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Tuesday 9:O0-12:O0 - Vatious
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Artists
Thursday 6:30-8:30 - Varlous Art¡sts 9:00-12:00 - Allen Youngblood and Jazbalaya Friday 7:00-9:00 - Various Artists 9:30-1:30 - Allen Youngblood and Jazbalaya
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Pleqse see Club Events Schedule for Soturdqy Night performonces of Feotured Guest Artists
Contents
MayiJune 2O16
COVER STORY
High-quality investigative reporting scoops prizes at Human Rights Press Awards fhe 274 entriès submitted to the Human Rights Press Awards this yearwere of the highest qualitythattheAwards has received in its 20 years of history.All mqor categories featured original, investigative reporting from across Asia Paciflc.
l8 The whole world in their hands l9 And the w¡nners are... 20 HRPA alive and well after 20 years
c
+ ts
9
Cover phoio: Christophe ArchambaulyAFP
Features
t0 77 ONTHEWALL
CLUB MATTERS Town Hall meeting debates options to increase revenue There was a big and active turnout for the FCC'sTown Hall meeting in early April, which focused on budget forecasts and the operating revenue shortfall through the Club's renovation period and what should be done about it REPORTAGE
The question in China:what Panama Papersf While the telease of the Panama Papers rocked governments around the world, it hardly caused a ripple in China, one ofthe biggest sources offunds for these ofrthore accounts.
CUBA From November; 20 I 3, to February 20 I 4, Leong KaTai travelled with his wife to South America on a container ship, disembarking at Cartegena, Columbia and meandering along the Andes to Chile, Argentina and fìnally Cuba,
Regulars
2
A message from the President
3
Editorial
4
Membership
5
Club News
30
F
39
Book Review: Champion of liberal causes
40
Obituary: Marvin Farkas
&
B:
CorrespondentWine candidates
43
Classifìeds
44
LastWord: Larry Lipsher
74
MEDIA
78
REPORTAGE Back to school
Punching above its (slender) weight Hong Kong Free Press' recent crowdfunding push failed to reach target, which means founderTom Grundy devotes much of his time to lnancìal issues,
for career-sawy hacks Demarcation between academia and journalism has always been well-defned. But as the media industry continues with an unprecedented digital age shake-out, journalils are ìncreasingly turning to universities for work and a future. SPEAKERS
3
What they said... It's been another busy period for speakers at FCC lunches, covering topics like the future of the rule of law in Hong Kong, theVatican and China, US policy in Asia and more women for
senior roles.
34 36
MEDIA Government snooping? Get oYer it By chance, eminent foreign correspondent, editor and military historian Sir Max Hastìngs spoke at the FCC a day afterthe deadly Brussels bomb attack. ARCHIVES
Where have all the companies gone The assumption about Hong Kong corporate life is that it has always been monopolistic and dominated by a few big names as rt is
nowThis
is
not
so.
From the Presídent
This is my
finol column os President
ond it's been on honour lo serve in the role for the posl yeor. I thonk you oll for your supportf gerrelosit¿ suggeslions, gri¡res ctrrcl engogemenl in importont Club offoirs over thol lime. We've occomplished o good deol since lost Moy: securing o new leose on our beloved heritoge buìlding; chonging the A,rticles of Associotion; orgonising our firsf iournolism conference; building o new website; furlhering our reputolion os o news-moking forum for speokers from sport
fo business ond from oll ports of the politicol spectrum; hosting o speciol 20th onniversory ceremony for the Humon Rights Press Awords; ond moking lhe hord decision to refocus our choritoble ond community efforts owoy from the block box thot wos lhe Chority Boll to something thot oll members con get involved in.
On press freedom, we hove become more vigilont ond responsive to lhreots to iournolists ond free
ioiners. ïhey ore lhe lifeblood of the Club ond essentiol to its
kicked off the Club's membership diversity push in recent yeors. Pressing chollenges loy ohcod. The high regord members hove for the Club owes much to the
continuecl prosperity.
Key gools over the post yeor hove included efforts to improve our stondords of corporote govênìonce, booslirrg the Boordts tronsporency, ond lo increose consuhotion with you, the members, through open communicotion, surveys ond the recenl Town Holl meeting. We've mode some progress, but
we hove q woys to go. I regret thot more immediote ond detoiled considerqtion wosn'l given to the feedbock received ot the Town Holl on fhe issue of increosing revenue, especiolly ofter on unprecedented turnoul. I hope
thot this process of interoction with lhe membership con be further developed by lhe incoming Boord, ond thot governors will listen corefully to those who elect them. We hove hod on excellent Boord ond hord-working Boord of Governors, supported by
speech in Hong Kong, Chino ond
mony others who serve on Club committees. They hove striven to
THE CORRESPONDENT
I ioined in 2010, which is greot see, ond I'm proud to hove
lo
lhe region. Supporting the vitol role of the medio in o heolthy society must remoin our core mission. We hqve qlso continued lo boost the number of correspondent ond iournolÌst members in our
2
ronks through our successful policy subscripÍions for new
of grodoted
develop mony ospects of Club life so thot we embroce the fufure wlrile pleservírrg inrporlonl trodilions. There ore mony more women on lhe Boord thon when
dedicoted ond knowledgoble slewordship of the tlreless
Gilbert Cheng, olong with our monogemenl feqm qnd mony longserving stoff. Yet, os the deporture of our odministrotion mqnoger Chon Hoi-Lo in Jonuory showed, chonge hoppens. lf is cruciol the Club develops succession plonning in oll oreos of its monogement structure to ensure future slobility. The coming yeor will olso see us undertoke essentiql renovolions to rhe Club thot will couse disruption ond require your potience ond underslonding. After six yeors on the boord, I will toke o breok. I believe term limits for governors ore desirqble to ensure ogoinst the estoblishment of entrenched inlerests. To borrow o politicions'cliche, I'm now looking forword to spending more time wifh my fomil¡ whom I would like to lhonk for their toleronce of my mony obsences ond lote nights ol the computer on FCC dutles, I will continue to serve lhe Club in
ony woy I con.
