The following is the speech given by Danish Ambassador to China, Mr. Christopher Bo Bramsen, to the Rotary Club of Hong Kong on Tuesday 20 February 2001 at the Furama Hotel Hong Kong, on the occasion of the club's 70th anniversary.

The speech was delivered in the presence of Her Royal Highness, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, formerly Miss Alexandra Christina Manley of Hong Kong:

"Your Royal Highness, President Vernon Moore, fellow Rotarians, ladies and gentlemen.

It is indeed a great pleasure and also an honour for me to speak here today on the 70th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong. On behalf of all the Rotarians in Beijing I would like to add our congratulations to you, and wish you all a very “Happy Birthday”.

The topic of my talk today is “Rotary in China”, and let me begin by saying that the history of Rotary in China goes even further back in time than the history of Rotary in Hong Kong. The first Rotary Club in China was established in Shanghai in 1919 and another club was established in Tianjin shortly afterwards. Both clubs were started by expatriates living in the international concessions. 

It took a bit longer before a club was established in Peking. In 1923, a group of people began to meet on a regular basis. Before they were formally chartered, they called themselves the Thursday Tiffin Club. They held their first meeting on 27 July 1923 on the initiative of Julian Arnold, who was the commercial attaché at the American Legation in Peking. Arnold became the first temporary President of the Tiffin Club and Admiral Tsai ting-Kan became temporary Vice President. Dr. C. T. Wang, who later became foreign minister of China, was also amongst the first members of the club. They communicated with the Rotary International Extension Committee in Chicago, and one year later, in July 1924, Admiral Tsai Ting-Kan, now temporary president, was able to send a formal charter application to R.I. in Chicago.

On 30 August 1924 Rotary International recognized the first Rotary Club of Peking. It had 22 charter members, and met on the 1st and the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Masonic Temple. Over the next 15 years the number of Rotary Clubs in China and Hong Kong reached 11, including the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, established in 1931.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 put a stop to the Rotary Club of Peiping, as it had been called since 1928. The meeting place of the Rotarians, the Wagon Lits Hotel, was taken over by the Japanese, many Rotary members were interned, and the remaining members decided not to meet for some time. 

When the war was over in 1945, the Rotarians began meeting again. The Rotary Club of Peiping was formally re-admitted by Rotary International in August 1946. Of the 58 members, half were Chinese. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the club changed its name back to the Rotary Club of Peking. As you know, China began to close off to outside world, and in 1950 the RC of Peking was practically the only organization of international character still remaining in Peking. One by one the Rotary clubs in the PRC closed down. As the last one, the Rotary Club of Peking closed in June 1951. Outside the mainland however, in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the number of Rotary clubs continued to grow.

When China began to open again to the outside world in 1978, a number of Rotary Clubs from abroad, especially from Hong Kong, Japan and the United States, began to carry out Rotary projects in China and to provide scholarships to Chinese students. Rotary was slowly on its way back into China.

It wasn’t until 1996 that Rotarians began to meet again in China on a regular basis. In June 1996, Hermann Heid, who at that time was a member of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, met with some friends in Beijing to see if it would be possible for expatriate Rotarians in Beijing to meet on a regular basis. Hermann Heid secured the approval of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong to meet as the “Beijing Extension” of the club. 

As a member of the Rotary Club of Copenhagen I joined the newly formed Rotary group in Beijing in September 1996. The group met regularly every Tuesday at 12:30, the same time as the Rotary Club of Hong Kong. This is still the case. In fact, they are meeting right now in Hotel Kempinski in Beijing, the 237th meeting, and are probably toasting the Rotary Club of Hong Kong right now! 

In 1996, we knew that we were not a proper club, but Hermann Heid insisted that we should try to follow all the rules of Rotary. New members of the group were proposed and inducted, primarily as members of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, but also of other clubs in Hong Kong and Macao. Rotarians from abroad moved to Beijing and joined our group. We invented our own banner, admittedly somewhat provocative: It said “The Rotary Club of Beijing” with the small words in front: “Striving to be”. We were now active in a number of projects in China, and managed to collect substantial funds for these projects. We had – and continue to have - many guests and speakers, including many Chinese citizens. We exchanged banners with visiting Rotarians and were happy to adhere to all the rules and traditions followed by Rotary clubs all over the world.

In June 1998 we celebrated our 2nd anniversary and our 100th meeting. We were presented with the original bell from the Rotary Club of Peking from 1925, which had for many years functioned as a door stop here in Hong Kong. It would belong to us once we became a proper club.

In September 1998 a large group of Rotarians from my home club, the Rotary Club of Copenhagen, visited China. This club, established in 1921, is the oldest Rotary Club in Scandinavia. Together we signed an agreement stipulating that once the Rotary Club of Beijing was formalized, the two clubs would formally enter a friendship club agreement. 

