The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

Statement on announcement of new First Vice President

Dear fellow members,

During the board meeting that was held this morning, Jennifer Jett, who works for the New York Times, was elected First Vice President to succeed Victor Mallet, who resigned from the Board this week.

We continue to call on the Hong Kong SAR government to provide a reasonable explanation for its refusal to allow Victor entry to Hong Kong and its refusal to renew his work permit.

The FCC would like to sincerely thank Victor for his considerable contribution to the FCC during his time on the Board and wishes him all the very best on his next assignment.

Yours sincerely,
Florence de Changy
Saturday November 17 2018

Why capitalism as we know it is dead

Inequality is on the rise in America, fueled by a new form of capitalism that, instead of encouraging competitive free markets, has seen monopolies and oligopolies dominate, according to the co-author of a new book.

Author Denise Hearn discussed the myth of capitalism at the FCC on February 27. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

The capitalism that lifted millions out of poverty no longer exists, rather it has become the antithesis of competitive marketplaces, said Denise Hearn.

Although it appears US consumers have endless choice when it comes to products and healthcare, this is an illusion: many of the smaller companies they purchase from are owned by much bigger conglomerates.

The figures are astounding: five banks – Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America – own more than 50 per cent of the nation’s banking assets. Four airlines – American, Delta, United, and Southwest – control around 80 per cent of American domestic airspace. Almost every industry is dominated by “robber barons”, she said.

Waves of mergers and acquisitions are contributing to the death of competition which ultimately will result in higher prices for the consumer as it allows big business to set market prices, thus squeezing smaller businesses out of the market.

Hearn, co-author of The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition, told the February 27 club lunch: “Inequality is the symptom, it’s not the disease.”

Her book explores how the US arrived at the point where so much of the economy is dominated by the few.

Hearn also revealed some astonishing little-known facts about some of America’s big companies. Amazon, for example, doesn’t only provide an e-commerce platform but it also manufactures products that are available on its website. Hearn explained that the tech firm collects data from sellers, such as the type of customer buying from them, and then uses that data to enhance its own products – and undercut the competition.

Perhaps the most shocking story of all though involved a mortuary and supermarket chain Costco. But you’ll have to watch the video below to hear it.

Book charts history of the seas to our south

Who owns the seas to our south?

Author, journalist, and former FCC President Philip Bowring’s new book, Empire of the Winds The Global Role of Asia’s Great Archipelago, delves into the history of the world’s largest archipelago to examine the now 400 million non-Chinese people who occupy most of the coasts of the South China, Java, and Sulu seas. The former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review appeared at the club on February 21 to share insights from the book.

Watch the talk below.

FCC appalled at arrest of Philippine journalist Maria Ressa

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, is appalled at the Philippine government’s efforts to silence Rappler’s CEO, Maria Ressa.

Maria Ressa, Rappler

On Wednesday, Ressa was arrested on a cyber libel complaint filed by a businessman for an article published in 2012. She has denied wrongdoing in the case, calling it “baseless”.

The move came several months after a warrant was issued for her arrest on five charges of tax fraud — a case she called “politically motivated.”

“We are not intimidated,” Ressa told reporters.

“No amount of legal cases, black propaganda and lies can silence Filipino journalists who continue to hold the line,” she said. “These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists, including the pettiness of forcing me to spend the night in jail.”

Rappler has repeatedly pushed to hold the government accountable despite repeated attacks from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It has exposed corruption within the police force, which has led the deadly crackdown against drugs, as well as in government ranks.

Duterte has repeatedly gone after his critics, and even said in 2016 that some reporters could be legitimately killed. “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” he said at the time.

Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 30 years and has won multiple awards for her work, including the 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. She has repeatedly sought to shine a light on misdeeds in a region where the powerful have increasingly sought to silence any media outlets that expose wrongdoing.

