Azmat Ali Ranjha, made a spirited, albeit low-key, defence of his country's involvement in the Afghan conflict over the

past two decades and more. \AIhile reiterating his government's commitment to fighting international terrorism and support of the US, he stressed that joining the new coalition against terror was one of the most difficult decisions Islamabad had to make.

Pakistan's dilemma is rooted in the history and geography of the region. Ranjha recounted that the people of the Northwestern region of Pakistan have had historical ties of ethnicit¡ language and culture with their Pashtun or Pathan brethren in Afghanistan.

During the colonial rule, the British demarcated an arbitrary border to separate the British Indian empire from Afghanistan. The so-called Durand Line divided

the third panelist and a former vice-president of the International Islamic Society of Hong Kong, said that Islam preaches peace and "even one killing amounts to killing the whole of humanity." an the war against such misguided terrorists, whose reach is almost global, be won? Consul-

General Ranjha was emphatic: "War against

terror is winnable." In the specific context of Afghanistan, can the USled coalition win in its stated

aim of capturing Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind, and punishing the regime that is harbouring him? Panelist Kainz replied: "Only if local

Afghans are involved in the fight can the US win."

Kainz also pointed out the Taliban are divided,

the people of that region, but Pakistan cannot but have Afghanistan, he added.

Iran. But Pakistan has consistently opposed

an abiding interest in the "political stability" of After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan willinglyjoined the Americanled effort to oust the Soviets. After the Cold War was over, the West pulled out and left the Afghans to their prolonged civil \^¡ar among several tribes and ethnicities. Pakistan assisted the Pashtun-dominated Taliban. "\i\¡hat other choice did we have?" Ranjha wondered. "The allies fthe

Westl walked awa¡ we had no such luxury; Pakistan alone stood by them fthe Taliban]."

The Taliban have brought peace and order to a country racked by armed conflict, he said a point also made by panelistJoe Kainz of Star News- Asia (See

Kainz's story on page 29). But the Taliban's harsh

A team from Star News Asia's recently spent 2 å weeks touring five cities in Afghanistan. They emerged with a rare look at life under the Taliban government. Correspondent and FCC

minorities and women, have been widely condemned by the rest of the world.

They have also been criticised for their uniquely narrow interpretation of religion, which has led to acts

implying the prospect of some moderates splitting from the top leadership. The dominant ethnic group of the Taliban are the Pakistan-backed Pashtuns. On the other hand, the Northern Alliance is dominated by

28

Rfghanistan!"

U$ é

ethnic Tajiks, Uzbeks and

a few

other tribes rvith ties to the

Northern Alliance, although Ranjha insisted that Pakistan has no "personal objective" in joining the US-

member .loe Kainz reports: hah Mahmood took both hands off the steering

ditches. As we descended through hills to the desert

sky.

"Afghanistan ! Afghanistan ! " he shouted, gesturing toward the Khash desert landscape as we sped away from the Taliban checkpoint.

We had just been stopped by soldiers at the post,

floor, the remains of a huge Soviet military airfield emerged from the mirages. We whistled through our teeth in amazement at each reminder of Afghanistan's

and Shah Mahmood spent 15 minutes inside their sweltering office waiting for them to decide our documents were in order. He was angry because the young soldiers wanted to keep the small 'permission' paper he showed them. They frnally settled for taking a

"Afghanistan, Afghanistan I " The road to Kandahar turned out to be the best we would see, though it was already far worse than what we had prepared for. We had spent months setting up

corner of the document as sort of proof positive they had checked at all. Later we learned that many of the guards are illiterate, and possibly had no idea what was on the paper anyway.

We were on the road from Herat to Kandahar

News Asia programme

wheel and turned his palms to the

-

once part of the well-developed highway system built by the Americans in the 1970s and later expanded under Soviet occupation. To make sense of what we were seeing, we were leafing through the latest guidebook to the a;rea- Nancy Hatch Dupree's 1977 Historic Guide to Afghanistan Descriptions of now

ruined sites like Bamiyan aside, the book is still

led coalition.

surprisingly accurate.

When asked how Pakistan differentiated between terrorist violence against civilians in the US versus Pakistani-supported militants' killings in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ranjha fell back on his government's line that Islamabad only offered moral and diplomatic support to the freedom fighters in Kashmir. Is there a danger that this new, US-led coalition against terrorism will frnd some kinds of terrorists acceptable due to political expediency,while

Not so for travel times. The guide said the 565 km trip would take seven hours. We were on the road for 13.

Every few hundred metres we had to slow to a crawl to negotiate road damaged by bombs, tank treads and assaults by hopelessly overloaded trucks. Short runs of concrete were broken up by craters sometimes as big as a Volkswagen. Then there were the dusty detours through dried creek beds to avoid blown-out bridges.

Along the side of the road, wrecked tanks, jeeps, unexploded bombs, even pieces of aircraft littered the

others are not?

I

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\T],NIBI.-,R

2OOI

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\'F,MBER

2OOÌ

22 years of war. Shah Mahmood's response was always

the same:

our trip to Afghanistan

a

joint project of the Star

Focus Asia and Fox News from

the US. The team producer (and FCC member) Lara Hartzenbusch, cameraman Malcolm James and Greg Palkot, correspondent from our sister network Fox News.

into Herat on a Red Cross flight from the only option since Afghanistan's Ariana- Airlines is banned from international flights under UN sanctions. Our assignment was to hnd out more about Afghanistan's hundreds of thousands of displaced persons people uprooted by- drought and warfare. We also were looking for insights into the hard-line Taliban regime, their war on drugs, local feelings about alleged terrorists including Osama bin Laden, and the fate of Afghanistan's cultural heritage (starting with the ille flew

Peshawar, Pakistan

fated Bamiyan Buddas.)

Before you arrive in Afghanistan, you get plenty of

warnings about the difficulties involved in working there. But the most critical for journalists in the visual media is the one issued by the authorities after you arrive. It's found in the Terms and Conditions for

29

Journalists Visiting the Islamic Emirate Afghanistan.

