REDBIRD will live forever -HONG NIAO is to 6e preserved jor posterity! · Jl'K.'U SI' s Library has esta6fished an ~rchives and Specia[ Coffections . section to preserve documents, pu6fications and news[etters of the 'Universi_ty' s history. They . were cfever enough to perceive that our news[etter is of historica[ vafue and ask__ed us to provide copies of aa issues, past and future. We'{[ 6e cata[ogued .under 'University 'vVomen's Group. Just think__ - 100 years from now, peopfe wiff stiff 6e enjoying HONG NIAO!
J\J..ow I must jly ...
'Editor
I'm going
_
to
be
immortal!
A Newsletter for
Senior Staff
and
their families of
.
.
The Hong Kong University of
Science
&
Technology
CAMPUS
CHRONICLES
By
Public Demand
-Another Garage Sale!
Following· the success of the Garage Sale last month, it has been decided to hold anoth~r on Saturday 14 December, 10.00 a.m. · - 2.00 p.m. in LG2 Car Park (under cover - just past Park'n Shop, going down the hill towards
. Towers 1 & 2). ·
Adults and children are invited to join in
the fun - bringing along sale items; coming to buy; or even just to browse. Tables and chairs will be provided and will be available from 9.00 a.m. for you to set up shop. It is recommended that you book a table in advance.
If you have items too large to take to the sale, notice boards will be available to display "Wanted To Sell" and· "Wanted To Buy". There will also be an area available where items can be given away free. For further information contact: Judith Tang 'B' (2358) 8169 or Jean Hudson 'B' (2358) 8295 or Email G UJEAN ~~-~~~
1r,,,i
~~~~Chinese
A
ntique
Buyi
n
g Excursio
n
Karin Weber is offering lovers of Chinese antiques the opportunity to buy genuine antique furniture and accessories at wholesale prices from the Old Temple warehouse in Zhaoqing.
·You will be able to view all items in their original condition and may then decide to have your purchases cleaned up or restored to your own personal taste. Delivery can be arranged.
So if you and your friends would like to join this excursion (staying in a 4-Star hotel), contact:
~
Karin Weber ·. Karin Weber Co. Ltd., Room B, 15/F Yan's Tower, 25027 Wong Chuk Hang Rd.,
Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Ph: 2544.5004 Fax: 2545.2348
Planning Your
Ch
r
istmas Calendar?
Yes? If so, you may like to make a note on your calendar for the evening of Friday, December 13 -- Christmas caroling on Campus.
Watch this space for further details.
Did
·
you know
that there we
r
e
actually FOUR
wise inen?
Yes ... on the way
to Bethlehem one
of them said he
.
knew a
short cut!
Judith Tang
C
h
ri
s
tmas Fa
i
r
A Christmas Fair will be held in our Academic Concourse on Friday, November 29 from 11 a.m. -6 p.m.
Judith Tang
IL I
I
'
lJ
'
I
I
·
I
~
C
,
I
W
llrii' IHI
iE
I
M
Ot
· REDBIRD: I have a question about orgamzmg another play area for Towers V, VI and VII .. The current play area is nice for older children, but not very safe for children under, say, 5. It has a platform at least 6 foot high that is open on one side. A child of 2, 3 or 4 loves to climb but can't be trusted to stay away from the open side of the platform, and clearly a fall from so high up could cause a lot of damage.
There's space for an additional small play area if EMO closed off just two parking spaces -- the two closest to the Tower V entrance. These spaces are very long but can only hold two, rather than four cars, because there's a sidewalk in front. Thus, a second car would block in the first one.
The sides are closed off and the' sidewalk is in front, so it wo.uld only be necessary to put up a low wall (say, 5 foot high) in back to stop some of the exhaust fumes and to keep children from wandering out in front of cars.
With the opening at the top in back and with the front open, the area should still be well ventilated.
The cost wouldn't be very great just the wall, and installing the play equipment and again only two parking spaces would be lost. The area would be at least partly sheltered
from the rain unlike the only current play area and strollers (pushchairs) could be taken there, whereas the only current play area is down a long flight of steps. Most important, the many small children in these three buildings woul4 finally have a safe place to climb and play.
