Sunday, Nov. 14 —
In 1997, just before the onset of the Asian financial crisis, Hanson Cheah and James Yao co-founded AsiaTech Ventures Ltd. Their timing, in retrospect, was perfect.
Cheah and Yao are among a new, young breed of venture capitalists who see Asia as a fertile ground for technology entrepreneurs. They’re putting investors’ money where their ideas are, and the results so far have been spectacular — major-league returns in several of their funds.
I met with Cheah, Yao and several of their colleagues here in Hong Kong, and came away impressed with their abilities and accomplishments. Find out more in my Sunday column, one element in the Mercury News’ quarterly Money Tree venture capital survey.
Two Views of Hong Kong
Sunday, Nov. 14 —
For the fourth or fifth time since arriving in Hong Kong I walked from my residence at the university to Victoria Peak, the famous summit that overlooks central Hong Kong, the harbor and Kowloon. It’s an easy hike, just under two miles up a not-too-steep road and pathway, ideal for a little exercise and reflection.
The view from the peak is a scene from a postcard. It’s best, everyone says, when the air is clear. I haven’t seen such a day yet. Hong Kong’s pollution could eventually become as famous as its spectacular backdrops if the powers-that-be don’t get serious, soon, about the increasingly dismal air quality. Downtown, some pedestrians wear cloth or gauze filters over their mouth and nose as they walk amid the buses, trucks and cars that spew garbage into the air.
On a sunny Sunday, even the haze and smog can’t ultimately ruin the view. Boats make their way in seeming slow motion around the harbor. Looking down onto the skyscrapers, no people are visible, only a magnificent city.
Central Hong Kong is bursting with people each Sunday. Most of them are Filipino women. They are maids and nannies six days a week, and Sunday is their day off.
Many of these women are highly educated and held professional positions back home. But the economy in the Philippines is a mess, and they can make much more money as maids in well-to-do Chinese and expatriate households. So they leave their skilled jobs to come here for work that is, by comparison, menial. They also leave their husbands and children for months on end, to work and live in a culture that regards and often treats them with disrespect. They are making the best of an unfair situation, but their choices are cruel.
The women come to the square next to the domed legislature building, and to other gathering places downtown. They visit with each other. They do some shopping. They read. They line up at the pay phones to call home. They have nowhere else to go today.
I see sadness and loneliness in many eyes.