The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

“In order to have a democracy, you must share a common set of facts” – Marty Baron

The proliferation of online disinformation sites purporting to be legitimate news has created an incredibly difficult and hostile environment for journalism, said Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post, in a discussion moderated by FCC President Keith Richburg.

“Consumption of media is now more polarised than it probably ever has been, and that’s not a great result for us,” Baron said. “Because in order to have a democracy, you have to share a common set of facts.”

He said that increased education around media literacy and journalists being more transparent about their reporting were both necessary steps to combat the unchecked spread of disinformation.

Asked if President Trump had been successful in sowing distrust against the media, Baron said yes but acknowledged that Trump’s cries of ‘fake news’ had not been the sole cause.

“Approval and trust in the media was declining well before that, but he accelerated and reinforced it,” Baron said. “Sadly, he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish, disturbingly so, and we’re going to be dealing with that for decades to come.”

During the discussion, Baron was asked about Post reporter Felicia Sonmez’s suspension and ban from covering sexual assault stories, with viewer Wayne Ma submitting the question, “Do you regret those decisions, what was the original thinking behind them and what has the Post done to ensure such incidents don’t happen again?”

Baron said he did not want to comment on the case specifically but added “I don’t have any regrets.” As he was talking to the FCC, Sonmez filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. against the Washington Post and several individuals including Baron.

Watch the full discussion below:

“The China we have now is not necessarily the China that had to be” – Professor Hans van de Ven

As the Chinese Communist Party celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding, Professor Hans van de Ven acknowledged the party’s success in a Zoom talk hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, but he also said that its history over the past century was never written in stone.

“The Chinese we have now is not necessarily the China that had to be,” said van de Ven. “It could have gone many different ways at very different points in time: the party could have ceased to exist, [or] different reform factions might have taken over.”

Professor van de Ven is a co-editor of the new book, The Chinese Communist Party: A Century in Ten Lives, which approaches the history of the CCP in an unusual way. Rather than focusing on major historical figures such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, each chapter of the book tells the history of a different person, some of whom are not even Chinese, from a different decade. He said he and his fellow editor took this approach because they felt it would make the history more accessible to a broader audience.

“China is becoming an ever-bigger part of debates in the U.S. and in Europe, and the lack of knowledge about China is such that if you write a general history with a lot of place names and dates and history, people are not going to follow it and won’t be interested,” said van de Ven.

He said the book highlights two paths the party could have taken but didn’t: “a liberal form of communism, a more human form of communism” and a “cosmopolitan, international tradition.”

He also said there is a widespread and mistaken belief that “the CCP is simply one military authoritarian clique and that’s all you need to know about it.”

“No, it’s not, it’s much more interesting than that,” said van de Ven.

He said that the CCP’s endurance stemmed from an ability to reinvent itself after various crises and disasters, and also “because it is such a disciplined organization.” He added that Xi Jinping is the key driver of party discipline.

“The party has penetrated all nooks and crannies of Chinese society so that what it does, what it wants to do and what it tells its party members to do just generally happens,” said van de Ven.

In spite of its long history, van de Ven said that the CCP is not yet politically stable and houses inherent tensions, thanks in part to its origins as a revolutionary party designed to overthrow governments.

“It was never designed as an instrument for stable rule,” said Van de Ven.

Watch the full discussion below:

Income Disparity, Environmental Concerns Biggest Challenges Facing Chinese Communist Party – Eric X. Li

China’s income disparity and environmental degradation are the biggest challenges currently facing the ruling Chinese Communist Party at the 100th anniversary of its founding, said Shanghai-based venture capitalist and political scientist Eric X. Li, who vigorously defended the party’s style of government while expressing doubts about liberal democracies around the world.

“Liberal societies should learn from the party state in China,” Li said. “The party state in China has been very good at self-criticism – that’s why they reinvent themselves. Liberal societies have been failing at that for decades.”

In a spirited Zoom webinar moderated by FCC President Keith Richburg, Li said the CCP had embarked on its third “reinvention” since winning power 72 years ago and transitioning to a government party and then embarking on an openness and reform policy in 1979. This latest reinvention, he said, is driven by a desire to tackle income inequality and achieve a more “balanced growth.” He added that a focus on repairing the environment was a second major priority.