For example, rule number six: "Staff of the foreign agencies and journalists are not allowed to interview Afghan women and take frlms and pictures, with the

Deserts & Dust f someone were to tr1' to a.au," a more hostile involvement for telet'ision cameramen to work

exception of non-living objects, without prior

permission of the Department of Press & Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IEA.',

I Herat Malcolm James and Laura Hartzenbusch (with microphone) film jn a droughtstriken village.

here seems to be some disagreement about how such rules are implemented. There is the relatively relaxed view taken by the Foreisn Ministry and their Information Deparrment. They were the ones who welcomed our attempt to show the

rest of the world how Afghanisran's people are suffering. Then there is the no compromises approach favoured by the religious police of the

Ministry of Vice and Virtue. They were the ones who stopped and questioned us one night after they hacl

Bamiyan

Buddhas Filming the destroyed buddhas

!

reports we were speaking to local people on the street without permission. We explained that it was our job to get pictures to illustrate the impacr of war and sanctions on Afghanistan's population. The argument carried little weight with the religious police, and in the end higher authorities in the Information Department had to intervene. Late¡ the Foreign Ministry minder assigned to us admitted that while he thought we were nice people, he would much rather work with visiting print journalists, thank you very much.

We did manage to see quite a bit of the country.

A big loop starting in Herat, south to Kandaha¡ daytrips to farmland around these two cities, then north to Kabul with a couple of day trips to Gazni and Bamiyan.

Bamiyan was among the most amazing stops. print and television pictures we had seen cannot prepare you scale of the complex which once housed the famous 1,700-year-old Buddhist sratues. The empty alcove which once housed the tallest standing Buddha statue in the world is impressive enough and made us shake our heads in amazement at what -it once must have looked like. Local people said while they are not particularly bothered about the loss of heritage, the town would sorely miss the tourist dollars once freely spent there.

Abdul Sattar Haqqani has no regrets. Tine 27-year-

for the

Smile Correspondent Joe Kainz with Taliban unit which destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas

old is commander of the troops responsible for

Refuge camp near Herat Taliban soldier on guard

30

in, they would probablv use Afghanistan as a role model. All too often when the media travel on assignment nou,adays the mode of transport tends to be of recent ilk, has some form of air conditioning

carrying out the destruction, on orders of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. As he showed us his unit's handiwork, he detailed how many explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds were required to blast away preIslamic art that had withstood centuries of harsh weather and warfare.

As we prepared to leave, we realised our hosts were edging their way toward our chartered Ariana airplane.

As we piled our equipment on board, several dozen Taliban soldiers including the comman¡ls¡ \^/s¡s - grabbing whatever climbing in as well, seats rhey- c'ould.

THE (]ORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\¡EMBER

2OOI

and the car can be sealed against most elements.

Not so in Afghanistan (unless you happen to be from an international aid agency). The most

Kabul lnterview villagers,

"We've ne'r'er been on a plane," one of them explained to our translator. But we'd never been on a plane with so many guns. There were at least as many Kalashnikovs as soldiers, and some were squeezed in t\,vo or three to a seat. One could hardly argue with these guys about the fairness of them getting free passage to Kabul on our 'private' flight.

Commercial flights in Muslim countries frequently set off with crew saying a prayer asking Allah to grant

a

common mode of transport seems to be a Toyota Corolla station wagon of some dubious 1980 vintage and a second-hand import from either Dubai or Japan. In fact, it seems that the more your car Japanese decals advertising things like Osaka fast food stores your car has in the middle of the Desert of Death betn'een Herat and Kandahar the more kudos you receive whilst having yet another puncture repaired. So, no air conditioning and a vehicle that is as well-sealed as a colander in a sand pit.

Maslach Camp lValcolm

journey. On this charter run, lips were also moving in prayer not only among the novice mujaheddin flyers, -but also among the flight crew.

More than once they had to shout back and say, "Would the gentleman in the back please not point his safe

James is filming one group of lnternally

Displaced Persons,

gun at the window! "

while another truckload drives by

Clearly these armed passengers are not the worst of the problems which keep Afghanistan in agonising

limbo. The bigger setbacks are the 22 S,evrt of war and civil conflict now complicated by Taliban hardline rule and an international community unwilling and unable to help. Add to that, the mosr crippling drought in Iiving memory.

fghanistan's people have a centuries-old reputation for coping with hardship. \A4rile millions have fled, many remain behind where that coping ability is daily being pushed to the limit.

But people like Shah Mahmood showed us how his nalion stubbornly refuses ro give up.

Non-religious music is among things banned under Taliban rule. He and many other drivers listen to tapes of pop music or secular tunes on radio stations broadcasting from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. As we approached a Taliban checkpoint, he quickly pulled out a tape of acceptable religious music and poetry half smiled as he turned up -andof us, a Taliban soldier was the volume. In front stepping away from another ca¡ unthreading an illegal cassette tape he had confiscated. As he draped it over a tree formed from magnetic tape, Shah Mahmood sighed and repeated his personal mantra of survival.

"Afghanistan! Afghanistan! "

I

THE CORRI,SPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\/EÀ,IBER

2OO1

So the battle with dust begins and never ends.

The entire time within the country was taken up with me trying to keep my cameras clean. It is a losing battle: you relax for a moment and a truck passes engulfing you in a hne powder of dirt, which works it wa)/ through the best-designed camera bags in the world.

The only weapon of defence is the humble paint brush. You stop your set-up when you are allowed

and get the paint brush out and begin the painstaking task of slowly trying to sweep the camera clean, whilst minimising the amount of dust and dirt that actually enters the camera. Pressurised air would have only forced the atoms of hell further into the system.

My hrst small camera lasted until we were two hundred metres from the Pakistan border at Torkham. It had done well to last for nearly the three weeks up to that point. The main camera, a large Sony Betacam, worked for another tuo days until I was looking into the viewfinder and saw wisps of smoke rising inside the electronics. The dust demons

of Afghanistan had finally done their inside the camera is not a good sign. ùIalcolmJames, CameramanFox News

-

job.

