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Not so long ago, a Liaison Officer in Government with responsibilities for community relations thought that Rotary International District 3450 was synonymous with the Rotary Club of New Territories and that the Hon Lau Wong Fat was the person to be reckoned with when it came to Rotary in Hong Kong and Macau. The Government conventionally recognizes public services of individuals who have held high offices of charitable organizations in Hong Kong, including the Chairmenship of Tung Wah Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, Yan Tsai Hospital, Pok Oi Hospital, Lok Sin Tong and Yan Oi Tong, but not the goverorship of Rotary. But when a past governor recently met the Chairman of Forbes Corporation and mentioned in passing that he was a past governor of the Rotary International district covering Hong Kong and some other areas, Mr Forbes showed immediate respect and later addressed him in writing as the Honourable District Governor. There must be lessons one can learn from all these, and without doubt, we have an image problem in the district and in Hong Kong in particular. Successive governors had tried to repair the image when they were in office, but without an infrastructure nor a culture which recognizes the office of the District Governor, as opposed to the individuals in office, there has been little progress, if at all. The presidents of the year have decided to hold an event on channel television to be broadcast at prime time in ten days' time. The programme would feature work of Rotary clubs and the District and hopeful would help raising funds for the flagship China Project in the District and in the process help improving the image of Rotary. One questions however whether the majoroty of the members in the District understand the process or can identify themselves with what are being proposed and for which their clubs have pledged good money. We hasten to add that we applaud the good work and the selfless attitude of the organizers of the project, notably that of Assistant Governor Johnny Fan, but without a concerted effort aimed at taking the problems at source, one cannot help feeling whether such efforts and resources could have been more gainfully directed. |