ONCE AN OUTSPOKEN politician, Desmond Lee Yu-tai had a change of heart in the early 1990s and ended up with the best of both worlds - living in Hong Kong and promoting investment in the South Pacific islands of Fiji.
Sick of the sniping, Mr Lee dropped out of politics after meeting his political waterloo in 1988, and more or less fell into the job of honorary consul for Fiji in Hong Kong.
Once a lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and now a travel company owner, Mr Lee, 59, as consul, is responsible for marketing Fiji - a South Pacific nation of 332 white-sandy-beached, palm-fringed islands.
It is a job he does more for love than money as The Informer found out when Mr Lee shared his Fijian experiences.
Q: Why were you appointed Fiji's first honorary consul in Hong Kong?
A: It's a long story. A friend of mine, who had investments in Fiji, invited me to visit at the end of the 1980s.