Currently, many of us climb up the hill to Tower III, where there is appropriate climbing equipment for small.
children,· but it's a long, hard (and sometimes wet) climb. ·
I hope EMO will consider the needs· of the many families with · small children in these three buildings.
A Stroller Pusher
Kids have it
easy these
days. :\iVhen
we were their
age, we had to
walk
miles
back
and forth to the
TV
set because
there were no
remote channel
changers!
Mike Hudson, Director of
EMO replies:
We have recently contacted companies who specialise in playground equipment and safety surfacing. · They will each develop schemes and we will . tender the job. We also want to make some improvements to ensure safe traffic circulation around Towers V, VI, and VII and are examining the two projects together. Procurement times for play equipment can be quite long, so I hope you can be patient.
As for pushing strollers up the hill, I really haven't got much to say - just one of the delights of having children, I suppose. My mind did run riot for a while with thoughts of launching · the kids off the roof on some sort of boatswain's chair to a platform halfway .up the. hill, but I decided not to . put in an application for funding!
During the development of the project we looked at the possibility of a hillside trail up the slope, at the back of the blocks, but it was over HK$1,000,000 to build. It wouldn't have helped stroller pushers, however, as the steepness of the slope meant that there would have had to be a lot of steps.
I I I I T I I I I I
IUIITCII
JJ1lth
Ji/m ~
.
J.{artfia 'Dali{en is liaving a weff-earned rest tliis mimtli, so we've invited J-f'KJlST s favourite 11
6irdd1
to contribute to tliis montli' s 'Jl[ature
W
atcli. 'Eel1111
ZlliZllli
IIIEIIIJIIS
Ii
iovani Ribandeneira, of the Quicha people, lives on the banks of the Rio N apo in the Amazonas of Ecuador. He guides . at nearby Sacha Lodge. On anafternoon in August, we are on a board walk in the rainforest as the light begins to fade. Giavani carries a powerful Sony, but does
not wear a wristwatch. He con-sults mine anxiously, intimating (he has little English) that he wants to be somewhere particular as darkness falls.
All day this man has popped tapes into his machine, and has pulled ("6ircfspeaf:.:.' for "We were ex_treme(y successfa{ in attrading ... ''
'E..cl) antbirds, antshrikes, man-ikins, and foliage-gleaners to bin-filling (a great view through 6inocufars
-'Ecf.) distances. So I follow with anticipation as he strides off. We come to some pantanal (swamp),
and Giovani slackens his place ..
He listens, and grunts with satis-faction. I detect no special call in the cacophony. Giovani rumm-ages in his tapes, pulls one out, and soon the call of the Zigzag
Heron. pours from the Sony. I can
hear them now: they seem quite
far away. It is getting
uncomfort-ably dark. Giovani switches off the tape and steps off the
board-walk. He then rearranges the
vegetation stamping reeds and bush aside, creating a narrow path for about lOm to a small clearing. Now he seizes a palm frond and bends it at right angles, laying it across his little path and totally obscuring the vista he has made.
Presumably there is some sense to .
this.
Giovani is back on the boardwalk, and the Sony pumps
out sound once more. As it is dusk, the calls of the forest are dying away, but I hear crashing in the foliage at perhaps 50m.
Giavani retreats and plays the call again, softly this time. The
crashing comes closer but I can see nothing. It is full dark. We have had an excellent day, and I give what I hope is a resigned or contented shrug, and intimate
that we should push off home. Giavani shakes his head. Puts the tape away. Ten fingers are raised. I think that is ten minutes. With a low-power torch, Giavani
occupies himself tidying his backpack. I stand in the dark.
I once had a
low-power
torch, but it
never worked
very weII.
How come?
It
wassolar
-
powered!
· After, indeed, about ten minutes,
Giavani listens. There is not a·
.sound. He is pleased, rises, and motions for me to follow. I am to be very quiet. Slowly, slowly, we step off the board walk and advance along the little path
Giavani made. But only for Sm or
so. I am
to
stop. Squat down, Giavani's hand indicates. He does likewise. Checks to see I amsettled, chooses his low-power torch, and. switches it on.
