Michael Rutter and Peter Hickman, two of motorcycle road racing’s most successful riders, revealed the ups and downs of the sport when they appeared at the FCC ahead of the 2019 Macau Grand Prix.
The pair, who between them have dominated their field for the last two decades, talked about how they got into the white-knuckle sport, what they’re thinking about while hitting speeds in excess of 200mph, and the future of electric motorcycle racing.
You can watch this November 12 club lunch below.
Q&A Session on Proposed Reforms to Disciplinary Process Postponed
The Q&A session on proposed changes to the club’s disciplinary process scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight, Monday November 11, has been postponed. It will be rescheduled for Monday November 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Bert’s.
The FCC will operate with limited service today, with only bar and lounge service. The Dining Room and Verandah will be closed.
Thank you.
FCC
Matt Murray, Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal, talked about the newspaper’s big scoops and the future of journalism when he appeared at the club on November 6.
Watch the video.
A growing distrust of China’s technological prowess is underpinning some of the tension around its trade war with the US, which has led to the threat of Chinese companies being prohibited from publicly listing in the United States, according to experts.
Whereas five years ago there was closer collaboration between China and Silicon Valley, now a ‘splinternet’ is the result of the US pushing back against China, said author and technology writer, Rebecca Fannin, who appeared as a panelist at the FCC on November 6.
Should the United States decide to formally ban Chinese tech firms from listing IPOs there, it would be devastating, said venture capitalist Wei Jiang, a founding partner at Momentor Ventures. He added that Chinese firms would need to seek investment elsewhere.
Stella Xi Jin, a founding partner of China-focused venture capital firm Keytone Ventures, said her company was already investigating other markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Europe.
A growing list of key Chinese tech companies have been added to America’s trade blacklist as Washington seeks to block China’s ascent.
You can watch the talk here.
China will likely promulgate Article 23 in Hong Kong via an interpretation of the Basic Law rather than through the Legislative Council, predicts a veteran China watcher.
Professor Willy Lam at the FCC. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCCProfessor Willy Wo-Lap Lam, adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Centre for China Studies and author of a new book, The Fight for China’s Future: Civil Society vs. the Chinese Communist Party, said this was one of the routes Chinese President Xi Jinping may choose to restore order in Hong Kong, where protests have gripped the city since June. He said the Chinese Communist Party saw the unrest as a Black Swan Event – a colour revolution which was a collusion between anti-Beijing forces within China and hostile foreign forces such as the US. President Xi has in the recent past warned his party of the danger of Black Swan Events.
Describing Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, as a “lame duck”, Prof Lam also predicted that the CCP was unlikely to undermine her authority further by sacking her, and so would keep her in post while they chose a successor before she stood down.
Guests at the November 5 club lunch were taken through a presentation highlighting China’s growing civil society movement, which has seen army veterans, workers and students protest throughout the country.
The FCC expresses its grave concern over the attack against the Hong Kong offices of Xinhua News Agency during last weekend’s protests. News organisations and their journalists must be able to work in Hong Kong free of fear of attack and intimidation, which is essential to preserving freedom of the press.
The FCC is also looking into reports of journalists arrested over the weekend and will comment further when more information has been made available.
The FCC reiterates its call for an independent investigation into police violence against journalists and interference with the media’s right to cover the protests under Hong Kong law. The FCC urges that such an inquiry be thorough and transparent.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong condemns the arrest of freelance photojournalist May James, who was asked to remove her face mask by police while covering a protest in Mongkok on Sunday evening, October 27. At the time, she had identified herself as a journalist, wearing a high-visibility yellow vest, a helmet and backpack marked with the word “press” and produced a press identification card when questioned, according to footage of the arrest.
James was searched, arrested and then detained overnight at a police station in Kowloon. She was released early today. As a freelance photographer, James has photographed the protests for Hong Kong Free Press, AFP and others news organizations. She has shared her experiences documenting the Hong Kong protests in The Correspondent, the FCC’s magazine, as well as on a recent FCC panel with other photographers and video journalists, where she discussed the risks and responsibilities of her job.
