Letters to the Editor

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14/F Capitol Commercial Building, 26 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
Phone:    (852) 2576 4343
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E-mail:    ykchkcpl@netvigator.com

Contents

1. Contents
2. RI Leadership visited Beijing in November
3. Governor’s Monthly Letter – By DG John Wan
4. We played hard on District Sports Day – By Amy Wong
5. Continuity Column – By DGE Johnson Chu
6. Desiderata
7. I am thankful for…
8. Attendance Report – September 2000

RI Leadership visited Beijing in November

For the first time, the President, President-Elect and President-Nominee of RI went to Beijing to discuss re-establishing Rotary clubs in China. They were in Beijing from 14 to 18. General Secretary accompanied them for the historic trip.

Issue No. 683 of Rotary News Basket published on 22 November described the November visit to Beijing of President Frank Devlyn a “successful mission to China.” It said, “For the first time in history, three top volunteer leaders of RI recently travelled together to Beijing to join in high-level discussions with officials of the People’s Republic of China.” News Basket also reported that President Devlyn said, “I was extremely encouraged by the positive meetings and discussions with Chinese officials during the trip.”

President Frank Devlyn, President-elect Rick King and President-nominee Bhichai Rattakul, accompanied by Secretary General Edwin Futa, visited Beijing from 14 to 18 November. It was reported that the Rotary delegation met “Chinese government officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, other government agencies, diplomats and representatives of the business community in Beijing to discuss Rotary’s future in the country.”

News Basket did not reveal whom the RI leadership met in Beijing, but our correspondents learnt that they met a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Li Baokuo and State Councillor Ismail Amat from Qira, Xinjiang.

While in Beijing, President Frank Devlyn and President-elect Rick King had a meeting with the Beijing Fellowship Group (BFG) in Beijing Hilton, followed by a dinner attended by 150. Both Presidents spoke of the contributions of Rotarians who persevered during the early days to hold Rotary-style weekly meetings in Beijing.

In a passionate message to the Family of the leadership of Rotary International dated 20 November, President Frank Devlyn underlined the need and urgency to work with “a new China” in “a Chinese way” that would be “acceptable” to all. He went on to announce that he would invite General Secretary Edwin Futa to draft a proposal for the consideration of the full Board of Directors to grant the BFG provisional club status on an “exceptional basis” on the understanding that the club would only accept for the time being expatriates living and working in China and on the understanding that the provisional club would report direct to and under the supervision of the Board of Directors.

The Board would meet in February 2001 when President Frank Devlyn and President-elect Rick King would provide Board Members a full report on the November Visit.

The District China Committee under the chairmanship of PDG Moses Cheng met on 29 November to discuss the full implications to the District. Also at the meeting were DG John Wan, PDG Y K Cheng, CP Herbert Lau (Tolo Harbour) and PP Amy Chan (Queensway). The DG has since consulted the Governor’s Policy Committee and will write to RI President Frank Devlyn setting out the District view on the matter.

Governor’s Monthly Letter

It is DGN Gloria Chan

Kowloon North topped Annual Giving

RI leadership in Beijing

DG’s third visit to Mongolia

My Dear Action Presidents, Club Secretaries and Rotary Leaders,

The Nominating Committee for District Governor 2002-2003 met on 1 December 2000 and selected Rotarian Gloria Chan of the Rotary Club of Queensway as District Governor-nominee. As we congratulate Gloria Chan for her achievement, we thank members of the Nominating Committee for the work on the one and Gloria for her willingness to serve Rotary in general and the District in particular on the other. From now till the RI Convention meets in San Antonio, Texas, USA in June 2001 when she will be elected District Governor-elect which office she will hold for one year till 30 June 2002, Gloria Chan is our District Governor-nominee and should be addressed as such. Congratulations, DGN Gloria Chan.

While in the congratulatory mood, let me share with you the happy news that also on 1 December, a bouncing nine-pound baby girl was born to President Shane Parmanand. Both mother and child have been doing well. Congratulations and well done to the Pamanands.

In the month of December, each club would be going through procedures to elect its club officials, including the president, president-elect and secretary. I hope all of you would take the process seriously and elect the best people to these and other offices. This is the first planning phases for the next 18 months, for each club should identify now its club president for 2002-2003, in the same manner that the District has identified Gloria Chan our leader for that year. I am aware that a few clubs had problems, but please be assured that your respective Assistant Governors and I stand ready to advise and assist as and when necessary. Our objective is to make ours an effective district, and it is never too early to plan.  Please remember to forward to the District Secretariat the names of the Rotarians elected before the end of the year so that we can forward them to the RI Secretariat in good time for their inclusion in the Official Directory 2001-2002.

As we move out of November, our Rotary Foundation Month, let me invite all of you to congratulate the clubs that had contributed the most to the Annual Programs Fund of The Rotary Foundation for 1999-2000. The top two clubs were Kowloon North, 102,000 and Kowloon East, 28,000. We had two clubs in the third place and they were, Hong Kong and Kowloon Golden Mile, each having contributed 11,600. The top three clubs in terms of per capita giving in the same period were, Kowloon North, 3,777.78, Kowloon East, 528.30 and Wanchai, 288.57. All figures are in US dollars. Congratulations to all the five clubs. I would be sending round the banners and congratulatory letters from the Rotary Foundation Chairman Herbert Brown as soon as practicable.

November was indeed a busy and momentous month for the District. We hosted the Rotary Zone Institute under the leadership of RI Director Gary Huang who was Convenor and our Past Governor Arthur Au who was Chairman. Convenor Gary said at the Closing that it was one of the best and best attended Zone Institutes. The last count for attendance was 499 including 86 spouses. Of the total, 154 were from our District, 175 from all seven districts in Taiwan, and 170 from the rest of the districts. The attendance figure for our District did not include the Rotarians and spouse who helped out in various sessions on various duties. The District, in particular, myself, owe a lot to all of them. I would like to thank all those who have assisted before, during and after the event in making it a success. I would also like to thank the Action Presidents who had risen to the occasion and encouraged their members to participate in the Institute. And I thank everyone who was there for whatever reasons. Once again, it is testimony of the collective strength and leadership inherent in the membership of the District. Between our members, I am confident and I feel assured that we can rise to the occasion to take up any challenge for the greater good of Rotary in general and of our District in particular.

RI President-elect Richard King and President-nominee Bhichai Rattakul who were in Hong Kong for the Zone Institute visited Beijing immediately afterwards at the invitation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They were joined by President Frank Devlyn and General Secretary Edwin Futa. You can read about the visit from the RI website, in particular President Frank’s website. Briefly, President Frank reported that it was a very successful visit and that he was hopeful that the visit could mark the beginning of and lay the foundation for the re-establishment of Rotary clubs in China eventually. President Frank also said that he would be seeking approval from the Board of Directors for provisional club status for the Beijing Fellowship Group which has been meeting regularly for five to six years. The District China Committee chaired by Past Governor Moses Cheng had since met to discuss the various implications to the District and I would be communicating these views to President Frank direct. Among other things, I would assure the President that he can expect unqualified support from the District and the membership for any decision on this subject as long as our views are duly considered in the process.

Before I sign off, I would mention my third visit to Mongolia within six months. I went there on a rather cold weekend in November to play host to RI President-elect Richard King and Cherie, Secretary General Edwin Futa and visiting Rotarian Christopher Bramsen who is also the Danish Ambassador to China, Mongolia and Northern Korea. I thank District Secretary Edmond Chan (Channel Islands) and Deputy District Information Co-ordinator Herbert Lau (Tolo Harbour) for accompanying me during the trip. We were there for just under 24 hours, but we discussed a wide range of issues and visited a few places including a project made possible by contributions from clubs in the District and the District Designated Fund, and matched by the Rotary Foundation. It was a meaningful way to celebrate the Rotary Foundation Month.

Talk to you soon.

Your Governor John Wan

We played hard on District Sports Day

By Amy Wong

Amy Wong is a Rotarian of Rotary Club of Bayview Sunshine Hong Kong. She was inducted at District Installation in June 2000. This is an article she wrote for her members after attending the District Sports Day held at the Wanchai Sports Ground on 19 November 2000, but which she has kindly offered to share with other readers.— Ed.

It was an excellent day today for sports activities.  The District could not have picked a better day for its annual Sports Day.  The weather was just fine with a nice breeze sweeping across the sports ground in Wanchai.  The Sun was there but it was not too strong for those active volunteers who spent most of the day helping with the organization of the event, or those who joined in the competitions for fun, or just for the sake of participation and support.  The track and field did not see any serious mood on the face of participants like one would see in major games.  Rather, the sky of the playground was filled with joy and laughter.  It was a perfect occasion as a fun fair for children and as a friendly competition in sports amongst their parents and friends.

We saw our Sunshine sisters, as usual, in their outstanding orange outfit cheering on, waving away as the several of us struggled to perfect the skills of an amateur running team few minutes before the game of women 4x100m started at around 3pm.  The sheer enthusiasm and fun-loving character inside us moved us on...to the track, to the respective starting lines. Of course the smile on the face of the ladies in orange and the presence of as many as nine of us became a major source of support.  The game finally started.  From Amy to Florice, from Florice to Henreitta, from Henreitta to Vivienne...we were on the track, running our heart out.  The ladies in orange had all their attention on track 2 and they cheered on...their eyes moved exactly as we turned the corner and turned again and until the final line.  When the four of us were able to get our breath back returning to the stadium we realized that all the cheering ladies were as exhausted in their voice and as excited in their spirit as we were. 

Precious moment... it was a precious moment.  As if, somehow, we were one.  We thought we lost the game to the other three more skilled runner teams.  So we proudly declared that we were the champion of the amateur runners of the rest of the competitors.  We were so high, weren't we?  We were so happy that we were there, didn't we say?  We wish there were more of us there to laugh with and to cheer on.  We had a great day. 

So did our kids.  It was one of the best days of many months that all three of them said they loved it.  They joined us in the family games to compete with other families; they enjoy the face and hand painting, the jumping gym, and, of course, the snacks that followed.

Pictures and pictures will tell how much fun we had today and we would be able to share it with those who could not make it.  Florice said on the track before we started the game, “I could not imagine we joining in a track game in a sports day again after all these years.” Yea, it truly was unbelievably fun and loving.  Not only that, it was amazing to witness some great talents among our Rotary members and their families in sports.  It was as inspiring to see the serious attitude of some participants when they played the games. They truly play hard - the only way to play, I guess.  I really appreciate them.  I am sure all those who were here today had similar experience.

And after I left the stadium to bring Karen to pick her birthday gift at the Peak Gallery, Vivienne rang me with a very exciting voice, from which you could almost see a big smile on her face.  She told me that we actually won the game in third place out of the eight teams.  Wow!  That was good news. It was a beautiful surprise for all of us who ran.  I am sure it was a nice surprise too to those who came particularly to support the Sunshine family.  To add to our hard-earned medal, I heard that Vivienne proudly won several other medals in her own right in other track games.  I congratulate you, Vivienne, and all of us.

Sports and games have the power to draw people together.  It really does not matter whether we win or lose in these games.  It is the spirit of participation that counts.  It was a great spirit we shared today. 

Thank you all.  Specially to Florice, Vivienne and mother Vivienne, Henrietta, Luci, Alice Yuen, Olivia, Vivienne Yuen and Sally who took the time to be there.  To all others who helped organize us before the event and who wrote to support us, my heartfelt appreciation.

return to the contents section

Continuity Column

By DGE Johnson Chu

In this his fifth article in a series, DGE Johnson gave an account of his involvement in the Rotary Zone Institute held in November in Hong Kong. He then described in some details his training at the Governors-Elect Training Seminar (GETS)  — Ed.

The 2000 Hong Kong Rotary Institute was held in Furama Hotel from Friday, 10th November 2000 to Sunday, 12th November 2000. The opening ceremony took place at 6.00 p.m. on Friday. Rotary International President-Elect Richard D. King delivered his opening speech.

On Friday morning, a pre-institute Rotary Foundation Seminar was held. The Convenor of the Institute was Rotary International Director Gary Huang, while the Chairman of the Organising Committee was our own Past District Governor Arthur Au.

On the 8^th and 9^th November, we had the Governors-Elects Training Seminar (GETS). On the 7^th, two staff members from Rotary International, Miss Theresa Nissan and Ann Koh met each Governor-elect attending GETS for about 30 minutes. I was the first one on the list and I met them at 9.30 a.m. Afterwards, I was assigned the duty of organizing the other governors-elect to meet them. It took me more than half a day to complete my duty.

I was at Furama Hotel before 7.30 a.m. in the morning on 8^th November. Assisted by the President Paul Kan of my club, I escorted all the Governors-elect and the Training Leaders to the American Club in Two Exchange Square, the venue for the first day training.

The training officially started after breakfast. There were altogether eight discussion sessions, four sessions each day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The training on the second day was held in Furama Hotel, with a Graduation Dinner for Governors-elect and their spouses held at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Deep Water Bay in the evening of the second day.  A graduation certificate was awarded to each governor-elect by Past Rotary International President M.A.T. Caparas. The dinner was full of joy, ending at around 10.20 p.m.

The Training Leaders for the “GETS” were PDG Y. K. Cheng of D-3450, PDG Jackson Hsieh, Regional Rotary Foundation Co-ordinator 2000-2002, PDG Daniel T. Yu of D-3810, PDG Jerry Yu of D-3520 and PDG Noraseth Pathmanand, Regional Foundation Co-ordinator 1999-2001. They are all knowledge Rotarians and outstanding Training Leaders. The Seminar was a model of the training for all governors-elect at the International Assembly to be held at Anaheim from 18 to 25 February 2001.

Discussion Session 1 focused on the Role and Responsibilities of District Governors while Discussion Session 2 focused on Developing and Managing a Functional Organizational Structure for the District in support of Effective Clubs. Discussion Session 3 was on Sustaining and Growing Rotary’s Membership Base. We finished the day with the subject of Developing Effective Leaders in Discussion Session 4.

Discussion Sessions 5 and 6 concentrated on The Rotary Foundation, its Programs, Fund Development and the SHARE System. The Administrative Requirements of Rotary International and the International Assembly Preview were the main topics for Discussion Sessions 7 and 8 respectively.

All the discussion sessions were well participated by the governors-elect with enthusiasm. Thy found some topics so interesting that they continued the discussion beyond the time allocated. An example is the Community Assistance Program (CAP), a new program of the Rotary Foundation adopted by the Trustees at their April 2000 meeting to provide an opportunity for Rotarians to use District Designated Funds (DDF) to undertake projects in their own communities or within their nation. The Community Assistance Program will provide funding for one-time only community service projects that involve the active, personal participation of Rotarians. The program is designed to encourage Rotarians to become more involved in their local communities and to strengthen their relationships with those communities.

Each district will have the option of designating part of its Humanitarian SHARE allocation to fund CAP projects. The maximum amount available for each district for CAP every year is 10% of the district’s annual giving in the Rotary year immediately before, subject to a maximum amount of US$10,000. Districts may make multiple CAP awards in each Rotary year, subject to a minimum of US$1,000 per award. If a district has less than US$1,000 available, the number of award will be limited to one in that Rotary year.

The program is actually straightforward. The problem was that many governors-elect thought the money came from the previous Rotary year. This is not true. The district’s annual giving in the previous Rotary year is only used for calculating the amount of money the district may use in a certain Rotary year for CAP. The money actually comes from the DDF raised 3 years ago. For instance, our district in 2001-2002 may fund CAP projects from the DDF raised in 1998-1999, the amount available being 10%of the district’s annual giving in 2000-2001.

Thank you.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there might be in silence. 

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they do have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexation to the spirits.   If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. 

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real procession in the changing fortunes of time. 

Exercise your caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.  Especially, do not feign affection. Neither by cynical about love; for in the face of aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the grace of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have the right to be there.  And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. 

Be careful.

STRIVE TO BE HAPPY.

Found in Old Saint Paul's church, Baltimore; dated 1692

I am thankful for…..

• the mess to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

• the taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.

• the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

• my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

• the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

• all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech

• that lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

• the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

• the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

• my huge heating bill because it means that I am warm.

• weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means that I have been productive.

• the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.

This is a message sent through the Internet by well-wishers with instructions that it should be passed along to all friends and loved ones to remind us all that no matter how much we may not like something, or hate to do something, we are better off than someone else.

Live Well

Laugh Often

Love Much

Keep the faith, and live each day to the fullest.

Attendance Report – September 2000

Go to District Web site for the September Attendance Report

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