Freedom

The usual reaction to Kevin Lau’s case is it represents the bell that tolls for the freedom of press.

But, let’s start with the basic question: What is freedom of press? It means the freedom of communication and expression through published and electronic media, usually implying the absence of interference from an overreaching state. (A closely related concept is, as you know, the freedom of speech, by which we could express our view by verbal means.)

In other words, freedom of press could generally be impinged by the government or other high authority, when they try to influence the content or opinion of mass media. If a journalist reports the illegal doings of the triad society and is then being attacked, we don’t see it as a thread to the freedom of speech, but ordinary people like me would still have a strong feeling (our Scholar #19 is wrong here) because it is a brutal way to silence some undesirable voice.

Of course, it is not unheard of that the government of some countries are nothing more than triad societies recognized by the United Nation.

That’s most frightening, I know.

知秋

The famous topic in our city recently is certainly the case of Kevin Lau (劉進圖).

I shall not discuss my view here. In fact, I have little opinion, except I keep thinking of an entirely different case some 20 years ago.

It is the murder of Yip Chee Chau (葉知秋).

For those who are not familiar with the history of our own city, Yip was a columnist in 1980s and was famous for his skeptical view on the (mainland) Chinese government as well as a strong opinion against an Taiwan independence movement.

On 18 January 1992, Yip was found dead at the staircase of the building that he lived – his skull was smashed like peanut shell. That was around the time that Yip made a series of critical comments towards the Chinese government in his newspaper column, and a few days after a conference against Taiwan independence movement. Either side was believed to be responsible for the assassination.

But no. It turns out that Yip was killed accidentally during a quarrel with his girlfriend’s husband.

PS. Don’t get me wrong. I have no intention to suggest Lau’s case bears any resemblance to Yip’s. It is just my déjà vu feeling.

Need

“Madam, what’s up?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just had a quiet evening, and, guess what, I spent it all by watching television!”

I must say that’s news. After Euterpe and Adler were born, our television was used almost exclusively for showing Disney – the World of English package as well as channels 441 and 442 of NOW TV. We have not watched the tri-colour channel for so long a time that I have difficulty to tell Fala Chen from Sharon Chan.

“Alas! What did you watch?” I asked.

“A love story in a bakery. You know, it’s very touching!”

My god. She mean the soap opera that Vivian and I found hopeless just an hour ago!

But, on a second thought, I shall not laugh at my mum’s taste – or the lack of it. She is not a rare species. There are millions of people in this city who have no interest in top class artistic performance or creative drama. All they need is some vulgar music and simple soap opera to cheer them up after a whole day of stressful exertion.

Maybe Sir Run Run did do the right thing.

TV

It was a most ordinary Sunday evening.

As usual, Vivian and I brought Euterpe and Adler to visit my in-laws. My mum was staying home with Minnie, my Indonesian maid. Uny, my other maid, was on holiday.

After dinner, my father-in-law turned on the television. It was the tri-colour channel.

Some soap opera was on. It was a sponsored program. And tons of embedded advertisement. In no time my wife sighed, “This is hopeless. Let’s turn if off and do something more useful.”

We ended up listening Evgeny Kissin and Vienna Boys’ Choir from YouTube.

**********************
We returned home later that evening.

My mother was reading Next Magazine in the living room. She was obviously very happy.

(To be continued.)

Leeds

You may think the information that I outlined yesterday is a waste of time.

Yes and no. If you put yourself into the shoe of the manager of Everton, the problems become obvious: You have less money than your neighbour to recruit top players, and you are not as famous to attract talented youngsters to join your soccer school. In fact, promising students would often left for a better prospect (for example, Wayne Rooney).

You may ask: What is the optimal strategy in this situation?

I must say I have no idea, and am still searching for one. Nonetheless, I know very well what strategies are disastrous.

The notable example is Leeds United.

The story is simple: Between 1997 and 2001, under the leadership of George Graham and David O'Leary, Leeds did well in the Premier League. In fact, it went all the way to the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2001. Seeing its own success, the club became ambitious; revenues were used and loans were made to expand the club.

And the rest is history. Thirdteen years later, Leeds United is now a mediocre in the English Championship League.

Everton

Although it sounds simple to consider possible strategies of a football club, in reality the situation is more complicated.

Let me explain in a slightly convoluted way:

Some of you may know I am an inherent fan of the Liverpool FC because my father was one. Nonetheless, if you want to study business strategy, Everton, the less famous club of the same city, would be far more interesting.

You see? Liverpool is the leading club at the Merseyside county. It is a global brand. Its  annual income is over €250 million,  expenditure on salary  around €150 million. It had won 18 trophies of the English League Championship  (a record only broke by Manchester United recently), and 5 in the European Cup / UEFA Champions League (only surpassed by Real Madrid and A.C. Milan).

And, Everton? What do we have here? The annual budget is around half of its wealthy neighbour. However, when I check the record, it's not at all humble: It had 9 trophies of the English League Championship (but the most recent one was in 1987), and once in the now obsolete European Cup Winners' Cup. The problem is the Club is very much less famous, and the brand is, if any, local. For example, have you ever heard of a fan of Everton in Hong Kong?

PS. The most famous product of Everton, at least for all foes of Manchester United, is David Moyes. That's another story.

Difference

Don't get me wrong. I am not proposing in-breeding and xenophobia. After all, Messi was first trained in Newell's Old Boys of Argentina and joined Barcelona at the age of 13.

Of course, there is no need to confine yourself to a single strategy. Many successful football clubs have their own training program but also recruit famous players from other clubs. Nonetheless, there is more than a fine line of difference between enlisting Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 18 (by Alex Ferguson !) and the same player six years later (by Florentino Pérez), or between enlisting Andriy Shevchenko at the age of 23 (by AC Milan) and at 30 (by Chelsea). In the jargon of Peter Lynch, a ten-bagger would gradually turn into a cash cow - and eventually to a cigarette butt.

Alas, there's nothing wrong with buying cigarette butts - as long as you are not paying the price of a cash cow.