Smoke

Asia Bureau

31

Po¡¡ticill Just:ice in Gamhodia?

Former Cambodian Finance Minister Sam Rainsy, now an outspoken opposition leader and critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen, discussed the economic and political situation in his country today. Excerpts from his talk. ambodia is facing at least three problems. One It is one of the poorest countries

is dire poverty.

But why do they promise that they would help set up

the tribunal? It is only because of international

in Asia, if not in the world, with a GDP per

pressure and only because they need the money. The

capita of less than US$300, with one of the lowest life expectancy (rates) of around 50 years and with the highest mortality rate.

So when we talk about povert¡ I think the most serious and saddest aspect of poverty is (the) mortality rates and life expectancy...and the rest is malnutrition.

country is bankrupt. Without international financial assistance the countrywould have collapsed...In order to make things continue, they have to abide by some wishes of the donor countries, and one of those wishes is to create this tribunal...

The third problem facing the country now is local elections...It is more important than we may think because this local election could undermine the very foundation of the communist regime. Even though Cambodia has changed its name from the Popular Republic of Cambodia to the State of Cambodia, (and) now we (are) the Kingdom of Cambodia, these changes are only on the surface. The substance of the regime remains the same. The same people are in power. Royalists in the the coalition led by Hun Sen are just for show. They have no real power. I think they have no ideology, they have no vision, they have no strategy. So in exchange for the honourific positions, in exchange for possibility to get bribes, in exchange for the promise for their President to be the next Kìng of Cambodia, they endorse whatever Hun Sen does.

More than half of Cambodian children suffer from stunted growth...Cambodia has the highest rates of HIV, AIDS contamination, of HIV and AIDS propagation, and probably the highest percentage of the population in the world in terms of prostitution,

including child prostitution...

(In August), the leader of a Chinese triad based in Taiwan called the Bamboo Gang, who has been sentenced to many years in prison in many countries, including Taiwan (and) the US, became the adviser to the president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party...

Cambodia is really a haven for criminals and (it's) no surprise that with such rampant systemic corruption, the country remains so poor in spite of massive international assistance. It shows that something is wrong in the system.

The second problem is the tribunal to prosecute the former Khmer Rouge leaders. The King signed the

decree to promulgate the law creating a special tribunal with the participation of the UN to bring to justice the former Khmer Rouge leaders. But I do not think, as some people claim, this is a big move, a big step forward, because the King is just a figurehead. He has no power at all. So we have no reason to celebrate this. We have only concern about the strong man of the Hun Sen's real intention whether to allow country

the establishment of a credible tribunal to prosecute former Khmer Rouge leaders.

I really doubt (it) because one cannot expect people who themselves were former Khmer Rouge to help shed light on the Khmer Rouge regime, because arry serious investigation led by independent investigating judge would expose facts that would be very embarrassing for many government officials...

32

o the opposition is the only challenge to the communist system and we are facing a lot of difficulty now because we are at the initial stage of the electoral process, the voter registration process, and it is terribly flawed because this process is selective.

Everything is under the former Communist Party.

There is not a single national institution that is not totally controlled by the former communists... So it is a farce. It's just a show...I was asked whether I fear for my life because I dare to criticise Hun Sen. Actually I do not fear for my life because I am only the democratic alibi for the regime. They show that Cambodia is a democracy. They even have an opposition, contrary to China. But they don't want to kill me now yet because I was so useful to present Cambodia as a democracy.

But they kill my supporters, they kill the opposition activists. And they prevent them from gÊtting registered to be voters. I THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\'E,N,{BER

2OOI

Ghronicler of Gities Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere is Jan Morris' latest book says her last. Excerpts from her talk at ant FCC dinner. was

told by your kind Committee that I didn't

have to give you a formal lecture. I guess I canjust meander on. I hope it's all right with you because

that's what I propose to do anyr,vay.

And I hope you don't mind, it's going to be

a

rather melancholy few minutes for you because what I

want to talk about is wrapping things up... I am wrapping everything up, that is. Next month I am going to be 75 years old and because I like the idea of a well-rounded symmetrical sort of life, I decided to close things down (at)...this symbolic moment of my life...

I have decided that I have had enough of performing, which I have been doing for a long time now, and I have decided I am going to be a purely private person for the rest of my life. My ambitions at last are pure. I have no desire to be famous or popular or rich, having failed in all three an)'\4¡ay. I am going to give up now.

So first of all I decided to conclude my commitment to Wales

in a sort of allegorical way. I

owe

much that has happened to my life to Wales. Much of my fulfilment, of

my good fortune is in being born half-Welsh, halÊEnglish. So I have written a long essay to express my gratitude to the country. The essay is actually about my house and it is 30,000 words long. The house has only six rooms in it. It makes 5,000 words a room...

Of course, I have enlarged each room figurativel¡ so to speak, enlarged the house itself to make the entire building an image in microcosm of all that I feel about the country as, well I think it's as a country as a whole...

On the wall of the house, I have written a text to put there: "Between earth, the subject, and heaven, the object, stands the house of the writer like a conjunction". I called the essay A Writer's House in Wales. And if you can stomach this sort of gauche patriotism, it's going to be published in a series of little monographs by the National Geographical Society in January. So do bu¡ it's lovelyl Being (of) a modest disposition to wrap up the world, I thought I would go looking for the new side...I THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVEìVIBER

2OO1

-

and she

knew my own side well enough, the mood and the feelings of the world in the second half of the twentieth century. So I thought I would make a last Grand Slam journey around the world to see how the twenty-first century spirit was shaping up.

That's why I am here today as a matter of fact. I have chosen three or four big themes to explore and contemplate, and I have got a magazine to commission a piece. And here I am today trying to work out what must surely be the ultimate think piece about the state and condition of the entire planet...you can only do that when you are wrapping things

up. And finally I decided I would write my last book. I decided to make it a book about a city since much of my life is spent writing about cities.

