FCC June July08

CORRESPONDENT
JUNE-JULY 2008
RRESPO
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB, HONG KONG
THE
A New
President
ERNST HERB
TAKES OVER
THE REINS
THE CORRESPONDENT contents
BOB DAVIS
The Seawise saga:

lost photos found
FCC Elections 3 Features Photography 32

A new Board, The hidden charms Then and Now
a new Club year of Tsuen Wan 12
Books 34
Media 6 Seawise after
Hong Kong Media Law
the event 16
Kate Webb Award
winner announced Opinion 20 Obituaries 36
David Roads
Features Tibet: the article Hong
Kong Lawyer spiked Alan Thomas
Sailing: rescue at sea 8
Travel 28 Out of Context 40
Hoi An, the jewel Annemarie Evans
of Vietnam
Letter 2
Cover photo by Bob Davis Professional Contacts 39
THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 1

Letters
Books
From Ken Bryan in England phone calls and reminders from the
I was sorry to read that Jim Biddulph manager. If you didn’t pay on time
had passed away. I have a particularly your name would be posted on the
fond memory of Jim which occurred Club’s notice board. The Board agreed
when I was treasurer to his presidency and we wrote to all members advising
of the FCC in 1986. them of the change.
At that time the finances of the More than 100 members didn’t
Club were not in good shape. When take heed of the warning and were
I looked at the figures, however, it duly posted. One member, quite well
seemed to me that the primary prob- known, rang Jim in a fury:
THE FOREIGN
lem was a poor cash flow. A large num- “I have never been so insulted in all
CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB,
ber of members were in the habit of my life,” he fumed.
HONG KONG
paying their bills in arrears; in some “Oh,” said Jim calmly, “I’m sure you
2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2521 1511 Fax: (852) 2868 4092 cases several months in arrears! must have been”.
E-mail: <fcc@fcchk.org> I suggested to Jim and the Board In my career, this is the most sup-
Website: <www.fcchk.org>
that we strictly invoke the Club rules portive reaction I have ever experi-
President: Ernst Herb
First Vice President: Tom Mitchell which did, indeed, require members enced. So much so that I have used it
Second Vice President: Kevin Egan to pay up by a certain date after the often, with due accreditation, in talks
Correspondent Member Governors receipt of their bills. So, no more free on management and leadership.
Keith Bradsher, Bonnie Engel, Anna
Healy Fenton, Jim Laurie, Kees Metselaar, credits and no more chasing up tele- Thank you Jim.
Christopher Slaughter, Stephen Vines,
Douglas Wong
Journalist Member Governors From Mark Erder of APV journeymen hacks to famous editors,
Francis Moriarty, Jake van der Kamp
For the last couple of years while our others from well-known editors or writ-
Associate Member Governors
Andy Chworowsky, David O’Rear, managing director Chris Slaughter was ers to skilled craftsmen or small busi-
David Garcia, Steve Ushiyama nessmen/women and one from shop
President of the FCC, some of us from
Club Secretary APV – especially Chris – frequented girl to Hollywood producer. Whatever
David O’Rear they’ve become or wherever they’ve
the Club around five days or nights a
Finance Committee gone, they come back to the FCC ... how-
Convener: Jake Van Der Kamp week. While it was a home away from
(Treasurer) home on most nights it was pretty ever briefly and for whatever purpose
Membership Committee uneventful; but every now and then Today, the Club might not have the
Convener: Steve Ushiyama
something happened that reminded storied buzz it had during the Vietnam
Professional Committee us of why we’d joined. The other night War years or the excitement of the
Conveners: Tom Mitchell, Keith Bradsher
was one of them. prolonged lead up to the handover.
House/Food & Beverage Committee
Convener: Stephen Vines Friday evening started out as a typ- But, at the end of the day, it is still
Wine Sub-Committee: “The FCC” and it is one of a kind. It is
Chairmain: Bonnie Engel
ical night in Hong Kong. After a long
afternoon of internal meetings ending legendary for good reason.
Charity Fund Committee
Co-Chairmen: Andy Chworowsky, in an office party, a group of us from And the reaction to the guy at
Thomas Crampton the bar? Around 25 years ago, he was
APV retired to the FCC for a late din-
Freedom of the Press Committee
Convener: Francis Moriarty ner. What was anticipated as a quiet a client of my (now) wife’s small ad
Constitution Committee couple of hours of drink, dinner and agency. He was trying to call her but
Convener: Kevin Egan chat turned into one of those “only in couldn’t get through. But he had to
Wall Committee Hong Kong” experiences. reach her “urgently”. So he used one
Convener: Chris Slaughter
More accurately, it was an “only at of those “only in Hong Kong” tech-
General Manager
Gilbert Cheng the FCC” experience. niques: he told her secretary this was
Shortly after finding table, I told an emergency call on behalf of her
The Correspondent my guests: “My God, there is a guy at elderly mother in the UK. Of course,
© The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, the bar that I haven’t seen in 25 years”. she immediately picked up the phone.
Hong Kong A few moments later, “And there is He laughed; she didn’t. For any of you
The Correspondent is published six times somebody, I haven’t seen in 20 years”. who have lived overseas for awhile
a year. Opinions expressed in the magazine
are not necessarily those of the Club. And so it continued, until I was up – away from your parents – you can
Publications Committee to five (or was it six?) old friends, fill in the blanks and understand the
Conveners: Kees Metselaar, Anna Fenton acquaintances and colleagues whom exact outcome of the call.
Editor: Diane Stormont
I hadn’t seen or talked to – or, in one But things like that no longer hap-
Editorial and Production
Hongkongnow.com Ltd case, hadn’t thought about – in five pen, do they? Twenty-five years ago,
Tel: 2521 2814 running into a guy like that at the bar,
E-mail: fccmag@hongkongnow.com
to 25 years. For the most part, I was
thrilled to see them or sad there wasn’t there would have been a fist fight, bar
Printer: Printing Station (2008)
more time to catch up. (For the guy at stools would have tipped over and
the bar I had a different reaction.) Bloody Marys would have hit the wall.
They’ve all moved on in their lives, But not today. Times have changed (I
careers and living situations. Some from think).
2 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008

Election
> FROM THE PRESIDENT The Board of Governors

2008-2009
PRESIDENT
Ernst Herb
L
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
et me start by thanking Tom Mitchell
you for your confidence SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
in making me President Kevin Egan
of the best Foreign Cor- CORRESPONDENT GOVERNORS
respondents’ Club in the Keith Bradsher, Bonnie Engel,
world. I’m not sure what it says Anna Healy Fenton, Jim Laurie,
about your judgement but now that Kees Metselaar, Christopher
Slaughter, Stephen Vines,
the deed is done, I will do my best Douglas Wong
to avoid screwing up. If I do, there
are good people to point this out to JOURNALIST GOVERNORS
Francis Moriarity,
everyone and, once we’ve finished Jake van der Kamp
laughing at my expense, to help fix
whatever needs fixing.
ASSOCIATE GOVERNORS
Andrew Chworowsky, Thomas
Tom Mitchell and Kevin Egan, Crampton, David O’Rear,
respectively first and second VPs, are Masaharu (Steve) Ushiyama
well known to many of us through
their years in Hong Kong. Among the
other Governors are Keith Bradsher, FCC Committees
Bonnie Engel, Anna Healy Fenton, 2008-2009
Jim Laurie, Kees Metselaar, Christo- All of us owe a (As resolved by the Board of Governors
pher Slaughter, Stephen Vines and
Douglas Wong. Journalists have Fran-
special thanks to 2008-2009 on May 22, 2008)
Club Secretary
cis Moriarty and Jake van der Kamp our 113 staff. I can David O’Rear
to look after them. Our Associate
Governors are Andrew Chworowsky,
tell you from my Finance
Convener – Jake van der Kamp
Thomas Crampton, David O’Rear and experience in FCCs (Treasurer)
Steve Ushiyama.
All of us owe a special thanks to
elsewhere that they Membership
Convener – Steve Ushiyama
our 113 staff. I can tell you from my make a tremendous Professional
experience in FCCs elsewhere that Convener – Tom Mitchell
they make a tremendous difference.
difference. It is they Keith Bradsher
It is they who make our Club a “home who make our Club Publications
away from home”. Convener – Kees Metselaar
Gilbert Cheng, the General Man-
a “home away from Anna Healy Fenton
House/Food and Beverage
ager, has been with the FCC for over home”. Convener – Stephen Vines
30 years. He definitely does not look
old enough but he was already with Wine Sub-committee
Chairman – Bonnie Engel
us when we were located in Suther-
FCC Charity Fund
land House, famous for John Le
Co-Chairman – Andrew
Carré’s literary references. Chworowsky & Thomas Crampton
Many staff probably know you by Press Freedom
name, and may know your member- Convener – Francis Moriarty
ship number and favourite beverage Constitution
as well. They are professionals and Convener – Kevin Egan
their work continues regardless of Wall
who sits on the Board from year to Convener – Christopher Slaughter
THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008 3

Election
year. They know guys like me come

The Count and go, and what remains, as the
VOTES RECEIVED FROM: soul of the Club is due, in no small
part, to their efforts. And, above and
Correspondent members – 97 ballots
beyond the call of duty, they have
5 ballots were ruled void 2 had no inner envelopes raised tens of thousands of dollars for
1 was made by a spouse member earthquake relief. This special effort
1 used the wrong voting envelope comes on top of the long hours they
put in, on a voluntary basis, to make
1 had resigned
the annual Charity Ball (September 13
this year) a success.
Journalist members – 24 ballots
2 ballots were ruled void as they were both from a single member ***
Journalists usually write about
other people, but hardly ever about
Associate members – 203 ballots themselves. But sometimes we our-
8 ballots were ruled void 1 had no inner envelope selves become the subject of media
4 were without the member’s name on the outer envelope interest, as has happened with specu-
lation over our lease.
1 voter was a Corporate member and not entitled to vote
You may have heard the latest in
1 was a Life Absent member and not entitled to vote the series of leases we’ve held on the
1 vote failed to enclose the ballot in the outer envelope. Ice House for 25 years is due to expire
in January next year. As always, we
raised the issue of renewal with our
landlord, the Government Property
Agency, and they assure us that they
will take our request under consider-
ation. As most of our members will
know, this is the normal procedure
when coming to the end of a fixed-
term lease.
Because of the (largely unfounded)
speculation that has emerged in the
media recently, we’re caught in a bit
of a dilemma. As tenants we want to
keep all our options open and not tip
our hand during negotiations. But as
journalists we staunchly believe any
story deserves consideration, regard-