CönnrsPoNDENT THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE FOREICN CORRESPONDENTS,
The Foreign Correspondents' Club 2 Lower Albert Road, central, Hong Kong Tel: (852) z5zr i5i1 Fax: (852) 2868 4o92 Email: fcc@fcchk.org
CLUB, HONG KONG
EdÍtorial
Website: www.f cchk.org The Board of Governors 2or5-2o16
President Neil David Western First Více President Tara JosePh Second Vice President Kevin Barry H. Egan
correspondent Governors Keith Brãdsher, Florence De ChangY, Nan-Hie ln, Juliana Liu, Angie Lau, Natasha Khan, Carsten Schael, Nicholas Centle Journal¡st Governors Clifford Buddìe, James Gould Associate Governors Timothy S. Huxley, Elaine P¡ckering, Douglas Wong, Simon Pritchard Goodwill Ambassador clare Hollingworth Club secretary Simon Pritchard
Professíonal comm¡ttee co-Conveners: Tara Joseph, Keith Bradsher, Nan-Hie ln Finance Committee Co-Conveners: Timothy S. Huxley (Treasurer), Florence De changy
Constitutional Commíttee Co-Conveners: Kevin Egan, Nicholas Gentle, Clifford Buddle
Membershíp commíttee Co-Conveners: Nan-Hie ln, James Gould, Simon Pritchard House/ Food and Beverage committee co-Conveners: Juliana Liu (F&B) Nichoìas Gentle (House) carsten schael (House) Tim Huxley (House) Press Freedom Committee Co-Conveners: Neil Western, Florence De Changy, Natasha Khan
Author, photogropher, comerqmon, Broodwoy ond fìlm octor, soilor in the US Nov¡ troveller ond news correspondent Morvin Forkos, who died in April oged 89, fortunotely put together o memoir - "Eostern Sogo"' It meons, of course, thot we hove Morvin's stories ond photogrophs. It olso highlights on oppeol in fhe Archives seclion in this issue of Ïhe Correspondenf thol colls for slories, pholos ond memorobilio from oll members to illustrole their time on the plonel ond ot the FCC. The 2O'h edition of the Humon Rights Press Awords is quite o londmork for the FCC. From quiet but diffìcult beginnings it hos become lhe londmork event in the FCC's colendor. Tribufes deservedly go to Amnesly's Robyn Kilpolrick, the FCC's Frqncis Moriort¡ ond the HKJAs
Doisy
Li.
At qbout lhe some lime, the Club wos reluctontly beginning lo issue stolements obout press freedom concerns. h wos o lonely time for Moriort¡ who wos the prime mover behind confronting mony of rhese generol wos looking over their shoulders wondering, "whot would Beiiing think"? Much like Hong Kong's governments since 1992. ln both coses, it led to feorful silence. The FCC got over it. Hong Kong's governments never did' issues. The membership in
It hos been o busy yeor for generol meetings ot the FCC' First lhere wos the Silver membership meeting ond lost month the Town Hqll which looked ot revenue-roising issues to deol with the proiecfed budget defìcit. Both were well ottended ond o number of members got to hove their soy. The resulls: no more Silver memberships ond o subscription increose
-
lhe fìrsl in
l9
Yeors.
communications Committee Co-Conveners: Ang¡e Lau, Natasha Khan, Jul¡ana L¡u - Paul Bayfield (Editor)
Poul Boyfield
wall Committee Co-conveners: Carsten Schael, James could General Manager Gilbert Cheng Produced by: Asiap¡x Stud¡os
o2g4 Email: asiapix@netvigator.com www.terryduckham-as¡apix.com
Tel: 9769
Printing Lautus Pr¡nt
lel2 25!5
1i78
contact FCc
Email: cs@lautus.com.hk
Advertising Front office: Tel: 2521 1511
The Correspondent 02015 The Foreign Correspondents'Club, Hong Kong The Corréspondent ¡s published s¡x times a year opinions expressed here are not necessarily
those of the club.
THE CORRESPONDENT
MEMBERSHIP Who's ioìned lhe Club, who's leavìng ond who,s turned sìlve¡! Ihis is ltre column to reod.
Members'feedåock ìs always welcome by the Club and almost IOO memåèrs turned up to lhe lown hall on April S ro discuss llre FCC lì¡onces. Nearly 8O0 of us olso responded lo on online survey sboui. dìnìng at the Clvb ond yovr vìews on lhe décor ønd smbionce ol llre Dining Roomt relu¡bìshmenl, Att oÍ ¡he views ore beìng aclìvely considered åy tåe Boord, Speakíng oÍ whìeh, more condídotes qre standing lu lhis yeor's elecfíons, so mo/<e su¡e your voice ìs hcord by lhem loo - by cøstìng yovr voles! We're oll proud lo åe FCC members, whelher Correspondenls, Journolisls o¡,A¡¡ociolos. So o Correspondonl goìng lo work ìn public r¿lslìons or reseo¡cfi slrould clronge lo Associole, a Journolisl now working ìn global or regìonal medìa should chonge lo Correspondenl, ond on Ássociofe who fios mode Correspondenl o¡ J ou rnalíst,
d cdreer move ìnÍo
lull-Iíme loarna!ìsm should change lo
Whalever your.membership stolus-w.hen you ioìned, ìl you hove taken a dìllerenl role, do lel us know ll cosfs you nolhng unless you are -sìill on the Correspondenlf Jovrnalist specíal scheme ond åove ìo chonge lo Associofe. Need sdvrce? Emaìl na¡¡lyn ¡1i"¿ i|i"í¡^iAiríÃrrìg. Leavíng Hong Kong? The questìon ol whelher lo lake oul Absent Î,tlembersåip wìll orise.ltt nof expensr've at HK$2,OOO c¡nd ì, is Íor l¡Íe! Aåsent /llembers visìtìng Hong Kong c<ln usê lhe Club lhree lìmes per yedr, up ro ø moximum of 42 doys, without payìng the monthly sub and reoclívole lheìr membershìp ìmme,díatcly lhey relu,rn lo lìve hc.rc. Corcspondents ond Journolísts take iote, yuu ,,oy'1.år. llong King workìng ìn iovrnalìsm bal relurn os o nonlburnolisl, ín whích case ít wìll take you many yecrß lo re-joìn os on Associoie...
