Gods of journalism jet into Hong Kong John mcbeth with book They are here to mark 10 years since the Far Eastern Economic Review died ASIA’S MOST VENERABLE JOURNALISTS are jetting into Hong Kong from around the globe this week. The region’s top scribes will be marking the 10th anniversary of the closure of the Far Eastern Economic Review with a gathering at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Central. The weekly magazine ran from 1946 to 2004. It was constantly in trouble from corrupt officials and Asian “strongman” leaders—and considered every attack a badge of honor. FEER reporters were jailed in Singapore, Malaysia and China—and in every case, for accurate reporting. Empty+jail+prison+cell Published weekly on Thursdays, The Review was one of the few—and many would say the only—fearless, print-and-be-damned publication ever to survive for any length of time in Asia, a region bedeviled with press censorship, powerful vested interests and cheap hitmen. The roll call at the gathering this weekend includes many legends of Asian journalism, including Philip Bowring, Nayan Chanda (below), John Berthelsen, Bertil Lintner, John McBeth, Charles Smith and others. Nayan2 It also includes people who left the magazine to became stars in other fields, including democracy campaigner Emily Lau (below), Banyan Tree resorts boss Ho Kwon Ping, designer Henry Steiner, and top financier Cheah Cheng Hye. F1-emily-lau The magazine opened in Hong Kong while the city was being rebuilt after World War II, and was closed 58 years later in 2004. Staff are adamant that no one should believe the Wikipedia entry which says publication continued until 2009. Five years before that date, in 2004, all staff were sacked, right down to the woman who answered the phone. A monthly magazine using the Reviews name, but with a different staff—and a notably different philosophy—ran until 2009. Other former staffers who will be in Hong Kong for the celebrations, which centre around a dinner on Saturday April 6 at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, include literary activist Jane Camens, news columnist Frank Ching, and Shizue Davies, wife of the Review’s most famous editor, Derek Davies, who died in 2002. And it’s not just journalists, either: some of the most popular members of the support staff will be at the gathering, including librarian Jan Bradley and beloved administrator extraordinaire Lily Kan. Lily kan *** I love the Far Eastern Economic Review. But it ruined my life. I was born in 1958, at exactly the time that Dick Hughes took over as editor. At that time, it was a tiny publication with just five staff. Hughes pulled in a huge number of consultants and correspondents from around the world—including my father (below), a journalist in Sri Lanka. Tarzie Dick hughes at Ned Kellys (Dick Hughes) It was an exciting time to be in the Asian media and my father was immediately hooked, spending much of his time writing in Hong Kong, fighting with officials in Singapore, or just getting into trouble anywhere. I barely saw him after that. He was always on the road, and would visit home maybe three times a year for the rest of my childhood. Derek davies 2 Under Derek Davies, a former MI6 intelligence officer who took over in 1964, the magazine thrived, growing to a circulation of 90,000, and becoming a significant player in the toppling of kings and prime ministers in the region. Nury old pic2 In the early 1990s I was invited to join the staff with a very specific job to do. The Traveller’s Tales column had become smutty and colonial in the worst way, and my job was to gently Asianize it and make it a little more politically correct. I simply threw the column open to readers, and let them write it. It was a fantastic job. Asian travellers sent in funny stuff they had seen in the West (pic below), and Western travellers sent in funny stuff they had seen in the East. My business card should have said “typist”. Bad hotel *** Rebel_who_caught_Pol_Pot Of course, some staff are living too far away to join the reunion, or cant make it for other reasons. So, sad to say, there are many famous writers who are not on the “expected” list, including Nate Thayer, the legendary journalist who found Pol Pot in the jungle, and Ahmed Rashid, the best known expert on regional affairs in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area. *** Who’s going to be there? And what are they doing now? As a service to anyone interested, I fed the list of expected attendees into Google along with the title of the magazine. I got three sets of results. The biggest set consisted of profiles of people, some of whom were still in the media, and some of whom had moved to very different sectors. A second set of results provided only links to the individuals FEER articles. So whatever these people are doing now, it is probably not related to their former work in Asian media. A third set had names which were so common that they were un-Google-able (sorry, David Smith). DISCLAIMER: The data below is from the Internet, therefore it will by definition BE ALL WRONG AND TOTALLY WORTHLESS. If any of us want accurate data about what our former colleagues are doing now, lets track them down and ask them. This is just a starting point. Feel free to write in to this website with additions and corrections and comments. *** Lee kwan yew(Lee Kuan yew forcefully insists that Singapore is 100 per cent free of bananas) N. Balakrishnan Now CEO of a company listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange called CY Foundation. “The Group is principally engaged in the manufacturing and sales of packaging products, Operating