Process

(Our three-way discussion continued.)

I considered for a moment and felt slightly uneasy as L was too cynical, "But, my friend, as far as I could see, there remains a possibility that a really good program of one kind or another could reduce hospital stay or admission in the long run."

"Exactly. I agree it is not easy to pick up the truly valuable one - probably more difficult than picking a 10-bagger from hundreds of IPO each year." S added, and turned to L, "But, it looks as if you are implying nothing would do what-so-ever !"

(For those not familiar with the stock market, IPO stands for Initial Public Offer.)

"Right, I really mean what I said." L was affirmative.

"Why?" S and I were almost in resonance.

"That is because, my dear friends, the biology of human body has not changed in the past ten thousand years," L suddenly looked grim, "On the average, a human body died after a certain degree of accumulated wear-and-tear, usually from repeated ones here and there. The need and duration of hospital stay is, in essence, a measure of that wear-and-tear. A treatment that successfully reverts the damage this time would mean the same person would come back some time later for a problem elsewhere."

"You mean ..." I hesitated to elaborate, "If a program is successful and save someone's life, it would only mean he would have the chance to be admitted some time later - hopefully for some entirely different problem."

"True, if the program is a really good one. Otherwise the process of death would be prolonged - and so is the need of hospital stay," L nodded, "Or, to put it simply, we all agree everyone would eventually die, but, the less appreciated fact is, when our population is taken as a whole, a certain amount of hospitalization is inevitable before we all die."

Strategy

Met my friends S and L on my way home. They were apparently discussing something serious.

"Hey guys. What's up?" I asked.

"Our friend here is thinking of something for the coming RAE." L said.

(For those who are not familiar with our system, RAE in government hospitals stands for Resource Allocation Exercise. Yes, it means money. By a coincidence, RAE in the university means Research Assessment Exercise - another matter that attracts the attention of all academic staff. This is one of the rare occasions when the government and university staff seem to share the same interest.)

"Alas ... What's your advise?" I asked my cynical friend.

"I asked S to follow the successful strategy." L smiled.

"Is there one?" I was slightly amazed.

"Apparently yes," S said, "Find something that could reduce hospital stay or admission."

"That's not easy," I believe my point is obvious.

"That's not not easy - that's quite impossible if you want something that could permanently reduce hospital admission," L interjected, "But we just need something that works for a while, and it is not at all difficult to prove something - anything actually - works in the short run, when everyone is paying attention and extra effort on it."

"For example ...?" I asked.

"For example, find something that you are already doing, repackage, propose to find a dedicated person to do it in a more efficient manner so that hospital stay could be reduced - and there is a reason to ask for money and vacancy of promotion." L finished without taking a second breathe.

"I know your argument," and I saw what my friend was getting at, "After a few years, the money becomes regular and the senior post permanent. Who would remember or bother to make the effort to check whether the program continues to reduce hospital stay? After all, the situation would have changed so much that no one could prove anything."

Establishment

Although not always accurate (see http://vwswong.blogspot.com/2011/06/harrison.html), this is a paragraph I copied from the Wikipedia:

********************************

Establishment of the Party

Marxist ideas started to spread widely in China after the 1919 May Fourth Movement. In June 1920, Comintern (共產國際) agent Grigori Voitinsky was sent to China, and met Li Dazhao (李大釗) and other reformers. He financed the founding of the Socialist Youth Corps. The Communist Party of China was initially founded by Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀) and Li Dazhao in the French concession of Shanghai in 1921 as a study society and an informal network. There were informal groups in China in 1920, and also overseas, but the official beginning was the 1st Congress held in Shanghai and attended by 53 men in July 1921 and later transferred from Shanghai to Jiaxing. The birth of the party was declared here in a boat on South Lake... The key players were Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Chen Gongbo (陳公博)... Mao Zedong (毛澤東) was present at the first congress as one of two delegates from a Hunan communist group.

PS. As a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 and its first General Secretary, Chen Duxiu was removed him from all positions of leadership six years later, and was expelled from the Party altogether in 1929.

Li Dazhao was executed for being suspected a Soviet spy.

Editorial

(My friend VW urged me to write an editorial for the latest solicited paper on my blog.)

The recent article of Warren on financial management for young doctors (see http://ccszeto.blogspot.com/2011/06/question.html) is no doubt illuminating for our fresh graduates. It represents the pearl of wisdom from someone who has passed through all stages of establishing a professional career, built up his own wealth, and is now doing what he thinks valuable.

I shall not discuss his specific recommendations. On the other hand, I agree with the comment of TW: In addition to thinking of measures to save up some money and invest, it is also important to consider twice what, and how much, expenditure to have. For example, does one need HK$250K for a wedding?

