[
    {
        "id": 213935,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1997",
        "page_number": 5,
        "title": "RAS-1997",
        "content_text": "The Hong Kong Branch\n\nof the Royal Asiatic Society\n\nThe Council, 1997-98\n\nPresident\n\nD.D. Waters, I.S.O., M.Phil., Ph.D.,\n\nDip. IET., F.C.I.O.B., F.B.I.M.\n\nHon Vice-presidents\n\nCarl T Smith, B.A., M.Div.\n\nVice-presidents\n\nElizabeth Sinn, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.\n\nMichael Lau, B.A., Dip. Ed., M.A., Ph.D.\n\nHon. Secretary\n\nPeter Barker, Ph.D\n\nHon. Treasurer\n\nRobert Nield, F.C.A., F.H.K.S.A.\n\nHon. Editor\n\nPeter Halliday\n\nHon. Librarian\n\nJulia Chan\n\nCouncillors\n\nA.K.K. Siu, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.\n\nJoseph S.P. Ting, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D\n\nP.H. Hase, B.A., Ph.D.\n\nGeoffrey Roper, B.A.\n\nValery Garrett, B.A., Post Grad. Dip. Des.\n\nPeter Rull\n\nChoi Chi-cheung, B.A., M.Phil., D.Litt\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nClaire Hockaday (until November, 1997)\n\nSarah Parnell (from November, 1997) iv",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt",
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    {
        "id": 213945,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1997",
        "page_number": 15,
        "title": "RAS-1997",
        "content_text": "Publications\n\nOver the year Peter Halliday, our Honorary Editor, has continued to make progress. During 1997-8, volumes 34 (1994) and 35 (1995) of our Journals have been published. It means if two more Journals can be published over the coming year we have caught up with what was a sizeable backlog. In addition, after special software was prepared by staff at the City Hall Library, Dr Lauren Pfister and his assistants, at the Baptist University, have started work preparing a comprehensive index for all our journals. We are grateful to all of them.\n\nMeanwhile, Dr Patrick Hase has put in considerable time and effort editing chapters submitted by a small number of RAS members complemented by photographs taken by members of the Cathay Camera Club. After Brian Pierce left Hong Kong the leadership of the photographic team for our project was taken over by Charles Slater. The role has now been filled by Ian Masterton. Again we thank everyone for all they have done. Our new book, about Yau Ma Tei which should come out in mid 1998 will form a companion volume to Beyond the Metropolis: Villages in Hong Kong which we published in late 1995.\n\nOur Branch has a large collection of photographs and we are grateful to Tim Ko for working his way through these with the possibility of publishing a selection of them at some stage in the future.\n\nEfforts were made during the year to increase sales of our publications. We have already started targeting academic institutions in North America and community and school libraries in Hong Kong.\n\nOur Newsletter continues to be an important link between the Council and Branch members. We have to thank Claire Hockaday, Sarah Parnell and Geoffrey Roper for preparing this Newsletter, over the past year, which is gradually increasing in size. Our Branch has a number of members among its ranks who are authors and this year, again, some of them have published. Details of these publications have appeared in our Newsletter. We are now prepared to accept advertisements in our Newsletter from outsiders and a schedule of charges has been drawn up.\n\nxiv\n\nPage 15\n\nPage 16",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt",
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    },
    {
        "id": 213946,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1997",
        "page_number": 16,
        "title": "RAS-1997",
        "content_text": "Activities\n\nDuring the year under review 11 lectures, one concert, 13 local visits and three excursions to the China Mainland have been conducted. These covered a wide spectrum of topics and details may be seen in the Appendix attached to this report. Because the list is long I am unable to thank, in this report, all lecturers or persons who have led visits. We do, however, thank them as a group and we are pleased that some of them have accepted our invitations to be with us at this dinner tonight.\n\nA special mention must be made here of the Activities Committee which has met at intervals throughout the year. The members, many of whom have themselves given talks or led groups, comprise the Reverend Carl Smith, Doctors Elizabeth Sinn, Michael Lau, Patrick Hase and Joseph Ting, as well as Valery Garrett and Jason Wordie. During the year the place vacated by Claire Hockaday was filled by Sarah Parnell.\n\nThe Activities Committee, on which our Branch so much depends, chaired by Geoffrey Roper, has done a splendid job and provided a rich, diverse programme of events. We are extremely sorry to see Geoffrey Roper step down as Chairman of the Activities Committee. He has put in countless hours leading our activities team. We thank him and the members of his committee most sincerely.\n\nLibrary and Finance\n\nBoth our Honorary Librarian and our Honorary Treasurer will present their own reports later this evening. I thank both of them for the special expertise that they bring to our Council. We must also thank the City Hall Library, which comes under the Urban Council. Our RASHKB library is on permanent loan to the City Hall. There our books may be borrowed not only by RAS members but also referred to by the general public. It is hoped that, as well as serving as a paradise for bibliophiles, our library provides a bridge of understanding between our Branch and the community. Because many of our titles are valuable it has been decided that no book published before the year 1900 may be removed from the RAS library.\n\nXV",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt",