I rvanted to use a city as a medium

to explore myself really and consider what conclusions

I

to reached

wanted a city that I could think of as a mirror to myself. The city I have chosen (Trieste) has puzzled and fascinated me all my life (so) I have called the book...Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. I think you will agree it's a very good title.

It's fair and enigmatic and nobody knows what it means including mel

in life. I

owever, this is how I describe Trieste in the book: the feelings that Trieste inspires in me.

There are moments in my life when a suggestion of this place is summoned so exactly into my consciousness that wherever I am, I feel transported there. The sensation is rather like those archaic moments of hush

that sometimes interrupt a perfectly

ordinary

coil'ersation. You know them. They are said to signify the passing of an angel. ...For me an)ryvay, they often signal Trieste. Ever since I went there with a British army at the end of the Second World War, the place has curiously haunted me. \A¡hatever has happened to Trieste, however it changes, however often I go there, for more than half a century the feeling it inspired in me has remained the same...."

This evening itself is an allegory for me. At the end of my last Grand Slam around the world, which is going to end, by the way, on Christmas Day in Venice. I shall

33

Is China, Old friends Clare Hollingworth (/efi) and Jan Morris catching up on old times (far left) and lvlorris erupting into laughler at a question

think of this happy evening as a figure of all the I have had and the good friends that I made during half a century of constant travel. I must tell you that a month or two ago, I was at a reception at Buckingham Palace for writers and publishers, believe it or not. It was quite an engaging and kindness

interesting evening. Towards the end of it I wanted to go home, I wanted to go to bed earl¡ but I couldn't find any Queen or Princess or Duke or anybody to say thank you to them. So I decided to go anyway. At the gate of the Palace, of course, there was a policeman on guard. So I said to him: "My mother brought me up to say thank you for having me whene'r,er I have

it

n writing: I have always done three drafts... but I have always been careful to make sure that when I have done the first draft I print out and set it aside. I didn't work from it. I start

I don't throw it I can't do better. do actually write the book three

all over again with a second draft. away because there are some things

So I take it. But I times in all.

On ending the Grand Slam in Venice:Just fun. To tell you the truth, Venice has played a very seminal part in my life. I like it very much...so my partner and I are going to meet in Venice and live it up for a bit.

That's all. Pure hedonism.

On parallels between Trieste as a citywith a limited

life span...and Hong Kong: Although I was always fascinated by Hong Kong, I never terribly liked it, as a matter of fact. And I never thought of it as an imperial city...it was always a part of China anryay really. So that I can't feel any melancholy at the handover in 1997...I am curious to see what has happened to it and what's going to happen to it... I do draw a bit of a parallel because it seems to me the nearest modern equivalent to Trieste of the end of the eighteenth century was Hong Kong because it was an ad hoc port made by an empire which for a

34

been to a party. As I can't find any Dukes or Princesses or anybody to say it to, I am going to say it

Stable?

That's the subject for Gordon G. Chang new book, The Coming Collaþse of China. Excerpts from his talk:

to you."

And the cop said, I think very stylishly: "Not at all Madam", he said, "Come again!" So I say thank you to you now And what did the policeman say?

"Come again". I Tiieste and the Meøning of Nowhere

ByJ* Morris Faber and Faber, London

rsBN 0-571-20443-0 HB, 194 pages, HK$f80

time played a particular profitable and successful part in the affairs of the world. I assume Hong Kong still plays a prosperous, successful, part in the affairs of the world, but Trieste of course has lost it. But nevertheless I twice in this little book, as a matter of fact, do compare Trieste with Hong Kong because the one reminds me of the other.

On stopping writing, a mistake? Well, if it is, it's a deliberate mistake. The thing is, nobody stops writing. I don't think I am going to stop writing. I have got lots of things I want to write. I am just fed up with the public aspect of publishing books. I have got fed up with Literary Festivals. I am fed up

with publishers...with critiques...with literary

luncheons (not literary dinners, of course!). And all that kind of stuff I've had enough of. So I should certainly go on writing, but I don't particularly want to be published any more. I will tell you, my ambitions are, as I said before, absoluteìy pure at last. I just want to write something really beautiful to leave behind. I have always thought, I have written 40 books (but) I would rather have written one, one really beautiful sonnet than all these millions of words. Maybe it isn't too late to do that.

And most certainly it's not a mistake. I THE CORRTSPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVE,MBER

2OOI

n 1990 Saddam Hussein massed his armour on his southern border. It only took him a few hours to subdue Kuwait after he gave the order to launch the invasion. We all knew that subsequently the coalition forces tossed him out of his new possession. Yet today he has skilfully fended off the UN, and he is by all accounts stockpiling his armoury with weapons of mass destruction. And that's why we need to study instability in the world's most populous nation. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself.

China experts do not talk about instability. When it comes to the People's Republic, they extrapolate, multipl¡ and then let their imaginations run wild. They become giddy. They ignore all the instability in China as if it does not exist. It does exist. In 1998 there were about 60,000 instances of civil disobedience, according to China's Ministry of Public Security; in 1999, the last year for which figures are available, there were 100,000.

In 2000 demonstrations demonstrably became bigger.

Twenty thousand mine workers, along with several thousand relatives, rioted in Liaoning Province in February 2000. Twenty thousand peasants tore down the homes of corrupt officials inJiangxi Province in the following August.

These days the regime manages to get by from one protest to the next by one way or another by postponing problems to the future. Accession to the World Trade Organisation can only aggravate the problem of instability because membership will limit the ability of the regime to defer solutions to critical problems.

And China has many critical problems. Twenty-frve years of reform has meant that State-owned enterprises, the backbone of Chinese industry, look better toda¡ but they are still, as a group, uncompetitive. Stateowned banks have gone through two very expensive recapitalisations in the past four years, but they are still insolvent, so reform has failed them too. The central treasury cannot forever continue its programme of massive stimulus, which is the only thing that is keeping the economy going. And while all this is going on, China will undergo a political transition beginning THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\'EN,IBER

2OO]

next year. Most of the top leadership positions in the

central government and Communist Party will change, according to the script. That means that when the challenges are the greatest, the regime will be at its weakest.