To go one step backward, it is the entire mindset of spending money that one needs to pay attention to. No, I’m not asking everyone to become Puritans. However, happiness has at best a modest correlation with money. For example, are you more satisfied to dine at Gaddis or Café de Coral? Yes, the former in general – but, it depends more on whom you are dinning with. If you think it is a hardship that one has to endure for a few years in order to save up the money and achieve an end, you have a wrong attitude – you can be equally happy without spending a lot of money but saving it up. After all, we should enjoy the process, not (only) the end.

And, for exactly the same reason, you can also achieve a equally happy ending without needing a lot of money.

PS. For a fresh graduate, I believe the most important investment is the one he does on himself. In addition to having the effort and find some good place to put your money (which, I agree, is absolutely necessary), it is most fruitful to build up your own as a valuable asset.

R2

(Warren's letter continues.)

For the stock investment, I would suggest a more balanced portfolio for you:

1. Companies that can raise their service charges in a free market in response to inflation (i.e. not China): Cheung Kong Infrastructure (1038).
2. Landlords that can raise the rents especially for retail business: Link REIT (823), Hang Lung Group (10).
3. Large-cap companies with economic franchise yet under-valued because of the gloomy short-term prospects: China Construction Bank (939), China Mobile (941).
4. Small/Medium-cap companies with outstanding management that can cope with the hyperinflation: Yip’s Chemical (408), SOHO China (410), ASM Pacific (522), Dah Cheong Hong (1828).
5. Small/Medium-cap, high dividend rapid growers that are oversold because of market panic: Bosideng (3998), Lonking (3339), China Dongxiang (3818).
6. Small/Medium-cap, high dividend, under-valued companies that are being neglected: Xinhua Winshare (811), Alco (328), Chevalier International (25), Pacific Textiles (1382).

For a beginner who is not comfortable with volatility of stock market, you can just focus on categories 1-3.
For an investor with more enterprising mindset, add cat. 4
For an aggressive investor who doesn’t mind volatility up to 30%, add 5-6.
For an adventurous investor who doesn’t mind volatility up to 50%, focus on 4-6 only.

All these stocks are now being traded at discount (i.e. 15-20% lower than their intrinsic values) or even bargain (i.e. 20-50% lower) prices.

Should you buy or rent a flat when you get married? Please ask me again when you become a 3rd year MO. I don’t have a crystal ball!

Good luck, Warren.

Reply

(Reply letter of Warren is, as always, instrumental and instructive.)

Dear XX,

I can see that you are a well-planned and disciplined person and this is the most important character of a successful investor!

You have a relatively short to intermediate investment goal (compared to the other goals such as retirement, education fund of the next generation, etc.). In order to have guaranteed return in such a short period, you can only make investment with more predictable return.

You would expect a period of high inflation in the coming years and the inflation rate is so high that the profit-making ability of many companies may be undermined (because of high cost and rents, etc.). The fear is now being reflected as a low valuation of the stock market currently. Because of the lack of confidence in company's profitability yet the saving interest rate is so low, people opt to park their money on bricks, which is reflected as over-valued real property market.

For a long term investment plan, I am sure you will know that you should accumulate stocks during this period because of its low valuation, which will normalize in the long run. And you should avoid the over-valued real property, which will be down-rated in the long run. But you need to strike a balance for short-intermediate investment plan.

I would therefore suggest:

1. Try to lengthen the period of debt payback (if this is feasible).
2. Build up a cash reserve for 3-month urgent extra expenditure on top of your usual expenditure during your internship (e.g. if you need $60K for this, you need to save $5000 each month).
3. No car please.
4. Live with your parents, don’t buy or rent a separate apartment before getting married (if this is also agreed by your parents and boyfriend, but their preference should be on higher priority).
5. Put all your surplus money to monthly fixed-amount investment on stock markets (this is known as “dollar cost averaging, 平均買入法”).

(To be continued.)

Question

(A letter written to my friend Warren recently.)

Dear Professor,

I am a newly graduated med student from CUHK, and I was very grateful that you gave us such a useful talk on investment after our white coat party.

In fact, I have a question that I was too shy to ask during the Q and A section, but it is an very important question to me, so I decided to send you an email to ask about it.

(But I would not hesitate to share your advise to my classmate afterwards!! The most embarrassing part is the asking!)

I am planning to get married in third year MO, and my other half is a civil servant with monthly income of about $24000. I predict we would need a 250K budget for the wedding, and would need somewhere to live in. I have a debt of about 100K, of which 40K was grant loan, and the others lent from my family, and I have no savings at all. I do not have to support my family financially but I would not be supported by them as well. How would you advice on the investment plan outline so as to achieve our goal?

