By Hugo Novales

Within the last seven years, Hong Kong has revamped its arts and culture scene by opening three new institutions: the Hong Kong Palace Museum, M+, and Tai Kwun. Auction giants Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s have all established new Asia/APAC headquarters in the city within the past two years, with Phillips setting up office in the popular West Kowloon Cultural District.

If you were to step back in time about 20 years and ask Bernard Chan if Hong Kong would one day develop such a vibrant local arts scene, he might be doubtful.

“I never believed we were serious about it,” he said while reflecting on his past experiences in public life, including five years as Convenor of the Executive Council.

His impression back then was that Hong Kong would always be focused on its role as a financial hub, and that the arts would always be an afterthought. Now, Chan serves the city in a much different – and perhaps unexpected – role as the Chairman of M+.

He shared his personal history in witnessing the rise of Hong Kong’s arts scene at an FCC Club Lunch along with Dr Pi Li, the Head of Art at Tai Kwun. Then-President Lee Williamson sat as the moderator of the discussion, and asked what it takes for a city like Hong Kong to be committed to the arts.

Chan explained that while the local government can lead policy-making and infrastructure plans, everyday citizens also need to be involved. Without their support, Hong Kong’s arts scene wouldn’t be able to go beyond a blueprint.

“Does everybody in Hong Kong agree to that? Because it’s all taxpayers’ money at the end of the day,” he said, adding that, “great things [are] ahead of us, but we still need to get the buy-in from everybody in the community.”

The discussion then shifted into how Hong Kong’s political atmosphere may affect its arts, culture and freedom of expression.

Beijing imposed the National Security Law (NSL) on Hong Kong at the end of June 2020, after over a year of city-wide protests against the local government stemming from public backlash against a proposed extradition bill. Hong Kong later enacted Article 23 of the Basic Law in the beginning of 2024 to “plug the gaps” that Beijing’s NSL did not cover. Both laws have resulted in considerable changes to Hong Kong society.

So how about the arts? Both panelists said that local art hasn’t been subject to increased scrutiny by the government. In fact, the duo agreed that audience opinion was what worried them more than being in violation of any kind of security law.

“We always say as people running the institution, ‘Who are the most dangerous enemies for cultural institutions in the 21st century?’ It’s the audience,” said Li.

Li then gave several examples to illustrate his point that the global art audience has been highly divided over the past two decades, specifically since 2008.

He cited incidents that took place at the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Guggenheim that saw specific works or entire exhibitions to be removed due to backlash from the general public. Whether it was due to racial tension, animal rights, or other social issues, these institutions eventually censored themselves to appease their audience.

Hong Kong, to Chan and Li, doesn’t have this problem – at least for now.

“Hong Kong is not the worst place in the world, and it’s not the best place in the world. We are like many museums in the world. We are really facing such a dynamic time, and the audience changes so fast,” said Li.

Chan also pointed out how social divisions are more prevalent in Western countries, like the US. He noted the various cultural divisions that dominate American headlines and how these societal debates haven’t made their way into Hong Kong life.

“Our issue here is simple. If you look at the US, my God, you’re divided on gender, race, you name it, ethnicity. Can you imagine? Is there absolute freedom there anymore?” he said.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

According to the Pew Research Center, about 62% of adults in the United States self-identified as Christian from 2023-2024. The decline of Christianity over the past few decades in the US has now plateaued, with young Americans from “Gen Z” now surpassing previous generations’ interest in the Christian faith.

On the global scale, Christianity remains to be the most popular religion with 2.3 billion followers, but its growth wasn’t in pace with the global population increase from 2010-2020.  Other religions, particularly Islam, reported higher growth during the same timeframe, as did the number of people who do not follow any religion.

In a modern world with increasingly secularised governance and societies, where exactly does theology fit? How does Christianity hold up now with the outstanding progress of science and technology, as well as the presence of other religions? How is faith still relevant today?

To discuss theology’s continued role in 2025 and onwards, the FCC hosted a Club Lunch with Reverend Dr Michael Lloyd just a few weeks after the Roman Catholic Church elected its new leader, Pope Leo XIV.

Dr Lloyd serves as the Principal of Wycliffe Hall, a permanent private hall at the University of Oxford, where he teaches theology. He’s also the author of Café Theology (2012), a co-author of Image Bearers (2023), and co-host of GodPod, a faith-based podcast run by St Mellitus College.

