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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 17 : 5 March | ||
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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
(Money
Money Money) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Money Money Money
Budget speeches are never inspiring, great speeches anyway, but when the time is good, even dull statistics and figures would begin to dance before you. When there is money around, anyone can possibly be a financial secretary. It's only the hard times which actually discriminate a real visionary from the money pinchers. It's easy to talk about fiscal discipline and prudent financial measures, just as it is always right to talk about revitalizing our economy, and improving living standards for everyone, especially the socially disadvantaged. There are sweeteners for the middle class, and with $20 billion salaries tax rebate and relief, and most with immediate effects, only a fool would criticize his budget. Not doing enough? Then there is also the $900 million earmarked for various schemes from transport support subsidy to self reliance to poverty relief. Who says this small government is not a caring and sharing one? So impressed was the members of the press that most seemed to have lost any sense of direction during the press conference immediately after his budget speech. You just watch the journalists struggling to ask a few soft questions which only helped reinforce the financial Secretary's claim. He was doing a lot of explaining, but he didn't have to run for cover. Even veteran RTHK journalist Francis Moriarty was only asking his intention of those temporary one-offs and whether (the huge surplus) are meant to "purchase hearts and minds" in the next administration. Hard-hitting were non-existent and the real objective of a press conference was lost anyway. Yes Henry Tang could even manage a bit of humour at his own expense when he talked about tax on wines and spirits. He also talked about the Child Development Fund, something first initiated by Prof Peter Townsend of University of Bristol which funds the Townsend Centre of International Poverty Research. Prof Townsend has been studying the subject of poverty, inequality, and social exclusion for over 20 years and was in Hong Kong last year to give advice to the administration. Our own Poverty Commission (headed by the Financial Secretary) has been in existence for over two years and one wonders if members actually should feel embarrassed. When the administration talks about social harmony, the drama unfolded yesterday before the Legco education panel on the Government's interference of academic freedom must be something of an anticlimax. We heard the President of HKIEd Prof Paul Morris making scathing allegations and telling us how the education institution was being excluded in all consultations, and how the Govermment claimed they had the right to intervene… And today all eyes are on the CE debate. Well not exactly. But with money in the Government coffer, things could get easier. | ||
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From
the Webmaster
This is actually a long story, but I would be brief. A club in our district had been working on a number of proposals from the sister club in Kuala Lumpur and was worried that the club might not be able to take on the one which involved the provisioning of computers, peripherals and networking for a St. Joseph's School and Sai Orphanage in Sentul, Malaysia. The Governor of the Malaysian District came back to me for help because I was the District Rotary Foundation Chair. Naturally, I approached the President of the day for Kingspark; and the rest became history. Indeed, this project cost nothing to both clubs, the one in Malaysia namely Sentul and the one in Hong Kong namely Kingspark. It was made possible with DDF from both districts - District 3300 and District 3450 - and matched 100% by The Rotary Foundation. The Foundation approved the application in May 2006 and the host club of District 3300, the RC of Sentul, went full steam ahead with the project. By now, both presidents - Sentul and Kingspark - have become IPPs, but that had not diminished their enthusiasm, whcih has carried our Dominic to Kuala Lumpur to meet their Mahendran for the first time. Both Rotarians became good friends and brothers on sight, as the others have, with other club members. St Joseph's School is an adjunct of a Catholic Church with the same name in Sentul. It is a school for girls of Indian descent whose families are of little means generally and who are therefore not priorities for receiving good education. From the start, the application for the matching grant has all the hallmarks of a meaningful project, and as I have been talking to clubs and members while I was the District Foundation Chair, such projects would not only provide the very much needed hardware and software that would benefit the specific community concerned, very importantly, it would help the Rotarians in the two clubs of the two respective districts understand and appreciate more what Rotary means, specifically what humanitarian service means, and in the process dervive fellowship across time and space which they otherwise might not. And so they did. Already, they are talking about other projects and other occasions for meeting each other. Already, an idea is being bantered around that instead of having individual clubs signing sister club pacts between each other, it might be much more meaningful and efficient to have a giant or umbrella pact between the two districts through which clubs between the two districts would be encouraged to embark on joint service projects, thereby benefiting many many more people who need the service. This is what Matching Grants can potentially do; this is what clubs whose members have matching aspirations and service enthusiasm can potentially achieved. Certainly it should be the foundation on which clubs from different districts enter into similiar agreements. | ||
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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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