| 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
(Too Happy; Too Soon) - By Francis Wann | ||||
| Too Happy; Too Soon While the Democratic Alliance for the Betternent of Hong Kong (DAB) is still licking its wounds in the aftermath of last Sunday's District Council elections, members of the Democratic Party have already been talking about universal suffrage to elect the next chief executive and the entire legislature. The record turnout for the district polls has inevitably made all of us feel that we are one step closer to democracy, if not a better society. With ballots from 44.06 per cent of registered electors which translated to 1 065 363 constituants from eighteen districts, the election has also set two records in Hong Kong history - the highest percentage of voters, and the largest number of people who actually went out to cast a vote. The Democrats are pulling no punches, and last week they won a motion at the Legco House Committee which would allow them to move a motion debate this Wednesday urging the Chief Executive to appoint only a minimal number of district councillors. While a vote is literally a voice in election terms, there're of course those who only felt obliged to vote, and those who vote for Candidate "A" only because they didn't want Candidate "B" to come out. How sociologists and politicians read and interpret the figures and the full impact of the elections could only be realised in retropect, but as a million people voted with their feet, the Government could not avoid the issue of democracy any more. But the road to democracy is always full of minefields and uncertainties. The past two weeks have been full of rhetoric and promises and even free lunches, and as the term for the existing DB councillors expire later this month, will the newcomers forget their mandate once they take office? DGE Alex joked about free lunches in his maiden speech at the District Conference earlier this month when he mentioned how he was taken to Rotary luncheons in the 70s without realising the consequences. And as he pointed out some clubs are not interested in joint functions with their sister clubs, or not involved in international services which would effectively put the name of Rotary on the world map, we should also be putting the same question to ourselves - are we Rotarian enough? When the rhetoric subsides, Rotarians will still remember their commitment to the community. With the Thanksgiving day just behind us, perhaps it's also time for us to reflect on ourselves - that it's indeed a privilege to serve. | ||||
President's
Column Self Awareness Now that the vocational month has ended, it doesn’t mean thant we can ignore the emphasis on vocational service. I think it is just the beginning of our mission for this year. Two years ago, our Club launched a vocational seminar for two local secondary schools, namely T.W.G.H. Wong Fut Nam College and S.K.H. St Benedict School. Encouraged by positive feedback from all the participants, our club has decided to do more. This year, our service partner will be Shatin City One S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School. Already, we have met the principal and staff, and we predicted a bigger project than before, involving about 600 students. When I was at school, there was little opportunity for youngsters to learn about how they could develop their future career. Today they can benefit from the community as we share our experience with them. My experience has been such that personal success always depends on the individual's self-awareness, rather than on somebody else. Here I would like to share with you my friend’s story on the subject. 24 years ago, a young man had just finished Form 6 and was looking for a job. Eventually, he was employed by a watchstrap electronic plating factory as an assistant manager. On the day he went to the factory, he found that the office was an empty room with a telephone on the floor. My friend was about 18 and this was his first job. He was surprised and he waited in the room. Ten minutes later, the boss arrived, gave him HK$7,000 and said he would be out of town for a week. He then left immediately leaving no telephone contact number, no mobile phone and nobody to consult. He sat on the floor, took out a piece of paper and wrote down the things he should do. One week later, the boss came back and found that the office was already set up as my friend was expecting to be given some recognization for his performance. It did not happen. His boss simply said, "You are the assistant manager. You should know how to perform your duty and you are not coming to learn how to be an assistant manager." Today, my friend is not working for a living because he was rich enough to retire at 42. I think the moral of this story is that success depends on one's ability to learn the following: trust and delegation; self-awareness and self-motivation; competence and integrity; independence and performance; and commitment. This is reflected in our Rotary work and it also reminds us that as Rotarians, we should know precisely what our duties are, and shouldn’t wait to be told. | ||||
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The
