| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
 | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark |  | ||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
Editorial
(Defining Moments) - By Francis Wann | ||||
| Defining Moments Sociologist Herbert Marcuse once coined it the One Dimensional Man. Oscar Wilde once wrote "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious. The wisdom of some of our Mainland officials can only be reflected in the authoritative tone when they spoke about Hong Kong's future political reforms. Ever since the legal experts descended on us and made it clear that there's no question of a universal suffrage and that our reform is their business, there has been an avalanche of discussions and opinions on the precise meaning of the term patriotism. It must have been a source of entertainment watching the various sectors engage in the war of words, while defending their version of definition. While Beijing has revealed its stance on democratic reform, that hasn't stopped speculations from parties with vested interest. Chief Secretary Donald Tsang's recent mission to Beijing to seek an official answer has brought back more questions - including an appeal on the government website for solutions. While he maintained that the taskforce has accomplished its objectives, the public must have been thoroughly amazed at the latest move of "netsultation". The lesson of Article 23 has not been heeded. And as legislator Margaret Ng described in a recent interview, they (the taskforce) were sent up to eat humble pies. There has always been a tendency for the media and political analysts and academics to read between the lines and attach too much weight to the views from Xinhua, and those across the border. Unfortunately they always overdo. The squabble on the meaning of the term has been overshadowed with name dropping, smearing and a bit of mud slinging which would make everyone a loser. Now more than a decade after its promulgation, the Basic Law is still being used on various occasions by the Government as the most convenient way to weed out different opinions. Whatever the dispute, it would have to be "complied with the Basic Law". While Rotary is not a political organization and our priority is, and has always been, to serve, a working relationship with the Government is of tremendous importance to our work and belief. Now that Beijng has made its statement, it's for the Government to ensure a proper consultation and not to dampen public sentiments on their genuine wish to more democracy, whatever that might mean. I'm patriotic, therefore I can. | ||||
President's
Column Success and Understanding This month is world understanding month. In the last two months our district had to elect our district leader for the year of 2005-2006. The dramatic incident this year also reminds me of my own experience during the election to be the president of the worldwide young leadership organization 20 years ago. I failed two times, but was successfully elected in the third. I joined this organization in 1978, and was nominated at the AGM in 1983 because they couldn’t reach a simple majority after 3 rounds of voting, and according to the election bylaws, the Chairman should reopen the nomination on the floor to invite the eligible or ineligible members if they could have 2/3 majority vote on waive for their ineligibility, I accepted the nomination although I hadn’t prepared myself to be the candidate. The reason for my acceptance was that I wanted to gauge support from members at that moment. However I was short of two votes after three rounds. It was after 11pm. and I proposed another round of vote to avoid an EGM. I cast my vote to him together with my proxy, because I understood that I was nominated not on my strength or capability, but as part of their strategy. In the following year, I was appointed as the 5th year anniversary ball chairman, a position traditionally held by the incoming president. I understood that I should prepare myself for the challenge. Since then I worked together with the 14 organizing committee members. During the process I discovered some members wanted to take advantage of the fund under their execution. I exposed them and understandably made them angry. Nevertheless the ball successfully raised HKD 0.7 million for the Elderly Care Foundation Fund, not a small amount at that time. I had confidence to be the president in the coming year, but to my surprise, my nomination was challenged by the full cabinet, most of them were the ball OC members. I failed. Their supporters went to collect all the proxy forms from the absentees and voted for my competitor. I was quite frustrated and disappointed, and I knew I had to improve my methodology and interpersonal skills. Then in 1989 I was successfully elected to be the president. I learned from the mistake. Competition was not a negative thing, we could see the democracies in the world and how they choose their leaders. When the election is over, all their voters show their respect to the successor. As a Rotarian I think we are mature enough to handle the outcome this time and are united. Before we understand our world, we should understand our country, society, our organization, our family but the most important is ourselves. I always believe that mutual understanding is the key to success. | ||||
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From Wah Yan Kowloon By President William Tong (William Tong is President of the Interact Club at Wah Yan Kowloon - Ed) Happy Chinese New Year! There is an old Chinese saying, "As the morning is the best time to plan for the day, spring is the best time to plan for the year." This year, a series of activities and programmes have already been planned, and the social service project with Harmony House was a great beginning for us. On 17th January (the same day of the District Conference of the Joint Interact Council), about ten single-parent children and their mothers, led by Miss Chan, Program Director of Harmony House, visited our club at 10:30 am. We chatted with the children for a while to get everybody familiarized. Then we taught the children to play basketball: shooting, passing, and some international playing rules of basketball. All children were enthusiastic and they learnt patiently. Surprisingly, the mothers were also excited and most of them played together with their children. Warmth and love filled the air. At about 11:15 a.m., we played the game "Monkey steals the ball" together. A child, representing the Monkey stood at the center of a circle while the others stood on the perimeter. The children and our members passed the ball to each other and the Monkey had to steal the ball. When the Monkey caught the ball, he could change the role with the one who failed to transfer the ball successfully. Children liked this game so much although this was quite energy consuming. At 11:45 a.m., we had a friendly basketball match with the children. It was unbelievable that our team lost 1:3 to the children team. The programme ended with presentation of gifts. Each member received a floral ball made from "Lai See" packets with a "Fai Chun" attached underneath. They were most appropriate for decorations in the Chinese New Year. They were hand made by the children, including the "Fai Chun" which were written in Chinese calligraphy. We all agreed that they are the best New Year decorations we have ever got. After a group photo, the activity ended with cheerfulness at 12:30 at noon. A flag selling activity for the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association will be held on 28th February, and about 50 of our club members will participate. Leadership being a theme of Interact clubs, we have decided to organize a talk on Leadership on 29th March in Wah Yan College, Kowloon during the student assembly. It is our honour and pleasure that Mr. Lam Kwong Yu, Albert, JP, the Director General of Civil Aviation and alumni of Wah Yan College, Kowloon, has accepted our invitation to be the speaker. The title of the speech will be "Leadership and Management". I wish all of you a happy and prosperous Year of the Monkey.
From S.K.H. St. Benedict's School By President Philomena Chan (Philomena Chan is President of the Interact Club at St. Benedict's School - Ed) Our very first activity, the Best Teacher Singer, was held on 18th December during our singing contest. The aim of this activity is to introduce our club to our schoolmates, as well as to build up an image of joy and harmony of our club. At the same time, of course, it helps us to raise funds for the needy. Let me tell you how we did it on that day. First of all, we asked our schoolmates to vote for the teacher whom they wanted to hear him/her sing most during our singing contest. The one with the highest number of votes would then be invited to perform for us. We tried to invite as many teachers as possible to join the election; and in the end, fifteen teachers agreed to participate. After we'd finished all other preparation work, we set up a counter at the school entrance during lunchtime for two days. Students can buy stickers for $2 each at our counter which they would use to vote for the teacher they would like to sing. The money collected will be donated to End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (ECSAF). Since it is the first function held by our club, we are all very excited, and as well, a bit worried about the result too. December was a busy month for us. We had to get ready for the Sports Day and to prepare for our singing contest. With limited time for preparation work, including promotional activities, we found it quite a challenge. I am glad that overall, the work flow has been smooth, and I was really encouraged that many students found the event interesting and had participated in the election actively. The response was highly satisfactory, and the result of the voting, quite special. Two teachers received the same number of votes; so we invited both of them to sing, one in the junior section of the singing contest and the other in the senior section. The junior section was held during the morning. Our teacher, Mr. Liu impressed us with his amazing voice. Every student was excited and elated. He generously performed several songs for us. In the afternoon, the senior section was held. Our second performer, Mr. Chan was invited to come and share the joy with us. All of us were dying to hear him sing and when he started, and everyone was so excited and couldn't stop screaming loudly. With the encouragement of such a response, Mr. Liu encored for us! The atmosphere was really unforgettable. Although it lasted for only a few minutes, their performance marked the climax of the singing contest. Our activity was successful. It's really a valuable experience for everyone of us. | ||||
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The RIC
The question is, what would you do if you are this managing director. This was what actually happened a week ago at the RIC, or Rotary Information Centre, of which the District Governor is the de facto managing director and all his district officials, directors. The recurrent expenses for the RIC is financed entirely by Rotarians of the District through the per capita dues. Indeed, a substantial proportion of their dues goes to the staff costs. During 2000-01, the District Management renovated the RIC premises and more importantly, commissioned a management consultant to advise on how the Centre can be managed with greater efficacy and value for money for the benefit of Rotary in general and the clubs and Rotarians of the District in particular. The consultants recommended a series of changes which seek to modernize the management of the RIC, including a new management structure. The report was accepted by the Governor of the day and handed over to the 2001-02 management team for implementation, and that was the last we heard of it. This latest fiasco ought to be the last straw and hopefully would spur the current leadership into action, before it is too late. | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response fro the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Peter Lo | ||||
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