At this time we had acquired many supporters around the world. There were, however, also some Rotarians who objected to the fact that Rotarians met in Beijing with banners and speakers, without having formally been established as a club.

From some quarters we were even called “renegades”. In October 1998, the Board of Rotary International in Evanston decided to take a firm stand and reiterated their general policy, that “there shall be no formal extension of Rotary into non-rotary countries without the prior explicit approval by the RI Board.” Then came the explicit warning: “Any Rotary club that encourages or assists in the establishment of a new Rotary Club in the People’s Republic of China without the consent of the RI Board will be considered to be in violation of RI policy. Violations of Rotary policy regarding extension into The People’s Republic of China may subject the offender to disciplinary action, up to and including the revocation of a club’s charter.” It was then added: “RI policy does not prohibit groups of former Rotarians in the People’s Republic of China from meeting on an informal, non-recognized basis”. 

In Beijing we did not know anything about this decision but the message was passed to the Rotary Club of Hong Kong. You now found yourself in a precarious and even risky position. In February 1999 the Rotary Club of Hong Kong decided to tighten the rules of how we should conduct our meetings in Beijing - no longer as a Beijing extension, but as “fellowship meetings”. 

On 12 April 1999, our group in Beijing finalized a document, a kind of “white paper”, on how Rotary could get back into China. In the paper we suggested that the group in Beijing should be granted a provisional club status, thereby paving the way for the proper entry of Rotary into China. 

Three days later we received a new set of guidelines from our friends here in the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, spelling out that we could not do anything without the explicit approval of this club. Our white paper, advocating how to introduce Rotary into China, literally became a "non-paper" overnight. 

In August 1999 the RI President Carlo Ravizza wrote an article in the Rotarian Magazine about Rotary and China. He emphasized that the Chinese Government had not yet approved the establishment of Rotary clubs in China. On this background he cautioned all clubs that “violation of R.I. policy on extension into China could result in disciplinary action, up to and including the revocation of the club’s charter.” This renewed pressure from Evanston made the Rotary Club of Hong Kong tighten the rules governing our existence even further. A new set of guidelines were communicated to us on 15 August 1999. These new rules were summarized as follows: “Your meetings must in no way resemble Rotary meetings”!

This was too much for the group of Rotarians in Beijing, many of whom, like myself, were not members of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, but of other clubs. We understood the pressure that the Rotary Club of Hong Kong was facing, from R.I. and from District 3450, but we found that the new restrictions were too drastic.

Finally, it was decided to have a meeting here in Hong Kong to work things out. On 6 October 1999, 4 Rotarians from Beijing, Peter Finamore, Tan Loong Keat, Russ Miller and myself, came to Hong Kong to meet with the board and advisors of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, as well as representatives from Rotary District 3450.

Some of the Hong Kong participants called us renegades and we were, in fact, almost ready to cut our ties with Hong Kong, if that was the only way out, and establish a separate Tiffin Club. We also knew, however, that the Rotary Club of Hong Kong was in a precarious situation. On one hand trying to support its fellowship group in Beijing, and on the other hand having to respect R.I.’s China policy, carefully guarded by representatives of District 3450.

In the end we did come to an agreement, which all parties concerned could live with. We were to call ourselves “The Beijing Fellowship Group of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong”. No president or vice-presidents, but chairmen and vice-chairmen. No banners, except the banner of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, no proper attendance cards, no independent funds, no decision without the approval of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, etc. We did not get everything we wanted, but we realized that if we wanted to keep our links to the Rotary Club of Hong Kong, this was the best result. And we have, in fact, followed these agreed rules during the last year and a half, patiently using our long name, “The Beijing Fellowship Group of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong”. 

We have one chairman and two vice-chairman. Hermann Heid was our first chairman, and other experienced Rotarians have led our group over the last years, including Peter Finamore, Tan Loong Keat and Russ Miller, our present chairman. From July 1st, Jens Dreier, one of the founding members, will take over the group.

The first vice-chairman, a post which I have held since July 1999, has always been elected from the Rotarians who are not members of our “mother club”, the Rotary Club of Hong Kong. From the 1st of July, the next first vice-chairman will be the Ambassador of Switzerland, and I will be leaving China to become Ambassador of Denmark to Spain.

After our reconciliatory meeting in October 1999 here in Hong Kong, the messages from RI continued to be clear enough. At the President’s Conference 2000 in February, one year ago, also here in Hong Kong, Russ Miller asked the following question from the floor to R.I. President Carlo Ravizza: “What can the BFG do to provide support to R.I. with respect to China?” President Carlos’ answer was short: “The BFG can do nothing to help R.I.” The answer brought silence to the entire room. 

