Due to the ongoing pandemic and our District Governor’s call to continue to meet virtually as much as we can, our Club conducted our regular meeting on December 17 on Zoom. Professor Tim Tong, our Honorary Member, joined our meeting. Amy and Catherine also joined. Rotarian Eliza joined from her quarantine hotel with makeshift Christmas gear. The “regular” meeting was anything but regular: in addition to the regular reporting of Club and District activities, it functioned as our Club’s second assembly of the Rotary year, our annual general meeting, and our annual Christmas party. It would also be our Club’s first ever online AGM, first ever online Christmas party, and, amazingly, despite having weathered near a year of pandemic, our first ever online assembly. At the beginning of our meeting, Past President Dora announced the passing of Past President Feeling (Rotary Club of Taoyuan Southeast). Those who knew Past President Feeling personally would most certainly agree that Past President Feeling was a most generous and warm person, a loving mother, a dear wife and a committed Rotarian. Past President Dora gave a long and heart-felt tribute to our beloved sister, who has been a bedrock of warmth and love to…
Charter President Patrick nominated, and our Board has duly considered and approved Professor MF Yuen, a world-class clinician researcher and teacher at HKU, to be our Club’s third Honorary Member, after Honorary Members Vivien Lau and Professor Tim Tong. Welcome Professor Yuen to the world of Rotary!
On December 10, our Club met on Zoom due to worsening pandemic conditions in Hong Kong. Rotarian Eliza, having just returned to Hong Kong from New Zealand, joined our meeting from her quarantine hotel and shared with us her life under quarantine. Our speaker of the day was Rotarian Kelvin Yeung, Professor at HKU LKS Faculty of Medicine. Rotarian Kelvin’s topic was current development of vaccines to combat Covid-19. Using his research skills and connections to experts at HKU, Rotarian Kelvin prepared for and presented a well-researched yet layman explanation of vaccine developments around the world. In particular, Rotarian Kelvin differentiated between the various approaches of vaccines under clinical trials, and debunked certain misinformation about vaccines. Analogically, the current vaccine candidates are like different weapon types using different attack approaches, though aiming at the same enemy. Their chemical structures and biological mechanisms are very different, as are their shelf lives, storage requirements and need for further booster shots. The bottom line is that vaccine development is one critical and important step in the fight against the virus, but not the only one. Other steps are important too, including proper use of masks, good hygiene, and social distancing. Until vaccines are…
On November 26, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal gave us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. Our speaker of the day was Ms. Monica Li, senior social work supervisor at Caritas Ngau Tau Kok. She came to our Club meeting to give a summary of the execution of our joint project: Rotary Cares Food Aid 2020 (疫下關懷送暖行動). In a nutshell, the project provided financial relief to over 200 families, in Ngau Tau Kok/Kwun Tong area, in the form of food coupons which can be redeemed at local merchants in their community. The financial relief aimed not only to lessen pandemic’s impact to the savings of grassroots families, but also to support local merchants deeply affected by economic slowdown. Caritas took due care to select families most affected by the pandemic, including families with no constant income, large families with many children to support, families living in subdivided housing and/or rooftop housing etc. The selection process was finely granular, on a case-by-case basis, to ensure that those who needed help the most would get priority. Ms. Li shared anecdotes from beneficiaries, including…
On November 21, President Mark led a team consisting of President Elect Sam, three friends and family members and two Interactors from King’s College to pack and deliver hot meals to the elderly in the Cheung Sha Wan/Lai Chi Kok area. In addition, several Interactors personally delivered 6 hot meals to elderly living in nearby public housing estates. Our next outing is on December 5. Past President WT will be the leader.
On November 14, President Mark attended the CPR/AED Project launch ceremony. The project, in its fifth year, aims to promote CPR/AED knowledge in the community. In particular, youth is encouraged to learn CPR and periodically refresh their techniques. This year, the focus is to teach modified CPR techniques that aim to minimize the risk of viral exposure. Our Club is a supporting sponsor of this meaningful project.
On November 12, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 6-person tables separated by ample spaces. After the usual reports and announcements from President Mark, Past President WT introduced our speaker, Arnett Edwards. Principal Edwards is school principal of Li Po Chun United World College (“LPCUWC”) of Hong Kong. Located in an idyllic part of Ma On Shan, LPCUWC has nurtured many responsible citizens in the past 20+ years. Many graduates of LPCUWC went on to do great things, from managing large NGOs to setting up an eye clinic in Africa. Principal Edwards shared with members and guests the philosophy of LPCUWC’s education, both inside and outside of the classroom. Some of the ideals espoused by its graduates include: international understanding, celebration of difference, integrity, service, compassion etc. – these ideals surely resonate with Rotary’s core principles and values. Principal Edwards shared the stage with Mr. Adrian Kwong, who is currently responsible for the school’s outreach programs. Mr. Kwong shared with members and guests the school’s various peace initiatives, including those with Rotary and Rotaract. Towards the end of the…
On November 7, Past President Grace led a large team consisting of Past President Webster and his two sons, Rtnne. Coco and 9 Interactors from King’s College to pack and deliver hot meals to the elderly. In addition, several Interactors delivered and installed a replacement oven, and helped to fix a TV antenna issue at an elderly’s home. Our next outing is on November 21.
Rotarian Eliza reported that, on November 4, she attended the club birthday celebratory dinner of Rotary Club of Auckland Harbourside in Auckland, New Zealand, and proudly exchanged Club banners with her host.
On October 22, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. The meeting began with President Mark giving quick updates of Club and District activities. President Mark also gave details about District Governor’s visit, which occurred the week before. The floor was then yielded to Immediate Past District Governor (“IPDG”) Wilson Cheng, who visited our Club to personally present the Rotary International 2019-20 Excellence in Service to Humanity Award to Wendy Poon. IPDG Wilson also brought gifts for everyone, but especially presented gifts to Club members who served the District with distinction during his tenure as District Governor: Charter President Patrick and Past District Governor Belinda for their leadership and advice; Past Presidents Grace and Angela for their work in public image, district training, District Conference etc.; Past President Lily for being his Deputy Assistant Governor for Area 3; and Past Presidents Dora and Lily for their work in public image and event preparations. President Mark also received, on our Club’s behalf, Rotary International Citation for 2019-20 as well as highly-rated wines for our members…