The optimists say that the next few years will not be

too wrenching for China. There are three main arguments why WTO will not be so bad at first: China GDP

will cheat, foreign investment will swell, and will

rise.

Will China cheat on its commitments?

Senior

Chinese leaders tell us, every few days, that they will

honour all the promises that they have made. Take them for their word: they won't go back on what they said. Their honest¡ however, does not mean that compliance should be taken for granted because there is a group in China that will cheat. Every province, city, and town will protect local industry. They will employ traditional tactics as they seek to preserve the present.

Powerful toda¡ they will fail tomorrow. Multinationals will fight because if there is one reason why WTO is significant, it is this: WTO means foreign investors do not have to listen to the bureaucrats any more. WTO rules will be enforced after all is said and done. Fair trade is coming to the People's Republic.

hose who say foreign investment will mushroom are ignoring the realities of China and the world at large. China is suffering deflation because, except for telecommunications, there is too much capacity. Over capacity in China is matched by over-capacity in the world today. China managers will want to build bigger facilities in-country to take advantage of the emerging national marketplace. But executives in New York, London or Paris will want to export to China from idle factories around the world. WTO means that tariffs will drop and local rules against distribution will lapse so

that exporting to the Mainland will not only be

a

feasible solution, but also the compelling one.

Need proof,) Volkswagen, with a roughly 50% share of the domestic car market in China, says that it will not

35

be able to compete with imported cars after accession due to the scheduled reduction in tariffs. The world's most

We can argue rvhether Jiang Zetnin

efficient car plants are just two days a'way from China b)'ship. Even General Motors, which is committed to making parts and assembling vehicles on the Mainland, plans to import car parts and even r,r'hole cars into China in the future. Bottom line is that there will he some increase in foreign investment, but the boom will be smaller than predicted and shorter than expected.

F,So those analysts who foresee an explosion in foreign investment have misperceived the future.

When the waves of imports flood China, it's unlikelv that GDP will continue its current pace (whatever that actually is now). Accession will knock one or two percentage points off GDP growth. That means GDR at Ieast in the f,rrst few years after accession, will trend don,nward. Maybe not by much, but enough to be felt.

China is perhaps at the point where the loss of a

percentage point of growth would have

a

disproportionate impact on the urban proletariat and the peasantry. \44ry do China experts misperceive the future? We

see all the change in China since the reform programme began and assume that progress must continue. Yet we forget that most of that progress was made during the tenure of Deng Xiaoping. Deng, however, is no longer around, and Dengism, the concept that China must change quickly, is dead.

Under Jiang Zemin, gradualism is the ruling concepr.

is doing the right things these days. I don't think so, yet we nonetheless can all see evidence of solutions that with time could work. \Artrether China is on the right road or not is not the important issue, horvever. The important issue is time. Today the peasants and workers are impatient. They are not about to

wait three decades to see if Communist Party economics rvill work. Despite all the progress, man)' Chinese today are

hungry, angry, and worst of all, desperate. We must remember that.

So what does China's predicament have to do with Suddam Hussein and Iraq? In the 1970s, America and

other countries embraced the Shah of Iran and ignored all the undercurrents of dissent in Iranian society. When the Shah fell, policy-makers in Washington were stunned. The Iranian people remembered our support for their dictator and shut America and the West out of their country. As a result, Washington tilted to Iraq, and that emboldened Suddam Hussein to, among other things, attack Kuwait. Our foreign policy was ludicrous. Today the same process is occurring in China as governments and

multinationals have rushed to please the modern Chinese state. \Arhen the regime fails, the Chinese people, like the Iranians, will remember. Iran is small and China is large. That means the consequences will be so much worse next time...But )'ou don't have to be a psychic to know all that is happening in China today.

It is there ifyou care to see it. I

Except for one or rwo initiatives, progress has been slow

in

The Coming Collaþse of China

By Gordon G. Chang Random flouse, New York

coming. But WTO membership provides a hard deadline for reform. The combination of slow reform and the unforgiving nature of competition in the WTO era does not leave much room for optimism.

In Memoriam Jirn Rohwer (1948-2001)

Journalist and autho¡ Jim drowned in a boating accident in St Tropez, France, on Sunday-, September 2nd. The family requests donations be sent to The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, V1'22203-1606, USA., whose mission is "To preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive."

Mary Craig (1945-2001)

Mary died of cancer in Melbourne on August 22nd. She lived in Hong Kong in the 1970s, as a broadcaste¡ editor and freelance writer. She was perhaps best known for her news and arts 36

programmes on Radio Hong Kong. After a long journalistic career in various countries, she moved to Indonesia where she became a holistic healer and a convert to Islam, returning to Australia two years ago.

Julian AJ H Critchley (1950 - 2000)

A

of Clinical

Pharmacology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong,Julian died on July 13th in hospital following a traff,ic accident. The family wishes to establish an endowment fund in his name to promote diabetes research. Crossed cheques covering donations, payable to the "Chinese University of Hong Kong", will be gratefully acknowledged by the Faculty of Medicine Professor

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVTJ\{BF,R

2OO1

Doctor!

Financial columnistJake van der Kamp, that bearded figure with the ever-present laptop at the Club table in the Main Bar, has written a book: Doctor, Doctor: The Inaestment Analyst on the Couch. David O'Rear of the Economist Intelligence Unit comments reviews it. f

anyone in the Club nav, anyone in Hong Kong has the knowledge, experience, wit and talent -to take on the stock-broking industry it is FCC member Jake van der Kr-p. His efforts to set things straight have thus far been confined to his

Monitor column of the South China Morning Post, but soon will appear in a book form.

