The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

Obituary: DEREK P. WILLIAMS (1946-2026)

By Annie van Es

Another legend of the media world has joined the FCC of the skies. Derek Williams, stalwart Correspondent Member of the FCC Hong Kong from 1972 to 1989 and the FCC Thailand from 1989 to 2017, a generous mentor to many young new colleagues, a friend to everyone and soulmate to many, passed away in his hometown in New Zealand on 22 July, 2026, just before his 80^th birthday.

Derek’s first job was with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, but he spent almost five decades of his professional life based out of Hong Kong and Bangkok, zigzagging across every country in Asia and the Middle East, covering conflicts large and small, first as a soundman, then cameraman and producer. He was on staff for CBS News for 20 years, five years as a freelancer, and in late 1996 he birthed his own TV production company in Bangkok with three other partners, Mark Laban, Heather Kelly and David McKaige, all seasoned TV camera operators and producers. Derek finally hung up his cameras in 2017 and retired to the States where one of this sons and grandson live, and where his wife Ha’s family is.

His outstanding work, which earned several TV awards, covered numerous stories for 60 Minutes, including the 1979/80 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, where he and his buddy Hugh van Es who was then working in Afghanistan for TIME magazine, were the only two who managed to sneak into Kabul, ending up under house arrest in the Holiday Inn hotel.

Derek was also in Beijing in 1989 where he and his correspondent Richard Roth were arrested, however they and other fellow foreign arrestees were released later the same day. Derek flew back to Hong Kong to be met by his wife Ha and Hugh and I at Kai Tak airport and we headed, of course, straight to the FCC for his staple Shepherd’s Pie and not so staple cognac to calm his nerves.

His zigzags included several returns to the Middle East after starting in 1970s Beirut which he continued to cover into the 1980s which also brought the Iran-Iraq war. He witnessed coups, uprisings, riots, border wars and natural disasters, as well as the horrendous lynchings at Thammasat University in Thailand, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, royal funerals, and so much more. It was a continuous traumatic, defining and kaleidoscopic journey through a specific history of world events. I cannot think of one major political, civil or defining event in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific that he didn’t cover, be it from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, South Korea, North Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Brunei, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain … even Russia. On and on.

L-R: Derek Williams, Terry Anderson, Bruce Dunning. taken during the riots in Korea in
1980. Photo by Robin Moyer

There was the occasional relief of some lighter stories such as The America’s Cup in Fremantle, Grand Prix action in China, behind-the-scenes filming in Thailand for Hollywood movies including James Bond’s Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan and one of the films in Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series.

After each story, Derek, his crew and other Journalist Members would inevitably adjourn to the FCC. The beer, vodka and Scotch would flow, as would the regaling of the adventures. They were not tall tales; they were real experiences recalled and shared to relieve their stress they were what made the FCC atmosphere tick.

While he couldn’t escape from these continuous traumatic and often violent experiences, Derek remained the most affable, unassuming, generous, kind-hearted, hospitable, loyal, and witty human being I was privileged to know. He fell in love with a Vietnamese lady, Ha, whom he married in Saigon in 1975, and with typical Vietnamese hospitality, their house in Hong Kong and subsequently Bangkok became an open house. There were always guests at their home and once in Bangkok, when Hugh and I were bunking down there on one of our frequent visits, there were three other separate visiting parties in the house, so Ha had to partition off their upstairs landing and put in tatamis to accommodate all of us. We had to set a timetable though for use of the bathrooms. And never a frown from Derek; in fact, I think he thrived on it. Being married to Ha and having lived and travelled in Asia for all those years, he had a deep understanding and respect for Asian cultures, which on occasions got him out of trouble when covering stories.

L-R: Hugh van Es, Derek Williams, Dexter Leong

He was also not afraid to make fun of himself. Some years back, he told a story of how someone remarked that he reminded him of a movie star, Derek volunteered “yes, a lot of people say I look like Michael Caine”, and the other person replied “No, Marty Feldman”. Marty Feldman was a British actor/comedian known for his protruding and prominently misaligned eyes!