Thanks very much for your advise!

Regards, et cetera.

福臨門

次日，教父設宴於福臨門，慶祝維港彼岸鄧教授榮升之喜。區區有幸，叼陪末席。

前菜乃炸物兩件，為蝦多士及雞子戈渣。論食味，蝦多士略遜於鳳城，但香脆而不油膩，件頭甚小，作為開胃菜倒頗適合。雞子戈渣乃毒物，用膽固醇蒸熟搗爛，和粉再炸。初看無甚特別，然外脆內嫩，醮少許蠔油和沙糖，卻出奇對味。

次上是乳豬。此處是老式皮肉連骨上，非單毫不浪費，皮烤得香脆，少許油脂下，肉汁豐盈，連骨頭也醃得入味。水準之高，可稱冠全港。

接踵而至是冬瓜盅。時乃初夏，此湯實時令之選，而這裡用料毋庸置喙，唯一可以挑剔的，可能是較之楓林小館，少了些夜香花的香氣，然湯清瓜甜，卻猶有過之。

再來是油泡龍躉球，看上去明亮照人，一望而知吸油過多，想是魚肉塗上蛋白的結果。吃來亦稍嫌油膩，但龍躉肉粗而易老，這裡卻泡得不錯，有咬口而不嚡，功夫是到家的。

接著是炆龍躉翅。一魚兩吃，乃粵式傳統。龍躉翅骨和骹位肉滑而膠質豐富，與火蒜花菇同炆，香氣口感俱佳。奇怪是火蒜卻不甚入味，應是炸後上桌前不久才加入魚內稍炆，是為美中不足。

之後是炸子雞。火侯足而醃料入味。平心而論，此雞略瘦，欠了一點油香。只是這餐脂肪已大超標，再來肥雞反而吃不消矣。

單尾上湯焯菜心平凡得緊。生炒牛肉飯也是規規矩矩。心想大抵此時已是十二分飽，再有珍饈亦無胃納。

甜品是蛋撻仔和麻茸飽，再加菠蘿西瓜水果。蛋撻仔沒試，麻茸飽卻大有驚喜。飽皮鬆軟，麻茸濃香撲鼻，加上鹹蛋黃，味道質感，層次分明，絕對是城中首選。

酒飽飯足，各人皆稱謝而去。回程時細思之，此處另一德政，是冷氣不大，是以熱葷上桌良久，亦不虞放涼。此乃店家自矜，無需趕客，致貴氣隱然。此非廚子樓面之功，亦非一眾朱門畫棟，象箸犀斛之肆可比也。

Consequence

(A highly respected friend of mind showed me what he thinks about the plan of employing overseas medical graduates.)

I am a believer of market force and I think it will drive the consequences like these:

1. HA will go ahead with hiring limited license doctors.
2. The manpower shortage can be alleviated and there is less urgency for doctor’s salary increment and promotions.
3. The private doctors keep defaming these limited license doctors.
4. The general public starts to cast further doubt on the quality of doctors in HA.
5. Locally graduated doctors working in HA will further lose their morale because of criticisms from the private sector and loss of confidence in the lay public.
6. The drop-out rate of locally graduated doctors in HA will be aggravated due to low salary, poor prospect and low morale.
7. The private market keep expanding because of the increasing demand for high quality healthcare in this region (SE Asia, China and even US because of outsourcing for lower cost outside US) and it keeps absorbing doctors from HA.
8. Income of doctors in private market remain very high because of these unmet needs, and the salary gap between HA and private is widening.
9. More local doctors left HA and HA needs to hire more limited license doctors to replace the shortage.
10. The quality requirements of limited license doctor recruitment can no longer be upheld because of huge demand.
11. Go back to (2).

We will end up with a low cost and very affordable public healthcare system which is comparable with Macau (in contrast to Singapore, it is politically difficult for us to bar our mainland counterparts) and it is primarily supported by limited license doctors and junior locally-trained doctors. On the other hand, the private system will be served by experienced and fully-trained doctors, despite the fact that tax-payers subsidized their medical education.

I won’t comment whether this is good or bad. This is what’s happening in Singapore but the situation is under tight regulation by its strong government. I am doubtful whether our government has this kind of caliber.

Independent

After the first round of the speech was over, the first badge of graduates from our medical school seized the opportunity and went to the stage to take some photos. Neither the time nor the place was meant for taking group photo - but our great seniors decided to do it in their own way.

Our class was quick to follow. As expected, we were so enjoyed in taking pictures that we occupied the stage for slightly longer than the host would like to see.

**************************

When the evening was over, I suddenly came to realize our behaviour was entirely expected and certainly reflected our personality.