Sitting alongside Dr Lloyd was then-FCC President Lee Williamson (now Correspondent Governor) who first asked why studying theology was important for everyone, even for people who do not believe in religion. Dr Lloyd responded by highlighting various examples of how previous generations have used religion as a blueprint for how societies should operate.

“Whether one believes or not, theology has shaped society in extraordinary ways all the way down through history. You don’t understand the world if you don’t understand the role that religion and theology have played in that world,” he said, adding that religion “puts ground under our feet.”

Williamson followed up by addressing the political polarisation that has dominated global headlines, particularly in the US where President Donald Trump has found increased support amongst evangelical Christians despite his views and policies that some find to be against biblical values. Dr Lloyd and Williamson discussed how this differs from their home country, the UK, where, as Dr Lloyd put it, “political maps” don’t necessarily overlap with the “church map”.

Dr Lloyd cautioned against the church – any church – from allowing political differences to seep into the social fabric of their congregations.

“I think it’s really important that the church doesn’t fight the culture wars. It’s got to be a place where those debates can happen civilly, rationally, charitably, in a way that people will actually listen to each other,” Dr Lloyd said.

Williamson also asked if Dr Lloyd thought Trump was a good Christian. Dr Lloyd laughed and said that this particular judgment is best left to God and that his role as a religious leader was not to know anyone’s heart.

The discussion then shifted into a broader look at how religion can be used to understand why suffering exists despite the presence of a forgiving and loving God.

Dr Lloyd, as an expert in the faith-based analysis of evil, its origins, and the pain it causes, explained how suffering allows humans to feel compassion for others. His belief is that God is right where suffering occurs, too, and that He is also against it.

So then why do things like this happen in the first place? Dr Lloyd attributes this to the free will that God has granted to humanity. This same free will that causes pain and suffering is also what enables people to take action to prevent further pain and suffering versus just waiting for God to intervene every time something bad happens.

“If God were always intervening whenever we didn’t bother, we wouldn’t bother,” Dr Lloyd said.

The pair also discussed how the church is using AI, how Christianity can build better relationships with other religions, and how the existence of life on other planets might affect religion. 

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

Shortly after beginning his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump initiated another trade war and hit China with tariffs of 145%. China retaliated with 125% tariffs on US goods, before both countries declared a 90-day truce. The truce is expected to end on August 10^th while agreements with the US’ other global trade partners must be made by July 8^th — just next week. The US and China announced a trade deal in late June, but few details came out, other than an agreement to resume sales of Chinese magnets and rare earths to the US.

In her opening remarks at an FCC Club Lunch discussing US-China trade and how it may affect Hong Kong, Karen Koh remarked that anything her panel talks about may quickly become old news.

“Whatever you hear today may be out of date next week, simply because we don’t know what Mr. President is going to say week to week,” she said, commenting on the constantly in flux nature of President Trump’s decision-making.

Koh, now the First Vice President of the Club, then turned to her two panellists and asked if they could predict the future of American trade with the rest of the world.

“I think nobody really knows,” said Irina Fan, the Director of Research for the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council.

Fan explained how it takes many years, and sometimes decades, for trading partners to form agreements. Trump’s tendency to change his policies on a daily basis threatens economic stability between the US and China, as well as the rest of the world that will also have to maneuver around such steep tariffs.

However, the intended goal behind Trump’s actions isn’t clear to Fan. To her, Trump’s new wave of economic policies may not actually have any economic goal in mind, but they may rather serve ulterior (and perhaps political) purposes.

“What we’ve seen from the massive tariffs announced by the new president, to me, from an economist point of view, it doesn’t make any economic sense,” she said, citing how US consumers will feel the burden from Trump’s tariffs the most with a minimum 2.2% increase on prices and no federal strategy to offset costs.

When it comes to how Hong Kong will manage its trade relationship with the US, Fan reminded the audience that exports to US make up only 6.5% of Hong Kong’s total exports, and it’s easy for HK exporters to get growth from other markets.

Also, the city still has over 50 trade offices around the world, and will plan to diversify. While the Hong Kong Dollar is pegged to the US Dollar (US$1 = HK$7.84903), the city has plenty of other trade opportunities to keep business thriving.

