Masons 'mysterious, not secret', top English Freemason says on Hong Kong visit
Grand secretary of English lodge tries to dispel some of the myths surrounding controversial order as city receives new grandmaster
Freemasonry is not a "secret society" but must still preserve an element of "mystery" as it opens up to scrutiny, a leading figure in the organisation said as he visited the city yesterday.
Nigel Brown, grand secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England, was speaking before yesterday's installation of a new district grandmaster for the Hong Kong Freemasons, a once-in-a-decade transition.
The masonic order has long been fodder for conspiracy theorists - accused of everything from plotting a "new world order" to, more credibly, serving as an old boys' network, with members helping one another advance.
But Brown declared: "We are not a secret society.
"There is no secret handshake," he said, adding that "it is also absolutely true that there is no obligation [to fellow members], no business networking. We are always mindful of the needs of others, so it's caring for others, not 'jobs for the boys'."
Brown was accompanied by Peter Lowndes, pro-grandmaster of the English lodge and second-highest-ranking mason after the Duke of Kent, to oversee the ceremony to install Vivian Lee as Hong Kong's new grandmaster.