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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

A Faded Photo II

  1. FADE IN.


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. STUDY - 17:00


  4. PETER is in thoughts.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Have felt the international pulse on copyright norms in Stanford in 1991, I strived to finalise my recommendations on the reform of Hong Kong's copyright law.


  6. Recalling.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): By Autumn that year, I became Acting Deputy Principal Crown Counsel of the Attorney General's Chambers.


  8. Recalling.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At the same time, the 1st Director of Intellectual Property Alice Tai offered me the post of Acting Assistant Director of Intellectual Property. I was hesitant to accept it, as I got no immediate benefit.


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Soon came the tipping point.


  12. Pausing.


  13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Alice remarked that if I joined the Intellectual Property Department early, I'd become the Hong Kong Delegate to the UK Delegation to WIPO.


  14. Act 2


  15. FLASHBACK


  16. INT. WIPO HEADQUARTERS, GENEVA - SPRING (1992)


  17. Conference hall. Hundreds of DELEGATES. Sitting behind a sign plate: Royaume Uni, Peter (38) focuses on the SECRETARIAT on stage.


  18. PETER (V.O.): The conference is about Members' positions on possible WIPO Internet Treaties.


  19. The DG joins.


  20. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from his administrative role, he's basically a copyright man.


  21. END FLASHBACK

  22. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was a happy man too.


  23. Sighing.


  24. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But in May 1992, my wife Sharon was diagnosed of suffering from stomach cancer. She died in August. My life turned upside down.


  25. Pausing.


  26. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Later, I was encouraged to attend the WIPO Worldwide Symposium on the Impact of Copyright Digital Technology on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights at Harvard University.


  27. INT. HARVARD UNIVERSITY - SPRING (1993)


  28. Hall. Among hundreds of PARTICIPANTS, Peter watches the DG opening the conference.


  29. EXT. COACH - DAY


  30. A study tour. Peter sits with a Spanish DELEGATE.


  31. DELEGATE: Peter, you may not be aware of it - you look very down.


  32. END FLASHBACK


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I shared with her my family's tragedy.


  34. Recalling.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After acting as Spain's delegation head in another Geneva conference, she disappeared. How's she now?


  36. Pausing.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1995, I participated in another WIPO Conference in Naples, Italy and bumped into the DG and his wife in the streets.


  38. Recalling.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The DG and the DG Designate arrived in Hong Kong on June 27, 1997 to witness Hong Kong's rejoining the motherland.


  40. Recalling.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In flight, the DG read about a story in the International Herald Tribune. It reported an interview with me about Hong Kong's incorporation of the provisions of the WIPO Internet Treaties 1996 into its Copyright Ordinance 1997 - the 1st territory to do so.


  42. Pausing.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That was the first thing the DG asked me when we met at the Airport's VIP Lounge. I got him a hot copy the Copyright Ordinance to check. The WIPO Internet Treaties 1996 were his pet projects.


  44. Recalling.


  45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The next day, I took them up to the Peak. The faded photo was taken by the DG's Senior Counsellor, Binying Wang. She knew it'd be a memorable moment.

  46. Pausing.


  47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Dr Arpad Bogsch, the 2nd WIPO DG (1973 - 1997) died in 2004 at the age of 85.


  48. Recalling.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When his former DDG advised me of the sad news, I wrote about my memory of Dr Arpad Bogsch.

  50. Pausing.


  51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Months later, his widow got in touch with me. I promised I'd see her in Geneva.


  52. Act 3


  53. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS


  54. .Peter checks a screen image of an envelope.


  55. PETER (V.O.): In Geneva, we had an emotional exchange. Later, she sent me a copy of his late husband's memoir, which was served as a means to ease his depression.

  56. Pausing.


  57. PETER (V.O)(Cont'd): Later, she moved to France, while I continued to visit Geneva at least annually until 2013.


  58. Thinking of something, Peter surfs the web.


  59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, Binying is still WIPO's DDG - a reason for me to visit Geneva again.


  60. Pausing.


  61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While memories take me back, dreams take me forward.


  62. FADE OUT


  63. THE END

















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