Election Results for FCC
Board of Governors 2008-2009
Votes
President Matthew C. Driskill 35
Ernst Herb 56*
First Vice President Tom Mitchell 75*
Second Vice President Kevin Barry H. Egan 232*
Correspondent Governors Paul G. Bayfield 45

Keith Bradsher 61*
Bonnie E. Engel 50*
less of who (or what) it is about.
After reports about our negotiations Anna Healy Fenton 49*
appeared in the press, the rumour Jim Laurie 46*
mill from whence they arose began to
Robin Piers Lynam 37
churn in earnest, particularly around
Kees Metselaar 50*
our principal political platform, the
Main Bar. (By the way, non-journalists Colum Murphy 44
can be assured that when correspon- Christopher Slaughter 52*
dents find themselves the subject of
Stephen Vines 65*
media reports they react in just the
same way as the wider public, ie with Keith Wallis 27
a distinct lack of finesse). Douglas Wong 50*
That said, everyone should be
assured that the Board has, is and will
Journalist Governors Barclay Crawford 47
be taking all the necessary steps to do
what is best for the Club. The discus- Francis Moriarty 82*
sion has shown how strongly our iden- Jake Van Der Kamp 73*
tity is intertwined with this location, as
well as the broader community’s inter-
Associate Governors John Batten 111
est in the best Club anywhere. And, as
you will know from periodic disrup- Andrew Paul Chworowsky 140*
tions to our facilities, we have invested Thomas Crampton 132*
heavily in maintenance and preserva- Geoffrey William Fawcett 68
tion of this beautiful building.
David P. Garcia 117
Personally, I think the old ice stor-
age house is put to much better use Anthony Nedderman 37
today, as the best bar in Asia, than David O’Rear 125*
when it was a storage bin back in the Simon Twiston Davies 122
days before we moved in. The $17 mil-
Masaharu (Steve) Ushiyama 139*
lion or so we’ve spent on our lady in
recent years is money well invested,
not only for our own enjoyment, but Election Committee Philip Bowring, V.G. Kulkarni, Diane Stormont
also to preserve an important part of Witness Wendy Kwok, Horwath Hong Kong CPA , Club
Hong Kong’s heritage. I’m betting we Auditor
get to keep looking after this place for
Counters Gilbert Cheng, Rosalia Ho, Chan Hoi-lo
a few more years to come.
Ernst Herb * Denotes winner

president@fcchk.org

Media
Left to Right: Eric WIshart, Mushtaq Yusufzai, Peter Arnett
‘...truly in Kate Webb’s spirit’

T
The Agence France-Presse Foundation has he inaugural Kate Webb
launched a prize honouring the memory Award, established by AFP
following Kate’s death in
of an exceptional reporter and human
November last year, was present-
being, Kate Webb. And the first award was ed to Pakistani reporter Mushtaq
presented at the FCC on 18 June in the Yusufzai, based in Peshawar for the
presence of another legendary foreign English-language daily The News and
correspondent (and fellow New Zealander), for NBC News.
As Eric Wishart, AFP’s Asia-Pacific Director,
Peter Arnett, reports Jonathan Sharp. explained at the award ceremony, the Founda-
tion and Kate’s family felt it was appropriate
that the �5,000 euro annual prize should go to
6 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

local reporters in Asia who perform
exceptional work in dangerous and
difficult conditions. Kate, a pioneer
for women’s war journalism, spent
much of her career in such conditions.
She was also renowned for working
closely with, and championing the
cause of, local reporters.
And as Eric said, Mushtaq cer-
tainly fits the bill. The 32-year-old
father of two specialises in covering
one of the most hazardous environ-
ments the world can offer, the wild
tribal lands on Pakistan’s border with
Afghanistan, where the Taliban and
Al-Qaeda operate. As AFP reported in
May when the award was announced,
Mushtaq has been wounded by the
Taliban, arrested by Pakistani forces
and his mother has begged him to
quit – but still he keeps reporting from
the front line.
War reporting has changed in
recent years, Eric told the award cer-
emony, with increasing reliance on
local reporters. The Pakistani bad-
lands are a case in point. It’s not a
place where foreign journalists go
any more. “If it wasn’t for people like
Mushtaq we wouldn’t know what was
happening. It’s tough, but he does
it, and it’s very important. His work
is truly in Kate Webb’s spirit.” Six
Pakistani journalists have been killed
in the past four years in the region
where Mushtaq operates.
Kate’s family members Rachel and
Jeremy, who have worked closely with
the AFP Foundation in establishing the
award, sent a moving message, which
was read out by AFP’s Chief Editor for the world is given a glimpse into the aged and he suffered minor injuries.
Asia, Phil Chetwynd. They said they extent of the problems there.” The firing was intense and Mush-
were thrilled and delighted with the Mushtaq began in journalism as taq subsequently said he thought his
award to Mushtaq. “His initiative and a health reporter. But he says he time had come. But this imperturbable,
skill in reporting events in Afghani- was always interested in reporting on softly spoken professional continued
stan and Pakistan are qualities which Pakistan’s tribal areas because they filming the clash and eventually the
would be dear to Kate’s heart.” were the most challenging. Taliban fighters were forced to retreat.
Pulitzer-prize winner Peter Arnett, In 2002 he was near Afghanistan’s With his prize money Mushtaq will
no stranger to danger himself, under- Tora Bora cave complex when it was continue to investigate the complex
scored the vital role played by local bombed by US forces who suspected it story he has risked life and limb for,
reporters. “(The Afghanistan-Pakistan was the lair of Al-Qaeda leader Osama but in less dangerous circumstances.
border region) has become one of the bin Laden. He wants to travel to the US and Brit-
most dangerous in the world to cover, In 2005, he was in a convoy of pro- ain to investigate reports that groups
and it’s through the efforts of Mush- government tribal forces ambushed by in the West are sending converts to
taq and other local journalists that the Taliban. His jeep was badly dam- Islam into the tribal areas.

Feature
Top: Cloud (left) and Strewth (right) at the start of the race. PHOTOS BY CARLO BORLENGHI/ROLEX.
All At Sea
After finishing fourth in class in the
2007 San Fernando Race, the crew of
Cloud had high hopes of a place in this
year’s Rolex China Sea Race. It was not
to be, reports FCC Board member and
galley slave Andy Chworowsky.

W
e got off to a beauti- Left: L-R: Olivier,
ful start at noon on Chris and Andy.
Right: Shadowing
Thursday, March 20. Strewth.
The fleet of 24 boats made quite
a sight beating up the harbour.
We had a good duel with our
sister boat, WalaWala, got way
ahead of her through the Lei Yue
Mun gap, and were well ahead
(we think) in our division as we
bore away to the southeast.
The winds settled in at about 25 knots
and we put two reefs into the main and
hoisted the number three headsail.
We started our four-hour watch rota at
8 pm on the first night. Olivier Dechamps,
(former FCC President) Paul Bayfield, Bruce

Feature
Perkins and Win Kaaka took of the boat to help stabilise it.
the first watch. Tristan Stew- But the entire crew returned to
art, (former FCC President ) the deck; they didn’t want to
Chris Slaughter, Lucinda Ho risk being trapped inside if the
and yours truly relieved them boat turned turtle.
at midnight. And so on. Strewth made contact with
We experienced very the Yacht Club in Hong Kong
rough seas for most of the and the Marine Rescue Com-
night. No one lost his din- mand Centre there, too. After
ner though I must say it was looking at all the options (we
about the closest I have ever were about 140 miles from
come. By early morning, the Hong Kong at this point –
waters had calmed as we were which was the closest land-
well past the continental shelf fall) Strewth’s crew decided to
and the South China Sea oil continue motoring towards
rigs. A pleasant blue-water Hong Kong and we were
regular swell and sunshine made us Chris inadvertently deployed his life- asked to accompany them, standing
all look forward to a wonderful day jacket for which we mocked him not. by in case of an emergency.
at sea. This meant us giving up the race,
People were starting to move eas- happens there is a 99% chance of the but, of course, there is no other choice
ily about the boat, putting right equip- crew suffering serious injury or loss of than to render assistance – they cer-
ment and gear that had been thrown life. So this was no small deal. tainly would have done the same for
around during the night. Win hero- When we got close, we indeed us were the situation reversed.
ically tackled the head, which was sur- saw she was rolling in the waves Chris, Lucinda and I had sailed
rounded by about six inches of slosh- pretty dramatically. She had 13 crew on Strewth a few times, and are good
ing awfulness. We waited patiently for (the unlucky number did not go un- friends with her skipper, Ben Johnson.
him to finish before venturing in for noted) and they were all on deck We did remark a little wryly that we
morning necessities. looking a bit dishevelled but very were glad it was someone we liked!
Just before 8 am, Olivier, the skip- happy to see us. So, we fell in behind Strewth and
per, noticed another yacht motoring It must have been a very tense night sailed north. The day turned out to
in the opposite direction, about a for them. We learned later that when be gorgeous. Very calm seas, with
mile and a half away from us, with the keel went, they were fairly off the eight to 10 knots of breeze. We put
no sails up. We hadn’t heard any- wind and the boat rounded up on her up our mainsail, which was enough
thing on the radio, and were trying to (very wide) stern instead of rolling to keep us at about four to five knots
figure out who she was when Chris over. They immediately dropped all – Strewth’s motoring speed.
spotted a parachute flare shot from the sails, released the boom from the We fell into a fairly relaxed day. We
her stern. mast and got as much weight as they put a fishing line in the water – some-
As I (heroically) switched off the could down below and in the middle thing we would never do during a
kettle, Cloud turned and we race because of the drag – but man-
struggled into our harnesses and aged to catch nothing. We tried to
life jackets. As we approached, practise splicing lines and showing
we made radio contact and off techniques for tying bowlines
found out she was Strewth, a one-handed and such.
TP52, and that she had lost her In the afternoon, Strewth’s crew
keel about four or five hours said they were worried about their
earlier. TP52s are hi-tech racing fuel situation. It looked like they
machines designed to compete might not have enough to make
in the Trans-Pacific race from San the entire trip back. It was decided
Diego to Hawaii. They are really we had better transfer some fuel
fast boats, skittish and light. The to them while the seas were calm,
amazing thing was that Strewth the winds were light and the sun
had not capsized. Someone told was shining.
me later that 95% of boats of this We didn’t have any jerry cans,
sort capsize immediately when so they emptied two of their
they lose their keel and when this spare water cans, tied them to a

line and trailed them back to us. could smell the bacon frying.
Siphoning diesel out of our tank They certainly were not going
into the cans was the subject of to have anyone below cooking
much debate and failed experi- for them.
mentation. Around 10 am we approached
Siphoning was impossible, Hong Kong waters and just south
because the tanks were located of the Lemur Islands, we met the
at the lowest point on the boat Yacht Club launch, Kellett VI. She
and the target of a siphon has deployed a rigid inflatable boat
to be lower than the source. (RIB) to transfer about eight 30-
We then tried sticking one hose litre jerry cans of water to Strewth
down into the tank, and anoth- to serve as ballast. Six of the
er right next to it, sealing the crew transhipped to the launch
opening and blowing air into and we proceeded towards the
the tank in the hopes of forcing the We then settled in for the night. harbour mouth. Strewth wasn’t
fuel out. Nope. No one has that sort of We stayed as close to her stern as we totally out of danger yet as swells can
lung power. could without risking collision. The be rough outside the Lei Yue Mun gap
Finally we accessed the fuel sump seas did indeed kick up and count- and the wake in the harbour can often
below the engine and using one of less times we watched her mast be troublesome.
those cheap plastic hand siphons, light swing wildly in huge arcs above We did relax enough to mix up a
pumped them out 40 litres, one hand- the horizon and thought, uh-oh, this jug of rum and coke and toast our-
ful at a time. Then we tied the cans to is it. selves for making it back without
their line and sent them back. That was But she remained upright. We trouble. As we entered the harbour,
pretty much the excitement of the day. learned later that through the rougher the RIB was deployed again to run
As dusk approached, things got parts the crew shifted from side to ahead and challenge boats breaking
back to a more serious tone. The fore- side to help stabilise her. But again the speed limit. We were impressed
cast for the evening did not bode well. we were blessed. The seas never got when it stared down an 80-foot Immi-
We could expect the winds to kick too bad, and though we went through gration Department launch and were
back up to 20-25 knots, and, as we a few rain patches where we had to looking forward to it challenging a
approached shallower water, a much keep very close to maintain visual cruise liner following close behind.
bigger chop. contact, we made it through the night But the ship was keeping to the
We readied the boat for a possible without incident. By dawn, we were speed limit.
emergency during the night. We tied pretty confident we would make it all We made it back to the Yacht Club
throwing lines attached to floating the way home without drama. at about 2 pm to a table of beer, rum
fenders around the rail of our boat. It was calm enough for me to put and coke, and hot soup – all consumed
Flashlights were positioned at vari- on a full cholesterol-bomb breakfast in about equal proportions.
ous stations, and the gates on the rail of home fries, bacon and scrambled The boatyard quickly removed
were un-taped in case we had to pull eggs. Tristan, in a bit of devilishness, Strewth’s mast and lifted her out of
anyone aboard. We talked through moved us upwind of Strewth so they the water. We had a look at where
what we would all do in the event the keel had been. It was a clean
they went over and we found our- break. The bolts had sheered.
selves in a rescue situation. Then it was off for hot show-
Strewth’s crew in the meantime ers and up to the bar where
prepared all their safety gear and everyone took the opportunity
life rafts at the stern. They were to recount their stories, over and
ready to hoist a fender up the mast, over, and louder and louder ....
which was hoped would prevent the well into the night.
boat turning right over, at least for
a little while. We agreed with them
that should they capsize that all Bottom Left: The galley slave
hands would first try to get into the emerges. Top: Bowline or granny
rafts and then we would take them knot? Bottom: Misguided attempt
on board from the rafts. Also that we to blow enough air into tank to
would approach their boat from the force fuel out.
hull side, perpendicular to them. PHOTOS BY LUCINDA HO.

Photography

THE WELL-HIDDEN CHARMS OF
TSUEN WAN
Our intrepid traveller gets off the beaten track to explore downtown
Tsuen Wan. Words and photographs by Cecily Gamst Berg.
T
he first thing I notice when I But will Tsuen Wan love me? An my last haircut and tinting cost about
arrive in Tsuen Wan (Fragrant early indicator says no. I’m trying 200 times that. The difference in price
Herb Bay) one morning is the to photograph some sugar canes at probably reflects the difference in rent
number of spitting men. Or men spit- close range because I think it will look between a salon in Prince’s Building
ting. rather artistic, bottle green and stuck and downtown Tsuen Wan, but still.
Spitting in the street right in front in a white bucket as they are. These guys have been at it for 30
of other people’s feet is something “What the hell do you think you years but they will soon have to find
you see less of in today’s Hong Kong, are doing?” It’s the owner of the sugar another shaving venue as the whole
but here they are, middle-aged to cane shop and he is vexed. neighbourhood is coming down to
early geriatric men gobbing up with “Er ... taking a photo of these sugar make way for yet another unimagina-
panache and flair, wiping the spittle canes.” tive 40-storey mall with shiny tiles
nonchalantly with the sole of their “Without permission? You can’t and mirrors. They might also retire.
shoe as they walk on, probably to just come here and take photos with- But given the prices they charge, what
eliminate germs. out permission. Those are my sugar the hell on?
I get all warm and fuzzy inside as canes. You want to take photos, you They don’t mind being photo-
this reminds me more than anything ask ME.” graphed and neither does the man
of my closest holiday destination, that Moving swiftly on I find a little sitting incongruously among plas-
dear country to the north. I’m pre- back alley where men are having their tic toys and a photocopier, playing
pared to love Tsuen Wan if only for faces and heads shaved for $10. It is haunting melodies on his erhu. But
the spitting. with not a little envy I remember that it has to be said that in Tsuen Wan I

Travel
encounter more opposition to being

photographed than anywhere else.
Tsuen Wan sports possibly the most
beautiful museum in Hong Kong: the
Saam Tong Uk Walled Hakka Village.
Climbing over the high thresh-
old of its perfectly re-created gate,
my first thought is why haven’t the
powers that be (property developers)
kept more of this instead of casting
it all away on the altar of soul-kill-
ing malls and 60-floor luxury apart-
ments? Because then they wouldn’t
be property developers but property
protectors and Hong Kong would be
the most beautiful city in Asia instead
of a mere “world city”.
Here is Chinese architecture at its
best. Whitewashed walls and black
tiles, room after room of high ceil-
ings, mezzanine sleeping quarters
complete with artefacts such as ant-
proof food containers, wooden clogs,
wedding paraphernalia and furniture
sourced from all over China. But not
much was found here − the Hakkas
of Tsuen Wan, formerly known as
Tsin Wan (Shallow Bay), threw away
absolutely everything old as various
industries moved into the area, tradi-
tional houses were razed and people
moved into government flats.
And were those people short! The
doors of most of the rooms in the
walled village, apart from the village
communal halls, came up only to
my lower forehead. The kitchen work
surfaces hovered somewhere around
my kneecaps.
In the well-laid out museum, com-
plete with traditional Hakka sing-
ing piped through speakers and vid-
eoed interviews with old-timers, one
poster caught my attention: that of
“Tsuen Wan then and now.”
“... at the time there was no
such thing as comprehensive city
planning ...”
They mean there is one now?
If there is, Tsuen Wan surely can’t
be a shining example. There are more
motorways running through the place
than in the whole of Germany put
together, and with the Hong Kong
government’s scrupulous attention to

that old chestnut “your own safety”, utensils, especially bowls and trays, but
there are more kilometres of pavement can stand a spittoon if well made. What
railings than there are grains of sand happened to the I-Feng enamel factory
in the Gobi Desert. All right, not a good with its 100,000 square feet of floor
example as the Gobi is largely made up area? Gone to the great plastic bucket
of rocks, but you know what I mean. in the sky I suppose. I mean – enamel
An intricate system of overhead bowl versus plastic bowl? No contest!
walkways sort of ties the various Contemplating the sad fact of life
pockets of ground-level human activ- that everything grows old and ugly,
ity together, but you have to spend a except in Hong Kong where everything
fair amount of time trawling through grows new and super ugly, I stumble
shopping centres, MTR-owned, natu- upon a park full of old geezers playing
rally, and “hygienic indoor wet mar- dominoes and cards. It’s a lovely park
kets” to make it onto one of them. laid out in a typical Chinese pattern
If you, like I do, prefer to stay on with little curved bridges, waterfalls
the ground, you might have to walk and rock arrangements. It just needs
up to 500 metres in some places to to be 16 times bigger to be a real park,
even be able to cross the road, if you but hey.
don’t want to fly in the face of all
O
convention and personal safety and n a bridge I meet a retired guy
climb over the bastards (railings). who speaks through a hole in
No, Tsuen Wan is a perfect example his throat. Having his larynx
of how our civic-minded and town- ripped out in the early 1980s had been
planning government wants our city the making of him apparently – he had
future to be: a place created primarily toured both Japan and Korea talking in
for cars and with pedestrian needs his throaty animal monotone about the
thrown in as an afterthought: hun- dangers of smoking. For a man without
dreds of steps up and down stairs just a voicebox he certainly can hold his
to get across the road. own, not drawing breath for about 20
A place for old and/or decrepit minutes as he clutches my arm with
people this ain’t as they surely don’t one hand and holds his speaking tube,
have the energy to traverse all those which he had designed himself, on his
steps. And yet, amid all this industri- Adam’s apple with the other.
al-strength concrete and metal, there So that proves once and for all my
exists a stubborn humanity which theory about the tones in Cantonese
seems to prefer milling around on the not being as important as people say
ground, mostly in the two streets in – in fact not important at all. This guy
the entire town where you can still has ONE tone and it’s not even very
find buildings of normal height and good ... but I understand everything
privately owned open-front shops. he says.
Trees in full spring bloom give Talking of one tone: in one of those
these streets a village-like feel and, little pavement stalls where every-
like so many times before, I wish I thing costs less than $30, I finally
could be transported to the past just find the object of my dreams: a little
for a day − or even an hour − to get a machine the size of a packet of fags
glimpse of what Hong Kong was like which screams in a voice that’s a
when it was beautiful. sparked the inevitable. By 1962, there cross between Minnie Mouse, a 200 kg
For even in the late 1970s Tsuen were 108 textile mills in Tsuen Wan. fishwife and an air raid siren: “Hello!
Wan was little more than a village with By the mid-1970s, there were nearly Welllll-coooome”!
one-storey houses crammed together one thousand. This could lead only to It’s set off by people, or rather, any
surrounded by fields, as documented one thing: a massive influx of people, kind of movement, near it. It’s the
in the helpful films and brochures in first living in shanty towns and then, burglar alarm I’ve always wanted. Yes,
the museum. increasingly, in public housing. I love this Tsuen Wan despite its crap
But large-scale textile manufactur- Another huge industry in Tsuen town planning and visual offensive-
ing which began after World War II, Wan was enamelware. I love enamel ness.

