Knit wits find inspiration at headquarters
Hong Kong has been hit by a serious wool shortage this month as the SAR knits for charity.
Organised by the Social Welfare Department, the event - Volunteer Chain Across Borders - aims to have 13,000 scarves knitted by December 16 in time for the finale of the International Year of Volunteers 2001.
Our yarn started after an estimated 40 Pacific Century CyberWorks staff were spotted in the conference room on the 10th floor of the the telecoms company's headquarters surrounded by balls of wool and the loud clickety-clack of knitting needles.
A spokesman said the company had organised a two-hour knitting lesson on Monday evening for staff who wanted to contribute to the charity event but didn't know how to knit.
And yes, Lai See did ask and no, CyberWorks chief Richard Li Tzar-kai was not at the lesson.
We then called the Social Welfare Department, which promptly overwhelmed us with knitting-for-charity information.
More than 7,400 volunteers from 190 schools, businesses and community organisations throughout the SAR are taking part in the knitting marathon.
The scarves - to be knitted in two sizes (long and short) - can come in any colour.
The long scarves - measuring 121.9 centimetres by 25.4 cm - will be distributed in Northwest China and to other deprived areas throughout the world where a scarf could come in handy.
The short scarves - measuring 66 cm by 16.5 cm - will be distributed in Hong Kong to the underprivileged old and young.
The event will be brought to a triumphant close on December 16 at the Tamar Site in Central when, as representatives of the International Red Cross, the Chief Executive's wife, Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping, and Princess Alexandra of Denmark will chat about knitting via a video link-up courtesy of CyberWorks.
It has yet to be confirmed if the Princess - formerly Alexandra Manley of Discovery Bay - will be donning a tiara for the show or if Mrs Tung will be kitted-out in official SAR woolley scarf.
Innovative leak: The Government may have been using Secretary for Commerce and Industry Chau Tak-hay as an official leak yesterday.
Mr Chau was speaking at the 12th World Productivity Congress on how innovation is widely recognised as an important means to maintain growth and stay competitive.
In a speech available through the Government Information Service Web site, Mr Chau said there were numerous academic definitions and interpretations of innovation.
'In Hong Kong, the former Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology headed by Professor Tien Chang-lin relates innovation to include both improved technology and better methods of doing things,' Mr Chau said.
Former chief executive?
Witty delivery: Mr Dai won't be getting his CyberWorks Interim Report 2001 this year.
Not because he has moved out of his Mid-Levels flat but because Mr Dai is no longer with us.
The new tenant received the report addressed to; 'Mr Dai - Deceased'.
Unfortunately, Mr Dai left no forwarding address so the tenant sent the letter back with a note - Return to Sender: No longer on this planet.
Perfect picture: The Hong Kong Tourist Board is enticing French travellers to the SAR with a picture of a man dressed in an orange tablecloth standing in the middle of the road.
The picture - in Figaro Magazine - features a Buddhist monk stood on the tram tracks at the junction of Des Voeux Road and Pedder Street.
Wouldn't the famous skyline or beautiful country parks be more appropriate? We guess it must be some kind of play on tradition and modernity.
So we've despatched a photographer to get a shot of someone hacking up a good lung-full and unleashing it into a dust-bin on the Mass Transit Railway.
Graphic: whee07gbz
