FCC given new 3-year lease

Dear Members,

I am very pleased to inform you that the FCC has secured an extension to the lease on our Clubhouse for a further three years from 2 January 2023 until 1 January 2026.

We have received an offer from our landlord, the Government Property Agency, which is subject to contract, and the Board has confirmed our acceptance of this offer. This means we can continue in our home and provide security of employment to our loyal staff. We expect to sign the new lease in the coming days.

The lease contains other provisions that are now standard in all government leases, including allowing the Government to terminate the lease at any time with 3 months notice, or immediately if in the interest of national security.

With our immediate future now secure, we can continue to be the world’s best press club and we look forward to welcoming all members to continue enjoying our unrivalled ambience and hospitality. The past few years have been extremely challenging for the Club, and I want to thank all of you for your support and patronage. I also would like to thank all the Members of the Board of Governors who worked tirelessly with me to help achieve this positive outcome, with a special thanks to our Treasurer, Tim Huxley.

With our future settled, we also now need to ensure that our financial position is strengthened. We will therefore be making some amendments to our fees. From January 1st 2023, monthly subscriptions for all categories of membership will rise by HK$ 100 per month to HK$ 1200. This will be the first increase in monthly subscriptions in seven years and the FCC remains one of the best value Clubs in Hong Kong.

In addition, from Lunar New Year’s Eve 2023 (21 January), joining fees for Associate Members will rise to HK$ 45,000 while for new Correspondent and Journalist members, the joining fee will rise by a similar percentage to HK$ 3,850. Our discounted scheme for early career journalists will remain unchanged. All membership applications received before that date will be eligible for the current joining fees, regardless of when membership is approved.

These changes are necessary to help us to begin to restore the financial health of the Club after the uncertainties of the past few years. In addition, the Board will be considering other proposals, such as the introduction of a spouse fee and possible amendments to the Silver Membership category. However these changes would require an amendment to the Articles and hence need further discussion and consultation with the members.

I am happy to answer any questions you have. And I look forward to seeing you around the bar.

Yours faithfully,

Keith Richburg President

30 November 2022

The Club’s opening hour is back to normal from next Monday Nov 7!

Dear Members,

I would like to update you that the Government has further relaxed some social distancing measures effective from next Monday, November 7. The latest club policies will be updated as follows;

• The opening hours of all restaurants and bars will be back to normal (as per the chart below). Last orders for food will be at 10:50 p.m., while last orders for drinks will be 30 minutes before the Club’s closure.   Venue Monday – Saturday Sundays Public Holidays Bert’s Mon–Thu/Sat: 12:00–24:00 Fri: 12:00–01:00 closed closed Main Bar & Lounge Mon–Wed: 07:30–24:00 Thu–Sat: 07:30–02:00 10:00–24:00 Sun–Wed: 10:00–24:00 Thu–Sat: 10:00–02:00 Dining Room, Verandah & Chinese Restaurant Luncheon: 12:00–14:30 Dinner: 18:30–24:00 12:00–21:00 (Dining Room) Luncheon: 12:00–14:30 Dinner: 18:30–24:00 • Maximum number per table at 12 people is allowed; however, subject to outlets’ booking policy, pre-order is highly recommended for big groups. • Negative RAT test/ PCR test result is still required before entering the Club for participating in a banquet/ event. • Private functions and meetings with no more than 240 persons are allowed, subject to outlets’ maximum capacity. Please contact our team at [email protected] for more details. • Music performances at Bert’s are now back. More live events will be coming soon. • The health club remains open, although the sauna and steam room remain closed. No more than 6 people are allowed in the health club at one time. Pre-registration is required with the gym attendant at 2844 2849. • All persons must wear a face mask at all times within Club premises, except when eating or drinking at the table. • Staff continue to complete a COVID-19 rapid test every 3 days.

Children aged 5 to 11 are required to comply with the specified vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass when entering any applicable premises of the Vaccine Pass. Children ages 5 to 11 must have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, or within three months after receiving the first dose of vaccine. As for persons aged 12 or above, the grace period for receiving the third dose after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine has been shortened from six months to five months under the Vaccine Pass. Since the Club is subject to active checking of the Vaccine Pass, those who do not follow these measures will not be admitted. Click here to see more details on dosage schedule of Vaccines Pass.

Thanks for your continued understanding and support. I look forward to seeing you all at the Club!

Keith Richburg

President

3 November 2022

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Awards Clare Hollingworth Fellowships

FELLOWS

Teele Rebane

Teele Rebane is an award-winning podcast producer and host who currently works as a news desk researcher and producer at CNN. She is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong’s journalism program.

Simran Vaswani

Simran Vaswani is a reporter at DealStreetAsia who previously interned at Bloomberg, Forbes and CNN. She recently graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University’s international journalism program.

Hayley Wong

Hayley Wong is a recent graduate from the journalism school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was previously an intern at Bloomberg News, where she covered politics across the region, and a reporter at Stand News.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong is pleased to announce that it has chosen Teele Rebane, Simran Vaswani and Hayley Wong as recipients of the fourth annual Clare Hollingworth Fellowship, named in honor of the preeminent and path-breaking journalist.

The panel of judges noted the winners offer clear potential as future leaders both within the FCC and the wider Hong Kong journalism community.

The Fellowship is focused on early-career journalists and current journalism school students in Hong Kong.

The open competition drew significant interest from a cross spectrum of applicants. The adjudicators noted the high standard of applicants and encouraged all to apply again next year.

For further information on the Clare Hollingworth Fellowship, please visit https://www.fcchk.org/fcc-clare-hollingworth-fellowship-applications-open/