Welcome lo new members Correspondenls: Jomil Anderlini, Asio Editor, Finonciol Times; Nothoniel Boker, Editor, Bloomberg; pritonko Boghoni, Senior Reporter, Asiqn Privote Bonker; Rolph Cunrtittghour, Publisher, Euromoney lnstlTutionol lnvestor; Poolo Doneæ-, Senior Repo-rter, iuàmoney lnstituiionol lnvestori Phred Dvorok. Asio Business Editor, The Woll Street Journol; Pembroke Jenkins, Writer, Time Mogozine; Timothy LoviÁ, Editor, Bloonrberg; Sotrt M<rrnucli. Teonr Leoder, Bloomberg; Dowro Preeti. Columnisl. Mintosio; Phoebe Seclgmoi, TeoÅ Leode'r Ásío igriculiurc, Bloomberg; Colin Simpson, Editor, Bloomberg; Miguel Toron, Freelonce Comeromon
Journqlists: Clrlue Street, Feotures Wrltër, Hông Kong Torler Associoles: Peter Coshin. Portner, Kennedys; Alon Griffith. Monoging Director, Digitol. Forbes Medio; Timothy Hoywood, Vp Soles & ßusiness Developntent, Wolton lnlernqtlonol Group; Peggy Lou Yuk-yu, Relired; Cãvior Liu, Director of Humon Resóurces & Administrotion, Lìu Chong Hing lnvestment; Dovid Simpson, Co-Founder
& Director Teom Building Asio; Enzio von Pfeil. lnvestment Strfliegist, pr¡vdte
Copitol; Benson Ycu, Monoging Director. Americon Phil lextiles; Joonne Yin Yooig-wo'h, Director, Wonthorpe; Kevin Zervos, High Court Judge. Judicior¡ HKSARG Diplomols: Reto Renggli, Consul Generol, Consulote Generol of Switzerlond Hong Kong €orporole: Jockson Dovis, Director, Gulf Old Morine; Keith Mullin. CEO, Gulf Oil Morine Replocemcnlr - Corporoler Jotnes Molurr, Cornmunicolions Monoger, Telstro lnternotionol; Soroh Sulherlond, Business Þevelopmenl Executivg Zellond Corporote Services; Jomes Tsui Chung-ming, Generol Monoger, Airport Authority Honq Kóng
On lo postures new Au revoir to those members leoving Hong Kong who hove become Absent Members: Correspondenls¡ Kenneth Brown, Bureou Chief, The Woll Street Journol; Chorles Compbell, Reporter, Time Asio; Jomes DiBiosio, Editor. Asion lnvestor; Eleni Hímoros, Reporter, Bloombergi Per Liliios, Freelonce Journolist; Sofìo McForlond, News editår, The Woll Strået Jouinol; Micholq Sobnoni, Associote Producer, Coble News lnternotionol Journalists¡ Alexonder Lo, Freelonce Journolist; victorio Siersboek, Freelonce Journolist Âccô.¡ñlâ<.
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Keiiil 6iOilrets,
i'resideni
& CEO, FDS NefwOrk GrOUp;
Richord Chin, Chief Executive Offìcer, Code Agriculture Holdings; Glenn Frommer, Monoger, MîR, Alosioir Hethe;¡ngton, portner, RLM Finsbury; Hilory Ohrstrond, Privofe Tutori Solvotore Petroncosto. Director, Polodin Group-; Tiong Woi-yip, Senior Mãnoger, l¡OS CpA; Goil Turner. Photogropher
Forewell also to: Correspondenls: Aoron Bock, Columnisl, The Woll Street Journol; Simon Horrison, Supervising Editor, Coble News Neîwork lnternotionol; Briltony Hite, Mobile Editor, The Woll Street Journol; Philippe Lopez, Picture Editor. Agence Fionce-iresse; proshont Roo, Editor, Agence Fronce-Presse
Journolisls: Amy
Russell, Sub-Editor, SCMP
AIso resigning Correspondenls: Anne-Sophie Briont, Reporler Asio-Pocific, Bloomberg
PEI
Medio; Robert Olsen, Asio Online Editor, Forbes; Jomes Regon, Editor,
Associoles: Seon Frost. Proprietor. Seon Frosi & Co
Welcome bock lo Associctes: Dovid Tong Kwok-keung, consultont. K Y woo & compony Solicitors & Notories
Attoining Silver Membership Associoles¡ Nonette McClinÌock
Despolched We ore exlremely sod
1o snnounce lhe deoths of : corresponde nlsr Borry comc; Morvin Forl<os; Tom LeoncJcç Eclitor-in-chief, Asiu, lloyd's list Associoles¡ John Fortescue Poyne
Honotory widow: Asuncion Poyne
4
THE CORRESPONDENT
CLUB NEWS
Monthly membership fees to rise At the meeting of the FCC Boord of Governors held April I ó, o few doys ofter the Town Holl meeling, the Boqrd resolved fo increose the monthly membership subscription fee by HK$150 per monfh, from HK$950 to HK$1,100. The increose will tqke effecl from July 1. The Boord is olso drofting o proposed omendment to Article 7 of the Articles of AssocÌotion thot will ollow future Boords lo consider whelher or nol ottoching o fee to the spouse membership
privilege is oppropriote. {Any such omendmenT would require ot leost 75o/o support ot o generol meeting). It will olso continue to develop ond invesligote other options
ovoiloble, including o minimum spending requirement, os
Get out and vote in Board elections yeor for the onnuql FCC Boord elecfion, the lop two positions ore uncontested so lhe
This
Presidenl-elect is Toro Joseph (Reuters) ond the First Vice President-elect Keith Brodsher (The New York Iimes). The rest of the positions ore holly contesled. ln lhe roce for Second Vice President, lhe current Treosurer Tim Huxley (Woh Kwong Moritime Tronsport) will foce off ogoinst former Boord member Wyng Chow (Ihe Sfondord). For lhe Correspondents election,
there ore
l0
slonding for eight
positions.
Currenl Boord members who ore stonding for re-election include: Florence De Chongy (l.e Monde
ond French Nolionol Rodio);
reflected in the opinions of the membership ot lhe Town Holl meeting. At the Town Holl, President Neil Western hod osked lhe more thon 100 members presenl for o show of honds over lhe issue of minimum monthly spend. More thonT5o/o of rhe room were in
Nicholos Gentle (Bloomberg News); Non-Hie ln (Freeloncer); JulÌono Liu (BBC News); ond Corslen Schoel (Corsten Schoel Phologrophy). Those new to lhe roce include: Ryon Brooks (Thomson Reulers);
Stewort Howkins (Bloomberg News); Poul Mozur (fhe New York Times); Kote Whiteheod (Freelonce); Eric Wishort, Agence Fronce- Presse. Both incumbent Journolisl
governors ore restonding uncontested: Clifford Buddle (SCMP) ond Jomes Gould (RTHK)'
For the firsf rime in yeors the competilion is on for Associqte posilions on the Boord. The
three incumbents ore Kevin Egon (Boskerville Chombers); Eloine Pickering (Yision 2047 foundotion); ond Simon Pritchord
(Govekol Reseorch). Of the three olhers contestìng, Jonothon Hopfner (New Norroiive
fovour. He olso osked for o show of honds in fovour of introducing spouse membership fees ond lhe vote wos split 50:50. Minutes of the Boord discussion of the issue will be posled on the Club's website eorlier thon usuol in recognition of the wide membership interest in the molter
Ltd) is o former Boord member; Poul Christensen (retired lelecom
executive); ond Nigel Shormon
(Clifford Chonce).
FCC AGM coming soon The Annuol Generol Meeting of the FCC will be held on Thursdoy Moy 26 201 ó ol ópm. You ore entitled 1o oppoinl o
proxy to ottend ond vote on Your beholf ot the AGM. Pleose moke sure your proxy ottends rhe AGM with o completed originol proxy form, ond identificofion document, ond honds il in to the relevonl member of stoff.
Visit Club News online at www.f cch k.orgff ccl atest/
THE CORRESPONDENT
CLUB NEWS
Malaysia deports Australian TV crew
rà h
The FCC Press Freedom Committee issued o slolement in Morch
fhot condemned the orrest ond subsequent deportotion of o television crew from Austrolio's ABC Four Corners crfter they triecl to question Prime Minister Noiib Rozok over on olleged corruption
AB]C
scondcrl.
Reporter Linton Besser ond
comero operqtor Louie Eloglu were orrested in Kuching, ofter opprooching Noiib on the street, Although they were deported, lhere were rro clrurges, They were initiolly held for "foiling to comply with police instruct¡ons rìot to cross the security line," occording to o Moloysion police stotement cifed by AFP. The progromme's exeeutive
producer Solly Neighbour denied the crew hod committed ony Offence ond so¡aj on Tw¡fter thof the orrest wos reloled lo the crew's reporling of corrupfion ollegotions involving Noiib.
This is not
lhe first instonce of
/nsider - o leoding Moloysion nows webgite thot wos blockecl by
threots ond obuse. Moloysio is ronked 1 47th out I 80 countries on the World Press Freedom lndex compiled by Reporters Without Borders, lower thon Myonmor ond Bonglodesh, o pitiful reflection of curbs on medio freedom in the Southeost Asio democrocy. Only by reolising the volue of cr free crld urrfellcred rrrcdiu
the government following criticol coveroge of Noiib - onnounced it wos shulting down, lhe FLC urges Moloysion oufhorities lo ollow oll iournolists to corry out lheir duties in lhe country wilhout feor of orrest,
will Moloysio's leqders be oble to dispel such ollegotions of corruption ond win the confidence of the internotionol community, We urge the outhorities fo desist from horossing bono fide foreign correspondents working in the
officiol intimidotion of foreign medio reporting on the I MDB scondol, while domestic medio óutlels who dored to cover bribery ollegotions ogoinst Noiib hove olso been torgeted. At the some time, Moloysion
counlry.
Farewell Marvin Fomily ond friends gothered in the Moin Dining Room lo commemorote the life of comeromon ond outhor Morvin Forkos, 89. Morvin's son M¡tchell Forkos put
together o video of Morvin's work in the Vietnom Wor ond oround Asio os well qs o clip from o film he oppeored in. His doughter Moriorie Nicoloou gove o movlng speech obout his life. Morvin's obituory is on poge 40.
6
THE CORRESPONDENT
CLUB NEWS
Journalist visa
tensions ease in China
working doys. About 87%o received their new residence visos within the I0 working doys thot the PSB hod soid would be necessory. This 1O-doy window for visos wos o substontiol improvement over 201 4, when the stondord woit lime
9 E
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Chino hos compiled the results of this yeor's onnuol survey of viso issues for correspondents. Some
142 responded (including 35 non-FCCC members), up lrom 127
lost yeor. ln generol, most correspondenls (72o/o) seeking to renew their press cords received them from lhe Foreign Ministry within seven
wos l5 working doys. While less thon 47o of respondents reporled problems renewing lheir press cords or visos, Chinese outhorities confinued in 2015 to obuse lhe press cord ond viso renewol process in o politicol monner, punishing
reporters ond medio orgonisotions for the confent of their coveroge if it hod displeosed the governmenl. The most gloring exomple of
lhis wos the well publicised cose of Ursulo Goulhier, o correspondent for I'Obs, who become the firsl foreign reporter expelled from Chinq since 201 2. Among other incidents, the
outhorities deloyed credentiols
for one correspondent opporenlly becouse of displeosure ot his nelwork's coveroge of Chino in 2015. Another reporled being invited for "leo" by o Foreign MĂŹnistry officiol on the first doy of press cord renewols where he wos told lo be more positive in his reports, While fewer correspondents reporTed lrouble renewing their press cords ond visos ot lhe end of 2015 thon in 20.I4, police ond olher outhorilies throughoul the post yeor hove persisted in fheir otlempts to discouroge correspondenls from reporting on sensitive court cqses ond protesls by suggesting thol their presence ot such events might result in nonrenewol of their press cords or visos.
Another iournolisl soid he wos threotened by police wilh nonrenewol of his credentiols while reporting on lhe triol of civil rights lowyer Pu Zhiqiong in Beiiing in December 2015. Another reported being intimidoted by o request from the PSB to give q detoiled occount of his/her whereobouts over the post months.
Photos by
Fcc staff
THE CORRESPONDENT
7
CLUB NEWS
The FCC's first clynamic Journalism Confercnce
covering conflict ond disqster
sofely; front poge photogrophy w¡th toúr smoitþhónàj ond rhó future of iournolism. For full coveroge of this londmork evenl check oul the FCC's websile ond llre nexl issue
of
The Correspondent.
The FCC's first Journolism
Conference sow o pocked house in the Moin DinÌng Room ond Verqndqh tqlk qbout the issues confronting iournolists in lhe ero of digitol disruption. Although Poul Beckelt, Asio Editor for The Wqll
disruplion, rolher thol it wos the "most creolíve - ond best - ero The first session reolly got to the meot of it: kickstorting your iournolism coreer. The ponel of senior editors, moderoled by Toro Joseph, Chicf Corrcspondcnt Asiq for Reuters TV, discussed whot they thought were the key quolities for
ospiring iournolists. Dovid Merritt, Executive Editor, Asio for Bloomberg News: "Possion
for news." Anne-Morie Roontree, Hong Kong Bureou Chief for Reulers¡ "Curiosity ond perseveronce," Beckelt: 'All iournolists should be digilol iournolists." Phil Pon, Asio Editor for the New York Times: "Someone who stonds o o out their reporting ond wriling." The other pocked sessions looked ol sourcing through sociol medio; following lhe money - the document dive; news in the digirol ond mobile ero; chollenging outhority; cybersecurity; the ort of lhe long-form - feoture wriling; 8
THE CORRESPONDENT
Correspondents' Choice tasting The next round of Correspondents' Choice wines were selected ot one
of the regulor wine sociol tosting
Wine Committee in Morch. These events ore very populor ond there is o good ronge of wine to test
events orgonised by the FCC's
your tostebuds.
CLUB NEWS
z d
Smart car, smart chaps
O O
Take a trip to CUBA
Bor during April. lt's nol his firsl showing, but it hos been o few yeors since Leong lost exhibited
Cubo lhrough the lens of Leong Ko Toi groced the wolls of the Moin
Boord member ond photogropher Corsten Schoel ioined Leong ot the opening porly for the exhibitÌon.
his olwoys ostonishing photos.
Former member Som Jockmon
ond Philip Nourse (plus, of course, their new Pockordl) were recently spolted ol lhe Nopier Art Deco Festivol in Howke's Zeolond.
Vlç rl*ue To G€r Nlft+ Yôut& È44tr, l'l+1ç
W€ N
Bo¡ New
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THE CORRESPONDENT
9
CLUB MATTERS
Town Holl meeting debqles options to boost revenue There was a big and active turnout for the FCC's Town Hall meeting in early April, which focused on budget forecasts and the operating revenue shortfall through
the Club's renovation period and what should be done about it.
f)resiclent Neil
West-ern explainetl thaL Lhe Board of Governors was elected to run the Club and its finances, "but given that subscriptron fees had been frozen for l9 years it was considered prudent to talk to the membership about it and get feedback". Many emaìls had been received already from members, Western said. There had been many suggestions to alter some operaling proceclures arid while the Board welcomed them, they would be considered within committees rather than being
I-
Tieasurer Tim Huxley, in his presentation "Töwards a sustainable
financial future" for the Club, gave an
revenue tor 2015/2016 was HK$53 ,605,24L. The forecast for financial year 2015/2016 is a deficit of HK$502,694, while the forecast for financial year 2016/2017 will be a deficit of HK$5,127,398. Huxley explained the factors that contributed to the growing deficit: rhe 2016/17 food cover budget was predicted to be down by 3.7 5'/o because of lost revenue during planned renovations. The payroll for catering staff was budgeted to increase by HK$i
million or 5%.The total administration
expenses would increase by 8.9olo covering admin wage increases and increased stalf numbers. Rent and rates increased by l0% fromJanuary 2016 to HK$577,500 per month. The sale of RMB deposits would reduce
interest income by HK$101,000. The options Through emails, phone calls, suggestions at commj.ttee and Board meetings and talk around the Bar, eight options have come forward to address the projected deficit:
l: Why nol use Club's reserves lo cover lhe deficit? Current freely available reserves as at February 2016 are HK$42.3 million, comprising HK$30.5 mi.lli.on in cash and HK$11.8 mi.llion in investments, Option
10
THE CORRESPONDENT
ec¡uivalerrl to the 2015/16 caLerì.ng experrses or nirie months of the 2016/17 operatlng budget. Some HK$f 0 million from reserves has been set aside for the renovations. Reserves historically have been built up to cover the cost of relocation in the event the lease on Çurrent premises not being renewed.
Oþrion 2: [ét's Sook thé Asiõôiotès! Not all Associates are high earners and hence
a
6cJ members should be avoided. The FCC should continue to try and maintain a diverse Associate The idea of doubling the joining lee for Associates would seriously compromise the diversity we are trying to promote from people with media connections, NGOs, and other non-senior banking/ legal etc. applicants. We have budgeted for only 24 new Associate members in20I6/L7, which would yield HK$600,000 in joining fees. lf we double the
joining fee to HK$50,000 that would bring in HK$1.2 million, still well short of the deficit.
Associate
Option 3: Increqse revenue from currenl oullets The gross profit from all catering outlets from 20 I 5-March 2016 is HK$25,8 14,30 I on a [urnover of HK$39,874,39+.56. To cover the deficit from existing catering operations would require an increase jn turnover of around HK$8 million to HK$48 million. With breakfast having proved to be the only significant area of under-utilisation, this will be impossible to achieve. An F6¡B price increase would not be advisable now as we have recently undertaken one and there was a noticeable drop in revenue in the months immediately following implementation. To cover the budgeted
April
CLUB MATTERS
defÌcit from current F6¡B sales alone, an overall price rise of around 13.5olo
The Foreign Correspondents' Club, HK Monthly subscript¡on 1982 - present 1,000
would be required.
900
Option 4: Awqken the dormqnt members - minimum monthly spend
800
700
As of January 2016, there were 669 members with zero monthly
600;
spending other than subscriptions. Dormant members comprised 451 Associates, 69 Correspondenrs, 42 Journalists, B Diplomats and99 Corporate members * 20o/o of C6rJ members do not use the FCC. A minÌmum monthly spend of HK$200 would raise HK$1.6 million per year from these members, not sufficient to cover the deficit.
Option 5: Club merchqndise
-
500 400 300 200
leveroge the FCC
Brqnd Revenue from FCC merchandise sold between April 2015 and March 2016 was HK$426,714,wíth a gross profit of
IHK$I}7,326, or under HK$10,000 per month. Members have proposed numerous additional items such as cuff iinks, cloth bags etc, but sales volume and storage space precludes this.
- double the money or double the trouble? The FCC currently has 1,629 spouse members. A limited number of other clubs such as the Yacht Club and the Hong Kong Club charge spouse membership fees of between HK$335 and HK$390 per month.
Option ó: Spouse membership
If FCC lrere [o charge
a spouse fee
of
HK$300 per month, it would raise HK$488,700 per monrh or HK$5,864,400 pet year, sufficient to cover the budgeted deficit. A HK$200 per month spouse fee would generate HK$3,909,600, sti11 a significant contribution to covering the defi.cit.
remained the same since the last century. No other Club has managed to do this while also keeping price lncreases manageable. The club have achj.eved this by increasing membership numbers, but we are now at capacity.
HK$184 extra revenue per member per month is required to cover the budgeted deficit. A proposed HK$150 per month rise in monthly subscriptions for members paying HK$950 per month and HK$50 per month for those on the discounted scheme would raise HK$309,650 per month or HK$3,7 I5,800 per year or 1F.K$4,025,450 per yeaÍ on the basis of l3 months. Budget forecqsl qnd revenue shortfqll Erik Floyd asked about the operating deficit, which would be more than HK$5 million in2017 because of the renovations. He said that since the renovations were a one-off cost, did that mean raising the subscription fees was to solve a one-off problem? Huxley explained that the deficit included the depreciation on the renovation costs and the rent. And there would a 3 .7 5o/o drop in revenue during renovations. Even ifyou increased subscriptions by HK$f 50 it wouid not soive the problem and you
will still have a two-month revenue gap during the renovations.
Option 7: Rewqrd the regulors? Proposal from an existing Sllver Member: reduce F6lB prices by 30o/o; abolish Silver/Honorary membership; and monthly subscriptions for all members (including existing Silver members) should rise to HK$ 1,400 per month. In reply, Huxley said it was not good practice to run F6¡B at a loss, and it would likely lose membership and face some opposition from some existing Sllver members.
Option 8: Monthly subscriptions: q 2lsl cenlury solulion? Monthly subscriptions for full members have
Floyd had seen the operating deficit was a small amount in 2015, but questioned what the other income numbers listed that would generate a rather large surplus for 2015 and2016. Huxley said the other income was joining fees and income from CIub investments (large cash reserve and a small investment portfolio). Peter Caldwell had notlced a substantial increase in the depreciation because of spendì.ng money to improve the facilities, but as the depreciation wouid only occur over a very limited period, what would the long-term position be? Huxley said the renovation cosls would come out of reserves rather than the immediate current THE CORRESPONDENT
11
CLUB MATTERS
ü o TreasurerTim Huxley left, urges a sustainable lnancial future,
account. It was reasonable to have depreciation over 10 years on equipment such as fridges and as the building was old it needed constant maintenance. .fohn Batten saiû the clelìcit numbers should be further broken down. He gave examples such as wage costs rising l0% in 2015; Bert's closing until 6pm; and as members were not using the Main Dining Room (MDR) much, he believed there should be a standard rate for meals throughout the Club rather than fine dining in the MDR. He said given Lhe high ct-rst o[ Llie retiuvatiutrs, cuulcl solle of the renovations be rolled over or put on hold? He suggested the removal of the health club so the space could be used as another facility, such as for committee meetings instead of using the Hughes Room.
the committee was examÌning the alterations needed in the kitchen. There had been a fear that removal of the whole floor to deal with the piping was necessary, but the committee had found a way of avoì.ding that resulting in lower costs. Donald Mayer asked whether the expenditure contemplated for the MDR was in the budget and sai.d
what the amount was. Huxley said that quotes were being obtained and consultants \Mould be evaluating them, but the allocated budget had not been prepared yet. Neil Western explained that seeking government approval would take time, while Gentle added there were problems with the audio-visual downstairs as well as in the MDR, so it made sense to try to minimj.se costs by doing both together. John Hung agreed that the kitchen renovation was necessary, but pointed out that the membership had submitted answers on the survey regarding the MDR's use as a dining area and he thought the Board should decide on its use first before doing the rest. Western responded that the Board had been analysing the survey and the Club's policy states the room should be available to members rather than unavailable.
Tony Dick had observed restaurants and bars were 12
THE CORRESPONDENT
always full, but questioned why the Club was losing money considering the rent rvas also quite lour And he also asked whether an outside consultant had been tasked to evaluate the F&B service and see whether the Club was getting leal value [rl'money. Western responded that the Club was not always full and added that the survey had heen overwheìmìngly positive in terms of food and service. It was hoped that members who enjoyed the food and service could use the Club more, so a consuitant could help to drive more custom. Callan Anderson did not agree with the figure of 5o/o as rhe increase in suff costs as he had analysed his orm staffing costs and industr;' inflation. He had also seen a high turnover of staff in the Club and thought there were higl, costs associated with taking stall on. He said that the band costs oi HK$92,000 a month were too high and queried whether it was generating money and whether Bert's Bar was being under-
utilised. Western said that the House Committee would be considering the music spend at Bert's when the cúrìtlact canìe up as it was prtrbably the biggest spend outside of staffing costs. The survey had shown a lot of support for Bert's, but not many were seen actuaþ
using it. However, the Club had a long reputation for jazz so it would be an emotive debate. Regarding the staff costs, Huxley explained that
more turnover. Steve Vines believed that the staff estimate of 5olo was very modest considering staff-costs inflation in the F&B industry ln Hong Kong. Edith Têrry asked if any marketing expenditure had been budgeted and asked whether there could be better marketing of the jazz and professional events. Western explained that the Club's website was being relaunched which would help in the marketing. Having served on three committees at the Club, Susan Liang recommended bringing in a consultant to maximise the revenue from the MDR and Bert's Bar before embarking on increasing the subscription fees. Regarding investments, she suggested that there should be some transparency with members advised quarterly of the investment portfolio performance. She queried whether active members should be penalised through an across-the-board rise in subscription fees or targeting dormant members instead. To deal with the under-utilisation of the Club, policy needed to be formulated before choosing the easy option of increasing subscriptions. Western said the noticeboard and website displayed a copy of the investment performance each month. Keith Bradsher advised that raising the monthly subscriptions would mainly affect dormant members. 1n
CLUB MATTERS
For instance, raising F6sB costs would mainly affect those usÌng the Club, so a far higher proportion of the money raised would come from dormant members. However, Philip Bowring thought no more money should be spent on hiring consultants; money should be fed back to the members lnstead. Wayne Ma asked whether a F6cB price sensitivity anaiysis had been conducted including how much it would affect member spending. And whether lowering F6øB prices would increase the revenue. He also proposed rewarding members who used the Club a great deal by reducing the F6sB prices, but raising the
subscription fees. Huxley confirmed price analysis had been carried out and said that when F6¡B prices had been increased by 5% recently, F&B revenue had dropped by ILo/o before recovering.
Nigel Sharman referred to Huxley's opinion regarding not running down the reseryes for operating expenditure, asking whether he had considered the right amount of reserves needed by the CIub. He suggested mixing and matching some options rather than choosing only one. Spouse membership fees Francis Moriarty said the Club's prices were too low compared with other places such as hotels when renting to outside groups. He recommended raising spouse membership fees instead ofjournalists' fees as journalists'saiaries were going down rather than up. Floyd recommended broadening the revenue sources to increase revenue. He suggested instigating a fee for signing rights. Although it would not completely solve the problem, he thought ir would bring in some calculable revenue and then perhaps limit the size of the subscription increases as a result. Vines agreed and believed there were a number of options within the options proposed that did not have to be acted upon in their entireqz He suggesred a minimum spend as it worked well in other clubs where members could buy a bottle of wine to fulfil the minimum spend instead of using one of the F6¡B outlets. It would also discriminate heavily 1n favour of those people who use the Club regularþ and was an opt¡on that needed investigating. Bradsher was concerned that if minimum spend was introduced then there would be a greaÍer influx of people coming into the Club in the lasr three-four days of the month to fulfil the minimum spend requirement and the Club wouldn't be able to handle such a surge. The CIub was already packed at lunchtimes. Kevin Egan agreed with Vines that the Club should consider the issue of minimum expenditure. There were many dormant members and he thought it was ridiculous that the monthly subscriptions had stayed the same for 19 years. He recommended its increase to HK$1,100-$1,200 a month. If the monthly subscription fees were increased and a minimum spend introduced, then some dormant members may
resign and replacement members could be added
who would actively use the Club. Regarding spouse membership, he didn't think lt could be changed due to the wording in the Articles of Association. Mathew Gallagher did not agree with the minimum spend proposal as it could penalise members who were travelling. Huxley agreed it was a valid point and had already been raised by a few members. He suggested the minimum spend could be cumulative, so that it occurred after three months or so to take into account those away from Hong Kong. Paul Christensen pointed out that not all Associate members were rich, some lvere retired and many Associate members had no salary.
