North Vancouver’s Lam helps usher in Year of the Ox Musicians celebrate Chinese New Year By Layne Christensen Community Reporter SINCERE Lam can evoke the beauty of the Chinese land- scape with 2 stroke of her hand. Combatting the Typhoon Artack, Fishing Boat at Sunset and Moonlit West River are the names of melodies the North Vancouver resident plays on the guzheng. Also called the Chinese harp, the guzheng is a horizoncal box-shaped instrument that dates back to 200 B.C. Since that time, the number of strings on the guzheng has increased from five co 28. Lam’s instrument, pur- chased new 14 years ago in Beijing, has 2} strings. The guzheng is tuned to a pentatonic scale, the same five-note scale formed by playing the black keys of the piano. Modern guzheng playing, adapts the techniques of piano and harp. “It’s a very comforting sound, very soothing,” says Lam, who teaches guzheng at her home in Delbreok and at the Chinese Cultural Centres in Richmond and Chinatown. The 43-year-old musician was already an a plished pianist when she moved to Vancouver from Hong Kong in 1976. Lam also plays the pipa, or Chinese lute, chun-qin and dulcimer. In China, the style of guzheng music changes with the geography. “The music reflects the daily life and habits of the people in cach region,” says Lam, who demonstrates by performing the popular Plum Blossom Melody — first in northern style (north of the Yangtze River), strong and robust, then southern, which is delicate and subtly detailed. Lam and other musicians welcome in the Year of the Ox on Friday with a radio performance of traditional and modern Chinese melodies. The pro- of seven compositions airs Sunday, Feb. 9, at 12:06 p.m. on CBC Stereo 105.7 FM. Lease is up for longest-serving Quay restaurant By lan Noble News Reporter LONSDALE Quay Market’s longest-serving restaurant won't be dishing up lunches come March. Restaurant manager Ying-Huan Lin said he has to leave because his five-year lease was not renewed by Lonsdale Quay management. In November, the Saigon got a notice to be out of the Quay by the end of February. Lin compared the ouster of the Saigon to the Communist takeover of China in 1949. He said his father had a shipping company in the world’s most popu- lous nation and the Communists simply snatched it. Regarding the Saigon’s closure, Lin said: “We got nothing left. Only some used equipment. Everything was destroyed over one night and I think that’s not fair for me.” Lonsdale Quay Market Corp. vice-president Gary Mathiesen said tenants usually give six months’ notice if they want to renew the long-term lease. With three months till the end of the lease, Mathiesen said he still hadn’t received notice that the Saigon wanted to stay. He added that constant problems with North Shore Health also tipped the scales away from the Saigon. “He did not runa clean shop. That’s not the type of tenant we want in the market,” Mathiesen said. Lin said that in November, the market’s general manager approached him to review the lease. But then on Nov. 25, Lin received a letter saying the Saigon was out. Lin said his business, which he runs for the owner, is the only original food court tenant left. f He has worked at the restaurant for 10 years; his wife has worked at it ‘or five. Lin has worked hard to gain phic support to keep the Saigon at the Quay, collecting enough signatus: -ora half-inch-thick (1.25-centimetre) petition on letter-sized paper. When the restaurant closes, Lin said he and his wife will have to go on unemployment insurance. Meanwhile, Rick Kwan, a senior public health inspector with North Shore Health, said the Saigon appears to be undersized for the diverse menu it serves. the Lonsdale Quay Market. Friday, February 7, 1997 - North Shore News — 3 — NEWS photo Terry Peters SINCERE Lam plays the guzheng, an ancient Chinese musical instrument that offers great versatility of sound and expression. EWS photo Mike AFTER more than a decade of service, Saigon manager Ying-Huan Lin must vacate his space at The crowding in its kitchen may have resulted in 2 number uf food-han- dling prebiems. “Ifyou try to do too much in a confined space, it creates problems,” said Kwan. Health reports compiled since 1993 show perishable food, including chicken and eggs, was left out overnight. Meat was thawed overnight at room temperature when it should have been thawed in the fridge to pre- vent bacteria growth, said Kwan. In addition, vegetables were found in the sink with dirty pots. Maintenance and cleanliness of the facility were at times a problem. hat’s important for the whole market, said Kwan, because unclean premises attract pests. At the Saigon, cockroaches and mouse droppings were found. He said the health department did not close the Saigon because evi- dence is needed that the facility is a menace to public health. When inspec- tors told Lin of their concerns, they said they would return on a certain da When they returned, most items were rectified, said Kwan. “It’s not that he’s not prepared to do anything, just not enough,” said Kwan. Ina ranking of good operations, moderate operations and below-mod- erate operations, Kwan places the Saigon in the third category. | g Lautens.. ! a Mitchell. Woman abducted, assaulted By Michael Becker News Editor THE decal on the van said “No Fear.” Inside, a nightmare was unfold- ing. A 33-year-old) Vancouver woman was abducted, threat- ened at gunpoint and sexually assaulted at Lighthouse Park on Tuesday. The West are asking forward tc gation. Said Const Paul Skelton, “It Was not a random attack.” The woman was targeted and stalked as she was walking home in the 1400 block of East 8th Avenue in Vancouver. The victim was pushed into a van by two men at approximate- ly 10:30 p.m. Her abductors drove to an underground parking lot at a McDonald’s restaurant located at East Ist Street and Commercial Drive. The group met several more men at the parking lot, driving a “newer black vehicle,” possibly a Honda, and a white sports car. The woman was taken to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. She was walked down a trail and sexually assaulted in the woods. The woman was released by her captors at approximately midnight. She was “roughed up” but suffered no serious physical injury, according to the police spokesman. She was able to make her way to a home near the park and notify the police. The woman was taken to hospital, where she was treated and released. Skelton describes the sus- pects as being seven or eight Asian males, aged 17 to 18. One of the teens had his hair dyed blond. The van used to abduct the woman is believed to be a newer model, blue, with a cloth interi- or and three rows of seats. Information regarding this case from anyone who might have witnessed anything in the various locations during the time of the abduction and assault is asked to contact the West Vancouver Police Department at 925-7300. ‘ancouver Police nesses to come st in the investi- gz Bright Lights. w@ Crossword... @ North Shore Alert... w Rea! Estate. Bw Talking Personals... Horth Shore News, founded in 1969 as an indepen- dent suburban newspaper and quatified under Schedule #11, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tas Act, s published cach Wednesday, Friday snd Sunday hy North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every coor on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Muil Sales Product Agrecment No. 0087238 Ma‘ling rates available on request.