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    },
    {
        "id": 213948,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1997",
        "page_number": 18,
        "title": "RAS-1997",
        "content_text": "to his daughter, Mrs R. Woodcock, for donating these to our Society.\n\nOur Branch is always looking for donations and if anybody wishes to find a good home for some interesting and valuable items or artifacts we should be grateful if you would consider donating them to the RASHKB.\n\nThe Public Records Office\n\nAlthough the RASHKB is apolitical and has no wish to be seen as a pressure group, it does make its views known when it has a case. You may remember that our Branch objected when the Hong Kong Government decided to move the Public Records Office from Central District into an industrial building in Tuen Mun. Besides writing letters and taking other action two Branch deputations appeared before the Legislative Council Panel on Information Policy in 1993. The outcome of our efforts was that a new, purpose-built Public Records Office was opened in Kwun Tong, in June 1997, shortly before the Handover. Our Branch played a major role in this achievement.\n\nThe Council\n\nSeveral of the 14 posts which comprise our Council require a special expertise. These include the Treasurer, the Librarian and our Editors. But, in addition to these 14 posts, other persons are co-opted on to the Council. They include the Reverend Carl Smith, our Honorary Vice President, and our Assistant Secretary, Mrs Sarah Parnell. Each Council Member is expected to pull at his or her respective oar and to row in unison. It is a working council.\n\nIn addition to the two co-opted persons named above, namely Carl Smith and Sarah Parnell, as well as the President, the following have sat on the Council during the past year: Doctors Elizabeth Sinn, Michael Lau, Patrick Hase, Joseph Ting, Peter Barker, Choi Chi-cheung and Anthony Siu, together with Robert Nield, Geoffrey Roper, Peter Halliday, Valery Garrett, Julia Chan, and Peter Rull. Also, although Anita Wilson stepped down from the Council at the last AGM, she was co-opted back on until she left the Territory last July. All those\n\nxvii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 213951,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1997",
        "page_number": 21,
        "title": "RAS-1997",
        "content_text": "Acknowledgements\n\nOne has only to read a President's Report for one of the years during the 1960s, or even more recently, to realise how our Branch has, in some ways, changed. It is important that we as members keep our ears to the ground and move with the times. It is important with a Society as rich in history as the RAS, with our Branch being reconstituted (in 1959) a year or so after sedan chairs disappeared from Wyndham Street (where they awaited customers), that we do not change for the sake of change. At the moment things appear to be working well. Time will reveal what further alterations are necessary. But it is important that, as our American friends say, 'If it ain't dysfunctional don't fix it'.\n\nMuch of the success of our Society is achieved by small efforts repeated day in and day out by Branch members working as a team. Here we must also not forget Claire Hockaday who did a splendid job as Assistant Secretary. After she returned to England, in late 1997, her post was filled by Sarah Parnell who soon demonstrated that she has her own special expertise and enthusiasm to bring to bear.\n\nMay I say here how grateful I am to everyone who has spent time and laboured for the Branch or who has supported me over the past year. On an occasion like this it is not easy to think of all the persons one should thank and to thank them adequately. If I have missed anyone I crave your indulgence.\n\nConclusions\n\nAs I mentioned earlier a number of our members have now left Hong Kong. We appreciate there is a great deal to do at such times with packing and other chores, but, if you are leaving in the near future, it would be appreciated if you could let us know. We can then update our records.\n\nOver the past year some members have written to say how much they appreciated being members of the RASHKB. For example Anita Wilson wrote,\n\nXX",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214147,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 5,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "The Hong Kong Branch\n\nof the Royal Asiatic Society\n\nThe Council, 1998-99\n\nPresident\n\nDan D. Waters, B.B.S., I.S.O., M.Phil., Ph.D., Dip. IET., F.C.I.O.B., F.B.I.M.\n\nHon Vice-president\n\nCarl T Smith, B.A., M.Div.\n\nVice-presidents\n\nElizabeth Sinn, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Michael Lau, B.A., Dip. Ed., M.A., Ph.D.