Feature
SEAWISE
AFTER THE EVENT

SCMP
There was no shortage of news on January 9, 1972. In the UK, coal miners were launching
their first national strike in decades, Howard Hughes said a purported biography of him
by Clifford Irving was a fake, and newspapers were feverishly anticipating Richard Nixon’s
forthcoming visit to China. But then a story from Hong Kong popped into the headlines: fire
had broken out on board the Seawise University, formerly the iconic liner Queen Elizabeth.
Jonathan Sharp, who covered the saga for Reuters, talked to FCC members who have
vivid memories of the blaze – the inferno that launched a thousand conspiracy theories.
Unless indicated, photos by Bob Davis.
F
or photographer Bob Davis, Seaw-
ise University had promised to be
a nice little earner. The ship, so
re-named as a play on the initials of its
new owner, tycoon C.Y.Tung, had been
anchored in Hong Kong’s outer harbour
for six months. It was being converted
into a university for the World Campus
Afloat programme, a suitably dignified
final career for the former empress of
the Atlantic crossing.
Seawise University had received a regal recep-
tion when she steamed into Hong Kong, includ- Left: Seawise anchored off Tsing Yi. Top: Seawise Ablaze. Bottom: First
ing a salute from the spray of a local fireboat. Class cabin.

Feature
Top: Once refitted, the ship was due to sail to Japan for dry-docking. Bottom: Shipyard workers departing.
That same craft, the Alex- ship during World War Two.
ander Grantham, would be Completed as the war began,
used for a more serious, and the Queen Elizabeth was sur-
futile, purpose six months rounded with such secrecy
later. that, on her maiden voyage
As the refit neared com- to New York, not even her
pletion, Bob was commis- captain was told what course
sioned by the Tung family to set until the ship had left
to document the liner’s new harbour.
incarnation. The day after his explor-
Recalling his conversation atory visit, Bob called the
with the Tung family repre- Tung representative and said
sentative about the proposed he aimed to start the shoot
deal, Bob said recently: “I said the following week. He was
OK, I’ll have to go out and do have you got and what do you want then told that the job would
a recce and then I will give a quote, me to shoot. I could see it running have to be postponed as it would
because I will have to find out how into weeks.” be “an inconvenient time to go next
much time I’ll need.” Bob spent about three or four week”.
At this stage, nothing about his hours on board, shooting what Inconvenient, indeed. January 9,
commission had been signed or turned out to be probably the last 1972 found some 2,000 workmen plus
sealed. photographs taken of the ship’s inte- their wives and children on board
“So I duly went out there on one rior before the disaster struck. One sightseeing. A cocktail party was
of their boats with a whole bunch of image that has stuck in his memory planned by the owner for that after-
labourers. I immediately realised this was of an alcove where the wall was noon just prior to the ship sailing to
was going to be an enormous job. I covered in messages of the “I love Japan for dry-docking preparatory to
looked around various places on the Susie” type, scribbled by some of the a March 28 maiden voyage as Seawise
ship and thought, maybe I should go tens of thousand of GIs transported University. At approximately 10:30 am
back to them and ask how many days to Europe by the liner-turned-troop- fire seemed to erupt everywhere at

Top: Almost complete - the Cafe Deck. Bottom: A walla walla journey to the ship cost $40.
once and spread with great The ex-Queen Elizabeth’s

speed. final, ignominious bow was
The following day the in 1974 when the wreck was
stricken vessel rolled over on featured in the James Bond
to its side and came to rest movie The Man with the Gold-
in the shallow water, most of en Gun as a covert headquar-
its bulk still visible. Remark- ters for MI6.
ably, no one was killed. Sent So who was responsible
by Reuters to have a look, for destroying the former
I hired a walla walla – for pride of the Cunard Line?
HK$40 – and was able to get A court of inquiry, stating
quite close to the mighty, the fairly obvious, concluded
buckled flanks of the wreck, that several fires were set
still smoking. simultaneously using highly
Bob also had a good view inflammable substances. It
of the fire. He was enjoying a bar- on fire.” Anthony says he looked out was a “deliberate act by persons or
beque on a friend’s roof top in Central of his Mid-Levels window and could persons unknown”. There were no
and he was able, as his lunch sizzled confirm first hand that the vessel was arrests.
pleasantly, to watch his commission ablaze. There was also mystery about
go literally up in smoke. Anthony says he felt slightly Bob’s pre-blaze photographs, which
Another witness was the BBC’s embarrassed that London had had he mislaid but then re-discovered
Anthony Lawrence, who says he was to inform him about a major story about eight years ago in his agent’s
talking to his office in London about that was unfolding in front of his office in London. They were found
doing a story about the Seawise Univer- own eyes. But he was able to recoup. with many more images taken in
sity − as a floating educational estab- Thanks to the time difference between Hong Kong that he had not seen since
lishment. Suddenly, the man in Lon- Hong Kong and Britain, his report was 1972. He intends to incorporate some
don, presumably reading news agency broadcast in the BBC’s breakfast news of these pictures in a book on Hong
copy, exclaimed: “The bloody thing’s bulletins. Kong he is preparing.

Opinion
Tibetan protesters shout

anti-Chinese slogans during a
protest in New Delhi.

IS
TIBET
ENTITLED TO SELF DETERMINATION?
This article was originally commissioned by Hong
Kong Lawyer, the journal of the Law Society, which
then declined to publish it. It is reproduced here
with the permission of the author.
BY PAUL HARRIS S.C. with Tibet’s situation, it is an international problem

crying out for a solution.
The purpose of this article is to explore whether Tibet can
be said to have a right to self-determination under 4. Most countries recognize China’s sovereignty over
international law. Tibet. The one notable exception is the United Kingdom
which traditionally recognizes “suzerainty” of China
2. The official position of the Chinese Government with autonomy for Tibet, a subtle evasion which hap-
on this issue is that Tibet is an inalienable part of pens to be fairly close to the actual situation of Tibet
the People’s Republic of China (just as France once in relation to China during the last years of the Ching
claimed that Algeria was an inalienable part of Met- dynasty (1644-1911). The United States has officially
ropolitan France). Those who question this are regu- recognized China’s sovereignty over Tibet since 1966.
larly attacked in the official Chinese media in vitri- Many states have glossed over or deliberately left unde-
olic terms as “splittists”[1], and anti-China. If they are fined the question of whether their recognition is de
themselves Chinese and live in China they are liable jure or de facto i.e. recognizing China as having a legal
to be imprisoned. Wei Jingsheng and more recently title, or merely recognizing the fact that it is in reality
Hua Jia are well-known Mainland Chinese dissidents ruling Tibet.
imprisoned for calling for a new Chinese government
attitude towards Tibet. 5. Notwithstanding these ambiguities, overwhelming
state recognition for a given territorial status is itself
3. Questioners about Tibet from outside China are also usually powerful or even conclusive evidence of that
habitually criticized by China for “interfering in China’s status in international law. The question therefore aris-
internal affairs”. However to the Tibetans and most es as to why Tibet should be different. To answer this
people in the world outside China who are familiar it is necessary to consider the meaning of sovereignty
PHOTOGRAPHS BY AFP

Opinion
and of self-determination in international law and the and the European powers generally supported the
facts of China’s involvement with Tibet. cause of independence of the Serbs, Romanians and
Bulgarians.
What is sovereignty?
9. At the Paris Peace Conference after World War I US
6. Under the traditional theory of state sovereignty which President Woodrow Wilson pushed for the peace settle-
underpinned international law for three hundred years, ment to be based on the principle that “every territorial
it was for the rulers of states to determine by agreement settlement in this war must be made in the interest
between themselves which territories they would rule and for the benefit of the populations concerned, and
over. This system, formalized by the Treaty of Westpha- not as a part of any mere adjustment or compromise of
lia in 1648, did not give any role to subjects in choosing claims amongst rival states”. Despite this, the principle
their ruler. If sovereignty was not determined by con- was only selectively applied, where it coincided with
quest, it was decided by mutually agreed cession. No the interests of the major players at the conference. In
one consulted the inhabitants of the island of Minorca other cases it was flagrantly ignored, most notably in
before it was ceded by Spain to Britain by the Treaty the transfer of the former German Chinese treaty port
of Utrecht in 1713, or before it was ceded to Britain a of Tsingtao to Japan against the wishes of its inhabit-
second time, after capture by the French, by the Treaty ants.
of Paris in 1763, or before it was ceded back to Spain by
the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Minorca’s experience was 10. By the time the United Nations was set up after World
typical of many small European territories which hap- War II, it was generally recognized that peoples had
pened to be coveted by more than one European power. the right of self-determination. Article 1.2 of the United
Similar cession with complete disregard for the views Nations Charter states that the purposes of the United
of the inhabitants was also the fate of overseas colo- Nations include the development of friendly relations
nial territories. Bombay became British in 1662 because among nations based on respect for the principle of
it was ceded to England by Portugal as the dowry of self-determination of peoples. It can therefore be said
Charles II’s Portuguese bride, Catherine of Braganza. that all states which have become members of the
United Nations by ratifying the United Nations Char-
7. Modern international law, although now applied at ter – including China – have accepted the principle of
least to some extent by every country in the world, respect for the self-determination of peoples.
is largely a European invention[2]. This applies par-
ticularly to the doctrine of state sovereignty, under 11. The United Nations Charter was followed by the Uni-
which China claims sovereignty over Tibet. It has been versal Declaration of Human Rights. The rights in the
cogently argued[3] that by appropriating this European Universal Declaration were elaborated in two more
concept to claim sovereignty over Tibet, China is dis- detailed international covenants which, unlike the
torting a traditional historic relationship between the Declaration itself, are treaties intended to have legal
Ching dynasty emperors and the Dalai Lama of Tibet, force. Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil
which was that of a patron and a religious leader, and and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that “All peoples have
not that of a sovereign and a subject. If this is right, the right to self determination. By virtue of that right
all China’s claims to sovereignty based on the Ching- they may freely determine their political status”. The
Dalai Lama relationship (and its more recent claims ICCPR has been ratified by 161[4] of 192 United Nations
based on the earlier relationship between the Mongol member countries. Five other countries, including
(Yuan dynasty) emperors and Tibet) are misconceived. China, have signed but not ratified. A nation which is a
However I argue below that, misconceived or not, these signatory of an international treaty, such as the ICCPR,
claims are in any case irrelevant to whether Tibet now is obliged under international law to “refrain from acts
has a right to self-determination. which would defeat the purpose and object of the trea-
ty” (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article
Self-determination 18, codifying earlier customary international law).
8. The Westphalia concept of state sovereignty came into 12. China is therefore bound, both by its adherence to
conflict with nationalist aspirations for statehood in the United Nations Charter and by its signature of the
nineteenth century Europe. Polish nationalists did not ICCPR to respect the principle of self-determination of
like Poland being partitioned between the German and peoples.
Russian Empires. Czechs did not like being part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. Britain supported the cause What does the right of peoples to self-determination actually
of Greek independence against the Ottoman Empire, mean?

Tibetan activists-in-exile
demanding independence
stage a torch relay in the
streets of Dharamsala, India.
13. There was no consensus about what the right to self- “peoples”. It excludes African tribes whose populations
determination meant when it was included in the may be concentrated in one part of a state, or parts of
ICCPR. Western countries were generally reluctant more than one state. It therefore gives no encourage-
to include it, but felt obliged to do so in response to ment to the destructive tendency to fragmentation of
the aspirations of recently independent countries to African states which was seen in the Biafran War in
end European colonialism in those places were it still Nigeria and which has recently been evident in Kenya.
existed. Communist and Soviet influenced countries More controversially it excludes some peoples with
generally interpreted self-determination as meaning a long history of struggle for independence, such as
the right to choose a socialist form of government. the Kurds (spread across parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and
Syria).
14. Since the ICCPR came into effect in 1976 there has been
widespread concern that if the right to self-determina- 17. The issue of self-determination was considered in the
tion in Article 1 is applied literally this could lead to the context of colonial territories in the United Nations
break-up of many existing states. This applies particu- General Assembly Declaration on the Granting of Inde-
larly to Africa, whose national boundaries are mostly pendence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (General
colonial era constructs, but also to numerous other Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV)) of 14 December 1960.
states with ethnic minority populations who form a Article 1 of this Declaration states that “The subjection
majority in particular regions. of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploi-
tation constitutes a denial of fundamental human
15. The consensus which has emerged is that the right to rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations
self-determination for the purposes of ICCPR Article 1 and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace
applies only to the following: (1) entire populations liv- and co-operation.” A further General Assembly resolu-
ing in independent states, (2) entire populations of ter- tion, the Declaration on Principles of International Law,
ritories yet to receive independence, and (3) territories Friendly Relations and Co-operation among states in
under foreign military occupation[5]. accordance with the charter of the United Nations, of
1970, again states that “alien subjugation, domination
16. This is a restrictive definition which excludes numerous and exploitation are a violation of the principle” [of
groups who would in ordinary language be regarded as self-determination], as well as a denial of fundamental

Opinion
human rights, and is contrary to the [United Nations] sovereignty – between Tibet and the Chinese Republic
Charter”. which succeeded the Ching dynasty in 1911. In 1912 the
Thirteenth Dalai Lama made a formal declaration of
18. These two United Nations General Assembly Resolu- Tibetan independence. Although the Chinese Republic
tions have been extensively applied. The concept of responded by laying claim to Tibet, it never exercised
alien domination has been treated by the UN as appli- any control over it, save for certain far eastern regions,
cable to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; the Viet- where there had always been an ill-defined borderland,
namese invasion of Cambodia; the occupation of Arab which it invaded and occupied. Tibet was entirely inde-
territories by Israel; of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania pendent of foreign control between 1911 and 1950.
by the former Soviet Union; of Grenada by the United
States; of East Timor by Indonesia; and of Kuwait by 24. Even if China’s historical claim was much stronger than
Iraq[6]. It is strongly arguable that the rule that alien it is, this would not provide a justification for invasion
subjugation, domination and exploitation breach a of an independent country. Most countries were at one
people’s right to self-determination now forms part time under alien rule. In 1911 Ireland was under Brit-
of international customary law i.e. international law ish rule as it had been for centuries, Finland was ruled
established not by treaties but by the customs of by Russia, and Korea was ruled by Japan. The setting
nations. up of the United Nations was expressly intended to
prevent the kind of aggressive wars, based on spurious
The history of China’s relations with Tibet or doubtful claims to historical rule or cultural identity,
which had been the practice of both Nazi Germany and
19. China’s present control over Tibet dates from 1950 Imperial Japan.
when the People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet and
defeated the Tibetan Army at Chamdo. China claims 25. China has frequently attempted to justify the invasion
that Tibet was already part of China when it invaded. by the claim that Tibetan society was feudal and back-
ward, and that China therefore brought liberation to
20. This claim is based on a claim to sovereignty over Tibet the Tibetan peasantry from feudal domination.
by the Ching Imperial dynasty dating from the eigh-
teenth century. More recently China has claimed that 26. Scholars agree that the pre-1950 Tibetan regime was
its rule over Tibet can be traced to the rule of Tibet by feudal and backward[8]. One aspect of its backward-
the Mongols – known in China as the Yuan dynasty. ness was its failure to appoint ambassadors to other
countries or to apply to join the United Nations until
21. There are at least three major historical difficulties with invasion by China was imminent. However this failure
China’s claim. Firstly, as indicated above, it is doubtful was not due to lack of independence but due to the
whether the relationship between the Ching and the absence, in Tibet’s intensely traditional and isolated
Yuan on the one hand, and Tibet on the other,was real- government, of a clear sense of the need for a modern
ly one of sovereign and subject. The Kanghsi Emperor state to maintain relations with other states.
occupied Tibet in 1720. After his death in 1722 this
occupation continued under his successor the Yong- 27. At the risk of stating the obvious, the fact that a country
zheng Emperor until 1728, and there were further Chi- is backward cannot justify invading it. Backwardness
nese invasions in 1750 and 1792. However after the end was often advanced as a justification for nineteenth
of the occupation in 1728, and after each of the later century colonialism, what Kipling called “The White
invasions, the Chinese armies withdrew and Tibet had Man’s burden” when he encouraged the United States
virtually complete independence in practice [7]. to colonise the supposedly backward Philippines. The
fact that China relies on the “backwardness” argu-
22. Secondly, it was never suggested under either dynasty ment[9] to support its occupation of Tibet is a further
that the relationship made Tibet a part of metropolitan indication of a classic colonial occupation.
China. If it was a political relationship at all, it was one
of dependency which translated into modern language China/Tibet relations since 1950
was a colonial relationship. It is therefore a basis for
concluding that Tibet is a colony and so entitled to self- 28. China invaded Tibet on 7 October 1950. On 7 November
determination. 1950 the Tibetan Government appealed for help to the
United Nations but no assistance was forthcoming.
23. Thirdly, and most importantly, there was no relation- Tibetan forces were easily overwhelmed by the much
ship – either similar to that between Tibet and the stronger Chinese forces, with the bulk of the Tibetan
Ching dynasty, or similar to the modern concept of Army being surrounded and surrendering at Chamdo.

Monks demonstrate against China’s crackdown
in Tibet outside the Chinese embassy in Rome.
29. After the surrender the Chinese Government embarked nese Communist Party and do not function in accor-
on what would now be called a “charm offensive” in dance with concepts of autonomy. In Tibet the new
Tibet. Tibetans were given money by People’s Libera- Chinese authorities insisted on taking all important
tion Army representatives, and encouraged to accept decisions and interfered on an increasing scale with
Chinese occupation on the understanding that their the daily life of Tibetans. In response to the harshness
traditional way of life would be unchanged and that of Chinese rule, the Tibetans rose in revolt in 1958. The
Tibet would enjoy a high degree of autonomy. revolt was easily crushed by China, and in 1959 the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama and some 80,000 other Tibetans
30. In 1951 China and representatives of the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India.
signed the “17 point agreement for the Peaceful Lib-
eration of Tibet”. The drafting phraseology of this 32. The severity of Chinese repression in Tibet since
document shows that someone was looking at it when that date is well-documented [10]. There is severe
drafting Hong Kong’s Basic Law. It provides that “the repression of Tibetan Buddhism, which in 1997 was
Tibetan people have the right of exercising national labelled as a “foreign culture”. Virtually all classes in
regional autonomy under the unified leadership of secondary and higher education in Tibet are taught
the Central People’s Government’(Article 3); that “ the in Chinese not Tibetan, resulting in a high drop-out
Central People’s Government will not alter the existing rate among Tibetans. Urban development has gener-
political system in Tibet”(Article 4), and “will not alter ally benefited Chinese immigrants, large numbers
the established status, functions and powers of the of whom have moved to Tibet and who are now
Dalai Lama”(Article 4). about 12% of the population in the Tibet Administra-
tive Region. Tibetans are routinely detained for long
31. These autonomy provisions were never observed. periods without charge or sentenced to long prison
The Chinese Communist Party ruled Tibet, as it rules sentences for peacefully advocating independence or
China, by way of a centralized party organization maintaining links with the Dalai Lama. Torture and
based on classic communist doctrine, whereby each ill-treatment in detention are widespread. Freedom
organ of government is shadowed by an organ of the of expression is severely restricted. Peaceful political
party. These party organs are accountable to the Chi- demonstrations are invariably broken up and their

