By Hugo Novales

China is often compared to a dragon given the mythical beast’s cultural legacy coupled with the nation’s rise in becoming the world’s second-strongest superpower, right behind the US.

But no one except Ker Gibbs, the former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, has ever described China as a “fragile” dragon, indicating that there are weaknesses underneath its scales.

With a multi-decade career in Asia working in various public and private sector roles, Gibbs has summarised his understanding of China’s capabilities in his new book, The Fragile Dragon: China’s Strengths and the Limits to its Power, which was published earlier this year.

At an FCC Club Lunch this August, Gibbs sat down with Jing Yang, the Asia Bureau Chief for The Information and the Club’s First Vice President, to talk about his book, exploring first what most people may or may not truly understand about China.

“There are weaknesses in China, as I describe throughout the book,” Gibbs said. “China’s good at a lot of things, but not great at everything.”

Gibbs cited two major weaknesses that China faces: multiple contested borders with neighbouring countries (which may never be truly resolved), and, more importantly, “very poor” relationships with trading partners.

“I’d call that [a] weakness,” he said, especially considering how dependent China has become on trade, both imports and exports.

He went on to discuss how China’s internet censorship has contributed to economic competition versus cooperation between Beijing and Washington, and led to a form of decoupling.

Commonly known as “The Great Firewall”, China’s internet censorship seals off anyone outside mainland China, especially those in business, from accessing Chinese websites. It also restricts those within China’s borders from browsing sites like Amazon, Meta, and X. Instead, China has created its own digital ecosystem complete with tailored social media and e-commerce sites that are tightly controlled by Beijing.

Gibbs believes these restrictions fuel the common misunderstandings and overestimations of the average “China hawk” — people who have identified China as an enemy to US society and the rest of the world.

“In some ways China with its five year plans is quite transparent, but on another level, Beijing doesn’t want to be understood,” he said. This lack of transparency has contributed to misunderstandings and led to even more hawkish stances.

Gibbs also thinks the Great Firewall has led to the continuous decoupling between the world’s top two superpowers.

Beijing has often lamented Washington’s tactics that have slowly removed the US’ reliance on Chinese partnership across various industries, yet Gibbs argues that the very conception of the Great Firewall contributed to these tensions in the first place.

“The Great Firewall has effectively sealed off [China’s] digital economy from the rest of the world. What is that if it’s not decoupling?” he said.

As the son of a Chinese mother and an American father, Gibbs explained that throughout his life — and especially amid souring ties between the US and China — he’s been routinely asked what side he’d pick if the two countries ended up fighting each other. His answer: it’s not a fight worth winning for either side.

“A war between the US and China is just unthinkable. But if your mother and father had a fight, do you want one of them to win? Or do you just want the fight to be over?”

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

For 43 years, the FCC has been a proud custodian of its Grade 1 historic building on Lower Albert Road. Formerly a dairy farm depot, the building has been repurposed into a hotspot for Hong Kong’s journalism community, as well as business leaders, lawyers, diplomats, and professionals across various industries.

In 2026, the FCC became part of the Built Heritage Alliance, a new organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to preserving the city’s cultural legacy. With brickwork dating back to the early 1900s and uniquely-crafted tiles, nearly every inch of the FCC has a story that could go unnoticed by the average person.

To learn more about the FCC’s clubhouse and how it stands within Hong Kong’s cultural framework, two heritage experts sat alongside Lee Williamson, a member of the Club’s Professional Committee, at a lunchtime talk in early June. The panel first broke down what the term “heritage conservation” actually means and the misconceptions that some may have about it.

“Heritage conservation is not about freezing the past, but it’s about managing the changes wisely. To manage it wisely, that’s how we can actually sustain our heritage and sustain it for the future generation,” said Winnie Yeung, an architectural conservationist who is a member of the BHA and the FCC’s Building Committee.

She explained how trying to preserve a historic site with the same features and uses from when it was first built would actually be unsustainable in modern times. Instead, finding a new purpose for an older building while investing in its upkeep is the most practical preservation effort for Hong Kong’s various heritage buildings. 

Yeung referenced the Tai O Heritage Hotel, a former marine police station that can now host visitors in its various guestrooms and serve dishes showcasing Tai O’s unique culinary traditions.

Repurposing the Tai O Heritage Hotel in this manner, which also included involvement from the local community, are what Yeung believes maintains the “spirit of place” despite a heritage site now utilising itself in a new direction.

“The ‘spirit of place’ doesn’t have to be the original spirit of place. We’re not trying to turn [the FCC] into an old dairy farm depot again,” she said.

Talking more about the FCC’s own heritage preservation was Simpson Wong, the second panelist and author of The Allure of Old Hong Kong book series.

He gave a presentation on encaustic inlay tiles, the same kind of tiles that cover the floor of the FCC’s Main Bar and Lounge. They’re made using molten beeswax with patterns that are layered into a negative mould and can last over 100 years

Encaustic inlay tiles can be found in only three other locations in Hong Kong besides the FCC: the Governor’s Mountain Lodge (which was demolished in 1946), the Old Bacteriological Institute (now the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Science), and HKU’s Main Building. Wong pointed out the similar patterns on the tiles at HKU and the FCC and believes that they both likely came from the same source, which he plans to continue researching.

To make his presentation a bit more hands-on than the usual Club Lunch event, Wong also brought along 7 different tiles for audience members to pass around and inspect closely — likely a first-time experience for everyone in attendance.

With a comprehensive lesson in encaustic inlay tiles, Wong emphasised how important it is for people in Hong Kong to fully understand their own history.

“Understand more, know more. With the knowledge, you will appreciate the city we have and the heritage history we have,” he advised the audience, concluding the panel discussion.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

“We took [neon] for granted.”

Keith Macgregor, a commercial photographer who was already well-known in Hong Kong for his family portraits and postcard-worthy city shots, made a new name for himself in the late 1990s by capturing the city’s iconic neon signs which have now become a rare sight.

With the local government’s implementation of the Signboard Control System (SBCS) in 2010, neon seemingly disappeared overnight. Today, only about 500 neon signs – as opposed to the LEDs that have taken their place – can be spotted around Hong Kong.

Macgregor has since made it his mission to preserve neon memories through his comprehensive books that showcase his take on a Hong Kong that no longer exists. His seventh book, City of Lights, released earlier this year features his favourite signs, guest articles written by local neon experts, and even Macgregor’s own creative visions of what he wishes his favourite streets in Hong Kong looked like.

At an FCC Club Lunch moderated by Raymond Lam, a Senior Writer at Buddhistdoor Global and member of the Club’s Professional Committee, Macgregor talked about how neon shaped his life.

“I’m very guilty of not shooting [neon] in the 60s and 70s, not so much in the 60s, but [in] the 70s and 80s, I didn’t do enough at night,” he said, citing his responsibilities as a husband and father which kept him at home most evenings.

In a colourful presentation, Macgregor displayed side-by-side comparisons of Hong Kong’s vibrant streets at night versus what they look like today. Not all neon signs are gone, but the ones that remain are now subject to strict sizing rules that only smaller signs fit within.

The SBCS takes action against “large unauthorised signboards” and regularly surveys “unauthorised, abandoned or dangerous signboards” that could pose a threat to the general public, yet Macgregor finds little evidence that neon has ever been a hazard to anyone.  

“I don’t think anybody’s ever been killed in a hundred years by a neon sign, except for the poor people who install them, and they are heroes,” he said.

Macgregor also explained why neon, out of all the other great and amazing things that are found exclusively in Hong Kong, has such a special place in his heart.

“I think [neon] is such an amazing art form, and it lends itself to Chinese calligraphy so beautifully. That’s what’s so special about it,” he said.

Macgregor and his family currently reside in the UK. He’s now lived there longer than he’s lived in Hong Kong, yet he tries to return to the city every few years. There’s less neon each time he returns, yet he hopes that with City of Lights, this era of the city’s history will still be remembered.

“Things move on, we’ve got to accept it. I’m sad that neon’s gone,” Macgregor concluded.

A City of Lights exhibit, which includes copies of the book for sale, is open to the general public at the Blue Lotus Gallery in Tai Ping Shan, Hong Kong Island, from now until 4 October 2026. 

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

It was an eventful start to the year 2026.

Three days into the new year, U.S. President Donald Trump orchestrated the capture of Venezuela’s sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, who is now facing narcoterrorism charges in New York. Ukraine is still defending itself against a Russian invasion while internal corruption scandals diminish the country’s domestic and international support. And more PLA generals have been purged in Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive – calling into question China’s military readiness should it move against Taiwan.

To predict what’s in store for the world in 2026, the FCC held its annual “Year Ahead” panel — a recurring staple in the Club’s Speaker Events series.

Returning to the panel were Michael Bociurkiw and Wang Xiangwei, experts in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and Chinese politics respectively, who both spoke at the 2025 Year Ahead event. This time, HKU’s Bárbara Fernández-Melleda also joined to give a Latin American perspective on 2026 so far.

The panel, moderated by Correspondent Board Governor Jennifer Jett, first discussed how Trump’s actions — or inaction — have resulted in declining faith in the U.S.’ ability to maintain global peace.

“No inch of Ukraine is safe anymore,” said Bociurkiw, a Canadian-Ukrainian policy analyst based in Odessa. 

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Bociurkiw has covered all aspects of the war and how it has hurt everyday Ukrainians. Daily drone attacks, missile warnings, and growing graveyards across Ukraine are consistent proof to Bociurkiw that Trump hasn’t been effective in his efforts to restrain Russia’s ongoing attacks.

“When [Trump] says ‘I’ve never started a war,’ we have to question that,” he added, citing the Javelin missiles that were delivered to Ukraine during Trump’s first term as U.S. president.

With the world’s leading superpower falling short of its allies’ expectations, some see an opportunity for China to advance its position in the global hierarchy. Wang, a lifelong China watcher who is now a journalism professor at HKBU, disagrees.

“In China, there were lots of narrow-minded nationalists believing [that] now is the time for China to step up and become the leader of the Global South. I don’t think China is willing, nor is capable, to step up and play that leadership role,” he said.

Instead, Wang believes that China should let the U.S. continue to “self-destruct” while focusing on its own domestic issues and re-prioritising its foreign investment strategies. To Wang, it’s more important for China to invest in regions that are easily accessible to its own military.

“So shouldn’t China consider reducing or refraining from investing in the places that their military reach cannot cover? Shouldn’t China invest more in neighboring countries?” Wang asked rhetorically.

While Trump has polarised his own population, plus Western allies and Eastern competitors, Latin America has mixed opinions about the U.S. president.

“We cannot think of Latin America as a monolithic region,” said Fernández-Melleda, who teaches Chilean literature and culture at HKU’s School of Modern Languages.

Trump’s capture of Maduro was welcomed by many Venezuelans, she said, as well as citizens of other Latin American countries. The region’s varying political histories feature many different affiliations and ideologies, some of which may align with the Trump administration’s policies.

Despite some support for Trump in the region, Fernández-Melleda still finds his actions troubling for Latin America. Trump’s use of the U.S. military against foreign leaders, as well as the domestic actions of ICE  and other U.S. government agencies he has empowered, bear resemblance to past state violence across Latin America, said Fernández-Melleda, who noted that state violence in her home country of Chile led to protests and eventually positive political change.

On the topic of Trump’s internal and external “bullying” tactics, Bociurkiw had special criticism for his treatment of Canada, which Trump often refers to derisively as the “51st state”. Repeated economic and even military threats have unified Bociurkiw and his fellow Canadians against their longtime ally to the south.

“[Canada] will never allow a bully to bully us, and we will not allow that bully to take things away from us that are ours… We will never become submissive to a bully like [Trump],” he said.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

By Hugo Novales

Hong Kong’s iconic neon signage began with the discovery of noble gases in 1898. The unique properties of neon, argon, and other elements were used to create commercial signage unlike anything seen before. Neon quickly took off in the US, Shanghai, and eventually Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s first neon sign went up in 1929 and was followed by a boom in the 1950s due to an influx of experts from Shanghai resettling in the city. Since then, Hong Kong has become the global hub for a community of neon artists and enthusiasts.

But that community is shrinking. In 2010 the local government introduced the Signboard Control System (SBCS), which instantly applied to all commercial signage. As a result, many neon signs disappeared seemingly overnight, and today only about 500 neon signs – as opposed to LED – can be spotted around Hong Kong.

Zolima CityMag recently published Neon Is Not Dead, the second volume in their Culture Guide series, which covers the full history of Hong Kong’s neon signs.

Shortly after its release in January, the new guide was discussed at an FCC Club Lunch hosted by Correspondent Governor Jennifer Jett, who sat alongside three of Hong Kong’s most knowledgeable neon experts.

“We didn’t want to be too backwards looking, too nostalgic. We wanted to make the case that neon culture is still alive in Hong Kong, and that it will continue to evolve,” said Christopher DeWolf, author of Neon Is Not Dead.

As Zolima CityMag’s Managing Editor since 2015, DeWolf has covered Hong Kong’s cultural landscape extensively throughout his writing career, with particular focus on the city’s unique urban history.

In line with the book’s title, DeWolf didn’t just want to write about neon as something that’s already gone — or soon will be. Instead, he aimed to highlight neon’s cultural significance that may go unnoticed by the average person in Hong Kong. 

“Generally, I think people weren’t really aware of neon as something that could be historically significant or of heritage value. It wasn’t seen as a very pressing kind of thing to care about. There were other things on the agenda,” he said.

Cardin Chan, a contributor to Neon Is Not Dead, also spoke at the FCC panel, highlighting her efforts in neon conservation. To her, preventing old neon from ending up in a rubbish bin is one part of her job, but changing the conversation around neon is a bigger and more important task she constantly works towards.

“Through trial and error, I tried to actually save not just neon signs, the tangible assets, but also the intangible part of the story,” said Chan, who was the general manager of Tetra Neon Exchange and now runs her own cultural agency, The Indispensible Hong Kong.

Chan said that despite the local government’s initial push to replace neon with LEDs and other types of signage that fall within SBCS regulations, as well as misconceptions around neon, her persistence is leading to a better public understanding of it.

“I try to actually collect stories from the histories, the signs, and also what [artists] have been doing and what they want,” Chan said.

Panel speaker Jive Lau, who is also featured in Neon Is Not Dead, provided an artist’s perspective.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Lau became interested in neon at a young age and eventually made it his career, founding the neon studio Kowloneon. After training with a neon master in Taiwan and returning to Hong Kong, Lau began hosting workshops at Kowloneon and has had his artworks displayed in galleries across Hong Kong and in international arts events. 

As a neon artist, Lau was asked about the future of neon and whether it has already reached its full potential. To him, much more can still be done.

“I can imagine [that] neon can be another dimension. It’s not only the glass form with different interpretations, it’s still going beyond our imagination,” he said.

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel:

David Webb, who died on January 13 age 60, was a unique figure in the annals of the Hong Kong financial industry. It was not so much that he was highly intelligent, a “computer geek” from his teenage years with an Oxford degree in mathematics that led him to a career starting with Barclays Capital and early riches. At least as important was his commitment to long hours of work that got to truths which others missed. That combination in turn did two things. It created wealth for himself, most often by taking a fine-toothed comb to smaller listed companies, finding hidden gems and hidden traps in a market with plenty of both. 

It also provided information that saved myriad others from losing money to scams, dodgy accounting and innocent ignorance. “Scientia Potentia Est”, Knowledge is Power, was the motto of his Webb-site.com, where he posted for free his investigations into companies, individuals and institutions. He assembled a vast and unsurpassed database of companies and their directors and analysed public issues, such as the Hong Kong taxi business and the government’s annual budget. 

He was driven by two over-arching beliefs. Firstly, that capitalism was best served by free and open competition and serviced by ready access to information on which investors could base their decisions. Monopolies and oligopolies were a danger to economic health and individual prosperity, but all too often were protected by a government overly influenced by vested interests. 

Secondly, that he had a public duty, as one who had used his knowledge to prosper, to pass it on to the public in general, and to confront issues when he found abuses, inaccuracies and flaws in laws and systems that deterred the free flow of competition and information. That principal applied in politics as well as business, and he publicly supported the pro-democracy 2014 Umbrella Movement. Making money by diligent investing provided a platform for pressing for reforms and accountability. 

Nor did he just contribute from the sidelines. He was an elected member of the board of HK Exchanges for five years and later a member of the Takeovers Panel of the Securities and Futures Commission, always pressing for transparency and the protection of minority shareholders from abuse by dominant interests. David could be demanding and dogmatic and met sometimes fierce criticism from others in the financial sector, particularly the local broking industry on the subject of minimum commissions. He was not appreciated by the government for his detailed policy criticisms and what some saw as a quasi-political agenda. But his combination of facts, clear goals and determination did help to raise standards of information and accountability, and he was mostly held in high regard by a public that always suspected it was being exploited by the financial sector at large, such as the costs of the Mandatory Provident Fund scheme. His exposure of the artificial trading that boosted the share prices of 50 interlinked listed companies — which he named the Enigma Network — led to charges against several executives, and also showed up the feeble performance of the frontline regulator. Even after the discovery of metastatic cancer in 2020, David continued to raise issues, including criticism of the excessive restrictions on movement imposed during Covid.  

David was a longtime friend of the FCC and chose to make his last public appearance here on May 12, a lunch that broke attendance records and for which he received a prolonged standing ovation. Even staunch critics could not deny the public legacy of a life sadly shortened by cancer. Contributing to society was more important than his success at making money. Very visible for his Webb-site work and role as an activist investor, David was personally a quiet and unflamboyant family man. He is survived by his wife Karen and two children.