44th District Conference - My View I don’t think anyone will disagree with me if I say that the District Conference is the most important annual event of our District. That is why our District, year after year, has put so much effort and resources in organizing the Conference. This year, our 44th District Conference was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 15 and 16 November 2003. The purpose of a District Conference is for fellowship, fun, inspirations and discussions on matters related to the District. Because of its importance, RI President had asked his Personal Representative PDG Jackson Hsieh of District 3520 to address the congregation. Since I first joined Rotary in 1994, I have at least attended six District Conferences of our District. I found it true that it is a very good opportunity to meet Rotarians from other clubs which enables me to extend my Rotary activities beyond the club level. For those who did not attend the District Conference, you should be able to find out what has happened from the proceedings which should be ready for distribution shortly after the conference. When Kingspark was chartered nine years ago, we held weekly provisional meetings before we received our club charter. I remember that CP John would call us every week and remind us to come to the meetings. Except a few, namely CP John, PP Edward and PP Alex, none of the other charter members were Rotarians before they joined Kingspark. Therefore, during those provisional meetings, we had the chance to learn more about Rotary. I also remember that PDG Raymond, PDG Moses, PDG Peter Hall and PDG Authur also attended our meetings to share with us their valuable knowledge and experiences in Rotary. Therefore, I consider it a privilege to be a charter member of a club. For those members who joined Kingspark after we received our charter, in particular those new members, it is fundamental that you attend the District Conference and learn more about Rotary. I cannot further emphasize the importance and the fun of attending which you have to feel it yourself. For those of you who have attended, don’t just come to eat - I mean those who only attended the Governor’s Banquet or Rotary Foundation Lunch. Come to share and meet new friends. | ||||
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By President Eddie Ng (Eddie Ng is President of the Interact Club at Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. In this article, President Ng reported on a function jointly organized by the three Interact clubs sponsored by us, namely Wah Yan College, HK, Wah Yan College Kowloon and SKH St Benedict's School. The event was held on 22 November 2003 at St Jame's Settlement in Wanchai. There were two Rotarians, 11 members and one guest. They met 24 children. - Ed.) This service project was held as a Joint Project, in response to an RI appeal and as part of the World Interact Week celebration. Through this project, we aim to enhance communication between Rotarians and Interactors and provide a precious opportunity for both parties to cooperate. Throughout the whole organizing process, we did learn a lot from Rotarians and also how to organize a service project. Although there was misunderstanding between us and St. James’ Settlement at first, the problem was only a minor one and was solved quickly. On the service day, all workers were asked to muster at Heng Sang Bank inside Wanchai MTR Station. We arrived at St. James’ Settlement at around 9am and started preparation work right after our arrival. At 9:30am, when all children were settled, we started the programmes with painting as the first session. However, as some of the children had to attend an English Course, only 12 children could attend. As a result, we decided to end this session earlier in order to let the children gather and play games. All the children enjoyed the games very much. After that, our guest magician performed a magic show before all the children. It turned out to be a very popular programme indeed and the children were really excited with the show. Finally, there was a prize presentation in which every child did actually receive at least one present. | ||||
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The Annual General Meeting I don't know whether you went to the ballot box last week to elect your local representative on the District Council or whether there was only one candidate in your constituency in which case you had no chance to vote. The media, the commentators and the politicians have since spoken ad nauseum and I would not dwell on the subject any more than to say that there must be lessons one can learn from the process and that the truth is not always what meets the eyes. In less than two weeks, our Club would hold our own Annual General Meeting to elect the club leadership for the next term. Here, I urge you and I beg you to make some advance planning so that you can avail yourself to attend the meeting, not only as a show of support for the Incoming President and the Board, but more importantly, as a renewal of your personal commitment to the Club and to Rotary. The attendance statistics in recent months have not been much to write home about. Statistics may lie, but they often help us draw conclusions and take decisions for the future. In our institution, leadership changes every year, which is why it is more important and relevant to support the presidency than the president, for presidents come and go, but the institution stays and the Club is to continue to be there for the purposes for which it was chartered in the first place, namely to serve those who need our service most. As we are about to celebrate the Club's tenth anniversary, the past leaders of the Club have decided to meet regularly as a Past Presidents Council primarily to provide the current leadership and the Club an additional resource and input that would enable them to make decisions that can better serve the needy. The Council is there to advise and not to wield power. The Council hopes to be able to study in greater depth the problems presenting the Club and to offer possible solutions, but it is for the current club leadership to take decisions. You need not therefore elect them to the Council, for they are there already, but you need to elect the next club leadership, which is why I appeal to you in the strongest possible terms, come to the AGM on 11 December. | ||||
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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