Eric Wishart thought Huxley's presenration had been a build-up to increasing the monthly subscriptions and thought a minimum spend was feasible and a serious proposal. He could see the argument behind the monthly subscription fees due to the upcoming budget problem with the renovarion. However, HK$950 was still a lot of money and the Club should not underestimate some members' financial situations. Sharman said that as a former journalist he had no issue with subscription fees increasìng or decreasing and thought the continuance of the CIub as a place where Journalists and Correspondents could meet and mix with other Corporate members was very important and should be preserved. In terms of the minimum spend, he asked what \Mere the experiences of other comparable clubs in Hong Kong, did they experience an end of month Ìnflux and whether they were able to manage it? Huxley replied that the other clubs usually had a 1ot more space and reported there was usually a surge of members on the last Wednesday of the month. He also said that not all Correspondents were badly paid and not al1 Associates were well paid. Patrick Boehler asked whether there could be space for compromise regarding spouse membership and whether spouses should have a discount membership instead. \Mestern explained that procedurally, such a decision would need to go before the Companies Registrar, but if accepted an EGM would then be held which requires 75"/o of t}rre membership to approve it. Francis Cassidy said as the Club was overly crowded and Ìntroducing a minimum spend would resuit in an influx of members. He recommended reducing the number of guests coming into the Club and lerying a charge onto spouses to encourage them to buy drinks. 'Western asked for a show of hands in favour of a minimum monthly spend and over 75% of the
room were in favour. He also asked for a show of hands in favour of introducing spouse membership fees and the vote was split 50:50. K THE CORRESPONDENT
13
COVER STORY
H¡gh-quqlity tnves tigqtive report¡ng scoops pr izes ol Humqn R¡ghts Press Awqrds o
By Joyce Lau
t1
-t
274 entries submitted to the Human Pless Awards this year were ol the highest quality that the Awards has received in its 2O-year history All major categories - in English and Chinese, in print, broadcast and photography - featured original, investigative reporting lrom across Asia Paciflc. While some top prizes went to media
'T'he
I
nign',
giants like Reuters, Associated Press and Al Jazeera, this year also featured new voices lrom both online medìa and freelancers. In Chinese-language reporting, an Internet start-up callecl hitiriil beat traclitìona1 prlnt newspapers. tn photograph¡ a Singaporean freelancer named Sim Chl Yin lound a way ol financurg a years-long investlgation into Chinese gold miners. Her work, called "Dying to l¡reathe", iater caught the attention of The Netu Yorh Times and NaLtonctl Geographic.
The judges also gave special mention to works that would normally fall outside the FIRPAs parameters, most notably local Hong Kong journalists who ven[ured into Europe to report on the Syrian refugee crisis. The HRPA are.luclged by volunteers from the fields of news media, law acaclemia and 14
THE CORRESPONDENT
COVER STORY
nF-
rights activism. They give out both grand prizes and merits for noteworthy works. English prizes The grand prize for English-language news and features went to a series called "Seafood from slaves" by Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan for Associated Press. While the reporting started in impoverished parts of Thailand, the journalists tied human rights abuses in the Asian seafood industry to the sorts of packaged goods affluent consumers see everyday in Western supermarkets. "The shame and open secrecy of slavery's role in all our modern conveniences has been highlighted before by HRPA winners," said judge Douglas Wong, a former FCC president. "But the depth of this project is reflected in the breadth of its impact: The freeing of thousands of slave fishermen, and important steps to stop the trade ofslave-produced goods." The grand prize ĂŽor online reporting went to David Lague, Paul Mooney, Benjamin Kang Lim, Sui-Lee Wee and Stephanie Nebehay, a cohort of China experts working at Reuters. In "The long arm of China", they used multiple articles to draw alarger picture of how China engages with minorities and the outside world. "This is very good, wide-ranging reporting," said barrister Jacqueline Leong, who has been a HRPA judge since its first year in 1996. "The package as a whole drew together common threads between three different issues: the Dalai Lama, the UN Human Rights Committee, and the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in the nation's far West." "These three are rarely put together," added judge Armin Kalyanram, a former chairperson of Amnesty lnternational Hong Kong. The grand prize in Englishlanguage broadcasting went to Chan Tau Chou of AlJazeera English, for a work called "The invisible children of Sabah, Malaysia". Chinese prizes
In the past year, Hong Kong has seen a proliferation of new, independent media outlets, particularly online. For the first time, an online startup took the grand prize in Chineselanguage news and features. The judges honoured Zhao SlIe of Initium
Opposite page: Feature Photography Grand Prize:"DyingTo Breathe":A series depicting the work related health issues suffered by a Chinese gold miners By Sim ChiYin, freelance Above: Feature Photography Special Prize:"Refugees crossing the Aegean Sea for survival" NicoleTung - /nltium THE CORRESPONDENT
15
COVER STORY
for a wide-ranging work called "The fate of Chinese rights NGOs". Zhao also won one of the feature-writing merits for "Kou Yanding: I28 days of he11 and 100km of Salvation." On the broadcast side, tl-ie gland prize went to Choy Yuk Ling of Radio Television Hong Kong for a work called "The myth of universal suffrage".
Syric coveroge The Awards are normally limited to coverage of Asia Pacific - which we define as from Central Asia in the West toJapan in the East, Mongolia in the North to Indonesia in the South. Rules bar reporting from the Middle East and beyond. This is to prevent the HRPA from beĂŹ.ng flooded with the voluminous coverage that American 16
THE CORRESPONDENT
or Britj.sh media giants produce on, say, the Iraq war or the israeli.-Palestinian conflict. There are plenty of other international awards that honour the war correspondents reporting out of New York or London. The I-IRlAb goal has always been to focus on investigations by Asia-based reporters - on subjects that affect Asian people and Asian nations. However, 2015 proved to be a special year, as judges in more than one category wanted to acknowledge the exceptional work done by local Chineselanguage reporters on the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe. In an era of newsroom budget cuts, few 1oca1 journalists have the resources to do significant onthe-ground reporting on global issues. The judges in Chinese broadcasting gave a special
COVER STORY
pize Ío Michelle Chan of Radio Têlevision Hong Kong,
who followed the plight of refugees rn Greece, Hungar¡ Croatia and Germany. Chan
produced two lengthy Cantonese-language TV reports on the issue. "Thls is excellent coverage of an international affair by a Chinese-speaking j ournalist, " said judge Shirley Yam,
vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists' Associal ìon. "The HRPA is the only place where such an effort would be apprecrated, given the language barrier... She has picked the right topic, and
did it well to benefit local audlences." "It's rare lor Hong Kong's Chinese-language media to
"Stage Performers With Down Syndrome" By Fu Chun-Wai EastWeek
"British Lesbran Faces Discrimination in Hong Kong" ByYikYeung Van- Apple Doily
THECORRESPONDENT
17
COVER STORY
support its Ïeportels in covering an international issne - with this scale of procluction," added judge Lric Poon. "It should be encouraged, especiall), as it is an excellent u'ork."
Photogrophy T1,,-,,",,,,1',,',.
i', l-,r,,,*.
r
rl,i
rr¡
ri,r,rrr1rr, \r/¿r,r rr,
Slm Chi Yin, a Singaporean freelancer who began rcpurtiirg uiL LlLc diic lrcaltlL pit-,l.,letiìs úl Chitiese gold nrìners jn 201 I encl prrrsued ihe srrlrjcct L1ntil her photographs were finally publlshed in
"
,,We
By Ko
Chung-Ming Next Mogazine
2015. She followed one lamily for lwo years through illness, disability ancl death. Sirn took heartbreakìng portraits ol more than 30 former gold miners sllfferlng from silicosis; se\/elal have since CLied. It is near Ìrnpossible for a freelancel to luncl a \\,ork ol this nature - and Sim coulcl onl)' do so thanks to a grent by the US-based Pulitzer Centre ún Crisis Reporting. Sim's photographs harze been publÌshed in other rnajor interrLational sources iike Nc¿¿ional Geographic.