Several other reporters were also required by police to remove their face masks in the course of their reporting duties Sunday night, despite government assurances that journalists would be exempt from the face-mask ban while carrying out their professional duties. These masks are used by reporters to protect against tear gas and pepper spray, and by law, anyone who requires the masks for professional use should be exempt from the regulation. Police appeared to use force when removing the masks and interfered with the work of reporters covering the street protests.
On Sunday night, a representative from the FCC was able to reach out to two spokesmen from the Hong Kong Police Force, including the acting superintendent for the Police Public Relations Branch, to ascertain James’s whereabouts. The contacts were a result of the FCC’s recent meeting with police representatives. Opening this channel of communication was a practical outcome from our meeting with the police and helps in the defence of journalists and FCC members.
The FCC again calls for an independent investigation into police violence against journalists and interference with the media’s right to cover the protests under Hong Kong law. The FCC urges that an investigation should be transparent.
We have expressed our concern about such incidents since the start of the protests in June, yet violence against journalists and interference continue. These incidents, including the arrest of the photojournalist last evening, undermine Hong Kong’s reputation as a place where the media can work freely, without harassment or intimidation.
October 28, 2019
International news agency Agence France-Presse has launched the 2019 Kate Webb Prize to recognise exceptional Asian journalists doing difficult and dangerous work across the region.
Kate Webb. Photo: AFPThe contest is open to locally hired Asian photo, video and text journalists, for work published during 2019.
The winner, who will be selected by a panel of experienced journalists, will receive 3,000 euros (approximately $3,300).
“Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region continue to pose significant challenges for press freedoms, and investigative journalism in particular,” said Philippe Massonnet, AFP’s regional director.
“The Kate Webb Prize aims to recognise and support local journalists who take on those challenges, often without the logistical and protective backing of a large media organisation,” he added.
Freelance reporter Asad Hashim won the 2018 prize for his coverage of the plight of ethnic Pashtuns and blasphemy issues in his native Pakistan.
The Kate Webb prize, now in its 11th year, is named after a crusading AFP reporter who died in 2007 at the age of 64 after a colourful career covering the world’s trouble spots – including Afghanistan.
Please send applications by email to the Kate Webb Prize Jury at [email protected] no later than midnight in Hong Kong (1600 GMT) on November 15, 2019.
For information on how to apply, click here.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act may work to safeguard the freedoms promised under One Country, Two Systems, but concerns have been raised around the potential economic impact of sanctions on the city.
These issues and others were discussed at the FCC by lawmaker Regina Ip, Legco member Charles Mok, and Tara Joseph, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Joseph pointed out that the bill, which is currently going passing its way through the US Senate, was simply an amendment to the existing United States-Hong Kong Policy Act and that it demonstrated “strong cooperation between Hong Kong and the US, and shows Washington is concerned about what’s happening here”.
Ip, a pro-Beijing politician, criticised the way in which the bill had so far passed through the Senate, saying that Hong Kong government representatives had offered to give evidence in the same manner as pro-democracy representatives, but had not been invited.
Legco member Charles Mok told the October 24 panel that he felt Hong Kong’s freedoms were being eroded, citing the de facto expulsion of the FCC’s Victor Mallet from the city in 2018 after he hosted a discussion with Andy Chan, founder of the now-banned Hong Kong National Party.
Watch the video of the case for and against
Fly direct, fly less, choose vegetarian meals over meat – these were some of the tips shared during a panel discussion on responsible tourism.
Guest speakers Sonalie Figueiras, founder and editor-in-chief of Green Queen; Impact Travel Alliance Vincie Ho, and author and wildlife photographer Jan Latta explored practical ways to enjoy travel without the guilt of increasing your carbon footprint.
While some solutions appeared obvious, the panel members agreed that much more needed to be done by each of us in order to minimize the impact on our environment.
All panelists highlighted useful resources to help us understand and monitor how we can be greener when we travel. Sky Scanner, for example, now shows your potential carbon footprint when you search flights through its website. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council establishes and manages global sustainable standards and awards accreditation to hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place.
Another site, Choose.Today offers a subscription that allows you to support effective C02 reduction on a monthly basis. The money goes directly to C02-reducing projects in developing countries that are verified by the United Nations.
A further useful resource highlighted by the panel was the blogging site, In Locamotion, which offers a comprehensive guide to sustainable tourism.
Watch the video