By a strange quirk of fate, last week I received invitations to two events at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The second, to attend a recital given by an Italian tenor of some renown whose name I have forgotten, I was unable to take up, but the first, to the conferment ceremony for recipients of honorary gongs , I was pleased to accept as a friend of one of those being rewarded for services rendered.
The last time I went along to one of these things, one of those on the receiving end of the gown and cap was a certain Sophia Kao. Now I have to own up to never having heard of Ms Kao before, but, after listening to her citation being read out, two things stuck with me: first, she had worked for the Human Resources department of Hong Kong Telecom – now relocated to Mumbai, no doubt – and, second, she was a member of the businesswomen's club Zonta. I had long been familiar with this strangely named body, as it was the favoured haunt of the Commercial Director of the company I worked for at the time, who I shall call Mandy Lok. More of Mandy later.
It would seem that Ms Kao is something of a serial collector of fellowships from minor tertiary institutions, as sandwiched between the awards she has received from Lingnan University and the APA is one she got from the Open University of Hong Kong as recently as October 2010 for "building social capital in Hong Kong".
The APA is rather unusual for a Hong Kong institution in that it kills two birds with one stone by dishing out its honorary doctorates and honorary fellowships on the same day. I suppose its thinking is that any feeling of being fobbed off with second-class status is fully assuaged by being able to meet and shake hands with the great and the good in the shape of Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying Yen.
Tang himself looked pleased to be far away from the office and all those questions about whether he hadused public money in the shape of his Press Secretary and other Government staff to help launch his 2012 Chief Executive campaign on a special election website administered by iProA, a company with close links to the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
Among those receiving doctorates was fellow blogger David Eldon, former Chairman of both HSBC and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, who looked resplendent in full regalia. Sadly, though, the finery faces a bleak future mothballed in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom, as the egalitarian Eldon has a distinct preference forwearing suits when officiating at graduation ceremonies.
Seeing Eldon there brought back rather emotional memories of Mandy Lok. Months of speculation about Mandy's future came to an abrupt end when a memo was sent to staff from the Managing Director with the news that she was "relinquishing" her position as Commercial Director.
My mole in the Chamber of Commerce tells me that a similar face-saving formula was promoted by Eldon in the face of a desire for a rather more proactive approach from morehawkish elements within the Chamber. He seems to allude to this in his blog entry for 8 January 2008, which he frames as a kind of open letter to Chiang, urging her to "seriously consider stepping-down (sic) from her Chamber position on a 'leave of absence' basis until the matter has been concluded".
Perhaps with one eye on those hawks, Eldon steps it up a gear, noting with masterly understatement that Chiang "was not universally popular" before adding that "unseen hands" were committed to ensuring that "Lily was never given the ultimate office she sought".
To be fair, getting caught with her hand in the till probably didn't help much either.
The last time I went along to one of these things, one of those on the receiving end of the gown and cap was a certain Sophia Kao. Now I have to own up to never having heard of Ms Kao before, but, after listening to her citation being read out, two things stuck with me: first, she had worked for the Human Resources department of Hong Kong Telecom – now relocated to Mumbai, no doubt – and, second, she was a member of the businesswomen's club Zonta. I had long been familiar with this strangely named body, as it was the favoured haunt of the Commercial Director of the company I worked for at the time, who I shall call Mandy Lok. More of Mandy later.
It would seem that Ms Kao is something of a serial collector of fellowships from minor tertiary institutions, as sandwiched between the awards she has received from Lingnan University and the APA is one she got from the Open University of Hong Kong as recently as October 2010 for "building social capital in Hong Kong".
The APA is rather unusual for a Hong Kong institution in that it kills two birds with one stone by dishing out its honorary doctorates and honorary fellowships on the same day. I suppose its thinking is that any feeling of being fobbed off with second-class status is fully assuaged by being able to meet and shake hands with the great and the good in the shape of Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying Yen.
Tang himself looked pleased to be far away from the office and all those questions about whether he had
Among those receiving doctorates was fellow blogger David Eldon, former Chairman of both HSBC and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, who looked resplendent in full regalia. Sadly, though, the finery faces a bleak future mothballed in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom, as the egalitarian Eldon has a distinct preference for
Seeing Eldon there brought back rather emotional memories of Mandy Lok. Months of speculation about Mandy's future came to an abrupt end when a memo was sent to staff from the Managing Director with the news that she was "relinquishing" her position as Commercial Director.
My mole in the Chamber of Commerce tells me that a similar face-saving formula was promoted by Eldon in the face of a desire for a rather more proactive approach from more
Perhaps with one eye on those hawks, Eldon steps it up a gear, noting with masterly understatement that Chiang "was not universally popular" before adding that "unseen hands" were committed to ensuring that "Lily was never given the ultimate office she sought".
To be fair, getting caught with her hand in the till probably didn't help much either.
3 comments:
It was recorded that at least 10 people who were elected to be "the ten outstanding persons" in the past (organised by Junior Chamber Internation HK) have committed commerical crimes, including Lily Chiang. One wondered how JCI dealt with these awardees - stripped off their honarary titles?
One of the more bizarre publications that lands on my desk is 'Snapshots', the magazine of Junior Chamber Int'l (HK). A few years ago - probably at the time Lily was Chamber chair - the rag ran an interview with her. The only bit I remember is when she shared her thoughts on the meaning of life ("You can only change the world if you have changed yourself" - that kind of stuff) and concluded by saying that a woman's softer touch brought greater insights. Had me scratching my head, that one did.
Gong but not forgotten?
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