New cyber security laws in China are making life ever-harder for information-based businesses, particularly foreign journalists operating there. Jane Moir takes a closer look at the impact of the new rules.

We profile the latest members – all have interesting tales to tell – so if you see a new face at the bar, please make them feel welcome.

Photographer, singer and musician Elaine Liu has been an FCC member for almost 20 years, but she might never have dropped in had we not been the Fringe Club’s neighbour.

A new book about journalists who covered World War II chronicles the conflict that shot some newly minted war correspondents to stardom, blitzed the reputation of others, scared the hell out of most, and killed scores.

Club life member, Mark Pinkstone is about to celebrate 50 years working and living in Hong Kong. As Stephen Marshall writes, a lot can happen in a lifetime when you move from Cootamundra to Hong Kong in the wake of the 1967 riots.

Prominent business leader, long-time Hong Kong resident and Chinese citizen Allan Zeman was guest speaker at a Club luncheon where he discussed his views on the political, economic and commercial future of Hong Kong.

September and October see Spanish tapas and German fare as the FCC brings you its popular monthly food and drinks promotions.

The FCC co-organised a lively panel discussion and hosted a gala dinner to help mark the return to Hong Kong of New.Now.Next Media Conference – the flagship event of the Asian-American Journalists’ Association’s Asia Chapter.

George W. Russell offers a roundup of the presentations from guests, major issues covered in the discussion panels, instructive takeaways from workshops and useful feedback from attendees.

Twenty years after the transfer of sovereignty, the expectations and reality of the handover are again in the spotlight. Jane Moir reports on the FCC’s handover debate.

A mix of journalists, correspondents, associates and diplomats – see who the FCC’s newest members are, and buy them a drink at the bar.

The instant-messenger app Sina Weibo has been redefined by media as a bellwether of popular opinion. Martin Choi looks at its influence with a study of a University of Hong Kong project that tracks the censorship of microblogging posts.

A round-up of the latest incidents involving media organisations around the region.

Forty years on, a new country is emerging. But this nation is born out of the tragic events of that day, which are engraved on every Cambodian’s mind.

A selection of images from the newly released book of the same title.

With the news that Pizza Hut just delivered a pie to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, setting a new record for high-altitude PR stunts, Andrew Davison recalls his experiences in scaling Africa’s highest peak. The 12-man team had some 50 guides, porters and cooks. In 2014 an old friend came up with the idea of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. We’ve still no idea what possessed him to come up with this idea, nor what …

Roy Rowan died September 13 in Greenwich, Connecticut, aged 96. His passing was no ordinary event. He was the last of what was once a large band of legendary American journalists who covered the Chinese civil war.

Few writers may be aware of the role of Marilyn Monroe in the fight for freedom of creative expression, or indeed her connection with the opening of a new flank in that fight in Hong Kong.

Chan, who has been a regular speaker at the Club since the 90s when she was Chief Secretary before and after the handover, spoke about what to do with the troubled Legco and the importance of the Legco elections.

Hong Kong’s efforts to reform copyright law towards the US-based “fair-use” treatment of copyright versus the “fair-dealing” approach stall, writes Jonathan Hopfner.

Foreign correspondents have always trod warily around lese majeste, though some of their publications got into strife when they inadvertently did not place a photo of the King at the top of a page, or had someone else’s photo on top of his.

The film ‘A Plastic Ocean’, which will premiere in Hong Kong in October and globally from November, began with the hunt for the elusive blue whale, writes the film’s director and journalist Craig Leeson. In March, 2011, 30 miles off the southern tip of Sri Lanka, a tiny breeze tickles the surface of the Indian Ocean; the heat radiates relentlessly. Three weeks on a 90 metre research vessel has taken its toll: most of the …

Chan set up the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong.

Alison Parker (left) the moment shots ring out during an interview on tourism with Vicki Gardner, the local chamber of commerce director, before she was shot and killed. (AFP screen capture) Following the Nice truck terror attack the French media watchdog, the CSA, issued an appeal for ‘caution’ and ‘restraint’ and the French police called on people to stop uploading images of victims as a sign of respect for them and their families. (CNN screen …

Student activist and founder of the new party Demosistō Joshua Wong says he believes the use of violence will not help Hong Kong achieve a higher level of democracy. Wong, who is Secretary General of Demosistō, was speaking at an FCC lunch on June 27, along with fellow student activist Nathan Law, formerly the secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and now chairman of Demosistō. Wong said he believes the society should …

By Joyce Lau The Human Rights Press Awards celebrated its 20th birthday at the Maritime Museum on May 6, with a standing-room-only crowd of 170 participants, supporters and guests. For the first time, grand-prize winners were given the chance to speak to the audience directly about their experiences. Several flew in from overseas to do so. Esther Htusan, who recently became the first Burmese to win a Pulitzer Prize, caught a 1:30 a.m. flight from …

Martin Lee, QC, founding chairman of The Democratic Party and former Legco member, has been a regular FCC guest speaker since the early 1990s. Always an articulate straight-shooter and clear thinker, Lee focused on the rise of young democrats at a lunch on June 16. He also wondered why the FCC would you ask one of Hong Kong’s oldest politicians about the future of young democratic politicians Many have doubts about Hong Kong’s young democratic …

With every new FCC Board the conveners of committees often change and renews members’ opportunities for getting involved. If you have some ideas for speakers or other professional events, or are interested in the FCC’s charity events, or F&B, or finance, or the Wall, or press freedom issues; or The Correspondent… then maybe its time for you to join one of the committees or get in touch with the conveners and present your ideas.   …

Facebook has been under attack in recent months by US conservatives – worried that Facebook could influence the outcome of the presidential election – for “suppressing conservative news”. While these claims are somewhat overblown, there is no getting away from the fact that Facebook undoubtedly has tremendous power, with some 200 million Americans spending around 30% of their Internet time on Facebook and its properties (WhatsApp, Instagram). A 2014 study determined that some 340,000 people …