The Handover of Hong Kong or The Great Chinese Takeaway

Charles' diary lays thoughts bare

The diary which sparked Prince Charles' court fight with the Mail on Sunday has been released by his lawyers amid claims it was not a "private" journal.
The 3,000-word document is said to have been written as the Prince flew back from Hong Kong in 1997 after attending the former colony's handover to China.

He mentioned talks with Tony Blair and the "ridiculous rigmarole" of meeting the then Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

But his surprise at not being seated in first class is also touched upon.

Charles says copies of eight journals were handed to the Mail on Sunday by his ex-employee.

He is suing the paper's owners, Associated Newspapers, for breach of copyright and confidentiality following the publication of an article in November 2005.

The prince's legal team says Charles gave copies of his journals only to family members, friends and advisers and denies the Mail on Sunday's claim that his aim was to influence political opinion.

'Astonishing'

In the diary, the prince also talked of official events on the Royal Yacht Britannia and his "overwhelming sadness" that the vessel was soon to be "ex-commissioned".


"I stood on the deck gazing at the departing skyline of Hong Kong and telling myself perhaps it is good for the soul to have to say goodbye to the dear yacht in the same year. Perhaps..."

He recounted that Britannia was followed by a Chinese patrol craft during his stay.

"The whole business was drearily reminiscent of the Soviets and their behaviour when I was in the Royal Navy over 20 years previously."


Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself
Entry in Prince Charles' journal


The prince said Mr Blair was a "most enjoyable" person to talk to - "perhaps partly due to his being younger than me.

"He also gives the impression of listening to what one says, which I find astonishing."

But he rued the fact that the prime minister was in "such a hurry".

He added: "They then take decisions based on market research and focus groups, on the papers produced by political advisers and civil servants none of whom will have ever experienced what it is they are taking decisions about."

Talking of his outward journey on a British Airways 747, Charles writes: "It took me some time to realise that this was not first class(!) although it puzzled me as to why the seat seemed so uncomfortable."

He then discovered dignitaries, including Edward Heath, Douglas Hurd, "the new Foreign Secretary Robin Cook", and Paddy Ashdown, were all "in First Class immediately below us".

"Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself," Charles wrote.

'Propaganda' speech

Charles titled his diary The Handover of Hong Kong or The Great Chinese Takeaway.

The extracts already published in the Mail on Sunday showed the prince described Chinese officials as "appalling old waxworks" and one ceremony as an "awful Soviet-style" performance.


In the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset - the rule of law
Entry in Prince Charles' journal

Of a banquet during his stay, Charles also wrote of sitting next to the Chinese foreign minister, "who must have had considerable difficulty knowing what to make of me".

The Prince described the Chinese president and "his cronies" at a handover dinner that followed.

The president "gave a kind of propaganda speech which was loudly cheered by the bussed-in party faithful at the suitable moment in the text," Charles wrote.

"At the end of this awful Soviet-style display we had to watch the Chinese soldiers goose-step on to the stage and haul down the Union Jack and raise the ultimate flag."

The journal continued: "Thus we left Hong Kong to her fate and the hope that Martin Lee, the leader of the Democrats, would not be arrested..."

He said everyone at another reception was "thoroughly optimistic" about Hong Kong's future.

"But in the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset - the rule of law."

He said the Chinese army was also a concern because soldiers' low pay meant there may be "irresistible temptations to intimidate or threaten local people".


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/4740684.stm

Published: 2006/02/22 17:57:53 GMT

© BBC MMVI
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I must sound like a total traitor but i seriously felt his pain regarding the handover. Sob Sob...he's so right about those awful Chinese politician. The only thing that's wrong? Haha Mr. Tung is not that complicated. :D

Ok i want this book

【2006/02/19 聯合晚報】
阿信個人書 跟創作賭氣
五月天主唱阿信出首本個人書Happy Birth Day。

記者周文郁/攝影

【記者梁岱琦/專訪】「每一次寫完一首歌，都像是死過一次」! 阿信一向是「五月天」裡的創作靈魂人物，最近他挑出自己的66 首歌詞創作，推出「Happy.Birth.Day」個人書，但說起創作，阿信是既痛苦又快樂，他寫起歌來可以不吃、不喝、不睡，但寫完後，「所有的這些苦難都不見了」。

阿信不想當「五月天」裡第一個出書的人，「我本來想等石頭或瑪莎出完後再出」，而且結合歌詞與心情寫真的「Happy.Birth.Day」，也不是阿信最想出的一本書，「我覺得我的第一本書應該是一般的文學書，大家都不知道是我寫的，這樣有出版社要出、有人要看，才是最棒的」。不過，在同輩的創作歌手裡，阿信的文字一直有種敏銳的觀察與自省力，這一、兩年來，很多人看重他的文字功力，光邀詞的歌手還不少。

書裡的66首歌詞，有「五月天」的、也有阿信寫給其他歌手，他也藉著出書的機會，「還原」某些歌的樣子。像是他寫給朱孝天的「啦啦啦」，原本裡頭有句歌詞說，「膽子很大、英文很破」，但當時唱片公司表示，「我們朱孝天的英文很好」，於是這兩句歌詞就被改了。謝霆鋒演唱的「寂寞堂口」原本叫做「寂寞殺人堂口」，阿信也在書裡恢復原來的歌名，也透露出這首歌背後不為人知的故事。

為了該不該把創作時的情境寫出來，阿信掙扎了很久，他覺得，「我把這本書當成詩集，而詩是不需要解釋的」，但想到自己也從「披頭四」的書中，得知他們創作的過程，直到截稿的最後一天，才臨時補了六千字的創作過程，也意外曝露了歌曲後的故事。收在「人生海海」專輯裡的「一顆蘋果」，是阿信聽到堂哥在一場黑道「槍戰」裡，中槍半身不遂後所寫的。「當初擔心家人的感受，一直考慮該不該寫出來」，阿信坦承，「最後決定寫了是因為，至少這樣可以告訴大家歹路不可行」，「寂寞堂口」也是因為堂哥而寫的。

要創作出一首歌並不是這麼簡單，阿信笑說「自己百分之九十都在卡在創作瓶頸」，為了不想跟別人一樣，想要有不同的表達方式，每寫一首歌他都要花很長的時間「想」。「蘊釀一首歌需要很大的能量」，阿信承認專心創作時，總是熬夜、不吃、不喝，「我心裡不認輸、也賭全部的氣」，他的時間有限，因此邊上通告、邊寫歌是常有的事。只是難免會發生「驚險」的場面，阿信就記得他在配唱「知足」這首歌時，臨時知道孫燕姿下午要來，中午才開始寫「第一天」的歌詞，隔天王力宏又要飛回來為梁靜茹製作「絲路」，等到梁靜茹都開始錄音，他才一邊寫「絲路」的歌詞，現他想起還是「頭皮發麻」，驚訝那時不知那來的「神力」。

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Franz Ferdinand in Calgary on April 26!!!! ARRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHH~~~~~

Updated my Photo Blog

See here:

http://spaces.msn.com/kkysiu/photos/

Responsible Travelling Code

I found this here: http://ihome.cuhk.edu.hk/~a014700/responsible_travel.html

Responsible Travelling Code

(adapted and rewritten from various sources on the Web)

Travel

• Travel to meet the world and for the experience that brings, not to "conquer it."
  
• Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to meet and share with local people, instead of counting rolls of film shot or calculating miles traveled.
  
• Travel with an open mind. Respect local religions and customs.
  

Learn

• Learn to observe, think, speak and write in a way that is non-ethnocentric, non-racist and non-sensationalizing.
• Learn that people in the area you visit often have time concepts and thought patterns different from your own. Not inferior, just different.
• Learn a little of the local language e.g. greetings and thanks.
  

Dos

• Ask permission before photographing people. Should they want a copy of the photograph, do send it.
  
