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February 1986
The Voting View Change is
in the air for the FCC. full text of a letter
Following is the
being sent to all members by the President, Philip Bowring: Dear Member, Thursday, March 13 will be an important day for the Club. At 6.30 pm an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held to vote on proposed amendments to the Articles of Association. It is essential for the well-being of the Club that these amendments are approved which means that750/o of voting Correspondent members must vote in favour. The amendments are needed for the
following reasons; First - and by far the most important eliminates is - to ensure that the Club any danger of having to pay tax on its revenues. This is not only common sense; it has been urged on us by our auditor and by our legal adviser. The situation at present is that the rights of voting of non-Correspondent members
Although we have so far managed to ward off the Inland Revenue's attempt to tax us, we remain potentially vulnerable. The amendments the Board of Governors has proposed will remove all such danger by giving all members a vote at
general meetings. However, in order to leave effective control of the Club in the hands of the Correspondent members, the proposed amendments will give Cor-
respondent members 25 votes each compared with one each for non-Correspondent members. This means that there would be almost no conceivable circumstance in which the Correspondent members would not have the 750/o majority needed for effective control of
the Club. The proposed amendments would thus leave the power structure
ciate. This will improve representation
of the membership at Board level and enable the Board to do more to expand Club activities. b) To institutionalise the existence of the Club's recently revived Professional Committee so that
it will not be able to lapse through inertia.
Thirdly, on the recommendation of our lawyers, to tidy up some phraseology in the Articles to remove anomalies and
bring them into line with the current requirements of the Companies AcL Correspondent members: please be sure to vote Yes to these vital amendments. If you are not able to attend the EGM in person, you may register your vote by mail by writing to the Secretary
best, ambiguous. As a result, according
effectively unaltered, while removing the very serious tax threat which stems from the current voting status ofnon-Correspondents at general meetings. Secondl¡ the amendments will bring about two specific changes which I un-
to current interpretation of the Inland
dertook
election manifesto to
state your name and membership num-
Revenue Ordinance, freedom from taxa-
promote: a) To enlarge the board by the addition of three members, one Correspondent, one Journalist and one Asso-
ber and must be signed. They must arrive prior to the commencement of
in the explosion was Dr Ronald McNair,
to Mrs Cheryl McNair by Club President
are very circumscribed. They are, at
tion of
reYenues derived from nonCorrespondent members is not assured.
Lost in Space
in my
space shuttle Challenger, chillingly recorded on the FCC's video screen on
mission specialist aboard an earlier Challenger Yoyage, who was a guest speaker at the Club in May 1984. Dr McNair's talk, thought many of those who attended, had been among
January 29, wllI have saddened many Club members. Among those to perish
the most interesting given at the FCC. Following is the text of a letter sent
The sudden, fiery end of the US
of the Club. Mail votes must clearly
the EGM.
Philip Bowring: Dear Mrs McNair,
On behalf of the members of
the
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hongkong, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to you on the tragic death of your husband and other members of
fhé Challenger crew. Your husband spoke at a Club luncheon here in 1984 and presented us with a framed photo of Hongkong from space which is prominently displayed at the Club's entrance. We remember him for his grace and modest good humour as well as for his space exploits.
I am sure that the
courage and sacri-
fice of space pioneers will long be reDr McNair presents the shuttle photograph to Philip Bowring.
membered. I hope that the appreciation of your husband's work by us as by so many will make your grief easier to bear.