\n\nHon. Secretary\n\nPeter Barker, B.Sc.(Hons.), Ph.D.\n\nHon. Treasurer\n\nRobert Nield, F.C.A., F.H.K.S.A.\n\nHon. Editor Peter Halliday\n\nHon. Librarian\n\nJulia Chan, B.A., M.L.A., A.H.I.P., F.H.K.L.A.\n\nCouncillors\n\nAnthony K.K. Siu, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Joseph S.P. Ting, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D Patrick H. Hase, B.A., Ph.D. Valery Garrett, B.A., Post Grad. Dip. Des. Choi Chi-cheung, B.A., M.Phil., D.Litt Tim Ko\n\nRobert ('Bob') G. Horsnell Geoffrey Roper, B.A. (co-opted)\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nSarah Parnell\n\niv",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214158,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 16,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "Sidney Cowell who, separately, and of their own volition, circulated details of the RASHKB by mail. As a result, more new members were recruited.\n\nPublications\n\nWith the publishing of RASHKB Journal Volume 37 recently, we have now caught up after, not so long ago, being several volumes in arrears. Work continues on the new index. We are also grateful to Agnes Lee and Joseph Chan, at the City Hall, where our RAS Library is on permanent loan to the Urban Council,\n\nFor an organisation like ours, communications are obviously important, and some members have informed us that they look forward regularly to the arrival of our bi-monthly Newsletter. For the drafting and circulation of this we are largely indebted to Sarah Parnell, our capable Assistant Secretary, who is also making noteworthy efforts to sell more of our Journals and other publications, both in Hong Kong and overseas.\n\nMeanwhile the publication of In the Heart of the Metropolis, about Yau Ma Tei, edited by Dr Patrick Hase, to which several of our Branch members have contributed, has been delayed by the publisher. We are hoping it will be out before too many months. We are grateful to Patrick and to everyone who has helped, and to members of the Cathay Camera Club, and especially to Ian Masterton the photography co-ordinator.\n\nWhile on the subject of publications a number of our members have published books, papers or articles, in their own capacity, during the past year on subjects related to the work of the RAS. We congratulate them all. They include Valery Garrett, Edward Stokes, Jason Wordie, May Holdsworth and Barbara Baker. There could be others.\n\nActivities\n\nDuring the year under review 14 lectures, 6 Hong Kong visits, and two excursions to the China Mainland and one to Macau were conducted. A wide range of topics was covered as may be seen from Appendices A and B of this Report. In it lecturers are named and I take this opportunity to thank them here, together with group leaders of\n\nXV.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214159,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 17,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "visits or persons who helped in any other way. We are pleased a number of you who have helped have been able to accept our invitation to dinner here tonight. I would add however that, in spite of their many hours of work, no Council member receives a free dinner this evening!\n\nThe position of Activities Chairperson is demanding and, this year, it has been ably filled by Valery Garrett. Her Committee has consisted of the Reverend Carl Smith, Doctors Elizabeth Sinn, Michael Lau, Patrick Hase and Joseph Ting, as well as Sarah Parnell, Peter Stuckey, Jason Wordie and Geoffrey Roper. The considerable amount of work put in by Geoffrey, planning and organising the two trips to the China Mainland, underwrote their success. We are extremely grateful to all the above members, together with anyone else who made the past year of activities so eventful.\n\nProjects\n\nProjects carried out during 1998/1999, in addition to the photographic exhibition on the Landmark Bridge mentioned earlier, included two projects in conjunction with the British Association of Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) (see Appendix C). One project was to try to trace seven graves of Europeans buried in Hong Kong or elsewhere in China. The second project, also in conjunction with the BACSA, was to help two of our overseas members, Rosemary Lee and Captain A C Bromfield, research the life of Master Mariner Samuel Cornell Plant, who died at sea in 1921. Research on the latter project is continuing. In another case our member, Dr K Gaseltine, assisted the National Library of China for one week in Beijing (see Appendix C). It is laudable that your Branch has been able to link up with other associations or institutions to undertake these projects and we are extremely grateful to all our members who gave of their time and efforts (and in the case of the library project supported herself financially).