The plot is very straightforward, as are the explanations of complex financial arrangements such as making (and losing) money. Those who fancy themselves sophisticated investors (and who have the bank accounts to back up that claim) will frnd in this all-too-slim volume all manner of insights into just exactly why stockbrokers do what they do. For the rest of us, Doctor' is like opening a wizard's forbidden book of magic spells van der Kamp clears away the jargon fog, revealing -money managers' real interests and motivations.

Did you ever have the feeling that other investors know more than you do, that they got an early peek at the deck, or have a too-close relationship with the dealer? Some people seem to get hands that are all aces, right? Theoreticall¡ stock markets are designed to prevent inside knowledge benefiting a selÊchosen few,

by widely disseminating information to all players.

Indeed, in Chapter 4 the old adage "if it's in the press it's in the price" is dissected and found healthy.

Howeveq that doesn't mean the game is all fair.

First things first: money doesn't grow on trees. Get down to the local sign maker and have him whip up a nice plaque for your wall with that simple but critical bit

of wisdom centred in big, bold letters. If you don't understand that you will fail.

This axiom arises again and again, not because there isn't anything more interesting to say, but rather because the way investors behave indicates that the large majoritl, of them don't understand it. Despite

price-earnings ratios, dividend yields, momentum trading and other abracadabra-like phrases, the bottom TtsIE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\BN,Í RF,R 2OOI

line is that people are greedv. They assume that the best way to make money is to buy something that someone else will buy from you at a later date for a higher price.

Yes, the Greater Fool Theory is alive and well. Yer, as van der Kamp points out, the key to riches isn't turning

a dollar into ten dollars, but rather turning a dollar into $1.10 and doing it over and over again.

What makes an investment adr,iser worth the money he's paid? Not much, or at least not much more than the support team he has behind him. After all is said and done, the basics of investment are not all that different from common sense, with a little math and knowledge of the world thrown in [o make it interesting. \Ârhat sets the investment analyst apart from the usual investor is that he pavs enormous amounts of attention to stocks, markets and companies. Or, rather, his researchers and strategists do. \A¡hat makes the investment adviser valuable to the company he works for is not the money he makes for his clients, it is the monev he makes for his securities house. After all, if the researchers (and sales desk folks) were all that good, thev'd be making much more monev trading slocks.

When your- phone connects with that of

a

securities house, you are speaking to someone who wants to make money off of your money. You are not speaking to someone whose life revolves around how to make more monel'for you. In perhaps the most

direct comparison of professionals in different jobs, Curu van der Kamp notes that the pilot of a747 is much more committed to ensuring that his clients have only positi.r'e experiences than is the professional financial adviser. The investment adviser is interested in his clients' experience, but the pilot is committed. I-lltimatel¡ if things go wrong the pilot is the first to die, but the inr¡estment analyst merely loses a client's monev. I 37

AYitla ern

Privacy Intrusion3 Where to llraw the Line The Law Reform Commission has published report on stalking. Jane E. Kirtley, Sllha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the lJniversity of Minnesota, comments.

O

It's been ayear since David and Thea Baird moved from Sai Kung to Spain.

Their saga with a Hong Kong moving company will be recalled everytime someone decides to move on. Here's David's update on life in Andalusia.

a

ur house stands on Calle Amargura, the Street of Bitterness. Sometimes the name is uncomfortably appropriate as when our possessions finally

arrived.

as it would to anyone else. In 1998, for example, some California photographers who surrounded a car containing actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, his wife, Maria Shriver, and their young son, were convicted of false imprisonment, reckless driving, and battery. Admittedly, prosecutions like this a¡e rare, but so are incidents like this one.

The Law Reform Commission has opined that a serious problem of "harassing behaviour" exists in Hong Kong, for which current law provides no adequate remedy. Both criminal and civil sanctions are called for. Although the Commission's report is careful to emphasise that the typical stalking case involves "ordinary peopìe" who are harassed at work or at home, it doesn't rule out the possibility that ajournalist could be accused of stalking.

Will a law like this abridge press freedom?

Anything that creates a new criminal sanction for news gathering is potential trouble, and particularly so here, because the Commission recommends that there be no "public interest" defence to a stalking accusation. This means that there would be no exemption for reporters pursuing a legitimate news story involving a public official or celebrity. The subject matter of the story would not be determinative; instead, a court would review the "reasonableness" of the reporter's conduct.

who has never sought the spotlight. This analysis attempts to balance the right of free expression, as well as the

n my experience, most government offrcials find journalists to be "unreasonable" creatures, forever poking and prying into matters that they would prefer left unexamined. Of course, that is what journalists in a free society are for. But without a public interest defence, anti-stalking legislation becomes a thinly-veiled vehicle to intimidate, and to control the content of news reporting.

News subjects are often selectively reclusive or

public's right to know with the right to be "let alone."

But what about the process of gathering the story?

Journalists can be tenacious and even aggressive when they are trying to cover a reluctant news subject. How much persistence is too much?

Much depends on the circumstances. American law recognises a tort, akin to trespass, of intrusion into someone's solitude if the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. And, no matter how compelling a story may be, in the United States, as well as in many other common law countries, journalists

remain subject to laws of "general applicability." A statute that proscribes certain behaviour, such as

38

- a bearded six-footer muleteer, Canario,

brought them up the steep cobbled street.

When we had packed up in Sai Kung, we foolishly

in 1890, an American lawyer named Louis D. Brandeis decided that the popular press in Boston, Massachusetts, had too much freedom.

He was particularly irked by gossip columns that provided intimate details about the social life of the upper classes, including the wife of Brandeis' law partner, Samuel D. Warren. But existing law didn't provide a remedy to curb this reporting, which, as presumptuous as it might have seemed to Brandeis, conveyed truthful information, and therefore couldn't be checked by a libel suit.

So Brandeis and Warren dreamed up a new legal theory: a right to be "let alone". The concept evolved over the years into a civil cause of action that would allow news subjects to sue over perfectþ true stories if they were able to show that the information revealed was highly intimate, and that disclosure would be offensive to a hypothetical "reasonable person". In the United States, the defence to such a lawsuit is "newsworthiness," a term that is deliberately vague and subjective, and is typically left to the discretion of ajury.

Although the editorial decision to publish does not, in and of itself, transform sensitive information into a matter of public interest, the courts have ruled consistently that celebrities, public officials and others who voluntarily place themselves in the public eye have a far smaller zone of privacy than an obscure individual ack

El

disorderly conduct, applies to reporters just

reluctant. They actively seek publicity when it serves their purposes, but will cry "foul" if a news story threatens to shatter a carefully-cultivated illusion. This is troubling enough when it is done by a celebrity. In the hands of government officials, anti-stalking legislation will erode the public's right to know. I IHE CORRISPONDENT

OCTOBER-NO\'EMBER

2OO1

entrusted our stuff to the wrong removal company, it into some dingy warehouse and threw away the key. In Spain, we eagerly opened the boxes to find valuable items missing and films and documents ruined by tropical humidity.

At moments like that, I walk out on to my terrace and survey the village. This ancient huddle of whitewashed dwellings straddles a lofty ridge. Far awa¡ down a valley of terraced fields, glitters the Mediterranean. Behind the village jagged limestone crags rear up like cardboard cutouts against a deep blue sky. I take a which tossed

deep breath of

clear,

unpolluted air and things slide back into perspective.

Quite a few deep breaths have been necessary as we

This isn't what we're looking for, I thought. Then a benign old lady in black appeared and presented Thea with a freshly-picked carnation, saying: "For our new neighbour." My wife melted. I surrendered.

We soon found we had entered a time warp; in many ways the village was still medieval. Flush toilets were a luxur¡ cooking was over wood fires. My alarm every morning was the sound of mules' hoofs ringing on the cobbles as the men set out for the fields. In the whole village there were only two or three antiquated telephones and exactly five cars.

Now, however, Spain is enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Our neighbours have embraced all the virtues, and vices, of the computer age. It's hard to find parking space among all ! the gleaming four-wheelÊ drives. Sun-worshippers from a Germany and France and Britain have invaded our hideaway. Busloads of visitors wander the streets looking for a bit of the "real Spain".

ome things haven't changed, however.

adjust to life back in Spain after five years away. I'd

Hospitality is still a way

of life. Take a picture of

remembered sun, wine, hospitable locals, but nostalgia

had blurred my memories of the deadening bureaucracy

somebody's kids and your

Always working David Baird in Spain

and the fact that

everything takes time.

Moving from Hong Kong to a corner of rural Andalusia is like stepping off an express train when it's moving. Just to get our modest shipment from Hong Kong through customs took two weeks of negotiation, plus surprising quantities of cash.

My wife and I bought our typical Andalusian village house back in the 1970s, after our first stint in Hong Kong. We decided this hilltop pueblo in southern Spain was a good spot to park our suitcases.

We weren't seeking the sort of place which would make a splash in Ideal llome, which was just as well.

The walls, three feet thick, were of mud and boulders held together with innumerable coats of whitewash, and there were no internal doors. Insects had made a meal of the wooden beams and so deep was the dip in one floor that you needed climbing ropes to cross it.

The bathroom...er, better not to go into detail.

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NOVIMBER

2OO1

reward will be kilos of mangoes or raisins and litres of the heady local wine. While there

is no equivalent of the FCC here, there is Eduardo's bar, where you can bump into everybody from poets and painters to bricklayers and flamenco singers. A three-course meal with wine could set you back at least HK$40, with exposure to high-decibel TV prog-rammes and a parade ofcharacters thrown in for free.

El Canario the muleteer is a frequent customer. On his good days he makes maidens swoon; after his marathon binges he looks like an extra from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. When I get down to writing the novel of the centur¡ El Canario will surely frgure in it. But, for the moment, when that Spanish sun dips towards the horizon, there are more urgent matters to attend to. In fact, even this far away from Ice House Street, life can get quite stressful at times.

'Vino blanco o tinto?" queries Eduardo.

"Hombre, that's a difhcult one have a bottle of each?"

I

-

why don't we

39

AnouNo Tun FCC -o

Overseas

48-foot ketch Absconder while sailing Australia's Whitsunday lslands are Peter and Trish Carton.

Financial Secretary

Jim and Elaine Scullion pose with their new FCC T-shirts, the only ones in West Dulwich, England.

(Depart Hong Kong 01

-

30 Nov,01)

Premium Economy Class (Depart Hong Kong 01 Oct

-

30 Nov,01)

æ

On the beach (l-r) Angie and David Thurston, from Thailand, and Ray and Nida Cranbourne from Hong Kong, converged on Kent and Wendy Hayden Sadler in Teignmouth, Devon

toast to old t¡mes David Thurston

nshirts on parade

Economy Class

o

(left) and former consul-general for Uruguay Enrique Vidal in Montevideo

president Anthony Lawrence, treasurer Kate Pound Dawson, president Jim Laurie and House/F&B Committee convenor Dave Garcia for a spot of lunch in the Hughes Room

Hong Kong-London-Hong Kong

-o

l

Happy Birthday Ex-FCCers gathered in Sydney for lhe 60th birthday of Mike FooIe (Back row l-r)fony Craig, Kenelm Creighton, birthday boy Mike Foote, Andy Sloan, Noel Quinlin, David Bell, Mike Throssell, Penny Chapman, John Burgess (Front row lr) John Ball, Rob McDougall, Neville Kitto, David Mitchell.

Anlony Leung (centre) joined (lr) past

!T

o

q

Sailing adventures Caught on their

Beer Buffet

Ø p

^4,,*re

Guam adventures Terry Duckham with "lronman" Stewart at the Guam Smokin'Wheels offroad truck event (above). Jeff Heselwood driving a strange Guam contraption, the Scoot Car (top,)

On the road Kevin Sinclair tasting his way through Portugal

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"New Concept Mandarin is first-rate. I would highly studying Chinese." Michael Dwyer China

Fed up with high pr¡ces and poor serv¡ce?

