My recent sojourn in France caused me to miss out the president’s dinner of the Chinese Business Chamber (CBC). Year in year out, I was always present to the annual function of the chamber to which I belong. On my return, my friends told me that the dinner was an exceptional one this year. Each year, it was the opportunity to listen to an overseas guest speaker. I recalled the addresses of Mrs. Moni Lai Stor, who spoke of ‘Chineseness’ and Ms.Peng Wen Lan who shared with us her life story of an overseas born Chinese to become the top TV telecaster of CCTV in China. This year, a Mauritian member of the Chinese community addressed the CBC on the theme of Hard Work.

Some time ago, in my earlier blog days, I wrote the story of my wife’s father in June 2006: ‘les tribulations des immigrants venus a Maurice’. Chief Justice Bernard Sik Yuen speech this year is much alike the story I wrote before. I was glad to have been able to read the speech on the website of the CBC.

My mathematics training generates the following formula: N + P = H W

Necessity coupled with Perseverance seems to yield Hard Work. May my fellow

Co-members of CBC understand and practice the formula especially when ‘Necessity’ in today’s context has loss its potency in comparison with our fore father’s days in the last century and ‘Perseverance’ is not a common value in the zapping world of today.