The Kadoorie Conundrum
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS...
Impropriety (bordering on criminality), attempts to 'persuade' legally-appointed bodies through devious means (which may also be bordering on criminality), hundreds of millions of dollars flitted away through either stupidity, misfeasance or the whims of the world's fifth richest man, and conflicts of interest between the requirements of the Government and those of a minority ethnic group -- they are all part of the fabric of one of the biggest cover-up stories of the last few years.
The Lord Kadoorie, for reasons still too vague to under- stand, stands at the apex of the events of the last few years since he, and he alone, has been the person, either by design or the sheer weight of his personality coupled with his immense wealth, who has fashioned one of the more intrigu- ing series of events which has come to light over the last 3
years.
Like David and Goliath, elements of the Kadoorie Fac- tion have sought to fight it out with Hongkong do-gooders and, it appears, they won the day -- because nobody had a sling shot and nobody had the skill of King David when he was a mere shepherd boy.
The story starts with the first falsehood perpetrated by the Government in its attempt to fashion a compromise between preservationists and those who would want their names in history books or those in the Government who would want to keep the waters of Hongkong's bureaucracy calm.
The expansion of the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) in 1987 was perhaps the beginning of the saga since it appears that the Government made a big mistake in trying to contain academics who seemed to have refused to toe the Party line. Leading the insurrectionists were 2 architects, 2 archae- ologists, an historian, a geologist and an anthropologist.
Up to now, the problems encountered by the motley bunch of academics has been labeled as the fight of the Jews in Hongkong to save their synagogue.
But, in fact, the Jews, themselves, by and large, did not, and still do not, give a stuff about their synagogue, with the exception of a handful out of the 600 Jews in Hongkong.
The real crux of the matter is The Lord Kadoorie, either in his innocence or by design, and the method in which, in order to curry favour, various Government servants have performed acts in the interests of themselves, their offices, or for favours yet to be granted.
And the Office of the Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) has been dragged in to the fray with its usual and expected inability to grasp the real problems -- which is in keeping with the expertise which Hongkong has grown to understand and to tolerate -- unfortunately.
The Lord Giveth, And The Lord Taketh Away
The Lord Kadoorie is the Chief Jew of Hongkong, in the same way as the head of the Judiciary is Sir T.L.Yang.
As such, the Chief Jew holds onto the purse strings of the Jewish community. Being one of the richest men in the world, there is no question of his stealing because, after all, in terms of his billions of US dollars, a few measly millions of Hongkong dollars means nothing to him.
But, just like the Chief Chinese Boss in Beijing, Mr Deng Xiao Ping, there is the question as to how history will view men with immense wealth or immense power.
In the case of Mr Deng, he will undoubtedly go down in the history books as the man who promulgated the concept of a political/economic system which incorporated the more widespread division of wealth and, at the same time, fanning the flames of capitalism: This is known as one country, two
systems.
For The Lord Kadoorie, he will go down in history as the
-
· 16 ·
Page 60Page 61