《緣。來自Mei Ling》來到最後一集，討論的戰線燃至一道我曾在專欄內跟讀者探論過的熱題－「女子無財便是德」。我的拍檔William疑惑像我這樣擁有英國文學碩士學位，通曉四種語言的人竟會主張如此不公及守舊的想法？為此，我以一個由我們祖先流傳下來的大智慧作解，亦是我在不久前參透並贊同的道理。

　　今集我們請來兩位女士參與「單身貴族」的環節，她們分別是在跨國集團擔任亞太區總裁的Judy，以及在澳門一間知名的五星級度假酒店任職高級副總裁的Jacqueline。兩人均是典型的事業型女性：成就非凡，不知不覺間被事業消磨了大半生。Judy坦言假如自己是個月入八千的初級文員，她想自己定會早在多年前結婚；若進一步地要Judy給予現今年輕女性一些意見，她強烈建議她們在修畢學士學位後即成家立室，假如享受進修才重返校園。兩位女士的分享均驗證了我的想法。

　　我們的個人提升課程導師Kathy將跟大家探討我們的社會如何漠視這個大智慧，又有多少成功的男性或女性一生只為事業奔走，對於建立兩性關係方面的基本認識非常薄弱，以致孤身一人。要告別這樣的現象，我們的確要學習感受愛情的芳香。

　　我確信「異地戀」發生在香港女性身上亦能開花結果，尤其是年過四十多的女性。因為各種原因，她們的選擇少之又少：她們需要面對性別失衡、年齡上的斤斤計較、競爭激烈等問題。不過，這樣的困境並非香港獨有。在「四海佳緣」的環節，我們邀請到來自他鄉的單身貴族到場分享，第十集的包括來賓Rebecca 及 Kyle。

　　來自美國的後生女 Rebecca 是位說得一口流利普通話的哈佛畢業生。她現於北京工作，住在胡同裏的她常以單車代步，又會於公園內廣交朋友；她熱愛中國的歷史與文化，享受在北京度過的愉快時光，但又渴望有一天到香港生活及工作。Kyle則來自澳洲，大學畢業後他選擇了管理培訓生一職。收入不高的他為了過更充裕的生活兼職模特兒的工作，後來更被一間中介公司賞識，現在既是模特兒又是電影明星，邊掙錢邊享受工作。Kyle大學時修讀中國歷史，他與Rebecca一樣說得一口流利的普通話。他日夜盼望的是能夠娶成熟，在香港生活的中國女性為妻。

　　為亞洲電視製作十集的電視節目是個有趣的經驗。我們在此感謝台前幕後的努力，以及觀眾的支持。假如你錯過了之前的節目，可以於9月7日至11月9日期間，逢星期日晚上十時在亞視重溫。感謝你的支持，希望你會喜歡這個節目。

　　（按：中文內容乃翻譯及撮寫版本）

Chatting with Mei Ling (10)

　　In the final episode of ATV’s緣。來自Mei Ling,  we focused on the controversial topic of “An unlearned Woman is a Virtuous Woman”女子無才便是德, an article I had previously written in my ETNET column. As my co-host William pointed out, I hold a Master Degree in English Literature myself, speak 4 languages and I dare to advocate such an unfair and antiquated doctrine? Whereupon, I explained to him the profound wisdom of our ancestors’ which I have only come to understand and appreciate now.

　　As “diamond singles” we interviewed two ladies, Judy, the CEO, Asia Pacific, of a large multi-national corporation in HK, and Jacqueline, the Senior Vice President of a well known five star casino hotel resort in Macau. Both are typical strong women who are immensely successful, and yet have inadvertently allowed themselves to be consumed by their careers. Jacqueline spoke with candour that if she was a junior clerk earning $8000/month, there is no doubt in her mind that she would have married ages ago ! Judy went further to say that if she would be offering advice to younger women today, she would strongly suggest that they get out after obtaining their Bachelor Degrees, set up families first, and then resume their studies afterwards if indeed that is what they enjoy doing. Both ladies have therefore validated what I preach.

　　Kathy, the Date Coach for our Self Enhancement Program, spoke about how soft skills in this discipline have been sorely neglected in our society, how many successful men and women have been focusing so intensely on the pursuit of their careers they know very little about the fundamentals of building a relationship with the opposite sex, let alone the skills required to sustain one . Indeed we should stop and learn to smell the roses.

　　I am an ardent believer of  “Long Distance Relationships” for Hong Kong women, especially those above the age of mid 40 . The picking is slim here due to many reasons, including gender imbalance, sensitivity towards age and the keen competition they have to face. Hong Kong is however, not alone in this predicament. In the section  “Romance within the Four Seas” 四海佳緣, we would introduce diamond singles from our neighbours, such as Rebecca and Kyle in Episode 10.

　　Rebecca is an American young lady, a Harvard graduate speaking fluent Putonghua. She presently works in Beijing, lives in one of the Hutongs,  gets around on her bicycle and makes a lot of new friends in the parks. She loves Chinese history and culture and is having a wonderful time in Beijing, but aspires to the opportunity of working and living in Hong Kong someday. Kyle is Australian, after University he initially started working as a management trainee which did not pay very well. To supplement his living allowances, he did some part time modeling, was soon discovered by a talent agency, now being very well employed as a model and a movie actor, handsomely remunerated for jobs he enjoys. Kyle studied Chinese history in university, and he too, speaks Putonghua. It is his dearest wish to marry a sophisticated Chinese lady from Hong Kong.

　　Making these 10 episodes of TV shows for ATV has been fun. We thank all the participants for their cooperation and we thank the audience for their support. If you have missed the shows, re-run has now been scheduled for 7th Sept to 9th Nov on high definition Asia Channel, every Sunday at 10pm. Hope you like it. Thank you.