Chapter 127: The Press Conference - Part 2
127 The Press Conference - Part 2
Monday, continued ...
Hou Yi in hearing the first question, realised that the reporter had gotten to the heart of the issue.
"Before I hand this question to my wife to finishing answering, I need to make it clear that neither Hou Enterprises or ourselves personally were approached to make a donation.However Hou enterprises and my wife and I will make donations for this cause.They would have been made over the weekend, if any effort had been made to contact us."Hou Yi turned to Anna, and said "Sweetheart…"
Anna moved to the microphones "Firstly, I can only echo my husband's comments about the donations.It is petty and a childish game not to have made contact with either Hou Enterprises or my husband and I personally.The only people hurt in this whole process are the children that the Lu's want to help with their fundraising initiatives.Additionally, I will make contact with the various resources and contacts that I have in Australia and put them in contact with the Lu's or people associated with their initiative to see not only how things can be done, but what assistance they can offer, including to maximize the benefits of all donations received."
"And I wish to make it clear that if Vice-CEO Lu wants to deny he knows how contact my husband and I, it needs to be clear to him that my contact details, particularly my personal mobile has not changed since we met at the same university college, and even if he lost it, many of our mutual friends have this number so all he had to do was ask someone."
"As to the incident on Friday Night, on Monday afternoon I was in Australia in a court, doing what is called instructing another solicitor in court.What this effectively means is that I was assisting them in court with the matter.I cannot, given the applicable law say anything about the proceedings, but due to what was observed and heard, I can confirm that I was ordered by the court to personally serve certain documents on Mr Lu which I did."
"It was observed that neither Vice-CEO or Madam Lu were happy that I complied with what I was ordered to do by the Court, hence they came towards us, abusing me.My husband was concerned about my safety and he got between them and me, to ensure my safety from another assault as they inflicted on me tomorrow fortnight ago at the Key Plaza Hotel."
The same reporter asked his second question "Madam Hou, on a related point, both CEO Hou and yourself mentioned about you being a lawyer.What sort of law did you practice in Australia, and why do you wish to continue working despite being CEO Hou's wife?"
"In Australia, I was employed by a firm whose specialty was Commercial Law, but is also had a generalist practice.I worked in the generalist practice group, however I am required as part of my employment to spend at least twenty percent of my time on Commercial Work, and the balance in areas including criminal law, family law, wills and estates."
"I am grateful that my husband realises that being a lawyer is part of me, particularly as it is how we met.He has made it clear that he wants me to follow my dreams, and achieve my potential, both personally and within my career.He knows that I love him, and am happy with my life here, despite moving from my family and friends, but has made it clear that he does not want me to feel as if I have made all the sacrifices for our relationship."
"While we want a family, we are also realistic that this may be a period of time away for us.My husband knows that charitable work will only fill part of my day, hence why he has gone to the lengths he has for me, to continue my career.I am lucky that the arrangement that we have worked out with my Australian employers benefits them, but will enable me to travel with my husband when business requires it."
The Second reporter stepped up "CEO and Madam Hou.We saw your initiative's press release, two glaring omissions were made.There is no indication that Hou Enterprises is donating funds to the initiative and as we do not know the names of the people you referred to in your stories, how can we verify the information as correct an they are not tales just to gain sympathy?"
Hou Yi took back over "Hou Enterprises is making a donation, but we will not be stating the amount, as in part the total of Hou Enterprises donation will be impacted by funds that staff wish to donate.Further, we are willing to allow any staff who wish to 'donate' up to five days work each year to the initiative to aid them in their activities.For our Staff, this will be paid by Hou Enterprises at their normal rates plus money to cover their out of pockets.This we hope will encourage staff from throughout the company to become involved, bringing a wide range of skills to assist programs."
"Further, and at the urging my my wife a new company policy has been implemented that enables staff who are the victims of such violence to take immediate leave to address the issues for them of intimate partner, or as my wife calls it domestic violence.This is a paid entitlement for staff, and the amount of time will vary depending on all the surrounding circumstances and evidence provided supporting that leave."
"My wife and I have made a personal donation, but we will not be disclosing the amount.Our reason for the non-disclosure is not to hide anything, but because we do not people or organisations to feel pressured to make a particular level of donation, they make the donation they want."
"As to my friend who was the victim, the case itself was widely reported nine and ten years ago in the United Kingdom and my name was mentioned in respect of that.As reporters you should be able to use that information to locate the fact that my story is true.As to my wife's story, she cannot say who it was, as the matters are still before the court in Australia, but I guess you could ask…"