Diana's legacy

The horror will linger for years in the minds of millions of people around the globe. We are not referring merely to the pictures of the horrifying car crash which claimed the life of Britain's Diana, Princess of Wales. We are also talking about the horror of the news itself.

We live in a world that is only too familiar with violent death. But Sunday's announcement left us staring blankly at our television screens.

We clung to the hope that this terrible thing could not have happened to a "young woman of our times; warm, vital and generous". French President Jacques Chirac spoke those poignant words on Sunday and they were echoed in capitals around the world.

Diana was not just a British princess. She was the world's princess.

Different words were spoken on Sunday in other world capitals. Angry words directed at the paparazzi, the press photographers whose pursuit of Diana's car may have caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

Countless celebrities, including Diana herself, have in the past hit out at the aggressive, intimidating and intrusive methods used by the paparazzi.

Famous people have as much right as anyone else to be treated with a measure of dignity. They also have a right to privacy. A person's image belongs to that person. It should not be exploited by others for commercial purposes.

The sister of the Duchess of York, a close friend of Diana, said on Sunday that the princess' death might generate some sanity and civility from the press who hounded her.

The paparazzi had better clean up their act; or governments will do it for them.

Diana had acknowledged that she would never be queen of her own country. But she wanted to travel the world bringing joy to the hearts of others.

The best way to keep her memory alive is to support the many charities and the causes she espoused over the years.

-- The Hong Kong Standard