I understand now. Giovani knew the Zigzag Herons were in this general area. When they hear a supposed intruder they will come to dispute territory, but will not emerge ORto a boardwalk. Fainter calls show the rival. is retreating, so they have won. But look at the time! All this excite-ment consumed the last hour of daylight, and it will be dark in 3 minutes. A roost is now an imperative, and a horizontal
palm frond is sturdy and avail-able.
There is a pair. One (male?) slightly larger than the other. Delicate plumage waviness visible in intimate detail. The eyes appear open and blue, gleaming. gently in the low torchlight. Stiff bodies, with uptilted pale bills, as they roost. Enticed· by Giavani to the roost he made for them, and placed on the frond by the tape at the exact moment when the last light
drained from the sky. We have a .
pair of Zigzag Herons at 2m,
asleep in their Amazonas home.
JJ
Belgian, Leon de Lunden, killed 21 pigeons to . win the Olympic Pigeon Shooting gold medal in
1900 - fortunately it was the
.only time the euent was held!
Oh give me
The luck to
Catch a fish
,v
ould you like to hear
one of my poerris, too?
Yes please,
M
r
. Chien!
So big that
Even I
-\iVhen talking
Of it afterwards
May have no
Need to lie!
SUIILLIIU•s
I I E S T
®:th
S
,UJflP.fom
Wei
My
Peach
Garden
''J
.
. ourney to the Peach
Garden"
_J.,~
,..r -:~ _..)..11l..
1t.~,;J,
JG
was written by Tao Chien
f!;J
51f"
(372 -427 AD). This famous
article was selected for my junior
high school's Chinese Language
course. It touched me in my early
days --the image of the article is
still vivid in my mind. It especially
inspired ME when I realised the
living environment at HKUST's
campus was similar to the picture
presented in the Peach Garden.
The story for the Peach Garden is as follows:
Whilst exploring, a fisherman lost his way and found himself in a Peach
Forest. Beautiful fiowers dropped from the trees, a vast land of green, green grass
and no weeds on the ground. Out of
curiosity, the fisherman searched further. Through a narrow clearing he could see a shadow of light which revealed a mountain. The fisherman skipped from the boat and walked into another world.
Walking squeezingly for several steps, he finally reached flat land with grand houses, good farm land, ponds, bamboo trees, mulberry. trees, etc. The road connection was good, and he could hear chickens cackling and dogs barking. Men and women, dressed differently from what he knew, appeared to work happily in
· the farm lands. When they saw the
the villagers asked the fisherman about himself and invited him home for a meal. The remaining villagers, upon hearing of all of this, rushed over to chat with the
fisherman. · · ·
According to the villagers, their ancestors had sheltered in this wonderful land in a time of trouble, and had never left it. Therefore, they were segregated from the outside world. The villagers asked the ' fisherman about the date and dynasty --they did not know there had been a Han dynasty nor a Wei or Jin dynasty. Upon
hearing this, they all sighed. Many
villagers continued to invite the fisherman to their houses for meals and wine. A few days later, the fisherman left. Before leaving, the villagers reminded the fisherman that what had occurred inside the village should not be mentioned to outsiders.
The fisherman found his boat, retraced his route and returned home. He then reported to the county officer what had happened to him. The officer was so impressed, he issued orders for others to return with the fisherman to the Peach Garden. But, somehow, they could not find it. Another nobleman, M/1 Uu, heard of this and tried to find it, but also failed. Ever since then, no-one has been able to find it."
The similarity between the picture of the Peach Garden and the HKUST environment is rein-forced by the following personal encounters at the Ngau Chi Wan
f
~~
f
tJ
J
wet market--a ne--arby street m--arket:
-• Mr. Yen, a fruit seller, chats with me about HKUST life and teaches me how to select good fruit. I have learned a lot from him.
A vegetarian shop lady who, despite having two sons, 27 and 23, does not show her age and offers good prices and a wide variety of vegetarian foods with cheap prices.
• A vegetable seller, upon seeing me, always as.ks about my children.
• A barber with efficient and· excellent skills and cheap rates (haircut - $50, haircut and wash
- $66) told me that one's hair condition reflects one's health and temper. This barber's knowledge of politics (in China), · personal lives and local information is so fascinating to me.
At the Hau-Tek-Gai-Shi,
41t1~1
which isair-conditioned during summer time, · you can get food at comparable prices with the Ngau-Ch i-Wan 'h'.et market. Sellers at both markets are equally accessible, especially if you do business with them for a while.
Within HKUST, distilled water is delivered to the front door. ·
· Also, a truck food seller is stat
-ioned here on weekdays. Our campus exercise facilities are also very convenient. Best of all, the unbeatable "no-enemy-sea-view"
~~f
·
makesmany of my visitors say this campus is like a six star hotel. Living in. such a relaxing environment, people may live longer. I feel luckier than the storyteller, Mr. Tao Chien -- he lost his Peach Garden (a Platonic world for him, maybe?) while I hav~ not.
_-'l
You know,
children
don't
hate
vegetables ...
they just hate
to
eat
them!
·
Wi
s
h
D
'
d
S
a
id
%at
-8roucho
iMrtrx ...
fr-OM the MOMeNt I picked up your book up uNtil I laid it d owN, I
was coNvulsed with
laughter-s OMeday I iNteNd r-eadiNg it!
I've just
r
ead yo
ur
·
new book.
Who w
r
o
t
e
i
t
fo
r
you?
Who
r
ead
it to you?
F
ROM
OUR
FOREIG.
N
,
C
ORRE
S
POND
E
NT
JJJ.tth
R
u&tJ,
7
Dao
Out
of
Africa
I
went to Sun City, South Africa in April 1996 with my hus-band, George, who had to attend a scientific conference. It was about a two hour drive from Johannesburg airport.· Sun City was an area of bloc!( settlement during apart
-heid years. Later, an American entrepreneur built a resort town in the style of
a
legendary ancient palace with its imagin-ary splendor. It has modern amenities rivaling .the most luxurious resorts of the world. The palace is surrounded by fountains, waterfalls, pools, golf courses, tennis courts, botanical gardens, game reserves, and even a human-made sea
-shore with artificial waves. Simulated earthquakes in the palace grounds are activated every hour with lights and
sound.
There are several hotels of varying price ranges serving different functions -- amusement centers, conference facilities, performance theaters, etc. All are connected by shuttle buses. A major attraction in all these hotels is the casinos -
-. gambling is prohibited in other_ white-ruled areas. We stayed 1n ·
a lower priced hotel because the shuttle buses gave us
access to other places in the complex, including the palace, which itself is a high priced · ·hotel.
The conference organized several tours -- a gold mining town; a diamond center {no free samples}; a cheetah farm, and a nearby game reserve. The game reserve banquet was a conference event we all joined, while other tours were arranged individually, with extra costs. We travelled in tall safari jeeps, ending up in an open air banquet with entertainment provided by the natives.
Another expedition was a three-day bus tour of Kruger National
Park.
A full bus load of Americans and Europeanswent on this tour. It took two solid days of driving to get to
the park, although· we did
spend a little time at a few
scenic and historical points of
interest along the way.
Our tour guide was very
enthusiastic and
knowledgeable about animals and plant life, as well as the
history of the country. We drove
on top quality highways
--mostly through open spaces
' with occasio'nal forests of pine and eucalyptus. The tall
eucal-yptus trees were originally
imported from Australia. We
passed a few sunflower farms
--whole fields of bright yellow
flowers were in bloom. The
drive through Blyde River Canyon was spectacular. The highway is on a high plateau
that offers a panoramic view.
South Africa is a beautiful·
country with incredibly blue
skies which we were not
accust-omed to seeing after having lived in polluted countries for so
long. It is also a very rich country with gold mines, diamond mines and other mineral mines. Miles and miles of potential farmland should produce ample food for a population of about 25 million.
When we arrived at
Kruger National Park, we had to
spend almost another day on
the road because the Park is
350 kilometers lo11g. The
Europ-eans started to complain ·
about the long bus ride
because they were not used to
such long distances. Because
of trees and bushes, it was
difficult to see large groups of
animals. Of the park's "Big Five·
-- lions, elephants, buffaloes,
rhinos and leopards -- we did
not see leopards. We saw only
a hump or two of rhinos in the rivers, at great distances.
Here I must stop to
men-tion that a high powered pair of
binoculars is a must for such a .
trip. (Yes, you tteeci tfiem far 6itt-fiffitt9
ciistances -U.) We saw lots of
impalas, zebras, elephants and once, a turtle on the highway by the bus. ~('/ \J ft/
We will
1
shortly
.
be passing
the
largest
pub in
South
Africa
About fifteen years ago,
·south Africa was under
worldwide sanction because of its apartheid policy. A bari
on oil importation forced the
country to convert to alcohol fuel. The- first time George went
there it was to help with South
Africa's alcohol fuel
develop-ment. This was his research
specialty. He remembered
seeing great herds of impalas,
zebras,· and giraffes galloping
in open spaces. Fifteen years
later, there may be fewer animals but more trees.
Travel-ing in a small car, George and
his colleagues were also able to get to different spots than we
were able to this trip.
We did not get to go to
the legislative capital,
Cape-town, a beautiful city, rich with
history. When we returned to Johannesburg, we scheduled
one day's visit to the
admin-·,.
istrative capital of Pretoria,
. about an hour's drive away.
The Voortrekker Monument on
top of the hill is an impressive
memorial to European pioneers.
Union buildings of Grecian design with gardens
and terraces, completed in
1913, overlook the city and form a magnificent government
. complex. Pretoria must be at its
most beautiful in October
(South Africa's Spring) when all
the jacaranda trees with purple
flowers bloom. We also visited
the house of Paul Kruger, the·
president of the old South African Republic.
We had one day left to
visit Johannesburg before we flew back.
.
r~J-., "If c . . ' ••
United
Airlines
Give us two tickets
to wherever ou
r
luggage is going!
I
ILi)
{LO
nDn
downtown hotel. We worried for them because our tour
guide later told us that
downtown hotels are so unsafe that each guest needs a
policeman for protection.
Do you want the
porter to calJ you
in the morning
,
madame'?
Well, in t
h
at
case, would
you mind
·
waking
.
the
porter'?
No. I'm an
early riser.
One unprofitable hotel was donated to the police for use as a dormitory. Our tour guide did not want to take us to a museum because he was sure his car would be gone when we got out.
a:n
.
lL.lJ
The city was originally a
a:n
gold mining center that grew to
He said the fastest
growing business was the
security business. He drove us to see the beautiful residences
in the finest neighborhoods.
They were all hidden behind
barb-wired fences and security
walls. We ended our day at a flea market. We were most
interested in the-handcrafts.
Carvings of wood objects and stone figures of animals were
for sale at very reasonable
be the largest city in South
Africa. The city has deteriorated
in the last dee-ode, due to
crime. Whites have moved out
to the suburbs from the inner
city. Our travel agent knew to book us in a suburban hotel. However, one couple thought it might be more fun to stay in a
prices. ·
, The city is a study of
extremes and contrasts. The affluent neighborhoods are occupied by extremely rich
· people. On the outskirts of the
city, there are squalid towns of
. tiny shacks. "Soweto" is such an area, offering us an eye
opening "education".
The political climate is still unstable. Whenever President Nelson Mandela's health is in question, the currency goes down in value. It is a shame that a beautiful country, endowed with rich natural resources can not yet begin on the road to
prosperity. I cannot help.but
wonder if ·education· is the
ultimate answer to South Africa's
problems. Let's hope that
it
does not take a whole
generation to change a culture of crime to a culture of hard
work.
_Q
It has been said that Hong
Kong university students
aren't very religious ...
Well
,
have you ever
listened closely to the
students' mumbling
during mid-term exams?
New Element
Discovered at
HKCJST
!
The heaviest element known to
. science was recently discovered by physicists at HKUST. The element, tentatively named adminiatratium, has no protons or electrons and thus, has an atanic number of O.
However it does have l neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons and l assistant vice-neutron. This gives it an atanic mass of 212.
These 212 particles are held together in a nucleus by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morana. Since it has no electrons, administratium is inert. However i t can be detected chemically, since i t impedes every reaction it cares in contact with.
Jls an (amateur) editor I am sometimes asfi..ecf for pointers about writin9 better.
TFte fo{{owin9 are.some tips. 'Eel.