Fabrics - Gurtains - Sofas

2807 6373

(English Media & Editorial)

Simon

N*E.Wtllandar¡n Correspondent Australian Financial Review Course info: (852)28504332 (tel.) www.newconceDtmanclafl n.com

HONG KONG TOURìSM BOARD Donna

LETTINGS

Property to let in London 'üØe specialise in letting and management in

2807 6219

Armchoir HK$2.450.00 inc. fobric

2-seoter sofo 5'ó"

Fax: 2807 6595 E-mail: dm@hktourismboard.com lnternet: http://www DiscoverHongKong.com

HK$3,950.00 inc. fobric

INFORMATION

HK$4,680.00 inc. f obnic

3-seoter sofo 6'6"

otog ra p hs-V i d eos- Feat u res- Lite ratu re- B ooks-

Sfafisfics on all aspects oî tourism

Fabrics 1109,11/F.,

e,to.

Asio Slondard Tower,59-ó5 Queen's Rood Central, HK

T¿l: 2810 7360 Fox: 28107371 Websíl¿: hllo://fobricsetc,n3.net

42

7-day access.

Call2548 4049 or e-mail storage@glink.net.hk

recommend the school to anybody interested in

9/F Citicorp Centre, 18 Whitfield Road, North Point, Hong Kong

RoAD

research by long-time resident Mobile: (852) 9023

Firhill Limited

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

FAMPSTEAD . HIGHGATE' KENSINGTON . KNIGHTSBRIDGE HONG KONG . SINGAPORE . NEW YORK

FIRST FLOOR . 2a ARBUTHNOT

Fax: (852) 28136354. Email: lockhart@hkstar.com

CIIARLES WEAIIIERILL Writing, editing, speeches, voice-overs and

THB STORE HOUSE We provide a flexible, low-cost solution to your personal and business storage needs: close to Central; from HK$480 p.m. upwards (48 cu ft); no extra costs; secure;

Relocation & Real Estate Consultants

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

RESIDENTIÀL

Teft (852) 2813 5284. Mobile: (852)

6033 8450 . F: 28817514. E: plrandall@hotmail.com

flRryILL

WiesinA Hunter

Gíft ltens

f2l0

a ß:iendly smile.

AussielnHK.Gom

Custom Made Window s -D e c orativ e Panels

Contemporary

al) conceived and produced. Articles/fea¡ures devised, researched and written. All with 9836

Managing Dlrectot Greater China

E-mail: asiapix@hk.linkage.net Website: terryduckham-asiapix.com/

avuncular body. Projecm (reports, brochures, newsletters, magazines et

Media Consultancy . Editorial Services Speeches . Reports . PR Projects Government Liaison . Corporate Affairs

Billy L.S. Wong

@rerry Duckham/Asiapix

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER-NO\'EMBER

2OOI

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER.NO\'EMBER

2OO1

FGC members can make use of our two interconnected rooms, the Albert and Hughes Rooms, for

private functions, such as meetings, seminars, press conferences...etc The Main Dining Room, the Verandah and Bertts are also available for larger business receptions or

conferences, wedding and anniversary parties, birthday parties, cocktails, Ghristmas office Iunches or power breakfasts - just about any kind of celebration can be staged at the FGG, Buffet or full sit-down, or just coffee and tea you name it and the FGG's F&B Department and kitchen are flexible enough to handle it. And our prices are very competitive.

F¡nd out for yourself. Contact Fiona in the office for bookings Tel 2521 1511 Fax 2868 4O92 E-mail: banquet@fcchk.org

43

FCC FncEs

I

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FC,C Irreplaceable

PINKE

Marilyn Hood

Member since:

The 'Prisoner at the bar' had dark hair

Age:

Can't reveal this as I'm trustworthy and uncalculating

Profession:

Certainly not the oldest, probably the youngest

Nationality:

Ho

Least likely to say:

Wot the hell,

Most likely to say:

Just one more before I catch the ferry

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take a sanpan

ffi# Photography by Kees Metselaar 44

THE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER.NO\IEMBER

2OO1

Providing World-Class Security Sotutions For ouer 150 Years

PINKER 618 MIRAMAR TOWER, 132 TEL

(852) 2956

1888

FAX

NATHAN ROAD,

(852) 2956 112s

ASIA

TSIM SHA TSUI, KOWLOON, HONG

EMAIL asiacopinker tons.com.hk

KONG

WEBSITE www, pinker tons.com

Mitigati ng Corporate Risk Across Asia PricewaterhouseCoopers lnvestigations Asia Limited conducts investigative and business intelligence assignments throughout the Asian region and in lndia. We work closely with clients to understand their issues, and to design cost effective solutions to mitigate threats to their businesses or to provide timely information to support strategic decisions.

Our services cover the full spectrum of risk mitigation, fraud prevention, detection and www.pwcglobal.com investigation.

The Core Services Preventative

Se

. lnvestigative Due Diligence . Business lntelligence in Emerging . Vendor Assurance Programs . Background Vetting Checks & .

Reactive Services:

rvices:

.

Markets

Pre-emp loyment Screen i ng Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

lnvestigations

. Social Compliance lnvestigations . Witness Evaluation . Anti-Fraud Programs . Anti-Corruption Programs

. Political Risk Assessments o Contingency Planning

Corporate I nvestigations

. Fraud & Financial lnvestigations . Litigation Support . Strategic Management of lntellectual Property (lP) Consulting Services o Distribution & Crey Market lnvestigations . Asset Searching & Analysis . Computer Forensic Services . Computer Crime lnvestigations . lnsurance Claims lnvestigations . Corruption lnquiries . Crisis Management Response Services

For details please contact: Steve Vickers Tel: (852) 2289 2522 E-mail: stephen.g.vickers@hk.pwcglobal.com David Holloway Tel: (852) 22Bg 2455 E-mail: david.w.hollowayohk.pwcglobal.com

Join us. Together we can change the world.'" @2001 PricewaterhouseCoopers. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the individual member firms the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organ isation. Al I ri ghts reserved.

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