Christopher F. Bruton, director of Dataconsult Co. Ltd. in Bangkok, who has lived in Thailand since 1969, recalls working with Manyee in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Manyee, who was just one month younger than myself, being also born in 1937. 

I recall that during the enthusiastic early years of "The Investor" magazine, we worked very well together. At that time, I used to produce terms of reference for articles for the monthly "Investor' magazine. Manyee undertook the research reporting, providing a wealth of information and analysis, which I turned into articles. I used to write at home, so I hardly met her; our cooperation was almost entirely written, never verbal. Yet the final products were greatly appreciated by readers.
 
I also well remember the wonderful cooperation between Manyee and Max as a journalistic team during this period. On one occasion, Max and I were visiting Laos and were invited to fly with a Philippine charity team to Central Laos, where they had an “Operation Brotherhood” activity.  On the way back to Vientiane (the Laotian capital), our aircraft overflew Thailand, but without seeking permission from the Thai authorities. We were force-landed at Udon, a Thai military base used by the United States air force to mount operations for the war in Vietnam, and needed the permission of Thai Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn to take off again. Eventually we got this approved and returned to Laos.  

Max, as correspondent of the Times of London, wanted to file this story, but had no means of doing so. Therefore he telephoned Manyee down in Bangkok and dictated the whole report, which took about an hour standing in the Vientiane telephone centre, and Manyee dutifully wrote it all down and telexed it to London.  This resulted in a prominent article in the newspaper and a congratulatory message to Max from the editor, as well as a mention of myself as one of those involved in the incident. That was only one of the many times when Max and Manyee were a front-line reporting team in those early, pre-internet days. 

I never had the opportunity to recognise Manyee’s earlier achievements in Hong Kong, nor her subsequent performance in Canada. She was evidently a great journalist. I hope that Manyee’s adopted daughter draws inspiration from her achievements in continuing life.

To me, “Manyee” has always been “Jacqueline Leung.” She went by that name in high school. She was a serious student and vibrant.

We re-connected in Toronto after many years. We became really good friends because we both loved to dance. She would drive 45 mins to be my dance partner when I asked her. We both loved CNN and we were Obama fans.

Her pride and joy was her daughter Toni. Every conversation we had always included Toni and Dan. “Toni loves antiques.” “Toni got on the cover of a magazine.” “Toni asked me to give her away at her wedding.”

When I foolishly bought an ugly sofa and was miserable over it she said “Emily, don’t worry, I will go with you to Leon’s and stay there until you get your refund.” That is the kind of friend she was, a friend in need.

Then she became afflicted with a rare form of Parkinson’s disease. She fought back courageously. One summer she talked about flying to Spain for a “miracle” cure.

It is heartbreaking to see her deteriorate over the years. I was not allowed to bring her food. I am sad to lose her but she is in a better place now.
Till we meet again, R.I.P. Jacqueline!

For our first meeting, Toni and I took Manyee for Dim Sum down on Spadina.  Manyee was very welcoming to me from the start - with her warm smile, and a very gentle and quiet presence.  Like a "country mouse" as I once heard her describe herself. 

Manyee had trouble with her hearing later in life, and I'm certain that contributed to her quiet nature that day - particularly when meeting in a noisy place.  We got along well as we ate together for the first time, and Manyee asked Toni and I to join her afterwards, while she did some shopping in Chinatown.  Manyee was looking to buy a new sword for her Thai Chi training. "How cool is this?"....I thought ... we just met and now we're going SWORD shopping. 

We checked out several shops (who knew so many places sold swords) until Manyee found the sword that she was looking for - and then the battle began.  The "country mouse" turned into the "mighty dragon", swooping down on the shop owner, to haggle down the price.  She used both humour and discipline to win over the vendor.  Manyee was the kind of customer that vendors respected as they quickly learned that she was no fool and had the discipline to walk away.

Manyee got the sword she wanted that day, at the price she wanted - and I always wondered if she was just letting me know - that behind that warm smile, was a very strong and confident woman...that knew how to use a sword.