\n\nThe RAS Volunteers\n\nIn 1991 a number of RASHKB members, together with members from the Hong Kong Society of Architects, formed a working group to assist the Government Antiquities and Monuments Office with the inspection of buildings. In 1997 this group was reactivated and it now consists entirely of RASHKB members. Believing that one volunteer\n\nxvi",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214162,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 20,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "contributed, over the past year, by Council and committee members, speakers, tour leaders, institutions who have assisted us, and those who have carried out projects (see appendices). I must also thank Sarah Parnell, our Assistant Secretary, who has undertaken the many, often (but not always) routine tasks that have to be performed if a society as large and complex as the RASHKB is to function properly. Sarah has performed over and above the call of duty. A great deal of work has to be done behind the scenes which members, and indeed some Council members, do not necessarily know about. I now have the pleasant task of offering renewed thanks to everyone who has helped the Branch in any way and supported me during the 1998/99 Year. If I have omitted anybody who I should have thanked then please accept my sincere apologies.\n\nConclusions\n\nHow do you judge a Society such as ours? Although it is not possible to please all of the members all of the time we do, I believe I can honestly say, keep our ear to the ground and pay attention to members' views. Although we must admit we do make the odd mistake and receive the odd brickbat now and again, we also, on occasions, receive the odd bouquet. For instance, long-time member Kirsty Norman (now an Overseas Member together with husband Paul) whose family lived in Hong Kong for three generations, wrote during the past year:\n\n'We miss our Hong Kong friends and the wonderful RAS activities, but please tell your members we think the new Friends (in Britain) of the RAS (HKB) is a great success and that we hope they will all come along if they find themselves back in England,'\n\nDr. Dan Waters, President\n\nxix",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214503,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1998",
        "page_number": 361,
        "title": "RAS-1998",
        "content_text": "330\n\nthe team that formed around me to make sure that I did not leave everything to the night before we were due to leave. The team comprised Dr Peter Barker, Sarah Parnell and Michael Broom - and of course Elace, the representative from Swire Travel who was our contact point with the local agents and guides on the ground in China. In fact, there were further significant contributions from many of the tour members. I hope to have given full credit to all of them on the text that follows.\n\nPeter's contribution was, in a way, the greatest. His heavy travel schedule meant that he could not attend any meetings that might have been called to discuss progress. However, this made him feel that he was always missing something, so every time he returned to Hong Kong he had the effect of reminding me that nothing more had been achieved since the last time he contacted me. Once real planning got under way, Mike, Sarah and I met a number of times, and we decided to take one area each for the purposes of research and itinerary setting. Mike volunteered for Tsingtao, Sarah took Chefoo and Weihaiwei, leaving me with Dalian and Port Arthur.\n\nThis arrangement worked well, and we each managed to put together some notes and extracts from various sources, which I put together as a handout for the tour members. A copy of this booklet, \"Bits of Broken China,\" is available in the RAS Library and may be a useful source of reference for people planning a similar trip.\n\nWhat now follows is a description of what we saw, from the perspective of the person fortunate enough to have been the tour leader. The notes below certainly do not pretend to be in any way a history of the places we saw; there are many far more learned and authoritative places to look and people to talk to in order to gain such information. Nevertheless, I hope this brief article shares with its readers some of the fun that was had in making the whole thing possible.\n\nGetting Settled in and Briefed\n\nThe mid-day flight from Hong Kong got us to Qingdao in the late afternoon. Why is it that all travelling that is done by \"a group\" seems to be far more complicated and time-consuming than for the same number of people travelling independently? Be that as it may, by the time",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt",
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    {
        "id": 214589,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 4,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "THE HONG KONG BRANCH\n\nOF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY\n\nThe Council, 1999-2000\n\nPresident\n\nDan D. Waters, B.B.S., I.S.O., M.Phil., Ph.D., Dip. IET., F.C.I.O.B., F.B.I.M.\n\nHon Vice-president\n\nCarl T Smith, B.A., M.Div.\n\nVice-presidents\n\nElizabeth Sinn, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Michael Lau, B.A., Dip. Ed., M.A., Ph.D.\n\nHon. Secretary\n\nPeter Barker, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.\n\nHon. Treasurer\n\nRobert Nield, F.C.A., F.H.K.S.A.\n\nHon. Editor\n\nPeter Halliday\n\nHon. Librarian\n\nJulia Chan, B.A., M.L.A., A.H.I.P., F.H.K.L.A.\n\nChairperson, Activities Committee Valery Garrett, B.A., Post Grad. Dip. Des.\n\nCouncillors\n\nJoseph S.P. Ting, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D Patrick H. Hase, B.A., Ph.D. Tim Ko\n\nRobert ('Bob') G. Horsnell\n\nJanet Lee Scott May Holdsworth\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nSarah Parnell\n\niii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214601,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 16,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "members of the Cathay Camera Club. A special vote of thanks must go to Iain Masterton and Charles Slater, who as both RAS and Cathay members also served, during different periods, as photographic co-ordinator. This book has made a contribution to local literature and will be read and referred to for many years to come. It is available in all good bookstores.\n\nFaced with the task of making sure a large membership keeps in touch, our lively Newsletter comes hot off the press every two months. Although a few of us feed in information its preparation is done almost entirely by our energetic Assistant Secretary, Sarah Parnell.\n\nWe also congratulate our many members who have published books, papers or articles during the past year on their own account. A special mention, however, must be made of Dr Patrick Hase's splendid paper entitled, 'The Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch) and its Journal'. This article came out in The Journal of Resources for Hong Kong Studies which was produced by the University of Hong Kong Libraries, volume no.9.\n\nActivities\n\nIt has not infrequently been said that the backbone of our Branch is the activities we provide and many join because, during a brief stay in Hong Kong, they wish to learn something about local history, customs and culture. It has jokingly been said, however, that you cannot do this, and learn to speak the language, on a diet of western food. The answer to this must be that, during the course of the year, members do have the opportunity to share a few meals together.\n\nDuring the past year 12 lectures, eight Hong Kong visits and two excursions to the China Mainland were conducted. This is an impressive number. A wide range of topics was covered as can be seen from Appendices A and B of this report. A large number of speakers are named on these lists and I take this opportunity to thank them all, together with the leaders and organisers of tours and anyone else who assisted us with our activities in any way. We are pleased that many of you have been able to accept our invitations and have joined us for dinner this evening.\n\nXV",
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    },
    {
        "id": 214602,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 17,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "Being chairperson of the Activities Committee is a demanding position and we thank Valery Garrett for her considerable effort and for a job well done. We also thank her Committee comprising the Reverend Carl Smith, Doctors Elizabeth Sinn, Michael Lau, Patrick Hase, Joseph Ting, as well as May Holdsworth, Sarah Parnell, Peter Stuckey and Jason Wordie. Others who have helped with the organising of activities include Stephen Selby, Michael Broom and Arthur Hacker. A vote of thanks is accorded to all of them.\n\nProjects and other activities\n\nAgain our Society has been involved in various ways with projects and other activities which sometimes amount to a form of community service. For instance, over the summer we pieced together information for Mrs Victoria Brown of Australia. She was trying to trace details about her great-grandmother, Mrs Miranda Main (née Mann), who served as a school principal in Hong Kong at the end of the 19th and early in the 20th century. When Mrs Brown visited Hong Kong in October of last year, together with Mr S T Chiu of the Antiquities and Monuments Office, he and I showed Mrs Brown the old school building at 136 Nathan Road where her great-grandmother had been principal. Also, RAS members David Clinton and Dr Gillian Bickley met Mrs Brown and provided her with useful information.\n\nWith the help of Council member Tim Ko, we also provided information regarding bullet and shrapnel marks on a wall on Lower Stubbs Road where a great deal of fierce fighting took place when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong in December 1941. In another case a lady in England, Frances Howell, was trying to trace details of her relatives who lived in Shan Dong Province and Hong Kong.\n\nAgain, in response to a letter in the press, information was provided for a relative in England regarding Lieutenant Henry Dallas who died in Hong Kong in 1844. Information was obtained regarding both the grave and a monument on the wall inside Saint John's Cathedral up until World War Two.\n\nAlso, our Branch was invited to send a representative to make its views known to a government working party which was looking into the subject, 'Conservation and the Natural Environment.' This is the\n\nxvi",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214604,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 19,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "May, 1999, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, after which he gave a talk entitled: 'Hong Kong: From Memory Lane to Post 1997 Handover'\n\nRASHKB Library and finance\n\nBoth our Honorary Librarian, Julia Chan, and our Honorary Treasurer, Robert Nield, have prepared their own 1999/2000 reports which they will present at this Annual General Meeting. I thank them for their assistance and for the special expertise that they bring to our Council. Our RASHKB Library is on permanent loan to the City Hall Urban Council Library and we thank the City Hall and its staff for all their assistance during the past year.\n\nAccommodation\n\nWe also owe a debt of gratitude to PricewaterhouseCooper, who have helped us in various ways. With their offices situated in the heart of Central District, for example, they have provided us with very convenient accommodation for our Council and committee meetings. Similarly, we are grateful to the Public Records Office, at Kwun Tong, for providing us with storage space for our publications and for other assistance rendered by them during the past year. We are also indebted to the Government Leisure and Cultural Services Department for permitting us to use the City Hall accommodation for lectures which are run as joint RASHKB/Leisure and Cultural Services functions.\n\nThe Council\n\nAlthough a number of decisions have to be taken outside Council (because of the time factor) by individual office bearers or a few together, the majority of the important decisions are taken in Council. This meets every six weeks or so with a longer break over the summer. During the past year the Council has consisted of Doctors Elizabeth Sinn and Michael Lau, both Vice Presidents, Robert Nield, Peter Halliday, Julia Chan, Valery Garrett, Bob Horsnell, Tim Ko, and May Holdsworth. Doctors Patrick Hase, Joseph Ting, Peter Barker, and Janet Lee Scott have also been members of Council while the Reverend Carl Smith, Honorary Vice President, and Sarah Parnell have been co-opted on to the Council.\n\nxviii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214605,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 20,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "As a democratic society we have this year again asked members to nominate other members to serve on the Council. No nominations have been received. Consequently, all serving members offer themselves for re-election.\n\nNone of our Councillors have unlimited time and the work they put in for the RASHKB, for most of them has to be done after a full day's work. Nevertheless, the amount of work some Councillors do for the Branch is considerable. A big 'thank you' to all members of Council for their efforts over the past year. It would be impossible to run the RASHKB without them.\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nI have already thanked Council and committee members for their significant contributions during the year 1999/2000. I have also thanked speakers, leaders of groups and institutions who have assisted us. I must also thank anyone who has helped with the undertaking of projects. Again I must not forget Mrs Sarah Parnell our energetic Assistant Secretary. It is always difficult to remember everyone one should thank on an occasion like this but if I have overlooked anyone then I crave your forgiveness.\n\nConclusions\n\nIt should be mentioned in concluding that our members are generally pleasant, affable people. They do not complain when the odd thing does not run as smoothly as it should. This we all know, with the best will in the world and no matter how well a function has been organised, is inevitable on the odd occasion. But when there are problems, we would do well to remember that, especially for the more elderly among us, adrenaline is a wonderful cure for Alzheimer's. We should also ponder the words of Dharma Master Cheng Yen, a Zen Buddhist, who is supposed to have said:\n\nIt is through our troubles that we achieve wisdom. Only this kind of trouble is meaningful.\n\nxix",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214607,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 22,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "Appendix Two\n\nActivities - Visits\n\nDate 1999\n\n24 April: Kadoorie Farm, led by Dr Gary Ades, followed by visit to Shui Tau and Kam Tin led by Jason Wordie and Dr Patrick Hase.\n\n29 May: Adornment for the Body and Soul, Ancient Chinese Ornaments from the Mengdiexuan Collection, led by staff of the Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery.\n\n15 to 18 June: Zhangjiajie, North-west Hunan Province, Tour, led by Dr Michael Lau.\n\n27 June: Ohel Leah Synagogue, led by Rabbi Kermayer and Glenn Fromm followed by lunch at Jewish Community Centre.\n\n24 September: Wo Hang Mid-Autumn Festival Fire Lanterns, led by Dr Patrick Hase.\n\n15 to 21 October : Bits of Broken China - Shandong and Dalian, led by Robert Nield, Sarah Parnell and Michael Broom.\n\n27 November: Backstage at the Opera, led by Dr Patrick Hase.\n\n18 December: Railway Museum, Man Mo Temple and Tai Po Tau Study Hall, Tai Po, led by Dr Patrick Hase and Peter Crush.\n\n2000\n\n15 January: Public Records Office, led by Carl Smith.\n\n26 February: Wan Jing Jai Temple and Kan Lung Wai Walled Village, led by Ron and Veronica Clibborn-Dyer and Peter Stuckey.\n\nDan Waters,\n\nPresident\n\nxxi",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214911,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 7,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "The Hong Kong Branch\n\nof the Royal Asiatic Society\n\nThe Council, 2000-2001\n\nPresident\n\nDan D. Waters, B.B.S., I.S.O., M.Phil., Ph.D., Dip. IET., F.C.I.O.B., F.B.I.M.\n\nHon Vice-president\n\nCarl T. Smith, B.A., M.Div.\n\nVice-presidents\n\nElizabeth Sinn, B.B.S., B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Michael Lau, B.A., Dip. Ed., M.A., Ph.D.\n\nHon. Secretary\n\nPeter Barker, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.\n\nHon. Treasurer\n\nRobert Nield, F.C.A., F.H.K.S.A.\n\nHon. Editor\n\nPeter Halliday\n\nHon. Librarian\n\nJulia Chan, B.A., M.L.A., A.H.I.P., F.H.K.L.A.\n\nChairperson, Activities Committee\n\nValery Garrett, B.A., Post Grad. Dip. Des.\n\nCouncillors\n\nJoseph S.P. Ting, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D Patrick H. Hase, B.A., Ph.D. Tim Ko\n\nRobert ('Bob') G. Horsnell\n\nJanet Lee Scott May Holdsworth\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nSarah Parnell (until October 2000) Mary Painter\n\nvi",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214922,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 18,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "They contain a wealth of observations and well-researched material written by both RAS members and non-members who have frequently lived and worked close to their subjects for considerable periods. Such studies often contrast with those of other scholars who, because of lack of personal contact through no fault of their own, must distance themselves from their subjects and rely largely on secondary sources. I should like to thank our present Honorary Editor, Dr Peter Halliday. Nevertheless we must not forget earlier editors such as Drs Patrick Hase, James Hayes, David Faure and their predecessors, who put in countless hours in honorary capacities. Do you possess any special knowledge or expertise? Do you have something important to say regarding Hong Kong's past? If so, we look forward to reading your contribution.\n\nOver the past year selected papers and articles from our Journals have been digitised and placed on the Hong Kong University Libraries Homepage. The Home Page includes a search engine thus obviating the need for an index. We are grateful to the University for giving us the opportunity to co-operate with them on this meaningful project.\n\nOur publications continue to attract attention and sell to scholars and discerning readers around the world. Over the past year a number of bodies have requested permission to quote from, or to display, photographs from our last book, In the Heart of the Metropolis: Yaumatei and its People. Such requests are normally granted provided due acknowledgement is given. Our bimonthly Newsletter continues to be read avidly, RAS member Robin Bridge wrote: 'My thanks to all those who have researched and compiled such an informative Newsletter. Delighted to receive it e-mail, too.' While a few of us have fed in information over the past year the Newsletter was prepared, firstly, by Sarah Parnell and, for the second part of the year, by her successor, Mary Painter.\n\nWe again congratulate our members who have published in their own right over the past year. Because of numbers we are unable to name them individually. Other than in special cases we try to refrain from showing favouritism to individual authors. Nevertheless any member who publishes may, if he or she wishes, have their work mentioned in our Newsletter. Writing is, some contend, a form of therapy. One sometimes wonders how those who do not write manage\n\nxvii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214924,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 20,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "and continue to put so much into our Branch. The idea of holding this conference, which included two films, was proposed by Dr Elizabeth Sinn. We are grateful to her, too, both for chairing the organising committee and for acting as mistress of ceremonies. We are also grateful to the Centre of Asian Studies at the Hong Kong University for its assistance.\n\nFew members can recall the activities during the early days of our Branch and the rapidly changing Colony in which it functioned. These need to be recorded. Such sources of information will not be around forever. A prime task of our Society has been, and must continue to be, the recording of Hong Kong's past before it disappears for all time. This should include both oral history as well as memories of Branch members. It may involve, for instance, working as a government servant in the New Territories when it was far more rural than it is today. It may be about Chinese puppets, bamboo scaffolding, women who apply Chinese-style facials with a long, cotton thread, or of other aspects of the rapidly fading local lifestyle.\n\nIn the summer a questionnaire concerning our activities was prepared, largely by Jason Wordie, and sent to all members. Although the return of 20 per cent was disappointing, it did provide a great deal of useful information. Although there were the inevitable caustic comments, the returns showed clearly by far the majority of our members are well satisfied with what we are doing. We have however taken careful note of suggestions and some have already been implemented.\n\nBecause of the large number of lecturers, tour leaders and others involved, it is not possible to name everyone who has contributed to the success of our activities. Many (although not all) are named in the appendices. To everyone concerned a very sincere thank you. We cannot leave it at that, however, and a special vote of thanks must go to our Honorary Activities Coordinator, Valery Garrett, together with her committee members. These consisted of the Reverend Carl T. Smith, Drs Michael Lau, Patrick Hase, Joseph Ting as well as May Holdsworth, Sarah Parnell, Peter Stuckey, Jason Wordie and Mary Painter. Others who gave a helping hand were past Council member Phillip Bruce and member Michael Broom. If anyone else would like to assist in any way please let us know. We have a large membership and we appreciate\n\nxix",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214927,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 23,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "submission to the Inland Revenue Department for charitable institutional status.\n\nAccommodation\n\nAgain we are grateful to our many good friends on whom we rely for accommodation. They include the Public Records Office, where our Journals and some of our archives are stored, the latter on permanent loan. We are also grateful to the City Hall where our lectures (which are run as joint functions with the City Hall) take place and again to PricewaterhouseCoopers who kindly allow us to hold committee meetings on their premises. A heartfelt thank you to all concerned.\n\nThe Council\n\nOther than those that have to be taken at AGMs, all-important Branch decisions are made in Council to whom our membership has delegated the running of our Branch. The latter functions completely autonomously from our Headquarters in London and separately from other Branches in Asia. Over the past year the RASHKB Council has comprised two Vice Presidents, Drs Elizabeth Sinn and Michael Lau. Other members have included Robert Nield, Julia Chan, Valery Garrett, Bob Horsnell, Tim Ko and May Holdsworth. It has also included Drs Patrick Hase, Joseph Ting, Peter Barker, Peter Halliday and Janet Lee Scott. The Reverend Carl Smith, our Honorary Vice President, and Sarah Parnell as Assistant Secretary, and her successor, Mary Painter, have been co-opted, non-voting members. We are grateful to everyone who sat on the Council and gave of his or her time.\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nHaving thanked Council and Activity Committee members, speakers and leaders of groups and various other persons, who have I failed to mention? Firstly we must thank HKBRAS members, Angus Forsyth and John Budge, for their valuable professional advice. Past Council member Geoffrey Roper still helps in various ways quietly behind the scenes as do some spouses of Council members. We value everyone's assistance. So many people and institutions have rendered help to us over the course of the year. It is quite possible that someone who deserves to be thanked has inadvertently slipped through the net.\n\nxxii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214928,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 24,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "If there is such a person or institution that I have not thanked then my profound apologies. An extra word of thanks, nevertheless, must go to Sarah Parnell who served as Assistant Secretary for seven months of the past year although she has now stepped down. She is, nevertheless, continuing to play an energetic and active part in the work of our Branch. In her place we welcomed Mary Painter who quickly settled down in her new post.\n\nConclusions\n\nHow do you judge a society such as ours? We average about two functions a month. This is considerably more than most similar societies. We undertake research and publish scholarly works, including an annual Journal issued free of charge to all fully paid up members. Having read this Report you will know clearly what other benefits you can enjoy. We can be proud of what we achieve. We give value for money.\n\nRosemary Lee, past Hong Kong resident and a RAS “Friend” in Britain wrote: 'The RAS is a truly remarkable organisation - so vital and with such a variety of activities.' James Hayes wrote from Down Under, ‘... the impression I have of the Society from afar, through newsletters and publications, is that it has never been better... It is all due to the team and their sense of our Society's abiding worth.'\n\nThere have been and will continue to be, depending on the way our Branch develops, changes regarding the membership of our Council. For my own part the time has come. As an octogenarian and after four-and-a-half-years at the helm I must make room for my successor. While old age is not bad when you consider the option a younger President will no doubt bring in new ideas. It will be good for the health of the Branch to have a change. I'm sure I shall miss the duties that the post entails. Following many distinguished HKBRAS Presidents, including both those who held office during the 12 years in the mid 19th century and those over the past 40 years, it has been a great honour for me to have served as your President.\n\nMuch of the work of the President is, of course, open-ended but you cannot make an omelette without breaking the odd egg. While it is good to have fire in one's belly inter-personnel skills are also important especially in a voluntary organisation like ours. Occasionally there has\n\nxxiii",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
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        "rank": 0
    }
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