The FCC has previously honoured outstanding journalism conducted by Maria Ressa and her website Rappler, and expresses its staunchest support to her and her team to face this new challenge. It also calls on authorities to respect due process in the cases against Ressa, and uphold the right of Rappler and other media outlets to operate freely and safely.

FCC Journalism Conference 2019 – Line-Up and Booking Form

We warmly invite you to join us at the FCC’s annual journalism conference on March 23 for a day of discussion, learning and networking with some of the region’s most talented journalists. As the media faces unprecedented attacks worldwide, the theme for this year’s conference is Enemy of the People? The Dangers of Being a Journalist in 2019.

For the day’s full line-up, scroll down or click here. Highlights include sessions on:

War reporting: Hear from opening keynote speaker, Nicole Tung, a Hong Kong-born, Turkey-based photographer and winner of the James Foley Award for conflict reporting. Tung, who has covered conflict zones in Libya, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the refugee crisis in Europe, will talk about the on-the-ground dangers journalists face.

Investigative reporting: Join Emily Steel, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter from the New York Times in a fireside chat. Ms. Steel’s reporting at The Times uncovered a series of settlements totaling $45 million related to sexual harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host. The reporting laid the foundation for an international reckoning over issues of sexual misconduct.

Freedom of the press: Kevin Lau Chun-to from the Ming Pao Group will shed light on the challenges Hong Kong journalists face in a panel discussion that also includes speakers Chris Young from Citizen News and the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, plus freelance journalist Mary Hui.

Cyberbullying: CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout, Frontier Myanmar’s Sonny Swe, and others will speak on a panel dedicated to the new threats emerging in the digital space that journalists face today.

Other panels and workshops will cover issues ranging from how not to get sued to tips for online security. The conference will host speakers from The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, TVB, CNN and more. Additional specialists in areas such as data security, legal and negotiation experts and more will share their insight in relevant areas.

Breakfast, lunch and closing drinks will be provided at the conference.

Tickets cost HK$495 for members and HK$595 for guests. To sign up, please complete this booking form.

Alternatively, please contact the FCC concierge desk at 2521 1511 or email [email protected]. Once confirmed, you will be contacted to indicate which workshops you wish to attend.

Members of the media and students wishing to attend the conference should email [email protected].

No need to panic over US-China trade war, says top economics scholar

The US-China trade war will have a “manageable” impact on the GDP of both nations, according to a scholar who was once a member of China’s top political advisory body.

Professor Lawrence Lau gave his expert opinion on how the US-China trade war would play out. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Professor Lawrence Lau said that despite reporting its slowest growth since 1990 last year, China was still a strong economy and the maximum impact on it would be around a 1.1% drop. The impact on the US would be even smaller, he added, predicting a “less than 0.2%” drop.

“The first impacts [of the trade war] are mostly psychological,” Prof. Lau said at the January 29 club lunch.

The former Vice-Chancellor (President) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong explained that in terms of stock markets, Shenzhen performed badly as a result of the start of the trade war in January 2018, but all other markets remained stable. Similarly, China’s exchange rate – notably the Chinese Foreign Exchange Trade System Index (CFETS) – indicated that the RMB fell only 3% over the last year.

While the rates of growth of Chinese exports and imports fluctuate like those of all other economies, the rate of growth of China’s real GDP has also remained relatively stable, Prof. Lau said, primarily because it wasn’t dependent on outside influences.

Prof. Lau, a former member of the Department of Economics at Stanford University, predicted that by 2030, China’s real GDP would be “neck and neck” with America’s, but its GDP per capita would never catch up with the US.

Watch the full talk here.

ON ASSIGNMENT, THE FCC’S 2019 CHARITY FUNDRAISER – TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Go “On Assignment” and party all night like yesteryear’s correspondents at the 2019 FCC Charity Fundraiser. The evening will include international buffets, drinks, entertainment, live bands and a good dose of nostalgia and fun.

Chris Polanco, Don’t Panic, Sybil Thomas, Crimes Against Pop and DJ Perez will be playing.

Tickets are HK $888 for members and $1,088 for their guests, available at the Front Office or by emailing [email protected].

The fundraiser will benefit Keeping Kids in Kindergarten, a local charity helping the young children of refugees and asylum-seekers in Hong Kong. Read more about them in The Correspondent: https://www.fcchk.org/correspondent/fcc-adopts-charity-that-helps-asylum-seekers-get-their-children-into-kindergarten/

Raffle tickets are now available at the Front Office.

Stay tuned for updates on raffle tickets and an online auction featuring an exciting range of items to bid on.

New press freedom report ‘paints darkest picture of reporting conditions inside China in recent memory’

Rapidly expanding surveillance and widespread government interference against reporting in the country’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang drove a significant deterioration in the work environment for foreign journalists in China in 2018.

In December and January, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China surveyed its correspondent members about their work experiences during the calendar year 2018. The results of that survey, as well as interviews with bureau chiefs from nine major media organizations and a timeline of notable incidents, form the basis of a new report, “Under Watch: Reporting in China’s Surveillance State.”

Survey results painted the darkest picture of reporting conditions inside China in recent memory. For the first time in three years, a foreign correspondent was effectively expelled through visa denial. Separately, Chinese authorities also issued severely shortened visas and reporting credentials, one for just 2.5 months, to at least five correspondents. Pressure on Chinese national news assistants and sources intensified, and close to half of respondents reported themselves being followed or having their hotel room entered without permission while in the field.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they believed conditions deteriorated in 2018 — the largest proportion since 2011, when foreign media coverage of pro-democracy protests prompted an extensive government backlash. Not a single correspondent said conditions improved last year.

“The wider monitoring and pressure on sources stop journalists even before they can reach the news site,” said FCCC president Hanna Sahlberg. “There is a risk that even foreign media will shy away from stories that are perceived as too troublesome, or costly, to tell in China. These trends run contrary to the FCCC’s hopes for real openness for foreign media to be able to cover China.”

Sahlberg said recent reports of Chinese authorities offering, on behalf of Malaysia, to conduct intense surveillance of Hong Kong-based foreign correspondents was a disturbing development that violated both Hong Kong law and international standards.

“While 2018 has seen state-supported Chinese media expanding and widening its scope abroad, the room for reporting inside the country shrinks,” Sahlberg said. “The restrictions now facing foreign correspondents call for a serious look at the commitments China’s government has as the 2022 Winter Olympic host. We want to see an even playing field.”

2018 KEY FINDINGS

The following results are based on a survey of journalists who belong to the Foreign Correspondents’ of Club of China in Beijing. The survey was completed by 109 of 204 correspondent members. More detailed results are in the full report, which can be downloaded through a link at the bottom of this email.

• 55% of respondents said reporting conditions deteriorated in 2018, compared with 40% in the FCCC’s 2017 survey.

• Surveillance, both human and digital, became a key concern. 48% said they were followed or were aware that a hotel room was entered without permission, 91% were concerned about the security of their phones, and 22% said they were aware authorities tracked them using public surveillance systems.

• Reporting grew much more difficult in Xinjiang, where the mass detention and political “re-education” of as many as one million persons from Muslim minorities has attracted global attention. 24 out of 27 of respondents who traveled to the region saying they experienced interference while there, with 19 being asked or forced to delete data.

• 37% of 91 respondents said their Chinese colleagues were pressured, harassed or intimidated, and 34% said sources had been harassed, detained or called in for questioning at least once.

• Six correspondents said they had visa renewal difficulties related to their news coverage. BuzzFeed News bureau chief Megha Rajagopalan was effectively expelled from China after she was unable to renew her visa. Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Matthew Carney, received a visa of 2.5 months, leading to his departure. Both had done reporting in Xinjiang.

Download the full report (click the download button at top right of the page)