L-R: Hugh van Es, Robin Moyer, Derek Williams

In 2020 Derek was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and he returned to New Zealand in August 2025 to be nearer his siblings. In March 2026 he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. After five decades of energetically traversing the world, spending hundreds of thousands of hours on the phone, Parkinson’s suddenly depriving him of his mobility and ability to articulate was perhaps the hardest end for him, more so than the cancer.

L-R: Derek Williams, Jean Williams (Derek’s mother), Annie Van Es, Hugh Van Es at
lunch on Lamma

Derek is survived by his beloved wife Ha, sons Vu and Dzung, grandson Niko, and siblings Pip, Chrissie and Tim, who were by his side during his last days. Ha and Vu will carry his ashes to Bangkok to be scattered into the Chao Phraya River after a Buddhist ceremony, followed by a wake at the FCC Thailand.

L-R: Vu Williams (aka Ki), Derek, Ha, Dzung Williams (Ti)

Not only was he a legend in his career, but I would like to quote and endorse his buddy partner Mark Laban who said of Derek: “… the truest legend … is the one held by everyone lucky enough to call him a friend”.

Legendary journalist and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather paid tribute to Derek in a Facebook post on the day of his passing: “I’m deeply saddened to hear of Derek Williams’s passing. He was one of the bravest and a great CBS News cameraman. The images he captured beautifully told the story of a dangerous world — from the Middle East to South Asia and beyond. He was also a great man.”

I have the comfort of all the wonderful memories of him, and my Hugh is in every one of them, but Derek is an impossibly hard act to follow.

FCC Adverse Weather Arrangements

Typhoon Signal No. 1 & No. 3
The Club will operate as normal.

Typhoon Signal No.8 or above
The Club will be closed.

If the T8 signal is lowered before 16:00, Club operations will resume gradually within the following two hours. If it is lowered after 16:00, the Club will remain closed for the rest of the day.

Extreme Conditions Signal
If the signal is lowered before 16:00, Club operations will resume gradually within the following two hours. If it is lowered after 16:00, the Club will remain closed for the rest of the day. *The Club will send out a Notice to Members to advise of any special arrangements that differ from the above stated guidelines.

Amber or Red Rainstorm Warning
The Club will operate as normal.

Black Rainstorm Warning
When hoisted before the Club’s official operating hours, the Club will be closed.

Consistent with the advice by the Hong Kong Observatory (that people should shelter indoors until the heavy rain has passed) if the warning is hoisted during operating hours, staff currently on duty will provide limited service until the warning has been lowered. Normal operations will resume gradually within two hours.

Further details are available from the Front Desk (2521 1511).

Preserving Hong Kong’s heritage buildings: an FCC panel discussion

By Hugo Novales

For 43 years, the FCC has been a proud custodian of its Grade 1 historic building on Lower Albert Road. Formerly a dairy farm depot, the building has been repurposed into a hotspot for Hong Kong’s journalism community, as well as business leaders, lawyers, diplomats, and professionals across various industries.

In 2026, the FCC became part of the Built Heritage Alliance, a new organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to preserving the city’s cultural legacy. With brickwork dating back to the early 1900s and uniquely-crafted tiles, nearly every inch of the FCC has a story that could go unnoticed by the average person.

To learn more about the FCC’s clubhouse and how it stands within Hong Kong’s cultural framework, two heritage experts sat alongside Lee Williamson, a member of the Club’s Professional Committee, at a lunchtime talk in early June. The panel first broke down what the term “heritage conservation” actually means and the misconceptions that some may have about it.

“Heritage conservation is not about freezing the past, but it’s about managing the changes wisely. To manage it wisely, that’s how we can actually sustain our heritage and sustain it for the future generation,” said Winnie Yeung, an architectural conservationist who is a member of the BHA and the FCC’s Building Committee.

She explained how trying to preserve a historic site with the same features and uses from when it was first built would actually be unsustainable in modern times. Instead, finding a new purpose for an older building while investing in its upkeep is the most practical preservation effort for Hong Kong’s various heritage buildings.

Yeung referenced the Tai O Heritage Hotel, a former marine police station that can now host visitors in its various guestrooms and serve dishes showcasing Tai O’s unique culinary traditions.

Repurposing the Tai O Heritage Hotel in this manner, which also included involvement from the local community, are what Yeung believes maintains the “spirit of place” despite a heritage site now utilising itself in a new direction.

“The ‘spirit of place’ doesn’t have to be the original spirit of place. We’re not trying to turn [the FCC] into an old dairy farm depot again,” she said.

Talking more about the FCC’s own heritage preservation was Simpson Wong, the second panelist and author of The Allure of Old Hong Kong book series.

He gave a presentation on encaustic inlay tiles, the same kind of tiles that cover the floor of the FCC’s Main Bar and Lounge. They’re made using molten beeswax with patterns that are layered into a negative mould and can last over 100 years

Encaustic inlay tiles can be found in only three other locations in Hong Kong besides the FCC: the Governor’s Mountain Lodge (which was demolished in 1946), the Old Bacteriological Institute (now the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Science), and HKU’s Main Building. Wong pointed out the similar patterns on the tiles at HKU and the FCC and believes that they both likely came from the same source, which he plans to continue researching.

To make his presentation a bit more hands-on than the usual Club Lunch event, Wong also brought along 7 different tiles for audience members to pass around and inspect closely — likely a first-time experience for everyone in attendance.

With a comprehensive lesson in encaustic inlay tiles, Wong emphasised how important it is for people in Hong Kong to fully understand their own history.

“Understand more, know more. With the knowledge, you will appreciate the city we have and the heritage history we have,” he advised the audience, concluding the panel discussion.

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

How Keith Macgregor is preserving neon memories in City of Lights, his latest photobook

By Hugo Novales

“We took [neon] for granted.”

Keith Macgregor, a commercial photographer who was already well-known in Hong Kong for his family portraits and postcard-worthy city shots, made a new name for himself in the late 1990s by capturing the city’s iconic neon signs which have now become a rare sight.

With the local government’s implementation of the Signboard Control System (SBCS) in 2010, neon seemingly disappeared overnight. Today, only about 500 neon signs – as opposed to the LEDs that have taken their place – can be spotted around Hong Kong.

Macgregor has since made it his mission to preserve neon memories through his comprehensive books that showcase his take on a Hong Kong that no longer exists. His seventh book, City of Lights, released earlier this year features his favourite signs, guest articles written by local neon experts, and even Macgregor’s own creative visions of what he wishes his favourite streets in Hong Kong looked like.

At an FCC Club Lunch moderated by Raymond Lam, a Senior Writer at Buddhistdoor Global and member of the Club’s Professional Committee, Macgregor talked about how neon shaped his life.

“I’m very guilty of not shooting [neon] in the 60s and 70s, not so much in the 60s, but [in] the 70s and 80s, I didn’t do enough at night,” he said, citing his responsibilities as a husband and father which kept him at home most evenings.

Keith Macgregor and Raymond Lam. Photo: FCC

In a colourful presentation, Macgregor displayed side-by-side comparisons of Hong Kong’s vibrant streets at night versus what they look like today. Not all neon signs are gone, but the ones that remain are now subject to strict sizing rules that only smaller signs fit within.

The SBCS takes action against “large unauthorised signboards” and regularly surveys “unauthorised, abandoned or dangerous signboards” that could pose a threat to the general public, yet Macgregor finds little evidence that neon has ever been a hazard to anyone.

“I don’t think anybody’s ever been killed in a hundred years by a neon sign, except for the poor people who install them, and they are heroes,” he said.

Macgregor also explained why neon, out of all the other great and amazing things that are found exclusively in Hong Kong, has such a special place in his heart.

“I think [neon] is such an amazing art form, and it lends itself to Chinese calligraphy so beautifully. That’s what’s so special about it,” he said.

Macgregor and his family currently reside in the UK. He’s now lived there longer than he’s lived in Hong Kong, yet he tries to return to the city every few years. There’s less neon each time he returns, yet he hopes that with City of Lights, this era of the city’s history will still be remembered.

“Things move on, we’ve got to accept it. I’m sad that neon’s gone,” Macgregor concluded.

A City of Lights exhibit, which includes copies of the book for sale, is open to the general public at the Blue Lotus Gallery in Tai Ping Shan, Hong Kong Island, from now until 4 October 2026.

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