Opinion
participants arrested. Tibetan culture is treated as from the Serbs who form the remaining 10% and the
inferior to Chinese culture, and most key posts in the large majority of the population of Serbia as a whole.
government and the economy are held by Chinese. Kosovo had enjoyed some real autonomy in Yugoslavia
Those few Tibetans who are able to enter Chinese but in the 1990s this was progressively reduced. In 1996
government service do so at the cost of alienation guerilla warfare broke out as Albanians rose in revolt
from their own people and culture. Tibet’s environ- against Serbian rule. In 1999 as a result of a NATO air
ment and natural resources are ruthlessly exploited campaign against Serbia, the Serbian Army withdrew
in the interests of China. Overall the situation bears from Kosovo and a United Nations administration was
marked similarities in all these respects to the situa- set up. Following a recommendation from the United
tion of Algeria under the French or of Uzbekistan and Nations Special Representative, Martti Ahtisaari, a plan
Kirgizstan under Soviet Russian rule. was devised for Kosovo’s independence, which was bit-
terly opposed by Serbia. Kosovo nevertheless declared
The case for self-determination independence on 17 February 2008. This has so far been
recognized by 38 countries, including all of the Group
33. No-one disputes that the Tibetans are a distinct people of Seven industrialized countries. It has not been rec-
with their own language and culture, who form a large ognized by countries such as Russia, China and Spain
majority of the population of Tibet. They do not control which face their own separatist issues (although it has
their own destiny. Tibet is controlled by the Chinese been recognized by Turkey).
Government by means of military occupation for the
benefit of the Chinese state. Tibet is a country under 36. The recognition of Kosovo would seem to extend the
foreign military occupation, and its people are subject right of self-determination beyond the traditional colo-
to “alien subjugation, domination and exploitation” nial or foreign occupation situation. Kosovo was never
within the meaning of the UN Resolutions on Colonial a colony, and the Serbian Army had withdrawn long
Peoples and on Friendly Relations. before the independence issue was determined. The
only coherent legal basis for recognizing the exercise
34. The severity of the repression the Tibetans have under- of self-determination by the Kosovo people in the form
gone at China’s hands, combined with the threadbare of an independent state is that, prior to that indepen-
dence, while under Serbian rule, the Kosovar Albanians
were subject to “alien subjugation, domination and
exploitation”.
37. The Kosovars and the Serbs were historic enemies.

Who was exploiting whom varied at different times in
history. However a convincing case can be made that
in the later years of Slobodan Milosovic’s rule in Serbia,
the Kosovars were being persecuted by the Serbian
authorities, and were indeed in that sense subject to
subjugation, domination and exploitation by people,
who although long part of the same country, were cul-
turally different and could in that sense arguably be
described as alien.
38. If Kosovo has a right to self-determination, the right

of Tibet is infinitely stronger. The catalogue of gross
oppression, the second class citizen status of Tibetans
under Chinese rule, and the identity of Tibet as a coun-
nature of China’s territorial claim to Tibet, mean that if try are all much clearer than in Kosovo’s case.
the universal right of peoples to self-determination has
any meaning it must extend to Tibet. Self-determination, autonomy and independence
35. Tibet’s status has been given renewed topicality by 39. Self-determination need not mean independence. In
the recent independence of Kosovo. Kosovo was an many situations, autonomy within a larger nation state
autonomous region of Serbia dating from when Serbia offers the best of both worlds, combining the benefits
was a state within Federal Yugoslavia. About 90% of of being part of a large state in terms of defence, for-
its population are ethnically Albanian, and so distinct eign relations and economic opportunity, with preser-

The Dalai Lama in
London where he
lobbied UK MPs.
vation of local laws, customs and culture from outside Footnotes:

interference. Hong Kong is a good example. [1] For a typical statement see Chinese Government opposes the collusion
of Taiwan and Tibet splittists, People’s Daily On-line, 15 March 2001.
40. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that he favours [2] Often attributed to the Dutch seventeenth century writer Hugo Gro-
autonomy for Tibet within China, provided that it tius, although many international law concepts are older.
is meaningful autonomy. Such is his authority with [3] See e.g. Dibyesh Anand, Tibet, China and the West, Empires of the Mind,
the Tibetan people that they would probably support Open Democracy, 2 April 2008.
autonomy in any referendum in which he expressed [4] The most recent ratification is Samoa (February, 2008).
support for it. [5] See e.g. Antonio Cassese, Self-determination of Peoples”, p. 59
[6] See list in Cassese, op.cit, p. 94.
41. However unless there is a change in Chinese govern- [7] There was a further invasion shortly before the end of the Ching
ment thinking, real autonomy does not appear to be dynasty, in 1910, by way of delayed reaction to the brief British invasion
on offer. This is shown by the continuing aggressive of Tibet in 1904. Unlike China’s eighteenth century invasions, where in
denunciation and misrepresentation of the Dalai Lama each case a faction in Tibet had encouraged Chinese intervention, the
1910 invasion was a full-frontal assault against united Tibetan opposi-
by Chinese official spokespersons.
tion. After the 1910 Chinese occupation of Lhasa the Thirteenth Dalai
Lama fled to British India, and fighting continued until the 1911 Revo-
42. Unless real autonomy is offered, self-determination in
lution in China. In 1912 Chinese forces in Tibet surrendered and were
Tibet is bound to mean independence. China may hold repatriated through India with British assistance, and the Thirteenth
down the Tibetans by force for a long time, but, as the Dalai Lama returned from exile.
example of Ukraine and Russia shows, even hundreds [8] See the catalogue of obscurantism, rigid traditionalism and wholesale
of years of repression is unlikely to extinguish the long- rejection of modernity in Melvyn C. Goldstein, A modern history of
ing for self-determination among what are, incontro- Tibet, 1913-1951, University of California Press, 1989.
vertibly, a people. [9] For a very recent speech highlighting how China’s rule has benefited
Tibet’s development, see Qiangba Puncog, chairman, Tibet Autono-
mous Region Council, Xinhua, 9 April 2008
Paul Harris is a Senior Counsel known for his expertise in [10] See e.g. the 1997 International Commission of Jurists report Tibet:
constitutional and administrative law. Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Feature
The Charms of
The exquisite Vietnamese town of Hoi An, which became dilapidated

after wealthy shipowners and merchants abandoned it more than 100
years ago, is enjoying a renaissance, writes Richard S. Ehrlich.
T
his small port on central Vietnam’s Thu Bon private courtyards, backyard docks, balconies and lattice-
River began attracting big money in the 15th carved windows. Foreigners also built pagodas, temples,
century, when East Asia’s ships came to trade shrines and a legendary Japanese bridge.
and procure fresh supplies. By the 17th and 18th centu- Their opulent lifestyle, however, collapsed more than
ries, Hoi An was booming, luring British, French, Dutch, 100 years ago, when bigger and better port facilities
Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Japanese vessels. opened in nearby deep-water Danang. Tiny Hoi An began
International merchants erected expensive, teak wood decaying.
homes graced with mother-of-pearl panels, porcelain, Its illustrious architecture suffered a lack of mainte-
PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD EHRLICH

Hoi An
nance against seasonal typhoons, relentless heat, fun- “Hoi An attracts older [foreign] people too, and cou-
gus-friendly humidity and poverty. ples, because it’s a very romantic city, so there’s not that
Danang became a major US military base after bar girl thing you get in other cities in Vietnam.”
American troops splashed ashore in 1965 at the start of Hoi An’s renaissance could falter if the global
America’s failed 10-year crusade to crush communism economy slumps. “When the tourists stop coming, the
in Vietnam. But Hoi An was never seriously damaged locals are screwed. Like the bitch-goddess, ‘success’,
during the war, despite its proximity. ‘tourism’ is a fickle thing,” Krist said. “The town is one
In the early 1990s, Vietnam allowed foreign tourists [major] bird flu scare away from emptying out.”
to return to Hoi An. Since then, the town has emerged Many of Hoi An’s more than 60,000 residents have
from ruin and is increasingly being regarded as an ele- profited from the influx of tourists. Others complain
gant, romantic destination. that the swarms of visitors have fuelled inflation. Prices
“South of Hanoi, it’s probably the most visited city by of food, services and real estate have soared as investors
Lonely Planet readers travelling in Vietnam,” said Josh build more hotels, restaurants and other facilities.
Krist, who recently stayed in Hoi An to update the Vietnam Hoi An’s original main street, Le Loi, forms a charm-
chapter of Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a Shoestring ing vein through cramped neighbourhoods lined with
guidebook. “There’s something about walking through the quaint but surprisingly hip cafes alongside traditional
old city when it’s lit up at night, with the bars in restored restaurants. Dogs occasionally wander through some
antique houses,” he said in an e-mail interview. of Le Loi’s restaurants, which serve a delicious tradi-

Feature
tional dish called white rose, made

of steamed white dumplings stuffed
with tiny shrimps, cooked on wood-
burning stoves.
Art galleries, and trendy show-
rooms offering Paris-inspired, hand-
tailored silk fashions, stand shoulder
to shoulder. Nearby, craftsmen and
women fashion Hoi An’s ubiquitous,
hand-glued, silk-on-bamboo, hanging
lanterns.
“Hoi An Ancient Town is an excep-
tionally well-preserved example of a
Southeast Asian trading port dating
from the 15th to the 19th century,” the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
said after listing it in 1999 as a World
Heritage site.
“Its buildings and its street plan
reflect the influences, both indige-
nous and foreign, that have combined Wood beams support the stone across Asia, with its head in India
to produce this unique heritage site,” bridge’s roof which is decorated with and tail forming Japan. It is said that
UNESCO said. UNESCO earlier list- porcelain plates. The bridge was built the small but heavy bridge trapped
ed central Vietnam’s nearby former wide enough for a person to walk the thrashing monster, preventing
imperial city, Hue, and also the north- through while carrying a shoulder- it from causing natural disasters in
east coastal region of Ha Long Bay, as balanced bamboo pole from which Hoi An.
world heritage sites. two wicker baskets dangle – once the
Hoi An’s best surviving treasure, traditional way that coolies moved Richard S. Ehrlich is the Bangkok-
UNESCO noted, was its photogenic goods. based special correspondent for The
bridge. The small covered Japanese The bridge also appeased a super- Washington Times and international
bridge was constructed in the 17th stition which described the site as media, and has reported news from Asia
century across a thin tributary in Hoi weak vertebrae in the spine of a since 1978. His website is http://www.
An’s then-prosperous Japanese quarter. dragon-like beast which stretched geocities.com/asia_correspondent