The logic is simple: In 1981, what kind of students would agree to be admitted to a new medical school? Certainly the most adventurous lot. Yes, they may be declined by our sister medical school across the harbour, but most of them had other excellent offers that they decided not to take up.

In 1985, our class was admitted under the new Provisional Acceptance Scheme (暫取生). (We were the first group of students admitted via PAS, which was the predecessor of the subsequent Early Admission Scheme [拔尖計劃]). That was, alas, before anyone graduated from this medical school, and, contrary to our senior alumni, most of us had a good chance of getting admitted to the more established one across the harbour - for which, by accepting the PAS offer, we had to give up the chance to apply. (Many of us actually faced the objection from our parents.)

The result was obvious: Our class was a collection of students who paid little tribute to authorities, liked to balance the risk and benefit by ourselves, and make our own decision.

And, as Heraclitus said, character is destiny.

30th

In the next evening, I went to the Faculty Dinner, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of our medical school.

And, yes, it is also 20 years since my class graduated. For that reason, many of my classmates were there; we filled up three tables and there were a few others scattering around. I believe it was purely for the reputation of DL (our organizer), our tables were immediately next to the stage.

You may ask: How's the evening?

I must say it reflected very well the tradition of our medical school: All speakers were horrible and everything happening on the stage dreadful - but our class had a good time because we enjoyed ourselves. For example, when the man from Pluto was making his speech, we naughty students were playing musical chairs, in order to decide who should open the champagne bottles - and we could all finished a glass or two before the speech was over !

********************************

The King of the Round Table also spoke. Contrary to his usual self, His Highness did it rather badly this time, and he actually lost his temper on a few occasions. Yes, it was tough to teach and live in those poorly air-conditioned containers - I know because I had the privilege to be there, and I would only thank those people who gave me the chance of such an extraordinary experience.

You know, in those days I put a small motto on my desk: 毋忘在莒，莊敬自強。

PS. The phrase, which originated from Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石), is obviously politically incorrect. The simplified English translation may be: We are in the minority, but we shall respect ourselves.

Insurance

During the wedding banquet of YL, I was actually sitting next to my friend Warren. Naturally I took the advantage and asked for his view on the financial market.

"Let me start with something specific," I said, "What about those insurance companies?"

"For sure they are never short of business. You buy insurance, don't you?" My friend smiled.

"Oh, I do. But I must say I find it self-contradicting to buy insurance and to buy the stock of a insurance company." I said, "Although not absolutely the case, but, by and large it is a zero sum game. If I make money from an insurance, the company - and, therefore, its share owners - lose money."

"Exactly," Warren smiled, "And, I remind you, insurance companies are run by a group of smart people, professionally trained in financial calculation. Would you prefer making deal with them, or having them to run your business?"

Choice

One morning, when I finished with the morning clinic and was walking back to my office, I met my friend VW.

He asked, in his as always humble voice, "Is it a bit mean to talk about Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋)?"

Oh, he was referring to a recent blog of mine. (See http://ccszeto.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_05.html)

My defence mechanism immediately took control of my neurons, "Em... I was just describing what JF said during the lunch."

Alas, that's literally true. But, the situation is like a newspaper; although it reports only facts, the editor, by deciding the choice of fact and the tone of the wordings, tells us which side the publisher is standing for.

(And it is naive to ask for a newspaper - or any other organization - to be absolutely neutral; we need them to have their own stand.)

For the same argument, I hold the responsibility for choosing a specific part of the conversation to be described, which inevitably reflects what I think.

Please accept my apology.

PS. A few days later, when I attended the wedding ceremony of YL, our neurology fellow, I met JW, and he asked me the same question as VW did.

I shall be more tactful next time.

Withdrawal

I have very little to say about the examination per se.

Well, I have. One of the question was about the recent withdrawal of dextropropoxyphene, an ingredient in several commonly used pain killers. (For those without a medical background, in November 2010, the Food and Drug Administration of USA requested the cessation of all sale of two major dextropropoxyphene-containing medications from the US drug market because of the risk of heart arrhythmia in patients who took the drug.)

To our surprise, many of the candidates were not aware of the details of this event. Specifically, most of them did not know what adverse effect led to the withdrawal of the drug.

You may think that's the problem of our postgraduate education and training.

Alas, once again, although we see the same thing, we arrive at entirely different conclusions.

My opinion is simple: Since the drug is widely prescribed for decades, if the adverse effect is common and not infrequently life-threatening, we should have personal experience of seeing it. And, therefore, even if a trainee does not read the news and study the textbook, they should have encountered a case of this kind.

But, obviously, none of the candidates we met in that afternoon - and there were 42 of them - had such an experience.

