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.

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.

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.

The challenges of reporting the news in more than 40 languages and managing not to offend anyone in the process were outlined by Jamie Angus, Editor-in-Chief of the BBC World Service.

Jamie Angus gave amusing anecdotes illustrating the challenges in reporting in dozens of different languages. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

The World Service is now in its 87th year and has evolved from simply translating what the BBC core news team produced to building its own teams of multilingual reporters, reaching 372 million people per week. It broadcasts in 42 languages, from Hindi to Pashto, and more recently in Nigerian Pidgin which is only a spoken language.

Yet, said Angus, translating from one language into English, or another language, can sometimes be problematic. Angus, a former Editor of the BBC’s flagship Today Programme, gave often amusing examples of languages where one word can be pronounced several different ways, and if mispronounced, some could cause offence.

He also discussed the issues of reporting respectfully in places like Thailand, where insulting the monarchy is a criminal offence. When covering the death of the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016, the BBC World Service was faced with a dilemma in its reporting to Thai listeners. It is disrespectful to simply state the king is ‘dead’. Other translations guaranteed not to offend included ‘the King reached the unconscious end’, and he ‘passed to heaven’. After a lengthy discussion, the BBC decided to play it safe by announcing ‘the King is no longer alive’.

When asked about the state of today’s media in the context of fake news, and why people should trust BBC news, Angus said the BBC’s license fee and its Royal Charter made it more open and accountable to the public.

He told the January 24 club lunch: “We believe we’re the most trusted international broadcaster, but we must earn that trust every day and it’s very precious and we can’t lose it.”

Watch the video here.

The contributions of South Asians to Hong Kong’s rich cultural tapestry, from soldiers and traders to judges, has earned them a place in the city’s history – yet some feel they are looked down upon by locals, according to the authors of a new book on the subject.

Mark O’Neill discusses his latest book, ‘How South Asians Helped to Make Hong Kong – History, Culture, Profiles, Food, Shopping’. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

There are around 80,000 South Asians – among them Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and Nepalese – living in Hong Kong. Their ancestors came to live in the city as far back as 1841 when the British first colonised Hong Kong.

Despite their huge impact on the development of the city, they feel like second-class citizens, said Kevin Lee, whose photographs of South Asians around the city appear in the new book, ‘How South Asians Helped to Make Hong Kong – History, Culture, Profiles, Food, Shopping’.

During his interaction with one South Asian as he photographed them, he was told: “You are unlike other Hong Kong people. Hong Kong people have the stern face in front of us. But you have a smile.”

Lee told the January 23 club lunch: “I asked them about their life in Hong Kong. I think Hong Kong people don’t really like them.”

The new book, written by Mark O’Neill and former FCC governor Annemarie Evans, delves into the contributions made by South Asians.

Indians who were here from the very first days worked as international traders, diamond merchants, police and soldiers. In later times they became professional in many fields including law, medicine, and finance. There are now 45,000 Indians in Hong Kong – double that of pre-1997. Notable Indians – many of whom were Parsees (Iranians who migrated when their homeland embraced Islam) – include Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody, the “founder spirit behind the idea” of building Hong Kong University. He was also a major donor. Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee was another distinguished Parsee who made an indelible mark on Hong Kong when he founded the Ruttonjee Sanitorium following the death of his daughter from tuberculosis.

The contribution of Gurkhas, who were principally soldiers who patrolled Hong Kong’s border and were intercepting 16,000 illegals a month at the height of the Cultural Revolution, is also highlighted in the book.

Watch the talk here.

Taking an unblinking look at life, and capturing the moments of our shared humanity are the obligations of every photojournalist, according to a veteran National Geographic photographer.

Steve Raymer talked about life as a photojournalist during a talk at the FCC. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

American-born Steve Raymer shared his decades of experience as an award-winning photographer in capturing images of conflict, human migration and trafficking, endangered wildlife, and climate change across Asia. These photos and his recollections are documented in his new book, Somewhere West of Lonely, My Life in Pictures.

Now an emeritus professor of journalism at Indiana University and authority in media ethics, Raymer joined National Geographic in 1972 after completing military service which saw him serve as an artillery officer in Vietnam.

During his career, he covered issues including the famine in Bangladesh, the Chernobyl disaster, and the Soviet occupation of Kabul in Afghanistan. At the January 22 club lunch, Raymer talked about how photojournalism has changed history, in some cases prompting governments to create new policy around issues illustrated by hard-hitting images.

Recently, he said, photojournalism had come under fire for the increasingly explicit nature of images of suffering.

“The whole idea of the photographic truth of a picture is very much under attack in this era of fake news. Pictures can lie when a photographer sets up a picture or situation to make it appear to be an honest photograph.

“We photojournalists are constantly using people as a means to an end… We have to constantly ask ourselves can the ends ever justify the intrusive means of photojournalism? It’s a worthy question,” he said.

Raymer’s photographs are on exhibition at the FCC until February 17, open daily from 10am-12 noon & 3pm-5:30pm.

Watch the talk here.