Bush-whacking Tang joins Thatcher faction

CONSIDERING the calibre of movers and shakers who patronise it, the China Club is blessed with a millennium lilt. But could it be faintly possible that factionalism has reared its head within the elegant art-lined corridors? We ask as a result of a passing chat with cigar-chomping club owner David Tang, who was full of his usual bonhomie at the APA gala affair on the very night former US president George Bush and his wife Barbara were being entertained to dinner at the China Club.

'Why aren't you at your place meeting Bush?' we asked Tang. Pausing to collect his thoughts - in other words, to take a puff of his cigar - Tang had this to say by way of explanation.

'I am an Anglo-Chinese. The dinner is being given by American-Chinese.' Last night Tang, together with other stalwarts of the Anglo-Chinese set such as David Lie and T. T. Tsui, was heading for London, where at the Savoy tonight Lady Thatcher will be addressing the Anglo-Hong Kong Society, which aims to foster cultural links between them and us.

To give the occasion a homely touch, we hope Lady Thatcher remembers to wear the Mandarin jacket she purchased at Shanghai Tang during her last visit.