HK HORNS
Enhance public’s understanding of and interest in UT o Re-ignite the passion of old members o Recruit new members o Provide opportunities to UT alumni to network in Hong Kong o Serve UT o Have Fun!
| A Triannual Newsletter |
Issue No. 2 (Summer 2012)
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CIBER Summer Program Students in Hong Kong
This year, 58 students came to Hong Kong in June, together with 2 staffers and 2 professors. HKTX has organized 2 events for the alumni and students to meet
Design of Longhorn-Shaped Stylized “HKTX” Logo
“When I went to Austin last October to attend my MBA reunion, I realized that a lot of logos were “inspired” by our school’s Longhorn logo…
The Phoenix in China – Fenghuang
“There are two common types of articles about various ancient cities in China. One praises how well the old towns are preserved that even erecting a wire pole is forbidden. The other talks about authentic food and modern nightlife within nicely restored hundred-year-old buildings…”
Those Were the Days
Earlier this month, we invited you (our alumni) to submit photographs…
August Happy Hour
On August 17, we had another Happy Hour Gathering at Prive. We had more than a dozen of alumni and friends joining the party. To our surprises, a number of new faces have shown up. We all had a good time at the venue…
Editorial Board
- Winson Chan
- Celine Lok
- Victor K. Nip
Letter from the President
Dear members,
Four months ago we published our first newsletter. The response from the members has been exceptional. Many members appreciated our effort and its quality. The Executive Committee is very glad about that. As planned, we are publishing our second newsletter this month. I hope that you will enjoy this issue even more than the first one.
Last time I asked for your help in our activities that we would organize for the students of the CIBER programs from our university. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the alumni and friends who participated in the two activities. Their participation was very important and was appreciated by the Executive Committee, the staff of CIBER programs, and the students alike. I hope they had enjoyed meeting the students, too.
We have a number of activities lined up for the rest of the year. In September, we will have a casual dinner. In October, we will have a hiking event. In November, we will have our annual Thanksgiving Dinner. And during the football season, we will organize live watching parties whenever viable. These activities are all organized for you and I would like you to participate whenever possible.
Lastly, I would like to ask for your involvement in our next newsletter. At the beginning of the month, we invited our members to submit articles and photos for this newsletter. We will continue to need your contribution in the third issue. You may start exploring your old photo albums or the bottom of your drawers to find some interesting pictures of your school lives at UT for submission, or write about a topic you are interested in to let the other members enjoy. We will reward the alumnus who submits the best photo, and souvenirs will be given to those who submit the articles that we choose to publish.
Again, enjoy this newsletter, and may the ‘Horns be with y’all!
Victor K. Nip
CIBER Summer Program Students in Hong Kong
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| Alumni, CIBER Program students, and CIBER staff outside the Chinese restaurant after lunch on June 9 |
Each summer the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) sends about 200 graduate and undergraduate business students abroad to take classes, go on company visits, become exposed to international business practices, etc., in Hong Kong, Paris, Prague, and Edinburgh. CIBER sends about 60 Accounting and Supply Chain Management majors to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the students take two business related courses and live at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) for approximately 5 weeks.
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| CIBER Summer Program students and staff, alumni, and friends mixing together at the Happy Hour on June 27 |
This year, 58 students came to Hong Kong in June, together with 2 staffers and 2 professors. HKTX has organized 2 events for the alumni and students to meet.
On June 9, we had a visit to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum followed by a dim sum lunch in the Grand Capital Banquet Hall. 78 people, including 2 kids and one baby, joined the event. With that, it is the second most-participated event of the history of HKTX (only second to the National Championship watching party with USC).
On June 27, we had a Special Happy Hour Gathering with the students at Prive in Central. Participation from the students was a bit below our expectation because of the presentations that the SCM students had to do in the following day. Nonetheless all participants enjoyed the venue and the gathering very much.
The study abroad programs will continue next year. The Exco looks forward to meeting some new students.
To learn more about the CIBER International Summer Programs, and to see the pictures of last year’s events with the CIBER groups, go to hktx.org/nl0102 or scan the QR code at the end of the newsletter, and follow the links there.
Design of Longhorn-Shaped Stylized “HKTX” Logo
– Victor K. Nip
When I went to Austin last October to attend my MBA reunion, I realized that a lot of logos in Austin were “inspired” by our school’s Longhorn logo. I saw so many of them that I decided to make one of my own with the idea that it would comprise of a few simple polygons with the letters “H” and “K”, representing Hong Kong, forming the head of the longhorn. I was not sure what I wanted or could do with such a design. I just thought it would be fun.
When I came back to Hong Kong, I drew my design with four triangles and 1 rectangle, all in burnt orange. Two of the triangles have parts carved out to make them look like the letters “H” and “K” and these two triangles were almost mirror images of each other:
The design somehow gives a very different feeling than how the Longhorn logo does. After comparing the design with the Longhorn logo, I thought the ears might be the reason. Recognizing that adding ears to the triangles that imitate the horns would still make the polygons simple enough, the design was changed to as follows:
At this point, I realized that the two polygons that imitate the horns and ears look like an “X” together. Also, the space between the rectangle and the “H” and “K” triangles look like a “T”. So now we have the letters “H”, K”, “T”, and “X” all in the design. However, the “T” is too different as it is white and thin while all other letters are burnt orange and bold. I looked for a change to make the 4 letters consistent. I thought I could achieve this by altering the rectangle into a slightly more complex polygon that looks like a flattened “T”, and also make way for this change by changing the “H” and “K” triangles. So, I came up with this design:
I felt pretty good with this design. Without having in mind what we could do with it, I took the design to our Exco meeting for brainstorming. The comment from the Exco was that it was unclear whether the shape was a ram or a longhorn. I tried a few changes and found that the flatter were the horns the more the design looked like a longhorn, and the steeper were the horns the more the design looked like a ram. So, I flattened the “X” as much as possible while keeping it look like an “X” instead of a “π”
I have shown the final design to a number of alumni and the feedback was very positive. While there is no intention to replace Ted (Texas Exes Dragon or horned-dragon logo) as the official logo, the Exco and I see there are instances where we may want to use it as an alternative logo in our merchandise or perhaps uniform in special occasion. This is because it involves only 1 color, making it more economical to print than the Ted logo.
Do you have any opinion about the design? Let us know!
Victor K. Nip graduated from UT in 1996 with a master’s degree in Business Administration. He cofounded HKTX. The designs were made with CorelDRAW X5 and the software is properly licensed.
The Phoenix in China – Fenghuang
– Carl Sung
morning mist
There are two common types of articles about various ancient cities in China. One praises how well the old towns are preserved that even erecting a wire pole is forbidden. The other talks about authentic food and modern nightlife within nicely restored hundred-year-old buildings. My first impression of Fenghuang (鳳凰古城) is neither of the two. After five hours of bus ride, the first scene I saw was around fifty ladies in sharp sporty outfit lined up in a matrix formation doing aerobics to loud and vibrant music. It never occurred to me that an historical town could be so up-beat and progressive. A few more steps further, a stunning panoramic view of the old town came into sight. Every ancient city has a river running through, and Fenghuang is no exception. Antiquated boats move slowly on the jade green water of Tuojiang river (沱江) that bisects the city with bridges linking the two sides. Contrary to the grid street plan often observed in modern cities, the town is organized in rows of two-to-three-storied houses sparsely connected by some irregular alleys across the rows. The dwellings still have features inherited from the Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties. Clusters of buildings with distinctive “hanging foot” style (吊腳樓) packed at certain areas along the shoreline. I did not stop there for long before quickly picking an inn to offload my heavy backpack.
Fenghuang is famous not only because it is a well-preserved ancient city in Hunan (湖南) province, but also because it is where the story of the renowned novel Biancheng (邊城) written by the great writer Chen Congwen (沈從文) happened. However, if you come to Fenghuang aiming for picking up the pieces of the tale, you will probably be disappointed. Like other old towns in China, under the restored ancient roof tiles are scores of shops selling tourist souvenirs and snacks. The residents are vendors and inn owners migrated from all around the country. Genuine locals are rarely seen, not to mention the long lost old-fashioned fishermen families in the books. Stepping on the square stone-tiled streets, I started my exploration. An ancient city gate and a segment of historical city wall with a tower are two of the most prominent tourist attractions. Visitors interested in history and literature would go to the former residences of Xiong Xiling (熊希齡) and Chen Congwen. When the night falls, people begin to float flowers and paper boats lit by candles on the river, backdropped with illumination on the banks and the bridges, making quite a romantic view. A gang of youngsters gathered in the passage under the tower and sang any song any passerby picks. The crowd grew from a handful to dozens as bystanders turned into performers. For a moment, it feels like it is a world without strangers when people from different countries and backgrounds joined the sing-along. Back to reality, one thing I hate about a commercialized old city is the nightlife. Ear-popping music from discos and bars and shouting from wasted bar-hoppers ruin the entire historical atmosphere. Fortunately, the noise subsided by midnight.
Early morning is perhaps your best bet for having a glimpse of how Fenghuang was decades ago. Normally busy river traffic came to a rest. Gazing out from the riverside room I stayed, the far end was covered by morning mist and the only moving thing I saw was the water. Meanwhile, I could hear people chatting and wooden stick knocking in distance even though the mist blocked most of the other side of the river. I wondered if I had gone psychotic as my eyes were looking at something very tranquil yet my ears were listening to something hectic. Not knowing how much time has passed, I was deep in thought until a small boat slowly broke through the mist. The mist did not recede until the sun emerged. I eventually saw a few women at the riverbank doing laundry in the old-fashioned way by hammering clothes with wooden poles.
Before heading out for breakfast, I finally got a chance to speak to the inn owner. Knowing I was from Hong Kong, he started telling the story about his work life as an electronic factory worker in Guangzhou (廣州), how his salary rose from hundreds to thousands along the years, and how he ended up putting all his savings in the accommodation operations in Fenghuang. I guessed this is the story of many current residents there: saving money from working overtime in factories, finding a place they like, then settling down at the place and starting a small business. Before leaving Fenghuang, I decided to pay a visit to perhaps the most famous restaurant in the area – Ambassador Restaurant (大使飯店). There were two takeaways: the first was the famous duck blood cake (血粑鴨) lived up to the reputation; the second was the minimum order is too big for one person.
If you are looking for a place with historical architecture and things left behind by historic figures in China, Fenghuang is one of your top destinations. If you are looking for a city that runs in an old-fashioned way, you would better find somewhere else.
Carl Sung graduated from UT in 2003 with a master’s degree in Business Administration. He joined the Exco HKTX in 2004. He is now the Treasurer of HKTX. He visited Fenghuang in 2009.
To see more pictures Carl’s trip, go to hktx.org/nl0102 or scan the QR code at the end of the newsletter, and follow the links there.
Those Were the Days
Earlier this month, we invited you (our alumni) to submit photographs of UT, the city of Austin, your lives in Austin, or your gatherings with other Longhorns in Hong Kong for the newsletter. The objective is to let us all share our memories among ourselves. We cannot say we have a lot of submission, but we do have something to share here which we are sure are very interesting.
This photo was taken during a retreat hosted by Hyde Park Baptist Church. It was a good getaway and everyone was happy.
Friends of Celine Lok were playing Dance Dance Revolution in her home as a happy Friday night gathering in the 1998/99 timeframe. How fun!
Starting from the left: Patrick Chan, Kevin Chan, Winson Chan, and Kyle Kwok. The photo was taken in 2003 at Mikado Ryotei, a Japanese restaurant on Research Blvd. Four lads dining at a romantic Japanese restaurant? Not likely! They were there for a cute waitress called Wing Chow. More photos like this please!!! To clear any doubt, the Chans are not brothers.
At the price of USD2 for donation to a fraternity, you can use an ax to chop an unwanted car. Even eye protection was provided. This photo was taken on a Saturday in April 1995 near the UT Tower.
On the Sixth Street where many Austinites get drunk at night, the street in the day can be peaceful and beautiful.
Victor Nip with his roommates in Texas Union in an HKSA activity back in April 1995. In the middle was Tony Chau from Macau and on the right was Thomas Zheng from Guangzhou/Solomon Islands.
The birthday boy, David Long, was expecting yet unwilling to have a birthday “surprise” to be thrown into the pool as part of the birthday celebration. It was a lot of fun (for the friends). Everybody was wet at the end.
Taken on the same day as Photo #4 next to the Gregory Gym, two MPA students from Hong Kong, Angela Chan and Kan Li, sumo-wrestled each other. Both ended up having a lot of fun rolling on the ground.
August Happy Hour
On August 17, we had another Happy Hour Gathering at Prive. We had more than a dozen of alumni and friends joining the party. To our surprises, a number of new faces had shown up. The participants all had a good time at the venue.
The gathering was scheduled to end at 9pm. However, most of the participants stayed until 10:30 when the clubbing hour of the venue started with loud music. Instead of going home, most of the participants just moved to the Tsui Wah Restaurant nearby to enjoy some more chats. Finally, everybody went home at around midnight.
To see more pictures of the event, go to hktx.org/nl0102 or scan the QR code at the end of the newsletter, and follow the links there.
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| Our alumni and friends enjoying dinner together after they left the original venue |
Upcoming Activities
- September: Casual Dinner
- October: Hiking
- November: Thanksgiving Dinner
HKTX Merchandise
We have been auctioning off Longhorn merchandise for years to raise funds for our club. Our auctions create a win-win-win situation where our members get the Longhorn merchandise that they love, UT gets the normal profits on the sale, and HKTX earns the rest of the profits to subsidize other activities. Now, we have merchandise with our very own HKTX logo Ted (Texas Exes Dragon)!
Our old supplier has increased the price significantly. Fortunately, we found another supplier which offers the old price we paid for the coffee mug. So, here is our offer:
Coffee mug: HK$100
Write to us at hongkong@alumni.utexas.net if you are interested in our merchandise. The small profit on the sale of our merchandise will help us in the running of the club.
Final Words
Again, we hope that you enjoyed reading this newsletter, or at least find this newsletter informative. If you have any comments about this newsletter, please do not hesitate to write to us at hongkong@alumni.utexas.net.
We also would like to urge you to contribute articles or photos for the next issue. It can be any news that you want to share with our fellow alumni. If you want to tell them about your business in the form of an advertisement, we can work that out, too. The next issue will be published in December. Until then, may the ‘Horns be with y’all!
Contact Hong Kong Texas Exes
Phone / WhatsApp: +852 6481 6005
Email: hongkong@alumni.utexas.net
Website: https://hktx.org/
Facebook: https://hktx.org/facebook
LinkedIn: https://hktx.org/linkedin
Photos: https://hktx.org/photos
Links in this Newsletter
To visit the links in this newsletter, you may visit hktx.org/nl0102 instead of typing the URL’s in your browser yourself. Alternatively, you may scan the following QR Code:
