TNAG-1812-FCO40-2573-Preservation-of-Ohel-Leah-Synagogue-in-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 19

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'Mr West enquired whether there were cont.c.o tors In Hongkong with the experience necus- sary to carry out this type of dismantling and demolition. Mr Yuen confirmed that both he himself and another AAB member, Mr Chung Wah Nam, had soma previous experience. A past project was the dismantling of the Tung Wah Museum.'

There is no suggestion on TARGET's part that MJason Yuen was trying to obtain the commission to build the replica of the Synagogue on Robinson Road, but TARGET can't help but think that if the shenanigans of Mr Yuen bal been made in a more public atmosphere, it would smell of advertising.

There appears to be no question that Mr Yuen warts this commission and his knowledge of Israel may, in fact, put him in a position of seniority to others in Hongkong in the same profession as he, since he would, undoubtedly, have more sympathy for the type of religious building which the Trus- tees of the Synagogue want to erect on the site of the 1902' building.

Sympathy is very important when one is trying to rebuild a bit of the past in the shape of an Asian-Sephardic-style place of worship.

For the last 86 years, the Jewish community of Hongkong has gone to Number 70, Robinson Road, thinking that in the

house of God, there is an 'car' always ready to listen to t devout.

Monetary considerations apart, the Synagogue is a hoʻ to a few tens of dozens of the Jewish devout in Hongko There is money to be made by creating another house. worship -- even if it is only a copy of the original.

Mr Jason Yuer is a man of high principles, but an c bigher standard of living!

But TARGET cannot help but feel that Mr Jason Yu has missed his calling.

He was called upon to be the Chairman of the Antiquit Advisory Board by the Hongkong Government.

The aims and objects of the Board are clearly to preser buildings of historical merit.

Clearly, it had been determined that the Synagogue Do, or little, historical merit: Otherwise, why would t! * decision have been made to pull it down?

But the Trustees of the Synagogue have determined al that a replica of the Synagogue will be erected on a site clo to the original house of worship.

So there has been a shift in the attitude of Mr Jason Yuc & shift in the philosophy of the Antiquities Advisory Boa: "' ri from one of preserving Hongkong's links with the past in t chape of buildings, to building replicas of those links. And who, Moishe, is going to build them? A goy? Next week, read about how Swire Properties has manag a sweet $HK400-million profil, in the last (?) part of our seri on The Kedoorie Conundrum.

CORRECTION SECTION

There may be a number of students in H^ngkong who were rather confused over which university they arc attending.

This is not due to any mix-up on behalf of ¡ is entry boards of the 2 universities in Hongkong, but rather to the fact that TARGET used a picture of The Chinese Iniversity of Hongkong when we really meant to use a picture of the University of Hongkong.

The article in which the photograph was use was in TARGET's Intelligence Report of July 13, headlined: "TIME FOR THE LITTLE GREEN MEN WITH PINK POLKA DOTS TO MOVE IN ON THE UNIVERSITY OF

HONGKONG.'

Those lecturers at The Chinese University may also have had a nasty shock, if the little green men with the pink polka dots converged on that university in order te sniff around the business affairs of a number of the teaching staff in the university.

Of course, there may be cause for such an investigation at Chinese University, but TARGET would hate to think that it confused the little green men with pink p< Ika dots.

After all, whether or not the little green man with pink polka dots can read is not known, but TARGET is sute that they can recognize pictures,

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