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31 Defamation and the 'Second Stove' unday was a quiet day at Dragon View; our domestic helpers usually went t o earl y churc h an d the n o n t o mee t thei r friends . Mos t unusually, on Sunday, 30 January 1994 , instead of the clang of the ship's bell at the gate at the bottom of the steep flight of steps leading to the house, the front doo r gong chimed. We opened th e door and immediately a camera started fast-ratchetting an d two roughl y dressed European men confronted us. I exclaimed angrily and asked them what the y wanted, an d attempte d t o wrestle th e camer a awa y from th e shorter of the two. My wife intervened. I asked again and the reply came back sinisterly , 'Don' t you know ? You'l l know soo n enough. ' Ther e wa s no more explanation. They took themselves off . Two days later, o n 1 February, th e firs t editio n o f a much-heralde d new English-language daily, the Eastern Express, appeared with the banner headline, 'Ho w Akers-Jones Obtaine d a Bargain Home'. There followe d the photograph take n at the front doo r and an article on th e front page , with mor e photos an d 'story ' o n th e inside pages, full o f innuendo an d damaging and smearing inaccuracies. The house had doubled in size and a late r articl e bumpe d u p th e numbe r o f bedroom s fro m thre e t o six ! Various chartere d surveyors , withou t knowin g th e property , ha d give n their weighty opinions as to its value. At the same time the previous owner, whom we had not known when we bought the house, reiterated that th e price had not been a 'friendship price' . Among al l to p storie s whic h wer e the n worryin g Hon g Kong , th e s 31 Defamation and the 'Second Stove' unday was a quiet day at DragonView; our domestic helpers usually went to early church and then on to meet their friends. Most unusually, on Sunday, 30January 1994, instead of the clang of the ship's bell at the gate at the bottom of the steep flight ofsteps leading to the house, the front door gong chimed. We opened the door and immediately a camera started fast-ratchetting and two roughly dressed European men confronted us. I exclaimed angrily and asked them what they wanted, and attempted to wrestle the camera away from the shorter of the two. My wife intervened. I asked again and the reply came back sinisterly, 'Don't you know? You'll know soon enough.' There was no more explanation. They took themselves off. Two days later, on 1 February, the first edition of a much-heralded new English-language daily, the Eastern Express, appeared with the banner headline, 'How Akers-Jones Obtained a Bargain Home'. There followed the photograph taken at the front door and an article on the front page, with more photos and 'story' on the inside pages, full of innuendo and damaging and smearing inaccuracies. The house had doubled in size and a later article bumped up the number of bedrooms from three to six! Various chartered surveyors, without knowing the property, had given their weighty opinions as to its value. At the same time the previous owner, whom we had not known when we bought the house, reiterated that the price had not been a 'friendship price'. Among all top stories which were then worrying Hong Kong, the Feeling the Stones question o f 'Ho w Akers-Jones Obtaine d a Bargain Home' was a strang e piece o f news with whic h t o launch a newspaper. Wa s ther e more t o i t than that ? It was stranger still because the owner of this new daily, C. K. Ma, had invited me, the previous year, to become a member of the board of his charitable trust. Moreover, I had received a Lunar New Year card of good wishe s fro m hi m onl y a fe w day s previously! Thi s extraordinar y attack had come out of the blue, and there had been no attempt to check the facts with us before publication . Someon e had decided that this...

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