Korea RPCV Jack Maisano, former publisher of regional magazines and newspapers, has returned to Hong Kong five years after he left for New York



Korea RPCV Jack Maisano, former publisher of regional magazines and newspapers, has returned to Hong Kong five years after he left for New York

AmCham chief sees Hong Kong as sure bet
Trust and optimism in the future and people are what led Jack Maisano back to preside over the US trade facilitator

By Kevin Sinclair
South China Morning Post
Tai Po, Hong Kong
May 30, 2005

[Excerpt]

Jack Maisano, former publisher of regional magazines and newspapers, has returned to Hong Kong five years after he left for New York.

This time, the athletic executive and wife Tina, are back for good; they are looking to buy a house somewhere near Clearwater Bay.

What prompted him to resign the presidency of the New York-based China Institute, a non-profit organisation which aims to bolster an appreciation of Chinese culture in the United States, and come back to Asia?

He almost explodes out of his chair with enthusiasm.

"This job!" he says. He is sitting in a 19th-floor corner suite of Bank of America Tower, headquarters of the American Chamber of Commerce. The view sweeps from Wan Chai, the Peak to the financial spires of Central. It is an appropriate observation post for the president of AmCham.

The job that brought him back from New York sees Mr Maisano running an organisation he knows very well.

Chair Mr Maisano is anything but staid and dreary.

He was a child of his age. He graduated with an arts degree from New York University in 1969, then gained his master's in the philosophy of law at the City University of New York.

Instead of going into lucrative practice, he joined the Peace Corps. Why sacrifice a legal career to try to help people on Cheju Island off the coast of South Korea?

"I believed in what the Peace Corps was doing," he says. "I was a John F. Kennedy-era child, and an optimist at heart. In 1970, I had travelled overland through the Middle East all the way to Delhi. I saw a need to bridge the cultural divide that separates country from country.

"I asked to be sent to Ethiopia or India. Probably because of the burgeoning growth in East Asia, I was invited to go to Korea. I was delighted to accept."

He still haltingly speaks and writes the Korean he learned as a volunteer, a handy addition to his spoken Putonghua.

Mr Maisano served two years in Korea in the grim era of the early 70s and in the freewheeling spirit of the era decided to travel around Southeast Asia.

When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:



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June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

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June 5, 2005: Special Events Vote in the NPCA Election for new board before June 15 "American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18 "Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25 "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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May 28, 2005: This Week's Top Stories The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan 28 May Sam Farr supports Coffee Growers in Colombia 28 May Elaine Chao wins Woman of Valor award 27 May Nebraska has strong ties with Afghanistan 27 May Arthur Orr to seek Alabama State Senate seat 26 May Murder of John Auffrey remembered in Liberia 26 May Bill Moyers says journalists should be filters for readers 26 May Linda Seyler spent two years in Thailand digging latrines 25 May Chris Shays blasts Bush on stem cell research 25 May George Wolfe to head Loudoun Academy of Science 25 May David Rudenstine heads Cardozo School of Law 24 May Mark Schneider says declaration is "pretty thin gruel" 24 May Robert Blackwill supports seat for India on Security Council 24 May Chris Matthews weighs Thomas Jefferson nomination 24 May Jim Knopf is expert on xeriscape gardening 23 May Mae Jemison receives honorary degree at Wilson 23 May Kenneth Proudfoot says dreams come true 22 May

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