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A Message from the General Manager

      
Dear members,
It is a pleasure for me to write my first note as your General Manager.
I have enjoyed a warm welcome from members and staff alike since my arrival on Monday 29th January. I have already noticed familiar faces at familiar spaces around the main bar and I now know where the lawyers and photographers sit! You will see me around the club well into the evening – especially on Friday nights – and I ask for your patience and understanding as it will take me a while to connect all the names and faces.
Member feedback is very important, and I appreciate the many comments and suggestions I have received to date. FCC members are certainly passionate about their club! Comment Cards are shared with me and discussed with the management team, and a summary is presented to the House/F&B Committee and to the Board each month. The team is also planning a comprehensive Membership Survey for March. This will enable us to gather statistically valid data on member satisfaction with our various outlets, programmes, events and facilities. Ample space will be provided for comments which, while not statistically valid, help to provide context to the numerical scores and will assist us in identifying opportunities for improvement. The scores will be cross tabulated with demographic information so that we can understand the needs and wants of our diverse, multinational membership.
I encourage you to participate in this important initiative. Survey data is very valuable for the Board, its various committees, management and staff. Results will be shared with each of these groups and with the membership through The Correspondent magazine and will form the basis of planning for the future. Survey results are also invaluable for me, as your new General Manager, as they will help me to clearly understand what members want and to plan and prioritize accordingly for the months ahead. We are also planning three lucky draw prizes for survey participants, which we will announce in late February.
Finally, a word about our staff. The FCC is blessed with a dedicated, hard-working, warm and welcoming team, some of whom have worked at the club for decades. I am enjoying working with them and look forward to giving them the tools they need to help to improve the club’s already high standards. They are an integral part of your experience at the club, and I know how much they are valued and appreciated.
I look forward to seeing you around the club in the weeks and months ahead.
 
Kung Hei Fat Choy!
Yours faithfully,

David
David Brightling
General Manager
[email protected]

Festive Season Opening Hours

New Monthly Subscription Fees from 2024

New Monthly Subscription Fees from 2024
      
Dear Members,
I’m writing to inform you that the Board of Governors has voted to increase monthly subscriptions for all categories of membership by HK$100 per month, to HK$1,300, effective from January 1 2024. Joining fees will be unchanged.
I’m proud that the FCC remains one of the best value clubs in the city—even with this latest amendment to our fees—but we must balance value for members with the long-term financial health of the club.
In 2022, the club increased monthly subscriptions for the first time in seven years. With only one increment over the better part of a decade, our fees remain behind inflation. To remedy this moving forward, the Board has also made a commitment to review monthly subs on an annual basis.
One way that we can all help to increase club revenue is to recruit more members. If you’re successful, of course, the HK$1,000 club credit you’ll receive for recruiting a new member will pay for almost all of this year’s increase in subs fees—the definition of a win-win!
On behalf of the Board, I wish you a happy and peaceful festive season.
Yours faithfully,
Lee Williamson
President
[email protected]

In loving memory of John McBeth

    
 John McBeth
May 31 1944 – December 7 2023
 
Of all the foreign correspondents who have worked in southeast Asia over the past six decades, none surpassed John McBeth in dedication to his craft and the esteem and friendship of his colleagues.
 
As a young and adventurous journalist from Taranaki, he left the Auckland Star en route to London. He never got there. Stopping off by chance in Indonesia he found a new Asian home and field for his talents.
 
Working in Bangkok for a variety of publications and agencies, he was an early recruit to Asiaweek, then in 1979 joined the Far Eastern Economic Review where he was to remain until its 2004 closure. He was in a Bangkok bureau with such talents as Rodney Tasker and Paisal Sricharatchnya and close friend of Neil Davis, the noted war cameraman killed in an abortive Thai coup. Eased out of his Bangkok comfort zone to Seoul, he distinguished himself covering the turmoil and political change of the late 80s and, with colleague Nayan Chanda, scooping the world on the North Korean nuclear programme.
 
From there it was to Manila and a still much-quoted series on the nation’s regional warlords. He then had a medical issue which resulted in the amputation of one leg. This trauma would have killed the spirits of most journalists, but with the never ending support of his wife Yuli Ismartono, the correspondent for Tempo he had met in Bangkok, he overcame the challenge. It is hard to overstate the importance of their bond.
 
They moved to Jakarta where he again distinguished himself with coverage of the latter Suharto years and then turmoil which followed his downfall. After the Review’s closure he wrote a regular column on Indonesia for the Straits Times and contributed to other publications and in 2011 wrote an entertaining book accurately entitled “Reporter: Forty Years Covering Asia”.

He had some strong opinions but never let them get in the way of accurate reporting delivered cleanly and on time.

As a colleague, he was always good company. Good friends included not just his immediate workmates but correspondents at large, not least FCC immediate past president Keith Richburg.

He seemed indestructible and was in fine form when I saw him just three months ago. But such is aging. Now we mourn with Yuli the passing of someone who has left us with so many good memories and a permanent record of good journalism.

Philip Bowring

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Awards Clare Hollingworth Fellowships 2023

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Awards
Clare Hollingworth Fellowships
 
 
FELLOWS
 
Mithil Aggarwal
Mithil Aggarwal is a producer / reporter for NBC News, covering global breaking news and human interest stories. An engineering graduate from The University of Hong Kong, he stumbled into journalism by accident, producing an award-winning podcast.
 
Eudora Wang
Eudora Wang is the Deputy Editor, Greater China, at DealStreetAsia, where she covers alternative investments. Wang holds a master’s degree in international journalism studies from Hong Kong Baptist University and a bachelor’s degree in radio and television studies from Xi’an International Studies University.
 
Aruzhan Zeinulla
Aruzhan Zeinulla is a senior-year international journalism student at Hong Kong Baptist University from Kazakhstan. After completing her summer internship, primarily covering the Russia-Ukraine war, she joined CNN as a freelance news desk researcher.
 
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong is pleased to announce that it has chosen Mithil Aggarwal, Eudora Wang and Aruzhan Zeinulla as recipients of the fifth annual Clare Hollingworth Fellowship, named in honor of the preeminent and path-breaking journalist.
 
The panel of judges noted the winners offer clear potential as future leaders both within the FCC and in the wider Hong Kong journalism community.
 
The Fellowship is focused on early-career journalists and current journalism school students in Hong Kong.
 
The open competition drew significant interest from a cross spectrum of applicants. The adjudicators noted the high standard of applicants and encouraged all to apply again next year.
 
For further information on the Clare Hollingworth Fellowship, please visit https://www.fcchk.org/fcc-clare-hollingworth-fellowship-applications-open-2/
 

Announcement: The FCC’s Next General Manager

FCC: Your Club Needs YOU! (To Join the New Charity Committee)

FCC Clare Hollingworth Fellowship – Applications Open

FCC Clare Hollingworth Fellowship – Applications Open
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong is accepting applications for the Clare Hollingworth Fellowship, named after the preeminent and path-breaking journalist.

Clare Hollingworth
Ms. Hollingworth had a remarkable career as a foreign correspondent with the scoop of the century as a 27-year-old when she reported on Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Ms. Hollingworth was also a treasured member of the FCC for more than 40 years who made significant contributions to the intellectual and professional life of the FCC.

 

 
The Hollingworth Fellowship honours early career journalists and current journalism school students in Hong Kong. Journalists and journalism students from all fields of professional study are eligible. Applications close on October 9, 2023. The fellowship will run for one calendar year, November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024.
Overview of key features of the fellowship:

 

 

  • Complimentary access to all FCC professional talks, official gatherings and conferences;
  • Unlimited access to the FCC facilities including the gym and workroom;
  • FCC monthly dues and the membership fee are waived for the fellowship period; and
  • Networking opportunities with senior newsroom leaders
For details on past fellows, please see below:

 

 

  1. Jennifer Creery and Tiffany Liang
  2. Mary Hui and Jessie Pang
  3. Hillary Leung and Amy Sood
  4. Teele Rebane, Simran Vaswani and Hayley Wong
Fellows Requirements and Expectations

 

 

  • Produce and contribute a piece in their field for the FCC (e.g. long-form article for the FCC magazine, The Correspondent ; photographic exhibition for the Bar, video piece for the website)
  • Assist in the organization of virtual and in-person events for journalists
  • Actively contribute to the intellectual and professional life of the FCC
Eligibility Criteria

 

 

Candidates must meet all of the following criteria to apply:

  • At least two years’ journalism experience with a proven track record of developing stories in any sector or medium. Applications are welcome from candidates from foreign news organisations as well as local news organisations in Hong Kong
  • Be 30 years of age or under at the time the fellowship begins
  • Be a resident of Hong Kong at the time of application and a resident of Hong Kong for the duration of the Fellowship
Application Process and Material

 

 

Applications must be submitted in English by October 9, 2023. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Only chosen candidates will be notified by writing. All files must be submitted in either PDF or MS Word format to [email protected] with the subject line
Attn: First Name / Last Name of Applicant, Clare Hollingworth Fellowship Application. Applications should include:

  • Two pieces of published work, or in the case of a journalism student, two essays of no more than 2000 words each
  • A 500-word statement of intent for the piece that the Fellow will contribute to the FCC
  • Please send via post two sealed written references from suitable referees, e.g. senior editor or journalism school dean again with the same subject line: Attn: First Name / Last Name of Applicant, Clare Hollingworth Fellowship Application. The reference letters should be sent to The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, North Block, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong. When submitting your application, please note in the covering email that the references have been sent via post. Reference letters should specify how long the referee has known the applicant and in what capacity, comments on the applicant’s potential to make an impact in the field of journalism, and any relevant prior experience.
  • Recent resume of no more than 2 pages
  • Provide a valid HKID card number.
 

Temporary Closure of Bert’s from September 4-6 and 10-13, 2023

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