Travel
Professional Contacts
FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS
RAY CRANBOURNE — Editorial, Corporate and Industrial
Your Trade Information Resource
Tel/Fax: 2525 7553
E-mail: ray_cran bourne@hotmail.com
BOB DAVIS — Corporate/Advertising/Editorial
Tel: 9460 1718 For the latest trade reports, statistics, China market news,
Website: www.BOBDAVISphotographer.com profiles and more, visit www.hktdc.com
Contact HKTDC's Corporate Communication team
HUBERT VAN ES — News, people, travel, commercial and Tel: 2584 4518/4510 Email: hktdc@tdc.org.hk x
movie stills L
Tel: 2559 3504 Fax: 2858 1721

E-mail: vanes@netvigator.com
FREELANCE WRITER AND GHOSTWRITER FCC Ad_ size: 85mm(w) x 45mm(H) min_L: 10.7mm X: 4mm
13mm
Mark Regan - Writer of fact or fiction, biographies, memoirs
and miscellanea. Also speechwriting, features, reports or
research.
Tel: 6108 1747
E-mail: mrregan@hotmail.com
Website: www.markregan.com
FREELANCE ARTISTS
“SAY IT WITH A CARTOON!!!” Political cartoons, children’s
books and FREE e-cards by Gavin Coates are available at http://
www.earthycartoons.com
Tel: 2984 2783
Mobile: 9671 3057
E-mail: gavin@earthycartoons.com
FREELANCE EDITOR/WRITER
CHARLES WEATHERILL — Writing, editing, speeches, voice-
overs and research by long-time resident Mobile: (852) 9023
5121 Tel: (852) 2524 1901
Fax: (852) 2537 2774.
E-mail: charlesw@netvigator.com
PAUL BAYFIELD — Financial editor and writer and editorial
consultant. Tel: 9097 8503
Email: bayfieldhk@hotmail.com
MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
MARILYN HOOD — Write and edit correspondence, design
database and powerpoints, report proofing and layout, sales
and marketing, event and business promotions.
Tel: (852) 9408 1636 Email: mhood@netfront.net
SERVICES
MEDIA TRAINING — How to deal professionally with intrusive
reporters. Tutors are HKs top professional broadcasters and
journalists. English and/or Chinese.
Ted Thomas 2527 7077.
❖ PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS Yes! There is such a thing as a free lunch!

The Professional Contacts page appears in each issue of The The Correspondent is seeking writers to cover
Correspondent and on the FCC website at www.fcchk.org. Club lunches and speaker events. Articles are
generally about 600 words long.
Let the world know who you are, what you do and how to
reach you. There has never been a better time. The reward? Your lunch/dinner fee
Listings start at just $100 per issue, with a minimum of refunded AND a food and beverage
a three-issue listing, and are billed painlessly to your FCC credit calculated on a per-word basis.
account. For more details contact the editor at
fccmag@hongkongnow.com (no phonecalls please)
For more information E-mail advertising@fcchk.org

Photography
Media
Then
Now

The changing face
of Hong Kong
Central in 1973 and today.
Left: Looking south towards Pedder
Street. On the left is Swire House, now
Chater House. Gloucester House with
clock is now The Landmark. On the right
is the old Post Office.
Right: Connaught Road looking west.
The construction site on the right became
the Exchange Square complex. Rickshaw
men often made deliveries. Today, that’s
done by “logistics specialists” such as
Crown Relocations.
© Bob Davis. Web: www.bobdavisphotographer.com. E-mail: bobdavis@netvigator.com

Books
Hong Kong Media Law

EXPLAINED
BY CHRIS DILLON passed in Sweden in 1766. She con-
trasts Hong Kong’s Code on Access
A
s director of the Media Law to Information with more effective
Project at the Journalism FOI laws in other jurisdictions, not-
and Media Studies Centre ing that journalists can’t use a judi-
at the University of Hong Kong, a cial review to force the Hong Kong
former prosecutor and former city government to reveal information.
editor of The New York Times, Doreen Weisenhaus also observes that our
Weisenhaus knows something about lack of FOI laws often forces journal-
courtrooms and newsrooms. With ists to rely on anonymous sources,
contributors Jill Cottrell of HKU and resulting in stories that are distorted
Yan Mei Ning of Baptist University, or incomplete.
Weisenhaus has used that expertise The Hong Kong government plays
to write an accessible guide to media a central role in Hong Kong Media
law in Hong Kong and China. Law, both as a source of information
Hong Kong Media Law begins with for journalists and because of its
an introduction to fundamental con- fondness for closed-door proceed-
cepts such as common law and then ings. Weisenhaus and her contribu-
outlines Hong Kong’s Basic Law and tors devote considerable space to
describes the structure and opera- explaining the structure and oper-
tion of the courts. This is followed ations of government bodies and
by chapters on defamation, court departments. They don’t sugarcoat
reporting, access to information, the government’s weaknesses and
privacy, official secrets, restrictions shortcomings.
on news gathering, reporting on the On the other side of the coin,
mainland, copyright, print and online the account of stories published in
regulation and broadcast regulations. December 1997 and January 1998 in
Several chapters include checklists the Oriental Daily News — in which
for journalists and the book ends Hong Kong judges and members of
with excerpts from key Hong Kong the Obscene Articles Tribunal were
statutes and other useful reference described as suffering from syphilis,
materials. There is also scabies and congeni-
a website, http://hong- tal mental retardation
k o n g m e d i a l a w. n e t , − make for interesting
which includes regular Hong Kong Media Law reading. This episode
updates to the cases and others in the book
described in the book.
includes guidelines to highlight the need for
In addition to laws that protect the
addressing contempo-
help journalists who rights of both journal-
rary legal issues such have been arrested ists and society as a
as digital broadcasting, whole.
Weisenhaus explains on the mainland Perhaps Hong Kong
how our current media Media Law’s most
laws evolved, pointing make sense of their interesting chapter is
out, for example, that the about China’s media
first freedom of infor- predicament. laws and the pitfalls
mation (FOI) law was facing journalists

working on the mainland. Weisen-
haus points out that information
that has been published in newspa-
pers inside China can be classified How well do you know the law?
as a state secret. She also notes
1. If Hong Kong’s Obscene Articles Tribunal classifies an item
that it can be difficult to accurately
determine when data is sensitive,
as obscene, that item “is not suitable to be published to any
because the authorities can retroac- person.” (page 210)
tively have documents classified as True ❏ False ❏
secret. Hong Kong Media Law includes
guidelines to help journalists who
2. China’s divorce statistics have been classified as a state
have been arrested on the mainland
make sense of their predicament. secret. (p. 178)
While Hong Kong Media Law is sub- True ❏ False ❏
titled A Guide for Journalists and Media
Professionals, there is a lot here that
3. In China, a grandmother can bring a defamation action on
will be of interest to non-journalists,
whether they are citizens trying to
behalf of her deceased grandson. (p. 185)
understand the peculiarities of Hong True ❏ False ❏
Kong’s copyright laws, public figures
confronting paparazzi or just people 4. In Hong Kong, the copyright for a film made after 1997 is
who are curious about the mechan-
owned by the film’s producer. (p. 193)
ics of Hong Kong’s broadcast regula-
tions. True ❏ False ❏
Hong Kong Media Law will be partic-
ularly useful for correspondents who 5. Scandalizing the court is no longer an offence In Hong Kong.
have recently arrived in Hong Kong or
(p. 76-8)
China and are trying to get their bear-
ings. It will also be a useful “before True ❏ False ❏
you call the solicitor” reference for
anyone involved with the media here Key
or on the mainland. 1: True; 2: True; 3: True; 4: False; 5: False.
Hong Kong Media Law - A Guide for

Journalists and Media Professionals
By Doreen Weisenhaus, with contributions
by Jill Cottrell and Yan Mei Ning
Hong Kong University Press, 2007,
ISBN 978-962-209-808-4
PB, 408 pages, HK$225.
Available from www.hkupress.org.
Chris Dillon is the author of Landed:

The expatriate’s guide to buying and
renovating property in Hong Kong
(www.landed.hk)

Lives Remembered
Books
David Roads:
Soldier and Scribe
(1921-2008)
D
avid Roads, the longest serving member of
the FCC, passed away on May 21 aged 86.
He was a marine, a journalist, an FCC Presi-
dent and a very long-time resident of Hong Kong.
Although not of the 1943 founding generation of
journos (as has been repeatedly misstated), David
was a member since before the famous mansion
on Conduit Road was our home, and probably
was as responsible for moving the Club into those
premises as anyone else. never-needed invasion of Japan.
There are two ways younger members might At war’s end, David landed in Tientsin (Tian-
have encountered David around Ice House Street, jin) and with his unit headed north to disarm
both of which showed the respect the man was Japanese Imperial Army soldiers in Manchuria.
due. Some would have seen his picture on the It was at this time that he wrote the first-ever
stairwell wall, with the warning that “Iron Man” report (a copy of which was seen by Mark Bayuk)
Roads was taking over as president. Others, myself of atrocities committed near Harbin against civil-
included, would recall a near-whispered, “Him? ians by what was later identified as Unit 731. The
That’s David Roads; he’s number 003.” report, however, didn’t officially surface until
David was one of the last of the legendary decades later.
single-digit men, old-timers who were around David’s first great scoop was thus spiked, but
when the Club was re-established in Hong Kong his interest in Asia was just warming up. After
and someone said they ought to keep better track being discharged in 1946, he earned a journalism
of who was let in the door (more likely, who hadn’t degree at the University of Denver, before return-
paid their bar bill). As a board member, David was ing to Asia as correspondent for the New York Her-
third in line when the membership numbers were ald Tribune. He went on become Far East editor of
assigned well over half a century ago. Over the the Encyclopaedia Britannica, editor and publisher
years, the man became living, walking FCC his- of Modern Asia business magazine, television mod-
tory. erator on Meet the Press and a news commentator
David was born in Pawnee, Nebraska, in 1921, with CBS television.
about three months after the founding of the After working for the Associated Press, David
Chinese Communist Party and well before that took a post with the Hong Kong Government’s new
other famous Nebraska product, Kool-aid, saw Overseas Public Relations Section, where he and
the light of day in 1927. He grew up in Denver, current Labour Commissioner Matthew Cheung
Colorado and got his first taste of journalism shared responsibility for the results. David was
on the high school newspaper. In late 1941, and also responsible (being FCC President at the time)
like most of his generation, David enlisted in the for the membership of one Peter PF Chan. Peter, a
armed forces. former Board Governor, has the distinction of hav-
Life Absent Member Mark Bayuk relates the ing won an appeal on behalf of the Club against
story of David’s World War II service with the US the Inland Revenue, thus earning a rare honorary
Marines 29th Regiment, 6th Division. The unit membership.
fought its way across the Pacific, through islands A regular attendee at ceremonies honouring
later made famous by Hollywood including Gua- fallen servicemen, and well known as the oldest
dalcanal, Saipan and Guam. It was at Okinawa marine in town to the US Consulate guards and
that David was wounded by a grenade, and evacu- staff, David is survived by his wife of 51 years,
ated. If circumstances had turned out different, he Pacita Francisco Roads.
would have recovered just about in time for the – David O’Rear

