20th February 2022

In these days of worries of war and pandemic, a tune comes unbidden to mind. Holding Out For A Hero, by Bonnie Tyler. And yet, regularly, we see (overpaid) recipients of eminent awards who are certainly not heroes, nor (to my mind) do they merit such an honour. Real heroes are those who don’t feel the need to tell anyone, least of all their families, what they’ve done to help others.  And it’s nothing to do with money, nor fame. That’s why I was determined to publicly honour a man called Ho Feng Shan, 25 years after his death. In 1938, he was Chinese Consul General in Vienna. Unable to ignore the plight of the Jewish people there, he realised he was in a position to do something. Acting against orders, and at considerable personal risk, Ho issued visas to thousands of Jews, enabling them to escape Nazi persecution and go to Shanghai, China, which, at the time, was a safe destination for them. Ho used his position of power to help thousands escape persecution, and later, deportation and imprisonment in concentration camps. I was therefore delighted to see that the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem awarded Ho Feng Shan a posthumous award in 2000. Today, we should all ask each other:  am I in a position to help others? 
That’s why I would dearly love The Mandarin Seeds to be a global success - not so much for me personally (I’m too old now) - but to make the name Ho Feng Shan synonymous with what a real hero looks like.