• Be environmentally friendly. Use reusable materials when possible. Support local recycling programs.
  
• Buy arts and crafts produced by the local community. Use services and stay in lodgings that are owned by a member of the community.
  

Don'ts

• Don't buy sacred items or artifacts central to the culture. Don't patronize tourism activities that undermine the local culture or value system.
  
• Don't expect any special privileges - you are only one of many tourists who visit.

*MORE* Trip Plans?

Here are my friend's trip plans for 2006:

- Rome, Italy in April
- London, England in May
- Japan or Taiwan, Hong Kong, China in October
- Cambodia in November/December


Quite tempting as I want to join all four, but i only have $ to join 1-2 at max. Just wish I have more money sometimes. I need to find a part time job. :(

Hong Kong & Stephen Chow

Just finished watching the HK segment of Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion. There were some very nice shots of HK and just made me realized how much I miss the place! Arrrh I so want to go there in December! Jonathan Ross interviewed Stephen Chow (Sing Chi) on the show! This is the first time I've heard him speak in English and I think he's quite good considering that he's never had any formal English education. Chow's been one of my fave actor since I was a kid! He was a children tv presenter at that time and i suspect the kids who grew up watching him ended up being a little wacky. :)

Peter was here!

Peter was in town last week. It was nice to see him again and he hasnt changed a bit; still the same groovy guy i knew back in the UC days and can still crack me up whenever he opens his mouth. I dont remember exactly how we met, and i can only remember that i asked him to get me Softhard's debut CD! Kinda weird but this time around I asked him to get me another Softhard CD (ya there is this "new" album with some new songs!). I guess I am just consistant? :) I also got a new wallet as a bday gift (tsumori chisato!), hehe thanks so much Peter!

Since Peter was here for just a little over 24hrs, we tried not to waste any time. First we stopped at Trong Khanh for the tasty vietnamese noodles. We took pics of the noodle so we can show to Kian (who's currently in Singapore, hehe sorry!) :P. Then we went to the street where MEC and all the other outdoor shops are located. Peter's an "outdoor look" person, haha! (note the difference between Outdoor and Outdoor Look :D) We had dinner at Sushi-Bar Miki; the sushi was AWESOME but the hot food we ordered that nite (fried squid and katsu don) was just ok. We met up with Cathy and Eva at Cheesecake that night and had a little get-together. I havent seen Cathy in ages!

The next day I took Peter to shop around for gifts for his colleagues. It's some sort of HK culture where you have to get your colleagues something when you travel overseas. We spent quite a bit of time doing that and almost missed our lunch! At last we made it to Sushi Zipang and had some very delicious sushi. :D While we were there a lady started to talk to us. She's quite nice and she's from Orlando, Florida (a nice American!). She said her daughter is studying MBA in Calgary and working in funds management or something. She passed me this slip with her daughter's email address on it and the world "Big Money Mentors". Hmmm it's almost weird how I always have nice people who'll walk up and start a conversation with me. Anyways, she did asked me if i am still in school! Hehehe.

Had a short walk on 17th Avenue after that. It's February and still no snow on the ground! Showing Peter around made me realize that Calgary is quite a pleasant place. Before we know it, it was time for Peter to leave. I hope he'll come again soon! I totally forgot to bring him to that hill that's near the end of Lion's Bridge. You can take pretty good pictures of the city there! Oh well, next time!

Calgary Tower

We had our team building event at the Calgary Tower this morning. It was quite early when we got there (at 9!) and we had the whole place to ourselves! I remember i was there for the first (and only) time when I was in Gr.12. There was me, Clara, Winson and Jason. I remember we were there because Winson had a pass to get us in or something. Gee, we have changed so much since then! Anyways, the tower recently added the glass floor to the observation deck. I wasnt scared but it is weird walking on it. Makes me wonder what it's like to be walking on the one on CN Tower, this is probably nothing.

I took some pictures for those of you who are homesick. Will upload them soon! :)