digital entertainment business and property investment.” *** Paul Bayfield No references to current work, but Google turns up lots of references to yachts and pics of boats, so we know what his interests are. *** John Berthelsen “John Berthelsen, now editor of Asia Sentinel, came out to Asia to cover the Vietnam War and then went on to work for the Asian Wall Street Journal for eight years with postings out of Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. Following the Journal, he became the regional head of production for Dresdner Bank.” Asia Sentinel is a fabulous news website and the best candidate for the role of news outlet continuing the work of FEER. *** Dan Biers “Dan Biers is former director of external affairs for the Pacific Council on International Policy and now a Foreign Service Officer assigned to Beijing.” *** Philip Bowring Greybeard elder statesman of serious Asian journalism. Nuff said. *** Jan Bradley Formerly the esteemed librarian at FEER. *** Jane Camens Now queen of the Asia-Pacific literary community, Jane is executive director of the Asia-Pacific Writers’ Association, the biggest such organization in the region. *** Chan Looi Tat Linked-in says he is “Photo Editor at Total Media Limited”. *** Review watch Nayan Chanda “Nayan Chanda is the Director of Publications of Yale Universitys Center for the Study of Globalization and editor of YaleGlobal Online, a webzine that publishes articles about globalization.” *** Michael Charnock “Independent Writing and Editing Professional” *** Cheah Cheng Hye Cheah Cheng Hye is a superstar in the financial world of East Asia. He is “a fund manager and the chairman and co-CIO of Value Partners, a Hong Kong-based asset management company with a Greater China focus.” *** Elizabeth Cheng Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Cheng Huan “In 1976 Cheng Huan was called to the Hong Kong Bar and sat as a Deputy District Court Judge during 1986-1987. In 1988 he was made a Queen’s Counsel…. For many years Cheng Huan has been a weekly columnist for Sing Tao newspaper, and previously for East Week magazine.” *** Derek davies goodbye issue(Above is the special goodbye issue prepared for Derek Davies) *** Frank Ching Hong Kong columnist, author, and husband of Anna Wu, a top political figure in Hong Kong. *** James Clad “James C. Clad is Distinguished Research Fellow at the National Defense University where he mentors defense and security officials from the Maghreb to the Near East, Turkey, the Gulf and South Asia. From 2007-09 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, with responsibility for South and Southeast Asia, and for Australasia. He received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award in 2009.” *** Mark Clifford Executive Director at Asia Business Council. “The Asia Business Council is an independent organization of top executives who share an interest in the market-friendly policies needed to ensure the region’s continued economic development and competitiveness. The Council conducts research on issues that are important to Asia’s future and, where appropriate, takes action.” *** Margot Cohen Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Shawn Crispin “Committee to protect journalists. CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Crispin joined CPJ in 2005. His journalistic work has appeared in the International Herald Tribune and Institutional Investor magazine, and he is currently the Southeast Asia editor for Asia Times Online.” *** Shizue Davies Japanese concert pianist. Wife of Derek Davies. *** Chester Dawson “Renowned journalist Chester Dawson, based in Calgary, Alberta.” *** Robert Delfs “Biodiversity Conservation & Sustainability Consultant” *** Leo Dobbs Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Adrian Edwards “Head of Media and Content at UNHCR”. *** Vaudine England “Using my journalistic skills, archival knowledge and an enduring curiosity I now research and write history books, mainly about Hong Kongs cosmopolitan pasts. Indonesia also continues to fascinate me, as do a couple of book projects involving South East Asian history.Reporter, Author in Hong Kong and Indonesia.” *** Matt Forney Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Jonathan Friedland Chief Communications Officer, Netflix “After over twenty years as a foreign correspondent, editor and news industry executive and five years running financial and legal communications for The Walt Disney Company, Im now heading up global communications for Netflix Inc., the worlds leading Internet subscription service for watching movies and TV shows.” *** Rita Gomez Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Elaine Goodwin SCMP interview in 2006: “Elaine Goodwin was in her mid-40s in 1994 and had reached a career crossroads. After 10 years at the Far Eastern Economic Review, her job as general manager of the magazine had abruptly ended…. The pragmatic Ms Goodwin decided to start her own business. Fed up with sending her clothes to the dry cleaners only to get them back with bigger stains and looking limp, she thought this was something she could do better.” *** Gavin Greenwood “I am currently working as a self-employed political risk and security consultant and freelance journalist for a wide range of clients. My work in recent years has included producing detailed reports on a broad range of policy and operational issues relating to Southeast and South Asia.” *** Manggi Habir “Manggi Taruna Habir serves as Independent Commissioner of PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk since May 2005…. Currently he is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Yayasan Danamon Peduli and Independent Commissioner of PT Asuransi Adira Dinamika a subsidiary of Bank Danamon.” *** Door sign Murray Hiebert “Murray Hiebert serves as senior fellow and deputy director of the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining CSIS, he was senior director for Southeast Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he worked to promote trade and investment opportunities between the United States and Asia.” *** Cathy Hilborn Cathy Hilborn Feng works for the Hong Kong government, and is described by Google as “Editor at HKSARG ISD”. She can translate that into English, I hope. *** Ho Kwon Ping “Ho Kwon Ping is the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, a Singapore-based leisure business group.” *** Tom Holland “Senior writer at South China Morning Post” *** David Jenkins Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Lily Kan Worked at the Review for ever, at least since the early 1970s, I believe! Now runs the Review alumnis popular Facebook page. *** Melati Kaye Daughter of FEER writer Lincoln Kaye. *** William Kazer Wall St Journal senior correspondent *** Michael Kelly Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Hillary King Google failure to find results *** David Kruger Senior Capacity Building Specialist. “David Kruger joined ADBI in December 2009. Previously, he was Head of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Unit in the Central and West Asia Department at the Asian Development Bank.” *** VG Kulkarni “Hong Kong - Independent Writing and Editing Professional” *** Peter Landers From the WSJ: “Peter Landers will become Japan Editor and Tokyo Bureau Chief, succeeding Jake. As a reporter and editor in Tokyo for more than 11 years, Peter experienced the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the Japanese economy in the 1990s. After stints at the Associated Press and the Far Eastern Economic Review, he joined the Journal’s Tokyo bureau in 1999. He returned to the U.S. in 2002 to join the health and science bureau and later edited many page-one stories as a page-one editor and deputy national editor.” *** John Larkin “Most recently I was head of public relations in the Asian region ex-Japan for State Street Bank & Trust Co., based in Hong Kong. I am currently a specialist writer on economic and development issues and international relations, based in Australia but working part of the year in Asia.” *** Hong kong 1960s (Pic shows Hong Kong in the 1960s) *** Emily Lau Political superstar in Hong Kong. Champion of the regular citizens. A legend. *** Chris Lewis “Chris Lewis is currently employed at Ward Holt Pty Ltd. in the position of Director. He has a broad background in media and business journalism. He spent a decade in Asia where he reported on regional business, was editor in chief of the international magazine Asian Business, a senior editor on the influential Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong and produced an international newsletter on China.” *** Bertil Lintner “Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist, author and strategic consultant who has been writing about Asia for nearly four decades. … He mainly writes about organized crime, ethnic and political insurgencies, and regional security. He has published several books including, Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmas Struggle for Democracy, Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia and Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea Under The Kim Clan.Lintner lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with his wife Hseng Noung, an ethnic Shan from Burma.” *** Melinda Liu Beijing Bureau Chief, Newsweek & The Daily Beast. “Award-winning foreign correspondent Melinda Liu has reported from China for three decades. She was named Newsweeks Beijing Bureau chief in 1998, returning to a city where 18 years earlier shed opened Newsweeks first bureau in the Chinese capital since 1949… Liu won the 2006 Shorenstein Journalism Award in recognition of her reporting on Asia.” *** Nancy Ma Thompson Google refers to her as being on the committee of Helping Hand, a charity in Hong Kong *** Michael MacLachlan New Straits times, Malaysia. “An experienced news editor who has previously worked with The Daily Telegraph and the Far Eastern Economic Review.” *** Joe Manguno “Joe Manguno of the Asian Wall Street Journal...” *** Robert Manning Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Minette Marrin “Minette Marrin is a journalist, broadcaster and fiction writer. Formerly a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, she is now a columnist for the Sunday Times.” *** John McBeth “John McBeth is an author and journalist from New Zealand, with the majority of his career spent in Southeast Asia. During his career, McBeth has reported on a wide range of stories that are recounted in his book, published in 2011, entitled Reporter. Forty Years Covering Asia…. These include the investigation into the loss of Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z, which crashed near Pleiku in the Central Highlands of Vietnam on June 5, 1972 after a bomb detonated on board, and Herman Knippenberg’s relentless pursuit of the Vietnamese-Indian serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who lured young foreign tourists to their deaths in Thailand and other countries across Asia…. McBeth has written for Singapore’s The Straits Times since the end of 2004.” *** Kees Metselaar “Kees Metselaar was born on a dairy farm in the north of Holland and came to Hong Kong in 1989…. In 2002 his Afghanistan photos were part of a prestigious exhibition in the Netherlands Fotomuseum about Dutch War Photography in the 20th century. After working from Bangkok for a few years he returned to Hong Kong in 2006. Assignments in China and Vietnam followed, as well as an exhibition of the disappearing lifestyle and markets of old Hong Kong Central, at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong… Still based in Hong Kong he covers the region including China and Indonesia and also teaches photojournalism at the University of Hong Kong.” *** Stephen Morgan Stephen Morgan is Dean of Social Science at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and Professor of Chinese Economic History at the University of Nottingham. His research is mostly focused on Chinese economic and business history, along with an interest in contemporary economic development, international business and strategic management. Professor Morgan took up the post of Dean at UNNC in April 2013.” *** Mike Morrow Publisher, ran publishing house Asia 2000 in Hong Kong before moving to China. *** Michael Mosettig “Michael D. Mosettig is Senior Producer for Foreign Affairs and Defense at the PBS NewsHour (previously the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour), a post he has held since December 1985. He is a two-time Emmy winner for coverage of the Middle East in 1997 and Pakistan in 2007 and was an Emmy nominee in 1986, 1994 and 2009.” *** Robin Moyer “He has worked on assignment for many other publications, among them: Life, Fortune, People, Newsweek, The Far Eastern Economic Review, The London ...” *** Feer by economist*** John Mulcahy Datactics Ltd, UK. “ Datactics provides data consolidation and re-engineering software, including edit distance (fuzzy) matching, equipping the business user to access information. John Mulcahy has been Chairman since 2004. John Mulcahy trained as an accountant with Ernst & Young in South Africa, and subsequently worked in media (Reuters, Far Eastern Economic Review) and in investment banking in Asia, principally Hong Kong and Greater China (Citicorp, Union Bank of Switzerland, Credit Agricole). In recent years he has been involved in technology transfer and in early stage investment in Northern Ireland. He is a board member of a number of technology companies.” *** David Murphy Wonder Auto Technology: “Mr. Murphy has been our director since March 2007. Since June 2005, Mr. Murphy has served as the head of China Micro Economic Research at CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, a special unit dedicated to grassroots economic research in China and gathering local economic information from around China for rapid delivery to overseas based funds and corporate clients. From December 2000 to November 2004, Mr. Murphy worked as a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Wall Street Journal where he covered China and Mongolia focusing mainly on business and economic stories.” *** Raman Narayanan No clear Google references *** Lin Neumann Lin Neumann, Asia representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and associated with AsiaSentinel. “Lin Neumann, Chief editorial Adviser, PT Jakarta Globe Media, Indonesia. He was also editor in chief of the JoongAng Daily in South Korea and previously the executive editor of the Hong Kong Standard. A foreign correspondent in the Philippines in the 1980s for NBC News and the San Francisco Examiner, he also covered Burma and South Korea.” *** Laura Oshea Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Ed Paisley “Ed Paisley is the Senior Director for Communications and Publications at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Prior to joining WCEG, Ed was a senior director of communications at The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Vice President for Editorial at American Progress.” ** Tony Patrick and SK Witcher Tony Patrick is “former Dow Jones bureau chief in Sydney” and his partner SK is “Deputy Asia Editor at International New York Times” *** Hugh Peyman “Began Merrill Lynchs Southeast Asian Research in 1984; Headed Merrill Lynchs Asian Research; Managing Director Dresdner Kleinwort Benson; Emerging Markets Pioneer; Unparalleled Pan-Asian Network: Built Over Three Decades.” *** David Plott “David Plott specialized in business and financial journalism, as both a reporter and an editor. He worked at the Far Eastern Economic Review from 2000-2004, serving as editor-in-chief at the time of his departure. He then joined the faculty of the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre… Plott also serves as managing editor ofGlobal Asia, a quarterly journal of the East Asia Foundation, and as Adjunct Fellow at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles.” *** Steven Proctor Google failed to find him *** Raphael Pura “AWSJs former Southeast Asia bureau chief.” *** Elfed Roberts Former Hong Kong University lecturer, moved to UK *** Louise do Rosario Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Anthony Rowley Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Snafu Guy Sacerdoti “Guy Sacerdoti, who hails from New York, came to Manila back in 1974 as a journalist. In 1981, he was the Bureau Chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review. The ‘90s saw him hold an editorial post for a publication, and he currently acts a consultant for the Asian Development Bank.” Also a member of a rock group in Manila called SNAFU (above). *** Sachiko Sakamaki Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Mishi Saran Mishi Saran is a freelance writer and author of Chasing the Monks Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang (Penguin, 2005) and “The Other Side of Light”. *** Jennifer Schultz Wells “Covering news and business in Asia” for JS Wells Editorial Services *** Adam Schwarz “President at The Asia Group, McKinsey & Company.” *** Shim Jae Hoon “Shim Jae Hoon is a Seoul-based journalist and commentator writing for a variety of international publications including YaleGlobal Online, The Straits Times of Singapore, The Taipei Times and Korea Herald. He was a correspondent for Far Eastern Economic Review in Seoul, Taipei and Jakarta.” *** Pat Shircore Artist. “The singular exhibition of this gallery is the ‘Signed and Sealed’ collection by Pat Shircore. The artist gained access to the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, which was the document ceding Hong Kong to Great Britain ‘in perpetuity’, and the 1898 Convention of Nanking, which is the ‘lease’ of the New Territories.After scanning portions of each piece of calligraphy, map, seal, or signature into her computer, she created 30 original and visually arresting images, the result of which is a sort of Eastern-tech look. Only 97 of each, to mark the year of the handover, were printed on hand-torn paper.” *** Charles Smith Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** David Smith Un-Google-able name *** Patrick Smith From SLATE: “From 1985 to 1992, Smith was the International Herald Tribune bureau chief in Hong Kong and then Tokyo. During that time, he also wrote “Letter from Tokyo” for the New Yorker. He takes informed, cynical stock of the current struggles of the New York Times and Bloomberg News to get their China-correspondent visas renewed for 2014. Smith also candidly explains how he sometimes failed the related white-knight test: My own batting average is one for three. I was expelled from Singapore in the early 1980s, and my magazine at the time, the regrettably defunct Far Eastern Economic Review, kept the bureau open and listed it on the masthead with a blank where the bureau chief’s name would have gone. This went on for years…. Smith also passes on some advice for today’s generation of correspondents grappling with the China challenge: ‘Write it until they fire you,’ as someone once advised me. (I did and they did.)” *** Paisal Sricharatchanya Google goes straight to references to FEER output *** Henry Steiner One of Hong Kong’s most celebrated designers, associated with the HSBC logo and Hong Kong currency. *** Anne Summers “Anne Summers is editor of the free digital magazine Anne Summers Reports. Her most recent book is The Misogyny Factor. She was formerly the Canberra bureau chief for the Australian Financial Review, a reporter for the National Times, correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and Le Monde, editor-in-chief of Ms Magazine, and editor of Good Weekend. She is the author of Damned Whores and Gods Police, Ducks on the Pond, The End of Equality, The Lost Mother, and other books. She writes regularly for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.” *** Edith Terry “Consultant to Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre for Bioethics.” Her focus: “Ideas and insights on East Asian business, politics and economics, together with informed and passionate opinions on the regions art, literature, and culture.” *** Salil Tripathi “Salil Tripathi is director of policy at the Institute for Human Rights and Business. Based in London, he is a contributing editor at Mintand Caravan in India, and was formerly a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review in Singapore.” *** Michael Vatikiotis “Michael Vatikiotis is a writer and journalist working in Southeast Asia since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and a correspondent for the Hong Kong-based news magazine for 16 years. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Regional Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts.” *** Nury Vittachi Yeah, right, that guy *** Michael Westlake “Safety & Compliance Officer at Hong Kong Jet.” “Looking after safety issues and watching compliance with regulations, plus security and document control. Redrafting Ops Manuals to reflect changes in the companys structure. Issuing Flight Ops Notices to crew.” *** Peter Witton Development Dogmatics International: “We are specialists in creating, developing and implementing smart strategies and programmes for global, national and local humanitarian and development organisations and their partners and supporters… Peter Witton has had a 30-year career in communications in the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, operating mainly across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.” *** Christopher Wood Managing Director, Equity Strategist, Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA). “Christopher Wood joined Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA) as Equity Strategist in Feb 2002. He was ranked as No. 1 in Asian equity strategist in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Institutional Investor Poll… Mr. Wood has been publishing since July 1996 his celebrated weekly Greed and Fear research newsletter which has a global readership among investors.” *** Lara Wozniak Lara Wozniak (below) is a freelance writer based in Hong Kong. She formerly edited FinanceAsia and the Far Eastern Economic Review. She is the co-organiser of the Dragon Run, a 24-kilometer surfski and outrigger race in Hong Kong. Wozniak_feature Some of the pictures above were collected by Lily Kan. Please feel free to add corrections or improvements to this article. And add pictures, too, if you have them.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:34:15 +0000
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