He said that Western countries such as the United States need to be less arrogant, then went on to dismiss the suggestion that the CCP needs to legitimize its rule through elections or referendums because such processes have caused dysfunction and paralysis in liberal democracies.

“I think democracy needs a new set of measurements,” Li said. “I think democracy needs to be measured by outcome, not procedure.”

Asked why the CCP has little tolerance for dissent or criticism, Li countered that there is plenty of debate and difference of opinion in China, including among the party leadership. But he argued that the dissent found in liberal societies has no place in China.

“Just look at the countries that have it: they’re not being governed very effectively, they are polarized, their people hate each other, their media hate each other,” Li said. “We don’t want that.”

He also defended the more assertive, sometimes bombastic, stands by Chinese officials on social media — sometimes referred to as “Wolf Warrior diplomats” — saying Westerners were simply not used to Chinese standing up and loudly speaking back against criticism.

“They’re seeing their country being demonized by Western politicians and media, and they’re reacting to it for the first time in many decades,” Lis said. “You’d better get used to it.”

Aside from issues of income inequality and the environment, Li argued the CCP needs to steer younger generations away from populism and nationalism toward “productive socialism” and “healthy patriotism.”

“If it can do this, it will deliver on the material and spiritual aspirations of China’s new generations and, as a result, stay in power for a very long time to come,” Li said. “Success is not assured, but I wouldn’t bet against it.”

Watch the full conversation:

Solidarity Amongst Journalists Needed as Apple Daily Closes – Brian Stelter

On the day that Apple Daily published its last edition following 26 years of operation, CNN’s Brian Stelter said in a webinar hosted by the FCC that journalistic solidarity is needed in challenging moments such as these.

“Nothing unites journalists more than a threat against a newspaper or a publication or against journalism itself,” Stelter said. “Nothing unites this industry more than a moment like this.”

Speaking to FCC press freedom committee co-chair Eric Wishart, Stelter said that the shuttering of a newspaper like Apple Daily is something that resonates around the world and should be taken note of by an international audience.

“I would say solidarity is a critical component of this,” said Stelter, the anchor of Reliable Sources and author of the newly updated paperback version of Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth.

Asked if Apple Daily’s closure would resonate with people in the United States, he said that there would be some awareness but not enough, and that issues of press freedom in general deserve a bigger audience.

“We also have to tell the global story, that this is something that we’re seeing erosion [of] in many countries. All of us, including me, have to work on that,” said Stelter.

Watch the full conversation below:

FCC Expresses Deep Regret Over Closure of Apple Daily

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong wishes to express its deep regret at the announcement of the closure of Apple Daily.

Apple Daily has been a vibrant member of the Hong Kong media landscape for more than quarter of a century and a widely read source of information for many in the city.

The closure is a blow to the journalism community in Hong Kong and raises legitimate concerns over the future of press freedom in the city. It comes after government authorities froze its assets and arrested several top editors.

The closure also has a major social impact and will leave hundreds of journalists, editorial production staff and other employees involved in the publication and distribution of the newspaper unemployed.

The FCC calls on the Hong Kong media community to provide assistance for those now left jobless with the closure in finding new employment.

FCC Statement on Arrests and Search Involving Apple Daily

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong is concerned over the arrest of five Apple Daily executives, including its editor-in-chief Ryan Law and deputy chief editor.

According to the Hong Kong police and media reports, the five were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law and were undergoing questioning.

The FCC notes that the Hong Kong police’s search of the Apple Daily premises took place under a warrant “covering the power of searching and seizure of journalistic materials.” Press reports indicate that police searched journalists’ notes and files and accessed their computers.

We are not pronouncing on the legalities of the situation or today’s actions. However the Foreign Correspondents’ Club is concerned that this latest action will serve to intimidate independent media in Hong Kong and will cast a chill over the free press, protected under the Basic Law.

Professor Ivan Hung on the Pandemic in Hong Kong: “Hopefully we are seeing the end and there won’t be a fifth wave”

More than a year after the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, countries around the world are having vastly different experiences as vaccination campaigns continue, borders remain closed and fears about virus variants persist. In the United States, 50% of adults have been fully vaccinated, while in Hong Kong that figure hovers around 12% despite a surplus of available jabs. At the same time, mask wearing, quarantine and other restrictions have yet to be relaxed for fully vaccinated people in Hong Kong, despite other governments doing the opposite.

