The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

Essential First Aid tips for journalists covering the Hong Kong protests

How to treat the effects of tear gas and other protest-related injuries was shared by a member of Hong Kong’s Red Cross at a workshop for journalists.

Brian Wong, senior staff officer for the Hong Kong Red Cross’s First Aid Service Coordination Team, Youth and Volunteer Department, also advised potential first aiders on the treatment of heat exhaustion, cardiac arrest, and bleeding.

He was speaking on September 3 at the latest in the FCC’s series of workshops aimed at journalists covering the ongoing Hong Kong protests.

Due to some technical issues, the talk is in two parts.

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Ireland prepared to listen to backstop alternatives to avoid no-deal Brexit, says finance minister

Ireland’s finance minister says his government is prepared to listen to any alternative solutions the United Kingdom may have to the question of the backstop, but stressed that so far Prime Minister Boris Johnson had failed to put any forward despite the fast-approaching deadline for Britain to leave the European Union.

Minister of State at Ireland’s Department of Finance, Michael D’Arcy, at the FCC on September 2. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Speaking at the September 2 club lunch, Michael D’Arcy reiterated that the withdrawal agreement thrashed out between the European Union and former British prime minister Theresa May was now non-negotiable but said he personally felt a deal on the issue of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland could be done after the October 31 deadline passes. He said Ireland was committed to exploring alternative agreements with the EU to avoid the return of a hard border which he said put the island’s prosperity at risk. D’Arcy added that avoiding a hard border was not just about economics, but about protecting the Good Friday Peace Agreement.

Referring to his controversial tweet last week in which he compared Prime Minister Johnson’s “anti-democratic” move to prorogue UK Parliament to Oliver Cromwell’s establishment of the Protectorate government, D’Arcy conceded he “shouldn’t interfere with UK Parliament” but added that he felt the current direction of discourse in politics internationally was “disappointing”.

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Is the Sino-British Joint Declaration dead? Two experts give their views

The question of whether the Sino-British Joint Declaration was dead was the topic of debate at a sold-out club lunch on August 29.

Left: Alan Hoo, Chairman of The Basic Law Institute, and, right lecturer at CUHK’s Centre for China Studies, Tim Summers. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Guest speakers Alan Hoo, Chairman of The Basic Law Institute, and lecturer at CUHK’s Centre for China Studies, Tim Summers, gave their views on the relevance of the document, drawn up between Britain and China as part of an agreement to hand sovereignty back to China.

Both speakers also gave their take on the current protests gripping Hong Kong, and what they determined to be the next steps to resolving the crisis.

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Essential tips for Hong Kong journalists reporting suicide and mental health issues

The media’s role and its responsibilities in reporting suicide and mental health issues were outlined in a workshop for journalists, part of an FCC series focused on the Hong Kong protests.

Professor Paul Yip, Director of the Centre of Suicide Research and Prevention at HKU, gives reporting tips to journalists. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Following rumours and speculation about a number of suicides that were directly linked by some Hong Kong media to the ongoing protests in the city–and giving details of how they were carried out–Professor Paul Yip, Director of the Centre of Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, issued advice to journalists covering the topic at a breakfast briefing on August 27.

Prof Yip encouraged media professionals to provide more information around suicide prevention to help raise awareness of the support available to those experiencing mental health issues. He also advised journalists covering the Hong Kong protests to take rest for the sake of their own physical and mental health.

An audience member and representative of the Hong Kong Samaritans revealed that the nature of calls to the organisation’s hotline had recently changed, with many callers worried about the protests.

You can download the Centre of Suicide Research and Prevention’s recommendations on suicide and mental health reporting here.

The Hong Kong Samaritans website can be found here, and the 24/7 hotline number is 2896 0000.

Watch the breakfast briefing

Essential tips for journalists on digital security while covering Hong Kong protests

Digital security expert Lokman Tsui gave tips and insights into how journalists can take precautions to protect themselves, their work and their sources’ digital communications while covering politically sensitive events.

What apps and email providers to use, how to adjust your phone settings to protect hackers and police interference, and what news organisations can do to better protect their reporters were topics that were covered during the August 13 briefing by the Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The event took place the day after the club sent an open letter to Hong Kong Police Commissioner Stephen Lo outlining concerns over the deterioration in relations between the police and the media covering the Hong Kong protests.

Watch the video here

Inside the Hong Kong protests, as told by the reporters and photographers on the ground

The challenges facing journalists and photographers covering the Hong Kong protests were discussed by members of the media who have been on the ground since the demonstrations began in June.

Jennifer Creery, senior reporter for Hong Kong Free Press; Damon Pang, multimedia journalist for Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK); AFP photographer Anthony Wallace, freelance journalist Eric Cheung, and Chris Yeung, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, revealed their thoughts on the protests during the August 8 club lunch.

From covering the demonstrations as part of a small team to dodging tear gas, the panel detailed the ups and downs on reporting on the frontline.

Watch the video here.

How the U.S.-China trade war is impacting Asia

The effect of the U.S-China trade war on South East Asia was the topic of discussion at a breakfast briefing featuring a leading economic expert.

Ernest Bower, founder and CEO of BowerGroupAsia Inc. and founder and chairman of AkarAsia Inc. which is pioneering the field of digital advocacy and the use of artificial intelligence as a policy and business tool across Asia, gave his insights into how the dispute has affected China’s inbound and outbound investment.

Having arrived in Hong Kong from Washington on Monday, during the city-wide strike, Bower also commented on the ongoing protests as well as giving the view from Washington.

Watch the full talk here.

All you need to know about the legal risks of covering the Hong Kong protests

Valuable advice on how to cover the Hong Kong protests was given to journalists by a leading legal expert at the FCC.

Sharron Fast, Deputy Director of Master of Journalism Programme and lecturer from The Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong, covered a wide range of topics and took questions from the audience – including members and journalists – at the August 6 breakfast briefing. The event was the latest in a series of workshops on covering the Hong Kong protests, now in their tenth week.

What to do if arrested, whether you should hand over your mobile phone, and the legal risks around trespassing were all discussed at the event.

Watch the video here.

Security expert Stevo Stephen briefs journalists on how to stay safe covering protests

More than 100 Hong Kong journalists and Hong Kong Journalists Association members attended a talk on how to cover protests safely following a weekend of demonstrations in the city that saw violence break out, resulting in the injuries of dozens of people, among them reporters.

Stevo Stephen at the FCC. Photo: FCC

In the first of a series of FCC workshops focused on the protests in Hong Kong, security expert Stevo Stephen gave a briefing on the safest and most effective ways of covering demonstrations and street violence.

Stephen, APAC and Africa News Risk Senior Manager for the Wall Street Journal, demonstrated the best equipment to use when covering protests, including protective wear. The former private security expert, who has a background with the British Commandos, shared his knowledge on how journalists can interact with the police and demonstrators, particularly when violence breaks out.

Future FCC workshops will include sessions on the use of technology in covering the protests and the kinds of legal risks media face. With the launch of the workshops, the FCC is furthering its goal of promoting press freedom in Hong Kong by acting as a forum for education and discussion.

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Stevo Stephen at the FCC. Photo: FCC

Hong Kong protests: Panel discusses next move for anti-extradition bill campaign

The manner in which protesters have demonstrated again the proposed Hong Kong extradition bill, and their next move, was discussed by a panel of experts at the club on July 10.

Author and lawyer Antony Dapiran, reporter Mary Hui, and leader of the Civic Human Rights Front, Bonnie Leing Wing-Man, all gave their views on the ongoing political unrest in the city.

Watch the video here.