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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 13 : 1 January | ||
| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(Lost
in the Internet) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Lost in the Internet As an online edition, Kingspark News has also experienced the modern man's dilemma of relying too much on emails and the internet. Perhaps it's as they call it a sign of our times. I'd imagine the kind of inconvenience our members faced in the last few days could hardly compare with the amount of frustrations and anger generated among our students and younger generation. For many of them, access to internet and their blog communities has given them a renewed meaning of life and their identities. Hong Kong is usually unaffected by natural disasters, no matter how close they are. Two years ago during Christmas when tsunami hit our neighbours in Indonesia and Thailand, we stayed unscathed. When Katrina hit Florida in South America, or when the World Trade Centre in New York was hijacked, we might have not even been aware of these were it not for the extensive media coverage. The latest scenario of an earthquake off Taiwan would mean - well to most people - the clogging up of internet traffic and SMS messages. When there is no loss of lives of our immediate families and friends, most of us can largely assume that it's none of our business. There seems to be something missing in our education system which has been producing men and women who are only concerned about their exams and personal gains, and a bland generation which has refused to grow up. While Chief Executive Donald Tsang thinks that Hong Kong's never had it so good for many years, we still have our list of unfulfilled dreams. Now ten years after the handover, the promise of "one country, two systems" seems to be wearing thin and we've seen an increasing amount of friendly gestures and advice from the mainland in the past few years. What is alarming is the unwritten policy and practice of seeking official blessings for anything big and small. The next one or two months would be particularly interesting as very soon Mr Tsang has to register his intention to run for a second term of office. The election in March will certainly attract a lot of media interest as it is an election which is not an election. And if the pan democratic camp had their way, we shall be able to witness genuine debates on policy matters and governance. As we go down the lists of New Year Honors today, we see how those small men and women help influence others and extend the meaning of humanity. John Grey got his MBE as head shoeshiner at Heathrow, and women's issues activist Linda Bellos was awarded an OBE for her dedicated services to diversity. There are of course many others who have spent their lives servicing others above self, like many Rotarians. In her latest Christmas broadcast, the Queen emphasized how much the young and the old have to offer each other. That should give our members plenty of food for thought. Happy new year. | ||
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President's
Column I would like to thank the Organizing Committee for making the party a success: PP Edward, PP Thomas, Joyce and Rotaractor Florence, partnering with Rtn. Spark, acted as MCs during the evening. The morning after, a light cavalry of Kingsparicans showed up at the District Sports Day held at the Kowloon Tsai Sports Playground. Without any signs of fatigue, our members stepped into the field and distinguished themselves as a force to be reckoned. The club swept medals in events year after year. This year, PP Ted is still the most outstanding athlete in the club. He came first in the 100m sprint. PP Thomas is the most outstanding distant runner of the club. He came second in the 800m run and is our club's Marathon man, not being challenged by Kennedy. Kingspark's relay team comprising Ted, Thomas, Raymond L and myself, was invincible. Led by the Club President, Raymond L and Thomas were able to keep the distance in the first 300m. Thanks to the human turbo charger carried by Ted, the team snatched the Championship from the leading team at the final 20 meters of the race. The other teams "ate dust" at the last 100m. I am sure Ted agreed that it was a good race. Ted's daughters were even more formidable than the elders. I could not tell who from whom, but the Ho's sisters won every event they raced, and by a great distance. I heard that they went through "unusual" training preparing for the Asian Games. Well done girls, keep up with the training! Talking about sharing and loving, one morning last week, I represented the club to present a gift to a blind student at Hotung Secondary. The computer at her home was down and need a replacement. One of our members, name whom I withhold, personally donated in name of the club a computer with special software for handicap. I talked to the student, family name Ng, and her mother for about an hour. We did this hoping that Ng could open herself to friends and classmates, and to appreciate that there is always someone caring for her, and that life could be beautiful. Let us wish student Ng can go back to school regularly. On behalf of Kingspark, I thank this kind loving gentleman. According to RI President Bill Boyd and not to his exact wording, a hero needs not to be seen. Rotary is about loving and caring. I take this opportunity to wish our members and their families a warm and loving Christmas. | ||
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But there may not be such half way mark in life, even though many people have discussed, talked about and written on such issues as mid-life crises, the big Four-O, Five-O or Six-O, the Forty-Niners Club, and so on. I recall I once said to my daughter something like, "Life is a series of mistakes." She responded with approval, which I quickly chalked up as one of my rare achievements with my children. Indeed, one should never be too worried about making mistakes, Those who make the most mistakes are people who probably would achieve a lot more in life, as long as they do not make the same mistakes too often. Young people in particular hold licences to make the more and bigger mistakes, which they would recall with fondness in their later lives as useful experiences, talking them over and over with friends and families, sometimes mixing up facts for good measures. Institutional mistakes are often looked at differently. People tend to remember them longer and for different reasons. It is fashionable to appoint people to review them so that useful lessons can be learnt and so that the they would not be repeated in the future. In the process, new rules and regulations would be created, some more useful or applicable than others. I remember telling some new recruits not to hide or bury their mistakes. "Bring them to me, whether they are yours or your discovery. I would reward you accordingly." Some did; and these invariably were those who went far and flew high, until they met someone who did not value mistakes as much as I do. As a service club, it is inevitable that mistakes would be and have been made. As long as they are genuine mistakes, as opposed to ones precipitated by others with ulterior motives, we can and should be able to live with them and learn from them; and we would grow out of them stronger and wiser. It was customary in the old days when people were less environmentally conscious for people to throw used calendar pages from the office windows onto the street. They were quite a sight and full of symbolic meanings, the most obvious one being, "Let the past past so that we can move on." My friends, move on, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. | ||
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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 from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Patrick Wong | ||
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