Oxygen and monks

Sometimes I get a writing shock. And now and then I even get a philosophical impulse. The more I hear and read about Tibet and the Olympics, the more I’m amazed at how few people dare to take a stand. I think I haven’t heard a single sound from the side of the meetings industry but I do hear that the Olympics have a stimulating effect on incentive trips. I’m not so sure about the effect on meetings. People say that in China a 100 convention centres are being built. I hope that there’s at least one where a congress on Tibet can be organised. Meanwhile I’ll suggest the theme:
‘People who clear out forests and jungles take away the oxygen of the earth. Forests are nature’s lungs.
Governments that clear out monasteries take away the spirit of the earth. Monasteries are the spiritual breath on earth.
Whoever touches these sources and values can count on an answer from nature because the earth can always overpower mankind.’

The Hong Kong Sisters

It's been almost 15 years since I last visited Hong Kong. In the late eighties, early nineties, Hong Kong was the most trendy congress city in the world. Later on, that became Singapore, and now it is Dubai. And, who knows, it may be Kota Kinabalu in a few years. The meetings industry is also subject to fashion! Honestly, I'm not indifferent to it myself. Last week in La Monnaie, when I was enjoying the introductory performance by Candy Nip and Mandy Wong (photo), representatives of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, I was filled with nostalgia for the Pearl River Delta. What a sense of humour they have! I'll call them the Hong Kong Sisters from now on. We celebrated the tenth anniversary of the reunification of Hong Kong with China (1997). Before, people could just say Hong Kong, now that sounds a bit more lengthy: Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Never pass on the opportunity if there's a show of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in your neighbourhood, especially the Contemporary Dance ‘Memory’! A wonderful dance that is! Out of all the speeches I've heard, I've remembered one thing: after the reunification, Hong Kong has become the best gangway between Europe and China. First go to Hong Kong and then to China! One country, two systems.