Mighty man gives hacks the big slip
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
CHARLOTTE PARSONS
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In business, the mighty don't fall. They just get kind of elusive.
Take Richard Li Tzar-kai. In better share-price times, the PCCW chief would stride out of EGMs and field questions from the waiting press. Or at least get one of his executive sidekicks to do it.
But not any more.
The chairman wasn't even expected to show up for yesterday's meeting. On Monday night, his public relations squad warned reporters that Richard would be out of town during the meeting on the alliance with Telstra.
So reporters were surprised to see that Richard was indeed presiding over the meeting nine floors above them. The press had been relegated to a video-linked room on the fifth floor.
In less than five minutes the EGM was over, and question-armed journos rushed for the lifts. But security guards blocked their path. And reporters who did get past them were ordered to surrender themselves from the lift.
As trapped hacks argued with their captors, PCCW's PR head came out to defuse tensions.
"You poor guys," she soothed. "Let's go to 14/F to have some refreshments."
By then, refreshments were all that remained. There wasn't an executive or shareholder in sight.
Refusing to give up, some reporters camped out in front of the office tower hoping to collar Richard as he headed lunchward.
No luck. Word has it he was holed up in the PCCW bunker eating roast goose or some such dish, prepared by a personal chef.
He must have been feeling defensive yesterday, what with his shares hitting an all-time low.
Let's just hope the chef had the sense not to ask him whether he thought his goose was cooked.
Sparkling gesture: It's that time of year again. The party supply has dried up, the temperature has dropped, and the Christmas gift credit card bills are pouring in.
This is when a lot of people find their spirits are in need of a lift. Except at the Mandarin Oriental, where the opposite is true. Their lift is in need of spirits.
Well. Champagne, at any rate.
Half the lifts at the posh hotel are out of commission while they're being replaced with newer, faster models.
That means passengers are facing longer-than-usual waits. But the Mandarin's general manager has seen to it that nobody minds. He's throwing little lift parties.
Champagne and canapes are being served in elevator lobbies to pass the time.
Lai See asked the hotel whether they had been plagued by random freeloaders.
"Well, some people do wait in the lobby and let a few lifts go," she said.
Excellent.
For some time now, Lai See has been meaning to go to that hotel to inspect the carpeting of its various floors.
But maybe that's not such a great idea after all.
A few too many ups and downs, and we're liable to end up conducting our inspections from a distance of one inch.
Promises, promises: We better pass along these celebrity New Year's resolutions while it's still January. They came to us courtesy of the Top Five gang:
David Letterman/Jay Leno: Send quarterly payments to Satan for the Bush presidency.
Calista Flockhart (aka Ally McBeal): Shed that extra quarter pound gained during holiday season from eating that half stick of summer sausage.
Catherine Zeta-Jones: Figure out how to get that "old person smell" out of everything I own.
George W. Bush: Learn one presidential-type thing every day, starting with memorising my Beers of the World poster.
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