Alan Thomas:
Modest Correspondent
(1942-2008)
A
lan Thomas, who died sud- from Asia’s communist capitals. He got the
denly in April, worked for Reu- His versatility meant he moved on
ters from university to retire- to other roles ... Chief Representative ...
best from the
ment and in those 32 years earned the Staff Executive ... and as News Editor, correspondent
admiration and affection of everyone in Hong Kong, London and the Middle in the field
fortunate enough to be counted a col- East, and during those assignments he
league. touched so many colleagues’ working because he
He was a lovely, modest man, whose lives. In an era when a well-drafted was fair, set
integrity you sensed in an instant; “service message” − a request from
whose humanity was palpable and Head Office for coverage, a tip-off on
standards, and
whose gently-expressed but sharply- how the competition was faring, an showed an
aimed humour would hush a bar full admonition of some sort − was the
appreciation
of friends anxious to tune in to his lifeblood of editorial operations, Alan
Welsh-toned wit. was a master. He was meticulous, that never
He joined Reuters as a graduate delicately insistent but always aware bordered on the
journalist in 1965. After establishing of the difficulties facing the frontline
his credentials on a trainee assign- journalist. patronising
ment in Singapore, Alan had a series He got the best from the corre-
of testing postings; first to Moscow spondent in the field because he was
(deciphering the Cold War politics of fair, set standards, and showed an
the Soviet Union), then to Tanzania appreciation that never bordered on
(African border conflicts and coups) the patronising. And he was fun to be
and later Hong Kong (then Reuters’ with when you next met at the Hong
listening post for a region stretching Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club
from Hanoi to Pyongyang and Beijing or some other journalists’ watering
− or Peking as it was known in the hole.
1970s). He and Mary had more tragedy
His Cantonese secretary there than any couple could expect. First
had her own way of showing her their younger son, Luke, died while at
loyalty to him. “I’m pleased to meet university and then only a few years
you but you’re not as handsome as later, James, the older, also died. In
Alan,” was the greeting for more than their anguish, Alan and Mary found
one of us. some extraordinary strength. While
Alan, his wife Mary and two sons friends would rage at the injustice of
lived in the most enviable address in two great parents suffering so much,
Hong Kong − the aptly-named Peak they reminded them how lucky they
House. The highest-placed, and one had been to have their sons, even for
of the oldest buildings on the island, such a short time.
it was chosen by Reuters because it An apparently healthy 65, Alan
was the best location to set up the died without warning at his home
aerials and receivers then needed to in the Cornish seaside village of Pol-
monitor a largely secretive region’s ruan. We pray it will be some comfort
radio stations and news agencies. On for Mary that so many friends and
mist-shrouded nights as you walked colleagues share her grief. He was a
Peak House’s draughty corridors you lovely bloke.
could hear the radio traffic coming in – David Rogers

Around the Club
HUGH VAN ES
Richard Hughes Jr. and his daughter Beijing-based members Angelica Cheung and Mark Graham and year-
Christa performed at Bert’s as part old daughter Hayley joined a gang of familiar FCC suspects for beers at
of an Australian TV documentary on Shek O. Pictured are Ewen Campbell, Teri Fitsell and son Hamish; Jon
the life of legendary correspondent, Marsh, wife Annie Park and daughters Michelle and Isabelle. At the
Richard Hughes. centre of the picture is sports PR guru Simon Wait and partner Cat Tang.
WWW.THOMASCRAMPTON.COM
FCC President Ernst Herb and Betty

Tung, Director of the Hong Kong
Government’s Information Services
Department, make a toast at an ISD-
FCC Board lunch.
Students awarded scholarships by the FCC Charity Fund gather for a

celebratory lunch at the Club.

Out of Context
What members
get up to when
Past Perfect
away from the
Club
Annemarie Evans talks to Vaudine England.
F
BOB DAVIS
CC member Anne- dong for three days, how
marie Evans celebrat- they lost their property in
ed 10 years of host- the revolution”.
ing the popular Hong Kong Or there’s the museum
Heritage programme on curator, Terence Ng, who
RTHK in June with a party confessed to a passion for
at the Club. karaoke of Roman Tam,
She was modestly sur- and so burst into song. She
prised that so many of Hong has also been the lucky
Kong’s great and good were recipient of the immortal
willing to come and toast line: “Meet me on my tug-
her, and her programme. boat”.
She shouldn’t be. Evans, a Masters gradu-
At the party was Berry ate in European studies,
Silverio Yaneza, 81, trum- fluent in German, turned
peter with the Colin Aitchi- up in Hong Kong 15 years
son and the China Coast ago.
Jazzmen band, which plays Born in Romsey, south-
every night at Ned Kelly’s ern England, she had two
Last Stand. Indeed, he friends who didn’t know
brought the whole band. one another who hap-
Yaneza has been playing in pened to live here. “So I
Hong Kong since 1949. Prior came here and loved it.”
to that he was entertaining She’d never been to
the US forces and flew over Hiroshima from the now defunct Eastern Express. Asia before. “When I actually flew
shortly after the bomb was dropped. Early teething problems – she learned into Hong Kong I remember looking
Alongside senior RTHK figures, top the hard way of the penalties for at these buildings and thinking gosh,
tycoons and a couple of knights of turning off her mobile phone − were they don’t do a very good paint job do
the realm, Evans was also attended quickly overcome and she’s never they, then realising that that was the
by Reverend Peter Ellis, chaplain to looked back. Today, in addition to her humidity.”
the Mission to Seafarers, Imam Yeung radio work, she writes for the South She kept a diary for her first 18
of the Wan Chai Mosque, and Father China Morning Post. months, tracking her eye-opening
Harold Naylor of Wah Yan College. Laughter infects most conversa- experiences day by day.
The same modesty crops up when tions with Evans. It has helped her “As you begin to uncover things,
the engaged and professional inter- connect to people as varied as the there’s so much more that is there.
viewer Ms Evans has the tables turned Hakka villager who explained how he You have this whole variety of experi-
and becomes the interviewee. keeps the light shining on his ances- ences in a very, very confined space. I
It emerges that Evans lived in a tors’ altar to former prisoners of war; think Hong Kong is very rich from that
Hakka village for five years, and spent from Shanghai-born beauty Anne perspective.”
her first years in Hong Kong lodging Marden to the late David Lam, a war- While Evans has learned a lot here,
with a Chinese family. time underground resistance leader. so too have Hong Kong people.
“They used to watch television in And even a bunch of macaques. “You don’t have to explain the
the living room and the mother and “There was one taxi driver, and it’s word heritage any more, in any lan-
elder daughter would be sitting at the interesting how many people have guage. People are really into the idea
button machine, so as well as their referred back to that, even years later, of preserving what’s around them.
jobs during the day, they would make saying, ‘Oh I did enjoy that interview’. There has been a sea change in that
buttons in the evening,” she recalled. He was telling me how as a three- many, many more Hong Kongers are
Her introduction to journalism − year old he was carried on his father’s regarding Hong Kong as their home,
her “epiphany” she calls it – came shoulders from Hong Kong to Guang- as I do.”

FCC June July08

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

FCC June July08

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

CORRESPONDENT

The Seawise saga:

FCC Elections 3 Features Photography 32

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 1

2 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008

> FROM THE PRESIDENT The Board of Governors

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008 3

year. They know guys like me come

4 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008

First Vice President Tom Mitchell 75*

Second Vice President Kevin Barry H. Egan 232*

Correspondent Governors Paul G. Bayfield 45

Ernst Herb * Denotes winner

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008 5

Left to Right: Eric WIshart, Mushtaq Yusufzai, Peter Arnett

‘...truly in Kate Webb’s spirit’

6 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 7

8 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 9

10 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 11

12 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 13

encounter more opposition to being

14 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 15

16 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 17

18 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

once and spread with great The ex-Queen Elizabeth’s

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 19

Tibetan protesters shout

20 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

BY PAUL HARRIS S.C. with Tibet’s situation, it is an international problem

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 21

22 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 23

24 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 25

37. The Kosovars and the Serbs were historic enemies.

38. If Kosovo has a right to self-determination, the right

26 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

vation of local laws, customs and culture from outside Footnotes:

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 27

The exquisite Vietnamese town of Hoi An, which became dilapidated

PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD EHRLICH

28 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 29

tional dish called white rose, made

30 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

Tel: 2559 3504 Fax: 2858 1721

❖ PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS Yes! There is such a thing as a free lunch!

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008 31

32 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008

© Bob Davis. Web: www.bobdavisphotographer.com. E-mail: bobdavis@netvigator.com

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE/JULY 2008 33

Hong Kong Media Law

34 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008

Hong Kong Media Law - A Guide for

Chris Dillon is the author of Landed:

THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008 35

36 THE CORRESPONDENT JUNE-JULY 2008