·
How
to
Write Good
• Poofread carefully to
see if you any words
out.
• Avoid run-on sentences
they are hard to read. • Avoid commas, that are,
not necessary.
• No sentence f ragrnents. .
• It. behoves us to avoid
archaisms.
• Also, avoid awkward or
affected alliteration.
• Don't use no double negatives.
• If I've told you once, I 've told you a thousand
times: resist .
hyper-bole.
• Verbs has to agree with
their subjects.
• Avoid trendy locutions
J
that sound flaky.
• Writing carefully,
dangling participles should not be used.
• Kill all exclamation
marks! ! ! !
• Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
• Take the bull by the
hand, and · don' t mix
metaphors.
• Don't verb nouns.
• Never, ever use
,repetitive redundancies.
• Last but . not 1·east,
avoid cliches like the plague.
tPlli£IDil0®
LP®&:ltP
~
For Sale
Stereo Power/Amplifier 'Bryston'
Audiophile component. Please contact: Pete '2?(2358) 8335 (h) or '2?(2358) 6510 (w) ~.k~.1as..LJs.ut ~ ~ kl ~ ~
Slumberlarid Queen size mattress
(still under guarantee) -HK$1,000 Please contact:
Judith '2!' (2358) 8169
Js.ut.k~~Js.ut~~.k~~
Two twin bedspreads (USA) in white/blue.
Please contact: Pearl '2!' 2719 9834
~,k~,.k.!.Js.ut:1,'dt)~ .k.!.~.k.!.
Wooden twin-size bed (frame only
- without mattress). Fits 3' x 6' mattress
- HK$350
Please contact: Julie '2!' (2358) 8166 Js.ut.k.!.~~Js.ut~~.k~~
Two Sanyo kerosene heaters ( one
n~ds a new wick) - HK$500 for the .
pair.
Please contact:
Jeanne 2719 3745
~.k.!.~.lmiJs.ut ~-~.k~~
Crib and accessories - all used for
· less than six months - HK$1,800 including:
- 1 white crib with wheels
- 1 mattress
-1 quilt
- 1 pillow with pillow case
-2 sheets
Please contact: Ke '2? 234 7. 0671
JsN!.. kl ~ .l,a.Js.ut ~-~ kl ~ ~
Clothes drier; 36" ceiling fan;
curtains & blinds; electric
transformer . Please contact: Caroline '2!' 2719 9876 ~.k~~Js.ut ~ ~ . k ¥ ~ Please ·contact: Becky '2!' (235 8) 8120 ~.1m.i~,.k.!.~ ~ ~ .l~L.~.k.!.
.
I suppose you could say that
the
job of
editing Hong
Niao
uIB£ID[t~(!i
LP®&:Ju1
Wanted
1 Filing Cabinet. · Please contact: Tony '%? (2358) 6177.bit 1i.e/ ISxlt ~~ kl.~~~~
LP records; 8-track tapes; and
78' s.
Please contact:
Stanley: Email: mk-ckcaa@stu-ust.hk
or
'B' 2694 7790
~~~~~kl~M~.A'.L
We
.
tvoufr{
{if(e
to
.
than(
Jean J-{uc£son
for comp·i{ing this {ist
of items
~itot
,
CattoOU.S"
&
l)to~u.ctton
Maria
Hackett
·Tt/68 ~ (2358) 8266 Eaail •REDBIRD• or IHJ.REDBIRDeusthk.ust.hk•S•allo• Uei
T7 / 1B 'li' (2358) 2267 Eaoi I ·AcSVUEI•Ruby
Tsao
.
IHl .Tsaogteao I. co•·HONG NIAO (REDBIRD) Is a m:mtFify ne.ws(etter
ilstrihuted free to '.JfKJ,JST Settler Staff anri tkir famflts. It Is pubfislid with resources soficltea by n-enixrs of tk
'UWG, anri others. It Is printed on re-cydei papr.r biJ '.ETC.
'Ladi Issue Is ci!strlbuteci 111 the first week_ of wdi mmth Jill mtri(.s sFwu{ci be In writing. .
DEADLINE FOR SUBnISSIOH IS 15th OF EACH noHTH
LAST
WORDS
You ~now