A man of many hats - but not green
Carmen Cheung, Hong Kong iMail in Urumqi
UNMARRIED or not, there was no way Richard Li Tzar-kai was going to wear a green hat - traditional symbol of a cuckolded husband.
While most members of Hong Kong's ``Go West'' delegation accepted the hats, handed out by Uygur dancers at a ceremony in Xinjiang yesterday, Mr Li refused his.
``I won't wear one and I will never wear one,'' the Pacific Century CyberWorks chief replied with a smile, when asked why he rejected it even though he is still single.
While Chinese custom holds that if a wife is having an affair she gives her husband a green hat, Uygurs customarily hand out green or gold hats to male guests and purple ones to women. A nearby delegate who had received a gold hat quickly handed it to Mr Li, who donned it for photographs before putting it on the table in front of him.
It happened after the delegation had visited Grape Valley in the Flaming Mountains, northeast of Turpan City, known for cultivation of sweet grapes to be eaten or made into wine.
About 100 colourfully dressed dancers performed for the delegation in an open garden. While some kept dancing, others carried trays of hats for the delegates. The first two went to delegation leader Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang Yam-kuen - who accepted a green hat - and his wife, who were in the front row. Mr Li and Director-General of Trade and Industry Joshua Law Chi-kong, sitting side-by-side in the back row, both refused their hats.
When the dancers invited delegates to join them, Mr Tsang went out to join them for a few minutes, but Mr Li - who joined the delegation only for the final stage of its 10-day tour and has kept a low profile despite being hotly pursued by journalists, stayed seated. Not so retiring was flamboyant Chinachem chairwoman Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum who joined in the fun wearing a red and white spotted mini-skirt.
Mr Li, who joined the delegates in the Sichuan capital, Chengdu, half a day before they flew to Urumqi in Xinjiang, said he had told the government ``from day one'' that he could only take part in the last stage.
The second son of Li Ka-shing fielded most questions politely, but refused to answer any about his company's beleaguered share price, which languished last week at $2.70. Asked what businesses he was interested in on his first trip to Xinjiang, Mr Li said: ``I have come here to see. I need time to study and have yet to consider what to invest in.''
The tourism industry in western China is expected to receive a boost after a direct flight from Hong Kong to Urumqi is launched on June 23. The route will be run by Xinjiang Airlines. At present, Hong Kong people go to Urumqi via Chengdu or Xian. Dragonair plans a similar flight next summer.
Carmen Cheung
29 May 2001 / 01:54 AM
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