Hong Kong’s richest tycoon, Li ka-shing, has been made a Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur by French President Jacques Chirac.
This award was founded by Napoleon and recognises eminent service to the French Repubic.
Apparently, Li received his award for his “contribution to the promotion of trade and culture between France, China and Hong Kong”.
As far as I can tell, the lion’s share of this contribution comes from the friendly takeover of French perfume retailer Marionnaud by Li’s AS Watson.
I assume that this honour has been made more to oil the wheels of commerce than to really recognise any great effort on Mr Li’s behalf.
As such, does it demean the honour itself if it is given to a businessman who is, after all, just doing his job, enriching himself and his shareholders?
Or is this basically the state of play under the terms of globalisation - is everything now merely a tool to facilitate smoother commerce?
Your thoughts?
The takeover of the perfume co was very recent. My understanding is that Li got this award for his part in the ‘France in China Year’ promotion. (Not sure what role he played - probably he sponsored some of the events. I think his mega mall in Beijing hosted some exhibitions.) He is also of course involved in the favourite bid to run the West Kowloon cultural hub, and has lined up the Pompidou Centre to run a museum if that happens. Plus, at the end of the day, he’s got clout in Beijing. I’m sure plenty of other businessmen have been awarded the Ld’H. The French are whores n’est ce pas?
It appears that there are now 3,600 people who hold the rank of that awarded to Li Ka-shing. There are about 115,000 people who hold any rank of the Legion of Honor. Given the popularity of the award, I think it would be rather perverse to forbid businessmen from receiving it.
If there is any demeaning of the award here, it’s probably the fact that there are 113,999 other receipients of it.
I’m not suggesting anyone should be forbidden, I’m just trying to ascertain whether there is any “honour” left in an award made to someone who is just doing there job. Even if he did sponsor some French exhibitions, that’s usually all part and parcel of doing cross-border business, isn’t it?
By the same token, I should qualify if I decided to sell Perrier in my shop – or if I chose France for a holiday, I should be thanked for doing my bit for the tourist industry with an award.
Otherwise, this award is merely a non-purchasable gift to a man who can buy anything that is for sale – a tip for services rendered and the assumption of more to come, making Mr Li the whore, to use Hemlock’s analogy.
Mr Li insisted on receiving his award behind closed doors, so maybe he realises the true value of this award.