| 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
(We Don't Take No) - By Francis Wann | ||||
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We Don't Take No
While the statistics on youth employment is not exactly promising, our Government and ministers are quick to point out the various opportunities created for our youngsters who cannot further their studies. As a service organization, Rotary has always been committed to youth issues and we are indeed proud to see our efforts taking root in our community. Last month our Rotaracters hosted the Model United Nations Assembly where delegates from other countries gathered here and discussed world issues. Then it was the Asia Pacific Rotaract Regional Conference. And if that isn't enough, today we'll see the start of the World Interact Week. Youth business is big business, and it's also a market to be explored and exploited. Suddenly peole are talking about heavy school bags, lunch boxes, nutrition values, self image, quality time, family bonding, etc. It's the generation which pioneered the MP3, the email protocol, the SMS, and naturally they are the target for the 3G mobile phones. Like it or not, their presence will actively affect the face of our politics. We cannot miss the subject of education when we talk about youth issues. While there's nothing cheerful about our system, the community will have to make some serious decisions very soon when consultation begins on the structure of our secondary and tertiary education. The public will then face the dilemma of changing the existing British style three-year university degree programs to four years. And later in the year the Education Commission will release another document on the medium of instruction in schools, probably the most contentious issue to date considering the wide implications and repercussions as well as its political undertones. September has been earmarked the New Generations Month on the Rotary calendar and we pledge our alliance. In less than two weeks, many of them will be eligible to vote in the Legislative Council elections for the first time. They may be fresh graduates, university students, or perhaps A-level students, and hopefully they will treasure their right to vote and get their first taste of democracy at work. And whatever your political inclinations, and whatever your aspirations, you probably have realised already that at least here in Hong Kong, democracy is a hard-earned commodity. | ||||
President's
Column New Generations Month
Rotarians should always live up to the Rotary Ideal of "Service Above Self" through humanitarian service and high ethical standards, thereby helping to build goodwill and peace in the world. As September is the "New Generations Month" on the Rotary calendar. It reminds us to place sufficient emphasis on our next generation, who will be the backbone of our future. To ensure we have done our part, we have not only supported our Rotaract Club and 3 Interact Clubs, but have also encouraged collaboration among us. Recently, we have supported and encouraged our Rotaractors to participate in the Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference which provided a golden opportunity for our local Rotaractors to interact with the overseas Rotaractors. We have also sponsored the Hong Kong International Model United Nations which enabled our teenagers to conduct cultural exchange with overseas participants. Furthermore, we have also supported our Interactors including Interact Club of Hong Kong Wah Yan College and St. Benedict Secondary School to join the Interact Bazaar. We shall continue to emphasize on youth services through coming activities including the joint project "Little Shoes" with our Rotaract Club which aims to invite our Interactors & their classmates to paint the white sport shoes and deliver the shoes to the children in China. Accordingly, our Rotaractors are now seeking sponsorship on white sport shoes, dyestuff and delivery of shoes to China. If you are able to provide any kind of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our Community Services Director Patrick Wong who is now working closely with our Rotaractors. We are also organizing a "Public Speech Workshop" with our Rotaractors. Aimed to provide training on public speaking skills to our teenagers, we wish to hold 4 to 6 workshops with different speakers. If you are interested in playing the role of speaker or you have any connection with potential speakers, I'm sure Rtn. Patrick Wong and his sub-committee will be very eager to contact you. Dear Rotarians, I understand you are all committed to "Service Above Self" and will respond to the above requests so that we can help create a better world for our next generation and equip them for the future challenges. Let's work together to explore all opportunities for them. | ||||
By Elsa Law
He told us that the use of seals, in the old days, was for the purpose of bearing witnesses to commercial and political transactions. At one stage, only government officials & royalties could use seals. At first, engraving was done on tortoise shells, bells, coins, stones and bricks, but over the years, precious stones have become its main focus, hence the term “Stone Culture”. The quality of the stone is the most important: the greater the clarity, the better. As to pricing, it can range from thousands to a few hundred depending on its quality. Interested? Rotarian Joseph’s advice to novice is to start browsing around Sheung Wan and only buy the stones that one is particularly interested, beginning with the cheaper ones. Our dinner meeting on 26th August 2004 was held at Tsiu Hang Tsuen Restaurant in Central. President Thomas Chan was on holiday, and VP Sunny So stepped in to be the acting president for the night. We had two full tables of Rotarians and four Interactors – Dominic, Leslie, Ivan and Stephen. Dominic, Leslie and Stephen had attended the Malaysia Interactors’ conference and shared with us their joyful experience of Malaysia. They highly recommended the “Ah Choi Chicken” dish which, they said, was most delicious. Ivan was on a student exchange to Canberra. He shared with us his bad experience of missing three buses which was scheduled to run every 20 minutes; all because he was directed to the wrong stop, but he enjoyed Australia all the same. All of our Interactors have made many friends during their trip abroad and, of course, gained much knowledge of another culture. We have been shown a great many photos of their trips. Apart from that, the spirit of the night was one of relaxation and chit-chatting, we heard great many laughter and chats all night long. It was all in all a great evening. | ||||
By Ivan Ho [Ivan Ho is an Exchange Student sponsored by our club - Ed.]
I went to Australia from 12th June to 7th August. During this period, I spent most of my time staying with the Hicks family. Graham is my host and a Rotarian of the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise. He was also the past president of the club. The Hicks are really nice and helpful. They always asked me how I felt on any day, asked me what I liked and disliked for meals and so on. Thanks a lot! Canberra is the capital of Australia. So many things in Canberra are different from other cities in Australia. The educational system in Canberra is a little bit like the US system, wheras other places mainly follow the UK system. Transport in Canberra is simple but not efficient. The only public transport is buses, so it is not good for people who are in a hurry. I went to Hawker College most of the time. All the students and staff are really good. I found it a little bit strange that on the first day I went to the school, nearly all people knew who I was. Finally I found out that the staff had already written my name on the board. That is why when I introduced myself to the teachers, I said I was “Ivan Ho on the board”! I tried many things in the college. For example, they told me to pick the courses I wanted to study. So I ticked all the courses that I could not study in HK, like Woodwork, Cooking, Popular Culture, and Poetry… Also I did make some snacks for the morning tea for the teachers. On the last day I made chocolate cookies as a little thank you gift! The school is different from Wah Yan College Hong Kong in many ways too. They do not have bells, so you can only go when the teacher let you go. All the people call each other by their first name no matter you are a student or a teacher. It is indicative of the fair relationship between students and teachers. I think it is good. I hope I will not do it at school in HK! I went to the Rock Eisteddfod. It is the number 1 dancing competition among all the schools in Canberra. I am so lucky to be the back stage helper for the final night. I watched the performances of Hawker College and other schools. Although we did not win, it was still a good experience for me. I was on stage, and I had the opportunity to be a back stager as well! Also I could see and feel the competition of the schools in Canberra. I tried to be present at the morning Rotary meeting every Wednesday. I came to know many Rotarians during the meetings, because I was the one to check attendance at the meetings. We had meetings in the High Court of the A.C.T. every Wednesday morning. The meeting included breakfast and a raffle. It was cold in the morning, but the atmosphere was very warm there. The meetings were not boring and they always invited a guest speaker to have a short speech. We could always have a short lesson in the cold Wednesday morning. Jill, my counsellor, took me to Narawallee once. It was a lovely coast area. It was warm and sunny, not like cold Canberra. You can see how lovely it is from my photos. I went to Sydney also during the school term break. It has more energy and is much busier than Canberra. For me, it was still quite slow compared to HK. I saw a lot there, including Darling Harbor, Circular Key, Opera House, Harbor Bridge and China town etc. Sydney in fact is an amazing city but it is quite complicated in the public transport. That is the only thing I did not like about this international city. Overall, it was a very good trip. The people I met are all very nice to me and helpful. I am thankful for the Rotary clubs and the Youth Exchange. I made a lot of good friends. The good memories left on my mind would last my whole life. | ||||
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More on Membership
Next Sunday, Catholics would reflect on a passage from the gospel according to St. Luke, in which Jesus, on seeing a large crowd following him, talked to his followers about what it meant to be his disciples. He asked them what those people were looking for and why they were following him in such large numbers. They could be following perhaps because they were curious, or perhaps they had seen Jesus perform miracles, or perhaps because they were simply following the crowds as herds of sheep would. Jesus then put before them the challenge of discipleship, which required them putting Him first in their lives, certainly before family and possessions, a rather tall order indeed. One could look at this passage from the scripture as an invitation out of love rather than a challenge. Jesus had not called his disciples to be slaves, but rather He called them to be friends, friends who would know what their master did. The master indeed had defined a friend, through personal example, as someone who would be willing to sacrifice his life for others. You need not be a Catholic or subscribe to the teachings of Christianity to follow what was implied in the scriptures. One would like to believe that people become Rotarians because they believe in the Objects of Rotary and what Rotary stands for, what Rotary and Rotarians have been doing for other people, including making personal sacrifices for the sake of people they have hardly met and probably would never. Yes, this is what Rotarians have been doing for nearly a century. It is still a long way from what Jesus had asked of his disciples, but few would disagree that Rotarians and Christians are moving in the same direction. Numbers are indeed important, but next time you consider bringing in someone to be a member of your club, make an effort to find out whether he or she can meet the definition of friends, at least in spirit, less we could be wasting time recruiting the wrong people into our organization. | ||||
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
: Thomas Chan | ||||
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