It's official. Anson Chan has departed from the hallowed world of the Government sector, and headed for the greener pastures of private enterprise. Before you think you're seeing things, let us explain. This particular Anson Chan is not the woman we all know and love as Hong Kong's Administrative Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang. In fact, it's not a woman at all. Mr Anson Chan Yiu-cheung has left his employer, the Securities and Futures Commission, where he was a manager in the securities market division. Last week he joined the American Insurance Group in the investments area. After a tip-off on the move, we contacted the man himself yesterday - just to check it wasn't all some sort of elaborate hoax. He confirmed his name - and even claimed to have had several brushes with his more famous namesake: 'There have certainly been some funny coincidences over the years,' he said. Mr Chan's farewell from the commission was held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) a couple of weeks ago - but staff at the club were taking no chances when putting up a sign to direct guests to the function. A big 'Mr' was posted in front of his name, just to ensure there were no cases of mistaken identity. This move on the FCC's part is understandable. A couple of years back, the name 'Anson Chan' - without any honorific in front of it - appeared on a list of non-payers of bills posted on the club's notice boards. Not surprisingly, the FCC was soon besieged by a torrent of media inquiries about the famous name on its list of errant members. But our Mr Anson Chan admitted to having been the offender on that occasion. 'I had forgotten to pay my membership account,' he said. Is there no escape from the tentacles of the HSBC Holdings international conglomerate? Word reaches us from Singapore of a veritable magnet for Hong Kong expatriate bank types in the Lion City. It is what else but a bar. An Irish bar, actually, called Father O'Flannigan's in a ritzy area of the city. A former Hongkong Bank executive named Colin MacDonald led a group of thirsty investors that set up the bar just over a year ago. Even though he is now working for a different company, the Far East Organisation, he must still have some good contacts amongst his old colleagues at the bank. A representative of the pub told us yesterday the place literally fills up with Hongkong Bank types, particularly at night. Some wags reckon the fail safe way to track down bank executives in the Lion City is to simply turn up at the bar - or 'outpost', as they term it - after work. Reporters at a United Airlines briefing on Tuesday were surprised at the lengths to which the carrier's local boss, Henry Ma Yiu-man, was willing to go for positive press coverage on its new Hong Kong to Chicago route. At the end of some tough questioning on the impact of the Asian economic crisis, Mr Ma made the following plea: 'We are here to launch Hong Kong to Chicago, okay? So if you write a story tomorrow, please, please write about that, okay?' Later, he continued to press the point: 'I will answer any questions later if you want an interview or whatever. You can buy me coffee or I will buy you lunch - but [with] no chicken. 'I can entertain any of you, okay? But tomorrow if possible tell everybody about our launch.' In case you were wondering, Mr Ma doesn't much like chicken for lunch - but he's certainly not chicken about giving hacks the hard sell. Good to see Government representatives are reaching new heights in user-friendly public relations. Note the following exchange between reporters and Government auctioneer Dick Baram after yesterday's land auction, where the Government reaped positive returns from the sale of two properties: Reporters: What's your reaction to the sale result? Mr Baram: Satisfied with the result. Reporters: How satisfied? Mr Baram: The prices reflect the market today. Reporters: What do you mean by reflecting the market value? Mr Baram: The price developers are prepared to pay is reflecting the market value. Reporters: Why is the Government reluctant to talk about the outcome of the auction? Mr Baram: No comment. Thanks for that fulsome and erudite account, Dick.