In a Zoom presentation hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Professor Ivan Hung of the University of Hong Kong offered an in-depth update on the status of the global pandemic, covering topics including vaccinations, viral variants and asymptomatic transmissions.

“In Hong Kong, we have already come to the end of our fourth wave. It took us a long time over a period of five to six months to contain the fourth wave, said Hung.

“The latest, very small outbreak of the South African variant in the community has come to an end thanks to very tight infection control measures. Hopefully we’re seeing the end and there won’t be a fifth wave once we get our vaccination rate up.”

Australian Correspondents Bill Birtles and Michael Smith Discuss Their Dramatic Escape From China

In September 2020, deteriorating relations between Australia and China led to a five-day diplomatic standoff during which the two remaining foreign correspondents employed by Australian media, Bill Birtles and Michael Smith, were evacuated from the PRC. In a Zoom event hosted the by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club and moderated by FCC President Keith Richburg, the two journalists shared their accounts of the days leading up to their escape.

“When the warnings first came from our government, we didn’t really quite believe it, we didn’t really take them too seriously. We actually thought they were playing politics with us, and that we didn’t need to get out of China at all,” said Smith. “It was all rather dramatic when things did escalate, and you get that knock on the door. There’s a lot of theatrics involved and I think it was designed to intimidate.”

One important factor was that both journalists were unaware that the homes of several Chinese state journalists had been searched by Australian officials several weeks earlier, and they had only just found out about the detainment of Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

“That’s why it came as such a shock, because a lot had been happening in the background and we weren’t privy to this information,” said Birtles.

Birtles described the surreal experience of having to prepare to leave the country and relying on fellow journalists to pack up his apartment whilst not trying to draw any media attention.

“There was this concern at the time from the Australian diplomats, of course, that if the story broke in the Australian media, then it might force the Chinese side to dig in,” said Birtles. “If we for example, are holed up taking shelter at these embassies, supposedly avoiding Chinese investigators in a national security case, then it would look like the Australian government’s interfering by preventing us from doing the interviews.”

Both Birtles and Smith have now published books about their experiences: The Truth About China and The Last Correspondent, respectively. Though they’ve had plenty of time to process what happened, they still feel surprised by how they ultimately had to flee the country in order to avoid potential incarceration.

“I never felt unsafe in China,” said Smith. “I always thought the worst thing that could happen to me is that I’d be deported, like a lot of American journalists have been.”

Watch the full discussion below:

FCC Board of Governors 2021-2022 Election Result

Congratulations to the new FCC Board of Governors for 2021-2022. They will begin serving after the Annual General Meeting on May 25.

We would like to thank the outgoing Board members for their service.

The new Board members are listed below.

PRESIDENT

Keith Richburg

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

Hannamiina Tanninen

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

Tim Huxley

CORRESPONDENT GOVERNORS

Lucy Colback
Jennifer Hughes
Kristie Lu Stout
Iain Marlow
Shai Oster
Austin Ramzy
Dan Strumpf
Eric Wishart

JOURNALIST GOVERNORS

Clifford Buddle
Zela Chin

ASSOCIATE GOVERNORS

Genavieve Alexander
Liu Kin-ming
Christopher Slaughter
Richard David Winter

Master of Wine Fongyee Walker on the Challenges Facing the Chinese Wine Industry

Offering a fascinating look at the inner workings of the Chinese winemaking industry, Master of Wine Fongyee Walker highlighted the many business challenges facing producers in a Zoom talk hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong.

“There are people making terrific wine, but who do you sell it to?” said Walker. “You’re trying to sell a premium product to a market that almost doesn’t exist — it’s a huge challenge.”

Speaking with FCC President Keith Richburg, who moderated the discussion, Walker explained that wine drinkers in China tend to gravitate towards bottles from regions like Burgundy and Bordeaux, while other Chinese only drink baijiu.

To build up international demand for their wines, Walker said that Chinese producers should open high-end Michelin-star Chinese restaurants in major capital cities.

“For a Western audience, wine and food is indivisible,” said Walker.

In spite of these challenges, Walker had many positive things to say about Chinese wine, including the superlative wines coming from regions such as Shandong and Yunnan.

She also highlighted one other thing that makes China unique: its wine industry features many women in positions of power, unlike the rest of the world.

“The most female-friendly wine industry in the world is in China” said Walker.

Watch the full discussion below: