Rotary Club - HK East Newsletter May 9th, 2007

We were back to Excelsior Hotel for our regular luncheon meeting after the 4-generation joint meeting last week.

There was one visiting Rotarian who is Rtn. Benny Ratnani from Rotary Club of HK Northeast.

PP Rudy bought every member a round of soft drink during the reception period (no reason given by Rudy) and it was well received by all members. Thank you PP Rudy!

President Paul called the meeting to order at 1:30 pm and made the following announcements:

Our Club Assembly and EGM will be held on 16^th May 2007 to discuss and vote for the resolution of setting up limited company for the club. Members are urged to attend the EGM as the motion will affect the future of our club.
The District Conference will be held on 26^th May 2007.
A visit to the Home of the Loving Faithfulness by the Rotary Foundation Representative and District Dignities will be held on 18^th May 2007 and will be accompanied by PE Laurence.
There will be a charity golf day and dinner organized by the Rotary Club of Shanghai which will be held on 29^th May 2007
PP Kenneth Chow, Deputy Chair of DRFC Committee, pleaded for the support of the Bequest Society Membership in District 3450 for which the number of membership had reached 14 and he wished to top up to 15.

There was no birthday boy for this week.

The acting SAA Andy Wong reported that the total collection for Red Box was $1,000.

The speaker was Mr. Mathew Manes, the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Hong Kong.

Mathew comes from Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a BA in History and Political Science. He received the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and is now studying at the University of Hong Kong for the MSc in International Public Affairs Programme. He came to Hong Kong last August and will go back to US on 4^th June 2007 after finishing the course and completed his duty as a Rotary Scholar which includes visiting various Rotary Clubs in Hong Kong and sharing his experience with the Rotarians.

The following were the key points of his presentation:

He talked about the issue of "Identity" of people e.g. would you reckon yourself to be Hong Kong Chinese or American Chinese or just Asian. The world is getting smaller and every action by anyone country would affect the whole world in some way. For example, the US policy on military and interest rates would affect many countries on both international level and domestic issue.
He talked about the relationship between China and Japan – despite the tension between the two countries on the worship of war crime at the shrine, Daiyutai, the two countries have a very close relationship in term of economic and regional matters.
The media in USA looked at China from different perspective and were more concern on the human right and pollution problem in China than the political and economical development.
He stressed the importance of "understanding" between different countries and people to avoid conflict and for reconciliation.
He was born in 1983 and thought he was a "Pig". Then he realized that he was born in January and according to Chinese calendar, he was a "Dog" instead.
He thanked Rotary for giving him the chance to study overseas and learnt the different culture of Asian people. He hoped that he would contribute back to Rotary in the future.

After the presentation, a few members asked Mathew about his future career and about his hometown. PP Rudy gave a vote of thank to Mathew and wished him a safe trip back to USA. Mathew said that we would miss Hong Kong and will definitely come back again in the near future.

President Paul closed the meeting on time and made a toast to RI coupled with the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Northeast.

District Conference (2007)

There are around 532 Rotary Districts worldwide. A successful district is exemplified by its good work achieved at the yearly conference to be judged by the RI President Representative who will make his report to the headquarters after going through all the hours he spent at the district conference. Besides making his comment, he has to inspire, motivate and give speeches on Rotary matters at various intervals. The spouse will also attend the meeting as well as to tour the community service projects.

2007 is the 47^th District Conference of District 3450, RI which will be held from 24^th May for the opening ceremony at the Leighton Hill Community Hall, Happy Valley, Hong Kong at 3.00 p.m.. The guest of honour will be Mr. Wong Yan Lung, SC., JP, Secretary for Justice.

The whole day affairs of the district conference, such as Foundation Lunch and Governor's Banquet will be held on 26^th May 2007 at the Kowloon Shangril-la Hotel, Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon. Full interesting programmes have been arranged at the Governor's Banquet.

Pre-Conference activities include golfing at Nansha (PRC) on 18^th May 2007 and also a Cruise around the neighboring islands in Hong Kong on 20^th May 2007. All these functions are ticket event. Spouse Program will be a visit cum community service in the Chi Lin Nunnery in Kowloon on the 26^th May 2007. Please consult our Hon. Secretary for details.

A very reasonable charge for the Conference, Governor's Banquet and Foundation Lunch is listed below :

Hong Kong Rotarians	HK$1400.00 per head
Macao Rotarian	HK$1200.00 per head
Mongolia Rotarian	HK$1000.00 per head
Spouse	HK$ 800.00 per head
Guest	HK$1000.00 per head

Other Overseas Rotarian, Rotaractor & Interactor **

Ticket Events

1.	Leader's Breakfast	HK$ 180.00 per head
2.	Foundation Lunch	HK$ 300.00 per head
3.	Governor's Banquet	HK$ 600.00 per head

** Conference participation is free but registration is necessary.
Breakfast, Lunch and Banquet are charged at ticket event rate

For special information, the RI President Special Representative is our old friend, PDG Fong Hoe Beng of district 3310, Singapore. Please come to attend the conference and to listen to the speeches from our learned and knowledgeable Rotarian.

One of the unexpected benefits of attending a district conference is the opportunity to become better acquainted with members of one's own club in an informal setting and get to know other members during discussion sessions.

CATHOLIC GASOLINE

Sister Mary, who worked for a home health agency, was out making her Rounds visiting homebound patients when she ran out of gas. As luck Would have it, a gas station was just a block away.

She walked to the station to borrow a gas can and buy some gas. The Attendant told her that the only gas can he owned had been loaned out, But she could wait until it was returned. Since the nun was on the way to see a patient, she decided not to wait And walked back to her car. She looked for something in her car that She could fill with gas and spotted the bedpan she was taking to the Patient.

Always resourceful, she carried the bedpan to the station, filled it With gas, and carried the full bedpan back to her car.

As she was pouring the gas into her tank, two men watched from across The street. One of the them turned to the other and said,

"If it starts, I'm turning Catholic.


PDG Uncle Peter, Speaker Mr. Matthew Manes & Pres. Paul	Hon. Sec. Andy, visiting Rotarian Mr. Benny Ratnani of RC of HK Northeast & PP John


PP Tim, PP Henry & IPP Eddy	Rtn Eric, Dir Norman, PP Stephen, Rtn Tony, Rtn Peter & PP Rudy