“Probably, we can plan ahead with other markets,” Fan said.

Cameron Johnson, the second panellist, has spent his career — and the majority of his life — in mainland China and the US. As a supply chain expert based in Shanghai, Johnson is able to meet with policy makers in Washington DC and see both sides of trade negotiations. To him, tariffs are just another aspect of Trump 2.0 that everyone will have to live with.

“I think the reality is [that] tariffs are here to stay. It’s just a matter of how high they are. There will always be some form of global tariffs,” Johnson said.

He also addressed the spending habits of Chinese citizens under Trump’s new tariffs. Unlike US consumers who will soon face the economic burden of Trump’s trade war, the average Chinese person still has a high amount of spending power — except they’re not spending at all.

“The assumption that Chinese will spend like Americans is ridiculous. Chinese will never spend like the West. They’ll just never do it, and consumption is very much in the eye of the beholder,” he said.

Johnson clarified that lack of Chinese consumption isn’t related to inflation or rising costs of living, but can be attributed towards Chinese cultural attitudes that value getting more for less. He referenced trends of younger Chinese traveling on vacations and making competitions out of who could spend the least amount of money.

While Chinese economists are looking to create new initiatives to encourage domestic consumption, Johnson reassures that the lack thereof isn’t an indicator of economic decline or struggle due to all these new potential tariffs.

“The restaurants are okay. People are traveling. The numbers are all up. They’re just not spending,” Johnson said.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

Polo Bourieau, a long-time FCC member, first arrived in Hong Kong in 2003. As an artist who studied at Académie de Nantes and developed his interests through his early work in France, Bourieau made a name for himself in Asia by commissioning monumental, site-specific sculptures that can be found in iconic locations across Hong Kong and mainland China.

Bourieau recently documented his artistic journey in his book, Written in Stone: A Journey Shaping Places in New Millennium China, which was published by HKU Press earlier this year. Filled with photographs of his unique and though-provoking creations, Bourieau’s new book explores the relationship between sculptures and urban spaces, as well as how this relationship creates community and identity amongst the everyday people that interact with his art.

Sitting alongside Associate Board Governor Barbara Yu Larsson at an FCC Club Lunch in early June, Bourieau discussed the ideas behind his new book and the impact he hopes to achieve through his sculptures.

“I like this idea that art is for the people. It should be known in the street, not only within the white walls of the galleries and museums, and in a city like Hong Kong, I think we need more art history,” Bourieau said, kicking off the discussion.

He explained the relationship between artists and property developers, who often only allocate 1-2% of their budget for artistic works that may complement a pond, a public square, a wall, or other types of urban features. This relationship — and how it can be improved — is what motivated Bourieau to write Written in Stone.

“I hope this book is going to inspire the city planners and urbanists to create some format of incentive for the developers, because this book proves – and illustrates, pretty much – how developers and architects are ready to collaborate with artists like me,” he said.

With all the developers, architects, and other stakeholders that may be involved with the commissioning of one of Bourieau’s sculptures, one question remains: Who are these sculptures for? Are they for the developers? The architects? Are they for Bourieau himself? 

The answer: none of the above. Bourieau’s personal philosophy is that his art is for the people who will interact with it on a daily basis.

“Art is for the people. So typically, my clients are these anonymous people who cross the square every day. I’m working for them,” he said.

The intersection between the art world and advancing technology also became a talking point during the discussion.

When he first started working, Bourieau didn’t have the level of computers, software, or AI programs that are easily accessible today. He explained how his career progressed alongside the technological revolution of the 21st century, but that the vision and creation of a sculpture is still within the hands of the artist.

“The artist, the sculptor, should be the guy who masters the tool… he’s the one who is handling it, because if not, where is the art? From chisel to robot, there is not really too much [of a] difference. It’s just an extension of your hand that you need to control,” he explained.

During the audience Q&A session, Bourieau was asked if he has ever felt any kind of attachment to a particular piece, and if so, how does he manage to control such feelings.

Bourieau advised that it’s important to let the piece go in the same manner in which parents must let their children grow up. However, he clarified that while this attachment to art may be the case for other artists, this is not how he views his own art. Finishing each piece, no matter how much he liked it or felt proud about his work on it, gives him room to begin something new.

“My favorite piece is the next one,” Bourieau said.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel: