| 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
(The Real Superman) - By Francis Wann | ||||
District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||||
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The Real Superman
Those who had wanted to read the hidden agenda from the faces of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and his ministers were likely to be disappointed. As policy bureaucrats, they probably know what they're expected to do. The ripples and in-house bickering which occurred didn't have much of an impact in the face of an onslaught of government machinary. Now people seem to have the illusion that our economy is picking up, and that we're beginning to see the return of inflation. And they tend to play down the fact that we still have more than 550,000 people out of work, and many more on irregular contracts and are not eligible for benefits. The bills for minimum wages and maximum working hours were defeated yesterday, which was largely expected. When asked about what the government would do, Tung pulled out his trump card of accountability. "All policy secretaries wil pay regular visits to various districts... They will discuss policy issues with members of the public," said Mr Tung. The ministers' roadshows are likely to produce more noise than substance, and naturally generate much media interest. I was indeed pondering over our larger-than-life Superman Christopher Reeve who died last week after a cardiac arrest in Washington, DC. Yes even Superman has to come to terms with death. And like the cartoon, Reeve must have understood his soft spot. Had there been no accident during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia some nine years ago, maybe he wouldn't have turned himself from a screen hero into a reallife social activist and moral crusade. On screen, the Superman upholds social justice. But in real life, the ordeal and pain of months of therapy Christopher Reeve had to go through might well be beyond most people's comprehension. Right before his death, he had been fighting for the cause of stem cell research, a contentious issue for the presidential candidates. Rotarians are not supermen, and we all have our limitations. But we believe there's always a superman inside everyone of us, and there're even more supermen out there who are not yet Rotarians. In March 1996, Reeve appeared in front of the Oscar Awards audience and moved everyone to tears with his appeal for more films about social issues. Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said in an interview on BBC that it took commitments like Reeve's to carry research forward. "It takes extraordinary individuals like Reeve to recognise that investment and effort is worthwhile in the long run to work for others." Isn't this also what we Rotarians believe in? | ||||
President's
Column
I understand you are all busy because you have to excel in your profession or business, look after your family and contribute in other social organizations. Although I know it is tough for you to switch your emphasis to Rotary, I still appeal to you to become a committed Rotarian so as to achieve a complete and beautiful life. Taking this opportunity, I would like to invite you to join the following events because I wish you can feel the difference and answer the question I mentioned at the beginning of this article. District Vocational Service Luncheon Meeting : Thursday 21/10/04 at Ritz Carlton Hotel Opening Ceremony of Parents & Children's Reading Corner : Saturday 30/10/04 at The Salvation Army Lam Butt Chung Memorial School, Tung Chung English Teaching Lesson and Halloween Party with children in China : Saturday & Sunday 30 - 31/10/04 in Dongguan, China | ||||
William "Bill" Boyd [Repeat] William "Bill" Boyd of Auckland, New Zealand, has been nominated RI President 2006-2007. Bill was Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator together with PDG Raymond Wong of District 3450; and in 1994 they started the Foundation Alumni Resource Group (FARG) together. Bill has been in Hong Kong and has a good impression of the District. | ||||
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MIS It is ironic that when IT has been the order of the day for sometime now, the flow of information that matters within the district can travel at snail pace and sometimes not at all. A case in point is information on the selection or election of district leaders. Even before Jones Wong handed over the district baton to Alexander Mak, a district committee or task force had been appointed to review the nomination procedures for DGN. We have learnt through the grapevine that the committee had met and finished their deliberations, but we could find no official announcements or statements on the matter. For that matter, there was no official announcement on the composition of the committee or its terms of reference. Time flies. The deadline for nomination for DGN 2006-07 had come and gone, but alas, even todate, more than two weeks after the expiry of the deadline, we have had no official announcements on who the candidates are. One cannot help wondering why things have gone the course they have, and specifically why information of public interest to Rotarians have been withheld, deliberately or otherwise. One would also wonder whether the advice of the newly incorporated council of past district governors had been consulted on the matter and how these experienced and senior Rotarians would advise the district leadership on these matters. The election or selection of future leaders is a matter of public concern and must be conducted in a fair, open and just manner and be seen to be as such. It is regretable that part or parts of the process may be seen to have been shroulded in secrecy. Ches Perry was the first Secretary General of RI and held the office for 33 years. Paul Harris hailed Perry as the builder of Rotary International when people called him architect. Perry had indeed helped to provide the very necessary and essential foundation for the organization and should be credited with the good and sound administration under which RI now operates. Good and sound administration appears to be precisely what is lacking in District 3450 now. We need an effective administration to establish quickly a sound management information system (MIS), unless we are content with operating under mis-information. | ||||
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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