FCC to Reopen March 13, Announces Enhanced Travel Disclosure Plans

FCC to Reopen March 13, Announces Enhanced Travel Disclosure Plans

The FCC will reopen as scheduled on Friday 13th March. The deep cleaning of the club has been completed and we would like to thank members for their support and understanding during this period. The Club looks forward to welcoming back members and all programmed events will take place as scheduled.

Amid the coronavirus, the FCC will continue with measures to ensure the health and safety of our members and staff including screening temperatures and requiring all members and guests to check in and note their recent travel histories.

Based on World Health Organization and Hong Kong government guidance, in addition to mainland China, we will now ask that members who have been to the following locations in the past 14 days do not enter the club. This includes Italy; Hokkaido, Japan; Seattle, Washington; South Korea; Iran; France; Germany and Spain. This list may change as the path of the virus shifts.

Additionally, any guests or members who have recently visited other hot spots for coronavirus around the world should not visit the club within 14 days of their trip to ensure the health and safety of others.

Thank you.
12 March 2020

FCC to Close Until March 13 For Deep Cleaning Amid Coronavirus

FCC to Close Until March 13 For Deep Cleaning Amid Coronavirus

The club has been informed today that an FCC member has been confirmed as having the coronavirus and was hospitalized on Friday 6 March.

He last visited the club 19 days ago, using the main lounge at lunchtime on February 20. Out of an abundance of caution, we are closing the club for a deep cleaning from tonight and reopening on Friday.

The club will be closed from 6pm Tuesday 10, reopening as normal on Friday 13 March.

The health and safety of our members and staff, as well as their comfort and confidence, is our priority and we believe these measures are an appropriate response.

We are communicating with FEHD and other relevant government agencies.

Our affected member was reported to be in a stable condition. He was quarantined Thursday 5 March after a close family member tested positive for the virus. We wish him and his family a speedy recovery and our thoughts are with them.

The club has already introduced several measures to ensure the health of our members and staff, including screening visitors’ temperatures, checking recent travel histories and asking people who’ve visited specific places to self-quarantine for 14 days. We will continue to review those procedures as the situation evolves.

For members with further questions, the club will operate a hotline – 2521 1511 – between 9am and 9pm from Wednesday through Friday.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the club on Friday.

FCC Update on Restrictions

FCC Update on Restrictions

Dear Members:

As the Hong Kong government is tightening restrictions given a recent uptick in coronavirus cases in the city, the FCC will make some changes starting Saturday, July 11. Events, banqueting and live music will continue, though table configurations and capacity at events will shift given the new rules.

Changes include:

No more than eight people will be allowed per table.

The occupancy of the club will be reduced to 60%, which the staff will manage. Event capacity will be reduced slightly and events are filling up quickly, and tables fill up at lunch and dinner time, so book in advance.

No more than four people will be allowed in groups around the bar. We will bring back the small tables near the bar.

The gym will remain open, though the sauna and steam room remain closed per government rules.

The FCC will continue to restrict guests to three per member at all times in the Main Bar and Lounge and in Bert’s.

In keeping with government requirements and best practices, all members, guests and staff must wear face masks except when eating or drinking, and hand sanitizer must be used by all. The FCC also will continue the check-in, temperature taking and declaration measures upon entry to the club, as well as the frequent cleaning protocols throughout the building.

10 July 2020

‘Marked deterioration’ in conditions for foreign media in China: FCCC annual report

The Chinese government is using “visas as weapons” against foreign journalists on an unprecedented scale amid a marked deterioration in working conditions for international media, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) says in its annual report.

More than 80% of correspondents surveyed for the report say that they had experienced “interference, harassment or violence” while reporting. The three most sensitive coverage areas have been the Hong Kong protests, the situation in Xinjiang and any criticism of President Xi Jinping.

Correspondents have faced “harassment and intimidation” over their coverage of the protests in Hong Kong, including invasive checks on their belongings and equipment while crossing the border, the report says.

In the latest example of foreign media being targeted, three journalists from the Wall Street Journal were expelled in February over an opinion piece written by a columnist.

Correspondents reported increasing difficulty in obtaining visa renewals in 2019, with at least 12 receiving credentials valid for six months or less.

Expulsions and shortened visas are a “very ominous sign”, says Steven Lee Myers, Beijing bureau chief for the New York Times, according to the report. The government’s “desire for control, or their wariness of scrutiny, really gets in the way of the stories China does have to tell”.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China is a Beijing-based professional association comprising correspondents from more than 25 countries and regions. More than 100 FCC members responded to the FCCC survey that was carried out last December and formed the basis of the report’s findings.

The full report is published here.

Invitation for Tender: Book Editor/ Project Manager

Invitation for Tender:

Book Editor/ Project Manager

Contract period: Approximately 6 months

Deadline for tender: 31 March 2020

Role Description

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) is seeking a temporary Editor to act as Project Manager for a commemorative book chronicling the Club’s nearly 75-year history in Hong Kong, from the time the first batch of foreign correspondents relocated from China in 1949 to the present. This is a temporary position and can be done part time as long as the project is completed in the agreed time frame. The Editor must have the skills to see the project through from inception to completion.

The FCC envisions the book to primarily consist of photographs; some short written vignettes by former and current members around a common theme (such as “My Favourite FCC Memory”/ FCC conversations); and a review of past memorable events using all the back issues of The Correspondent Magazine as the key resource. Much of the work would consist of creatively deciding and outlining the theme and optimal length for the vignettes; identifying and commissioning others to write the vignettes; pouring through back issues of The Correspondent; and identifying the best photographs to illustrate the rich history of the Club. The Editor is responsible for securing all requisite photo approvals. The Editor is not required to do any of the writing, but would be responsible for assuring accuracy, standards and editorial consistency for all articles and captions. The Editor need not be a professional proofreader and can request funding for a proofreader near the completion date. The Editor is responsible for all editorial content, but not design.

Duties and Responsibilities

To manage the book project from start to finish
To present the creative vision for the final project and a realistic timetable for completion
To identify, locate and commission past and current FCC members to write short stories.
To personally review back issues of The Correspondent Magazine to ensure that key Club events and highlights are reflected in the book

The Ideal Candidate

Familiarity with the FCC, its history, and some of its past most memorable personalities
Creative thinker able to conceptualise the final project and bring it to completion
Good organisational skills, detail oriented and excellent time management abilities
Good interpersonal skills to cajole contributors to write, and then chase them up on deadline
Past experience as an editor or writer, or working on a book or similar sized project
A good sense of humour, ability to troubleshoot with a smile, no drama

Reports To: The Communications Committee or its designated representative

Summary of Book Design

A portable contemporary in style look and feel sized book (EG: A5) of approximately 200 pages, largely pictorial. Out in print and on sale by 2023 with a preview book launch at the FCC on the cusp of its 75 YR anniversary EG: in the autumn of 2023.

Interested parties please submit your tender & a copy of your business registration before the deadline to:

FCC

North Block

2 Lower Albert Road

Central HK

Any questions please contact our Administration Department Ms Joanne Chung at (tel) 2844 2830 or (email) [email protected].

FCC Communications Committee

Coronavirus: ‘Hong Kong’s control measures are taking effect’

The measures introduced in Hong Kong to contain the coronavirus outbreak are working because the city learned its lesson from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

That was the consensus of a panel of guests who discussed the physical and mental challenges facing Hong Kong since the outbreak at the start of this year.

Professor Keiji Fukuda, Director and a Clinical Professor at The University of Hong Kong School of Public Health; Dr. Arisina Ma, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Public Doctors’ Association; Elizabeth Cheung, health reporter at the South China Morning Post; and Odile Thiang, Anti-Stigma Projects Coordinator at Mind Hong Kong, all agreed the Hong Kong government had so far been effective in preventing a major community outbreak.

Dr. Ma said that Hong Kong was one of the only places in Asia to continuously invest in infectious control research since the SARS crisis of 2003.

As of February 26, there were 85 confirmed cases in Hong Kong. For perspective, Prof. Fukuda pointed out this was an average of two people infected per day. Odile Thiang of Mind HK added that during the week of February 10, Hong Kong reported 13 deaths contributed to influenza.

SCMP’s Elizabeth Cheung said that the government’s communications over the virus had improved, with daily press conferences to update the media. She said it could do better, however, in how it collaborates with other information providers to update the press on the status of Hongkongers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, for example.

Longer-term, the panel agreed that more research was needed on these types of viruses. Prof. Fukuda pointed out that with SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), the incentive to develop a vaccine wasn’t there because the viruses died out relatively quickly. He called for governments to work to develop vaccines in the period between outbreaks.

“Other crises come up and attention wanders,” he said.

Watch the video

Hong Kong Protests: We can’t rebuild broken city until we have a new Chief Executive, says Anson Chan

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam must step down or be removed by Beijing if the city is to begin rebuilding itself after months of anti-government protests, says former Chief Secretary for Administration, Anson Chan.

In a panel discussion on how Hong Kong can move forward and bring an end to the protests that have gripped the city since June last year, Chan and Dr. Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, Legislative Councillor for Kowloon West and member of the Committee for the Basic Law, both agreed that Lam’s government was weak and that an independent inquiry was required to get to the heart of the reasons behind the protests.

“We cannot wait for the government, we have to rely on ourselves,” said Leung.

Chan added that she condemns violence, but believes that a large number of the protesters are “reasonable people” who only want universal suffrage, as promised under the Basic Law.

Watch the video – please note, our Facebook broadcast was interrupted shortly before the end of the event. We will replace this video with a full version shortly.

FCCC Statement on the Expulsion of Three Wall Street Journal Correspondents

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation over China’s decision to cancel the visas of three foreign correspondents from the Wall Street Journal’s Beijing bureau, in direct retaliation for an opinion article published by that newspaper, by an author based outside of China.

The WSJ’s deputy bureau chief Josh Chin and reporter Chao Deng, both Americans, as well as reporter Philip Wen, an Australian, have been ordered to leave the country in five days. None of the three had any involvement with the opinion article, or its headline, that China cited in their expulsion.

The action taken against The Journal correspondents is an extreme and obvious attempt by the Chinese authorities to intimidate foreign news organizations by taking retribution against their China-based correspondents.

Simultaneously revoking press credentials of three correspondents is an unprecedented form of retaliation against foreign journalists in China. China has not outright expelled a foreign correspondent since 1998, as far as the FCCC is aware.

The FCCC is now aware of nine journalists either expelled or effectively expelled (through non-renewal of visas) from China since 2013. China has evicted fair and talented journalists who have worked hard to bring unbiased, informative reports to their audiences and to understand China.

FCCC member correspondents and their colleagues in China are suffering from an increasing frequency of harassment, surveillance and intimidation from authorities. The expulsion of these three WSJ reporters is only the latest, and most alarming, measure authorities have taken.

Read the FCC Hong Kong statement here

FCC statement on expulsion of three Wall Street Journal staff from China

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, condemns the expulsion of three Wall Street Journal staff from China over the publication of an opinion column.

Deputy Bureau Chief Josh Chin and reporter Chao Deng, both Americans, and reporter Philip Wen, an Australian, have been given five days to leave the country.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they were being expelled after the Journal refused to apologise for the publication on February 3 of an opinion piece entitled “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia”. It was written by Global View columnist and Bard College professor Walter Russell Mead, Mead, and its headline has been widely criticized for being racist and insensitive.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang announced the expulsions at a news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

These unprecedented expulsions come at a time when journalists must be able to report freely on the COVID-19 outbreak without fear of being targeted in retaliation for coverage and comment on the epidemic.