I won't discuss any further.

PS. After dextropropoxyphene disappeared from the market, many physicians switched to Tramadol, of which Grünenthal GmbH, a German company, holds the patent.

Yes, Grünenthal GmbH is the company that invented and marketed thalidomide in the 1950s.

華姐

Went to Aberdeen for the College examination.

Frequent visitors of this site would know this was not the first time I took part in the viva voce. Since the event is usually held in Saturday afternoons, it becomes my habit to finish with the morning ward round in my hospital, take the underground to the Tin Hau station, and then pay a short visit to Sister Wah (華姐清湯腩) before I take a taxi to the Academy Building.

This time, as usual, I ordered brisket and noodle in clear soup (清湯腩粗麵) and radish in brisket sauce (腩汁蘿蔔).

I must say the place was crowded, and the food was not entirely flawless - there remained a trace of ammonia smell in the noodle, and some of the brisket pieces were slightly less tender than I would like. Nonetheless, their soup and radish could silence all critics.

And, so was their efficiency: I arrived at 11:30 AM, made my order before taking a seat, finished with my lunch and, when I jumped into a taxi, it was 11:45 AM. My stomach was filled, and I was satisfied.

PS. Not too long later, my strategy of a quick lunch proved to be important: The examiners' meeting started at 12 noon, with only coffee and light sandwich being served. The examination began at 1 PM and did not finish until 5:20 PM - without any break. My co-examiner that afternoon was slightly late for the meeting and did not have anything for lunch, so much so he was badly in need of cookies every time when the candidates change over.

Life could sometimes be tough even for senior physicians.

砂石

You may consider the discussion in that USSR university irrelevant. After all, there are always sands and stones and mud and debris and scum in the river of history of a great country.

That may be true. In fact, one of our senior government official was obviously thinking of the same.

But, it is all these unwanted precipitates that fill up our lakes. Have you heard of the recent stories of Poyang Lake (鄱陽湖), Dongting Lake (洞庭湖), Hong Lake (洪湖), and many others? Well, you may say that's not new. The theory of geology states that lakes are short lived because the incoming river brings along sands and stones and mud, all of which would gradually fill up the space.

And, even gigantic lakes are not spared. For example, who would now remember Yunmeng Pond (雲夢澤), which was at a time close to 40,000 square kilometers - 12 times the size of Poyang Lake?

(By the way, both Donting Lake and Hong Lake are small residuals of the legendary Yunmeng Pond.)

Nonetheless, there are reasons for modern people to worry. Lakes, at least those along the course of the Yangtze River (長江), seem to be disappearing much faster in the recent years.

Maybe for the Dam. (Don't be paranoid - there's no n to follow.)

Alas, the traditional Chinese saying is: It is more difficult to shut up people's mouth than lock up the water in a big river (防民之口，甚于防川). With the advance in technology, we can now stop both. But, the logical paradox (it is self contradicting, I know) is, the more water you lock up, the more sands and stones fill up the bottom of our lakes, as well as the bottom of our mind.

More

(It would be naive if you think the discussion ended there.)

"You have a point," the Party representative paused for while, and then he added, ""It's really not appropriate to include a question on Marxism in their final examination paper."

"Of course. I mean, even if they give the perfect answer, it does not guarantee our graduates would become loyal followers of the Party." The stern academic believed he had a new alliance.

"Oh, we have no intention to make them keen practitioners of communism what-so-ever. The aim of my office is to make sure our university graduates have sufficient factual knowledge on Karl Marx and the related theories. Practice is beyond our reach." The poker-face young man said.

"Alas..." The others could not believe their ears.

"Therefore, in order not to disturb the learning and examination of serious physics," the representative went on, "I think we should set up a separate examination on the theory of communism - probably some time before the final examination, and every student must pass before they are eligible of sitting for the final. We can then expand the scope to be examined - How about having four full-length questions ?"

The discipline master was silent. For a moment, he felt sorry for his students. A minute later, he became convinced the great country should simply employ sociologists to take charge of the nuclear missile project, and, for the same argument, philosophers (or clergy) to be physicians.

Priority

(The meeting continued.)

"You know, the spiritual quality of our physicists is very important," the young Party representative sat down and began.

"Yes, that's for sure," the malicious academic did not try to argue on that point (although he might want to back in his mind), "I know it all began a few years ago, after our university was visited by some extra-terrestrials - I mean those inspectors from the Moscow headquarters. They suggested that we should add an element of spiritual education, or, specifically, Marxism, in our curriculum."

"Exactly, exactly," the Vice Chancellor seemed neither here nor there, or, in layman's term, sitting on the fence.

"That's why we have such a course, and we do make sure they could spell the name of our Party president. Isn't that enough?" The stern man continued.

"Not quite," the white-face Party representative interjected, "Our physicists-for-tomorrow need a thorough understanding of Marxism and its superiority. Otherwise, how could they be loyal to the Soviet Republic and focus the missiles they make to the White House?"

The Discipline Master wished to say if their physicists did really have an in-depth understanding of the system, they may prefer to have The Kremlin as the focus. But, in no time, he swallowed back his idea, cleared his throat, and spoke, "Sir, however high a spiritual standard they have, if our physicists do not have the sufficient scientific knowledge, our missiles could still reach nowhere. Since the capacity of human brain is limited, I would prefer our graduates to be able to remember quantum mechanics rather than the definitions of those spiritual theories."

Meeting

(A story that I probably hallucinated from Milan Kundera.)

During a meeting in a top university of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the Vice Chancellor sighed, "We need more physicist graduates - our country needs to build up its nuclear power."

"We're working on that," the Discipline Master nodded.

"But, look at the result of that written paper from our final year students," the old academic was not at ease, "Most students scored zero - and that's a very important question !"

"Oh, I don't know that bit. What's the question?" The stern academic was obviously surprised.

"What are the definitions of Marxism, communism, and socialism ..." The former murmured.

"Oh ... ah ... eh ..." The latter could not speak - he had a jaw dislocation.

"I think that's serious. In fact, I invited the Party Representative today to join our meeting." The Vice Chancellor continued.

The door opened; in come a young man with a poker face.

(To be continued.)

Finger

My recent bedtime reading is The Red Finger (赤い指) by Keigo Higashino (東野圭吾).

I must say I had the experience of a few other novels by this Japanese author of detective fictions and am not quite impressed. To my surprise, this one is - by whatever standard - exceptionally enjoyable. The story is simple but brilliantly written.

And, for that, Vivian took my recommendation and read it over the weekend - but she was obviously thinking otherwise.

"There's nothing to guess," my wife said.

"Quite true, but that's beyond the point," I tried to sooth her, "Although everyone knows who killed the little girl right from the beginning, it remains enjoyable to see how Kaga Kiyouitirou (加賀恭一郎), the detective in the story, analyzed the clues, made the deduction, and arrived at the conclusion. In a traditional detective story, it is the logical process being important - not the result."

For the same reason, for example, we learn a surgery not by seeing the patient post-operatively, but by joining the surgeon in the theatre.

Wood

On another day, on our way home, Vivian pointed to a lovely tree in the garden, "Look at the lovely red flowers !"

I nodded, "Oh yes, it's the season of Phoenix Wood (鳳凰木)."

(The academic name of the tree is Delonix regia, but the direct translation from Chinese is certainly more poetic.)

"And the tree is everywhere," my wife went on, "I can't really understand why the government should not find a place or two in Hong Kong and plant more tree of this kind; it would actually be an attraction to the tourist. You know, after the Fukushima earthquake, some people suggested our government to try growing some Sakura tree - and you can't think of a more stupid idea. Our climate and soil are just not meant for the cherry blossom. Why shouldn't we focus on our strength but have to waste the effort to do a clumsy imitation?"

I cannot agree more.

PS. Delonix regia is actually not our local plant; it originates from Madagascar. But the idea remains: We should focus on something we are good at. As Hercule Poirot once said to Arthur Hastings, "I would like to see you acting as a first class Hastings, rather than a second-class Poirot."

PPS. Just a flight of idea: Has the other phoenix revived? Or, did it dry up and fall apart?

Over

(Cont'd)

"What's the problem of limiting the working hour - from the perspective of a front line staff ?" I asked.

"Simple, they could not have enough training," my wife explained, "You physicians never have a problem of this kind, at least numerically, but, if you consider a surgical trainee, the college does specify the number of major and minor operations that you perform before they would give you the fellowship, irrespective of the examination result."

"Then...?"

"You see, with the half-day off and all those sophisticated procedures that need an ultra-specialist, trainees nowadays are already having less and less chance to do major surgery and fulfill the college requirement. If the law on maximum working hour comes along, the college may be forced to extend the number of year of training for all trainees in surgery - and possible other procedure-based specialties !"

"Alas, do you mean in the future, if trainees wish to complete their training on time, they have to continue to work during the hours that they are theoretically off duty?"

"Yes, but the problem is, would they get paid during those hours?" Vivian looked grim.

"From the point of view of extra-terrestrials, of course not," I saw her worry now, "You guys fight for the arrangement and talk about patient safety and humanity to doctors. They would insist on the working hour and try their best not to encourage trainees to work overtime by paying anything extra. If a trainees choose to work more, it is his own decision for his own benefit - our friends outside the solar system may not even cover for the medical insurance !"

Hour

During a casual chat, Vivian made a remark, rather suddenly, "You know, many of the front line doctors are seriously re-thinking about our support to LK - our representative in the noble council."

I was surprised. Well, I must say I myself don't need to re-think because I was never LK's supporter. (See http://ccszeto.blogspot.com/2008/08/pips.html, wrote at the time when he was running for the council.) Nonetheless, I could see nothing he was doing wrong recently, and many doctors of the younger generation would, I suspect, need his voice to prevent employing too many overseas graduates by the limited practising licence.

I told my wife what I thought.

And, in no time, she replied, "It's all about the maximum working hour business."

"How could that be? He has been working on that for ages; everyone knows that, and I believe most of the new generation doctors welcome the idea ?" I was slightly incredulous.

"That was the case - until the drawback comes to the surface recently." My wife said.

(To be continued.)

慕容復

I was probably having a flight of idea and went on to think of Murong Fu (慕容復) during that lunch.

Alas, I was merely thinking of the last bit of his story, when Murong was trying to fix up a relationship (or, in reality, alliance) with Duan Yanqing (段延慶). Murong's plan was simple: He would help Duan to become the King of Dali (大理), and, because Duan had no son, the crown would be passed to Murong some years later.

But, all his four loyal staff did not support the idea - and they had very good points: The entire planning, even if it turned out to be successful, would be a disgrace to the old Yan (燕) Kingdom and the Murong family.

What did Fu do? He silenced Bao Butong (包不同), the most outspoken staff of the four, permanently, and sent away the remaining three. Yes, the price was huge, and, since then, Fu had no subordinate. His ingenious plot turned out to be ingenuous, and the crown was never within his reach.

You may ask: What's the difference between Murong Fu and Zhu Yuanzhan?

Substantial. Zhu only killed all the men who helped him after he got everything he wanted; Murong Fu exterminated his long before the aim was reached.

Alas, not only did the latter go not very far; he was actually mad.

蕭何

While my friend was talking about Zhu Yuanzhang, I could not stop thinking of a story of Xiao He (蕭何) - the prime minister of Liu Bang (劉邦).

Here you go:

*****************************

漢十二年秋，黥布反，上自將擊之，數使使問相國何為。相國為上在軍，乃拊循勉力百姓，悉以所有佐軍，如陳豨時。客有說相國曰：「君滅族不久矣。夫君位為相國，功第一，可複加哉？然君初入關中，得百姓心，十餘年矣，皆附君，常複孳孳得民和。上所為數問君者，畏君傾動關中。今君胡不多買田地，賤貰貸以自污？上心乃安。」於是相國從其計，上乃大說。
《史記 卷五十三 蕭相國世家》

The story was simple: While Liu was out for a battle, Xiao was in charge of the capital Chang'an (長安). Although Xiao was loyal, the emperor might not think so. To ease the mind of his boss, Xiao was advised to take advantage of his government position and earn as much money as possible - by every legal and illegal means. And, seeing that his prime minister was only interested in a financial gain, Liu was happily assured.

*****************************

I believe you do not agree with the story. Neither do I. A man interested in money may also be interested in power and building his own empire.

But, the wisdom is correct: If one put too much effort in expanding his own pocket, he would not be able to go very far in his other ambitions.

朱元璋

While the tragic event at Ganshiqiao (甘石橋) in 1630 flashed through my mind, it was actually the last day of two of my friends - GY and JF.

JF wrote to me a day earlier; we decided to lunch together before he left the public sector.

And, by coincidence, my friend kept talking about Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋), or, really, in JF's own words, the mordern version of the Hongwu Emperor.

No, my friend was not talking about the Emperor, but actually his right-hand men whom paved his way to the crown.

• Chang Yuchun (常遇春) died of some acute illness during war - thank goodness.
  
• Hu Weiyong (胡惟庸) was the last chancellor in the history of China; he was sentenced to death for suspected attempt to rebel.
• Li Shan Long (李善長) was the retired chancellor, and was also sentenced to death for supporting Hu.
• Feng Sheng (馮勝), the chief army general, was also executed - apparently for some minor charges.
• Li Wenzhong (李文忠), the deputy army general, was (probably) poisoned by Zhu.
  

And, amongst the six persons who took major roles in the establishment of the Ming Empire, only Xu Da (徐達) died a natural cause.

PS. Don't be paranoid - I don't think you are the modern version of Xu Da.

凌遲

I must say when I wrote the blog yesterday, I had not heard of the story of that Islamic lady recently being stoned to death.

Yes, that's horrible. But, is it the most brutal way of killing someone?

No, we have something better: slow slicing (凌遲).

For those not familiar with Chinese culture, slow slicing is a meticulous way of execution. In essence, the condemned person was killed by using a knife to systemically remove portions of the body over several hours - or sometimes days. (Alas, I'm not referring to some orthopedic surgeon who chops off the toe of a patient one day, has below-knee amputation the day after, and above knee amputation a few days later.) The Chinese term, pronounced as língchí, derives from a classical description of ascending a mountain slowly. In most of the cases, the person would be tied to a wooden frame and the entire process is open to public.

You may ask: What's the difference between throwing stone and slicing?

Substantial. Although the former is also open to public, there is usually no onlooker - everyone is an active participant and takes part in the process of execution. In slow slicing, there is a cheering crowd but only one - usually the officer employed by the government - holds the dagger. Even in the case when the person to be executed is a public enemy, the manic audience would just take part by eating the flesh chopped out - usually raw.

And, as a result, when the so-called criminal is subsequently proved to be innocent (for example, Yuan Chonghuan [袁崇煥]), everyone could still claim their hands are clean.

What an ideal method for a people of coward.

Stone

(The story did not end there. GY wrote to KL two days later.)

Dear KL,

I saw 4 of these students today (except the one who used the i-Phone take my Excel sheet in "secret"). The lady student that sprained her ankle walked in with a clutch, handing in to me her sick leave written by a TCM doctor. She said bone setters (鐵打) worked better for her.

I now can finally recall there should be 1 male and 4 female students in my group. The male students were absent twice in the first two weeks and one of the lady students sprained her ankle this week.

I already informed that similar wording as my e-mail below. Warren told me to send my e-mail content below to Blog so that other students know of it. I do humbly think that this is even more educational and effective than a formal reprimand. However, I shall abide with your kind judgement and decision.

GY

*****************************

Hi GY,

Apologies for the delay because I am still out of town. Please ask my secretary to arrange these students to see me next week. I need to give them a formal warning after I have returned to my office.

Best,
KL (in Oxford)

*****************************

(As always, the response from that malacious nephrologist was late and indirect.)

Dear GY,

I believe you should follow KL's advise and not rely on my indirect means. Social justice should never replace the court order, otherwise we shall soon see people throwing stones to a criminal suspect before sufficient evidence is surmounted.

S

*****************************

But, as you see, I could not resist the temptation of throwing stones.

Cont'd

(The main course is yet to come.)

Dear KL,

I want to formally complain this group of students for their learning attitudes, basically lack of interest and motivation in this SSM project that they chose it by themselves. I have informally complained this to our secretary after the first two meeting with these students.

Furthermore, as I tried to illustrate today on my desktop computer how to do a better clinical research form / data sheet using Excel file sheet from previous year's students' work, one of the lady students actually used her i-Phone to take picture in secrets and the other students were giggling. I have told them sternly that first, there was no need to do this. If they wanted it, I could give it to them and let them copy. There was no need to do this in secret. Second, their attitude of learning is questionable, giggling and childish. The public has expected future doctors highly with some pre-defined standards. It does not seem to me that they are medical students at their end of Third Year. Others third-year students from other Faculties are already looking for jobs before their final examinations.

I am actually worried that I will be treated by these doctors-will-be when I am retired and old, though I have tried my best to teach.

Sincerely, GY.

*****************************

(The above emails were carbon-copied to a few of us. My friend Warren was the first to respond.)

Thanks GY for your sharing.

I am a disciple of market force and I trust that there will be a better knocked-out mechanism if market force sets in (though not yet for the time being).

Warren

SSM

It was the last day of my friend and colleague GY yesterday.

A few weeks before he left, there was an impressive email communication between him and several of us. I promised I would only put it up after he had formally left the university.

Here you go:

********************************

(From a student under GY's supervision of the Special Study Module.)

Dear Doctor,

I am writing to apologize for my absence today at the SSM meeting. It is due to the fact that I twisted my foot on Monday during tennis, so I have not been able to walk since.

I will continue working on our SSM at home and I think the foot will heal by next week.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

With regards, et cetera.

********************************

Dear student,

Many thanks for letting me lately of your absence. As you know this is the third discussion meeting since the start of this project and I have not yet seen you in person.

In addition, there was no reasonable excuse / explanation of your absence in the first two meetings. This has indeed given me an impression that you are not too keen in this project or working as a team with your fellow students. Remember, you and your colleagues chose this topic at your own will as your SSM project. If you're not so interested in it, why did you choose it in the first place since nobody forced you to do so?

Please try to show up in our next scheduled meeting next week, pending confirmation with your other colleagues.

GY