Later during the conference Russ Miller had the opportunity to give a short presentation on the work carried out by the Rotarians in Beijing. He closed his representation by extending his hand to the R.I. President in friendship and on behalf of the BFG and of the many Chinese friends of the BFG membership, emphasizing that “China will not extend the hand of Friendship to Rotary, until Rotary is ready to extend the hand of friendship to China”. Russ Miller was able to change the mood and many Rotarians congratulated him on his clear and visionary statement. President Carlo came over to him and said “Sometimes we all need to listen more, and I thank you”.

With new leaders in Evanston, signals from the RI headquarters now began to change - from utter irritation over the mere existence of the BFG, to a sincere interest in using our experience and expertise on the issue of re-establishing Rotary in China. Our “white paper” and our views found their way into the top circles of Rotary. In the spring of last year, through advisors to the then RI President-nominee, Rick King, we were asked if we could pave the way for a high-level R.I. visit to China in November 2000. We were ready to do so, and we agreed that I should head a small team to put forward some recommendations to this end. I gave the team the nickname “Rotary In China by King,” in short “the RICK team”. Russ Miller, our Chinese advisor Wu Jiahuang, and I met with top officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. We then worked out a strategy, which was approved by Rick King. We were then able to secure an invitation for an R.I. delegation to visit China in November 2000 issued, not by some charity institution or organization, but by the Chinese Government itself. The invitation, approved by the State Council and issued in October 2000, was extended to President-elect Rick King as head of the delegation and to seven other high-ranking RI leaders, including the President-nominee, Bhichai Rattakul, former vice-premier of Thailand, and your own Past District Governor Dom Vessigault. It took time to produce the invitation, but when it was finally there, it was a real break-through. 

Having heard the news, that the next two R.I. Presidents were going to China, R.I. President Frank Devlyn asked us, if he could be added to the list of the R.I. delegation. Through some complicated diplomatic manoeuvres we managed also to have President Frank included in the R.I. visit to China.

As you may know, the R.I. visit turned out to be a great success. It differed from earlier Rotary visits in three ways:

* For the first time, the R.I. leadership was invited to pay an official visit to China by the Chinese Government, approved by the State Council.

* R.I. was represented by a very powerful delegation, led by three consecutive leaders, the President of R.I., the President-elect and the President-nominee.

* The purpose of the visit was not to go into details about concrete Rotary projects, but to discuss the possibilities of re-introducing Rotary as an organization in China, and to make contacts with the most important Chinese authorities and organizations in this regard. 

At different occasions the members of the delegations met with a number of high level Chinese leaders, including Vice-Premier Li Lanqing, State Councilor Ismail Amat, Vice-minister of Civil Affairs, Li Baoku, Chairman of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, Deng Pufang (son of Deng Xiaoping), and Yan Mingfu, Chairman of China Charity Federation and former Minister of Civil Affairs.  (I deliberately do a bit of name-dropping here, as some skeptics in Hong Kong at that time were questioning, whether we had been able to secure the right level of Chinese leaders).

L to R: RI President-Elect Rick King and wife Cherie, during their visit to China,  pictured  with Ivan Polacek of the Shanghai Fellowship Group.

State Councilor Amat summarized the importance of the visit when he said: “Your visit will lead to an increased mutual understanding and will build the base for the future cooperation between Rotary and China”. 

During the preparations and during the visit itself, the members of the BFG were happy to serve as a bridge between Evanston and Beijing. On both sides there were misconceptions and some distrust. It did take a good amount of diplomacy, based on our experience in China, to clear a number of misconceptions and to explain to both sides how Rotary could gradually be integrated in China. On the agenda was the pending legislation on foreign NGO’s in China, and how Rotary could get back into China on step-by-step basis.

The R.I. leaders also met with the BFG and listened to our views, why we should be granted provisional club status. As President Vernon will recall from our get-togethers in Beijing, the visiting R.I. leaders were very supportive to our views. 

Today the BFG consists of 52 members, of which 37 are members of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong. New groups, having been established by former BFG members, are now also meeting regularly in Shanghai and Dalian. 

So here we are today. Steps have been taken to bring Rotary back into China. 

On behalf of the many Rotarians in Beijing I would like to use this opportunity to thank you all for the support you have given us over the last five years. We know that this was not always an easy task. 

President Vernon and dear Rotarians.

All the members of the BFG in Beijing hope, that the establishment of a Provisional Rotary Club of Beijing will take place in the near future. This would mean that the formal links between our BFG and the Rotary Club of Hong Kong would disappear. However, in order to keep a special relationship to your club, I have been asked by the Fellowship Group in Beijing to propose to you today that our two clubs sign a formal friendship agreement, once we are granted provisional club status. This proposal is an expression of gratitude towards our friends here in Hong Kong - from your friends up north, who are still “striving to be” the Rotary Club of Beijing. Thank you all."


Footnote: The Beijing & Shanghai "Fellowship Groups" were each granted Provisional Rotary Club status by the Rotary International Board on 16 June 2001.

(To go back to the KGM Main Page, just click on the "X" on the
top right-hand corner of this screen !)