ß
loyce Lau is the HRPAs director. For more inforntatton, go to HtunanRightsP ressAw ards. org. Myanmar
Elections
ByYe
AungThu-Agence France-Presse
The whole world in their hands of the Humon Rights Press Awords wos in the copoble honds of l9 volunteer iudges in the fields of The iudging
medio, low, ocodemio ond humon rights. Betlina Wossenel is o writer, consultonl ond o former business correspondenf for the Finoncisl Timcs ond thc lnternotionol New York Tlmes. Jocqueline Leong hos been the Humon Rights Press Awords' legol expert since ils lnception in 199ó. She is o Hong Kong Seníor Counsel ond former direcfor of the Hong Kong Bor AssocÌotion.
Armin Kalyonrom wos o High Court counsel in Mumboi before moving to Hong Kong ln 2O0ó. She is on oclive volunteer with NGOs like Helpers for Domestic Helpers ond the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre. Serenode Woo is o proiecl monoger of the lnlernotlonol Federotion of Journolists Asio Pocific Office. She is also o former member of the executive council of Amnesty lnternotionol Hong Kong. Jonqlhqn Hopfner is o monogÌng director ot New Nsrrolive. He is o former Reuters News editor. Douglos Wong is Asio Legol Editor ot Bloomberg News. He hos olso worked for the Finonciol Times ond The Stroits Times qnd is o former FCC president. Jim Lqurie hos been o iournolist ond broadcqster for 40 yeors ond heods Focus Asio Productions, o video ond televisíon consuhoncy. He is olso o consultont for CCTV English News.
Liu Kin-ming is o veteron iournolisl, public offoirs
18
THE CORRESPONDENT
consultont, founder of the KM & Associotes consultoncy ond former Awords prizewinner. He wos former choirmon of the HKJA ond o member of the FCC Boord. Shirley Yom ìs the vice-choirperson of the Hong Kong Journolísts'Associotion ond o columnist ot the South Chino
Morning Posf. Chong Yiu-kwong is o solicitor ond o senior teoching fellow at the Deporlme¡t of Educotion Polícy ond Leodership ot the Hong Kong lnstitute of Educotion. Pelulo Ho Sik-ying is on Associote Professor qt the Deporlment of Sociql Work ond Sociol Administrotion, University of Hong Kong. lcorus Wong Ho-yin is the convener of Civil Humqn Rights Front.
Bruce Lui Ping-kuen is o former principol Chíno reporter for Coble TV ond is o Ming Poo columnist ond senior lecturer ot Hong Kong Boptist University. Eric Poon lol-pui is o veteron producer who hos mode more lhon 100 documentories for RTHK since 1993 ond is on ossociote professor ot the School of Journolism & Communicotion ot ChìneseU. Joseph Tse Chi Fung is o veteron iournolist who wos the presenter of the TV progromme "City Forum". He is now o freelonce journolist. Angelo Lee is o former boord member of Amnesty lnternotionol Hong Kong ond hos octed os o iudge for the Awords since its inception in 199ó. Cqrslen Schoel is on qwqrd-winning Germon photogropher ond o member of the FCC Boord. Chung Lom Chi is the Hong Kong Press Photogrophers' Associotion choirmon.
COVER STORY
And the winners qre... ENGLISH-LANGUAGE
Broadcast Special Prize
PRIZES
News and Features Grand Prize
"Great escape of Syrian refugees"
"Seafood from Slaves" - Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan, Assoc¡ated Press
Hong Kong
News Merits "Four Hong Kong publ¡shers known for books critical of Chinese regime missing" - llaria Maria Sala, The Guardian "Something hideous Happened in Elishku, Xinjiang" - Ben,amin Haas, Agence France-Presse "Asia's migrant crisis" - Preethi Jha, Nurdin Hasan and Shaflqul Alam, Agence France-Presse Features Merits "Ghost children: in the wake 0f China's one-child policy, a generation is lost"
-
Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe and Mail
Series on "Crackdown on Ch¡nese rights lawyers" - Verna Yu, South China Morn¡ng Post "Elderly bused in for district election vote" - Jetfie Lam, South China Morning Post
0nline Grand Prize Series on "The long arm of China" - David Lague, Paul Mooney, Benjamin Kang Lim, Sui-Lee Wee and Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters 0nline Merits "Sea slaves: the human misery that feeds pets and livestock" - lan Urbina, The New YotkTines "For Bohingya, fear and forced maniages" - Jonah M. Kessel, The New York Times Commentary Merit "Beijing Autumn" - llaria Maria Sala, ChinaFile Broadcast Grand Prize "The invisible children of Sabah, Malaysia" - Chan Tau Chou, Al Jazeera English ïelevision Merits "Asia's meth wars: Myanmafs state-backed militias are flooding Asia with meth" * Patrick Winn and Mark oltmanns, GlobalPost "Chinal locked-up lawyers" - Canie Gracie - BBC World Radio Merit "Soccer nuns: the trials of Tibetan women's football" - lvan Broadhead
-
BBC
CHINESE-LANGUAGE
PRIZES
News and Features Grand Prize "The fate of Chinese rights NGOs"
-
Features Merits "Kou Yanding: 1 28 days of hell and
-
Zhao Sile,
1
Zhao Sile, /nftium
00 kilometres of Salvation"
lnitiun
"Conflict escalates over Christian crosses in Zhejiang" - Zhu Yongxiao, Yazhou Zhoukan / Asiaweek "Never grow old" - Chen Yimin, Ming Pao Weekly News Merits "Vote rigging in Distr¡ct Council election"- Leung Yu Wo, Yuen Pak Yan, Alexander Lam Wai Chung and Lee Ngal,llan, Apple Daily "A brother asks society t0 respect the disabled" - Simpson Cheung Wai-Ming, Yammy Tsang Ying-Mui and Gemini Cheng Pui-Shan, Ming Pao "Elderly stripped naked on rooftop, waiting to be showered" - Winky Liu Wing-ki and Edward Choi Chuen-Wai, Ming Pao 0nline Merits "lnvestigation of the Shenzhen landslide: why waste was dumped in an ecological zone" -Yannan Jiang, Init¡um Commentary Merit "A lifetime of sutfering for Chinese women" - Zeng Jinyan, ln¡tium Broadcast Grand Prize "The myth of universal suffrage"
-
*
Michelle Chan, Radio Television
Television Merits
"lnfallible church"- Amy Wong Nga-Man, Radio Television Hong Kong "Helpless, aged and disabled" - Grace Wong, Radio Television Hong Knrrg
Radio Merits
-
Myanmar elections series
lvan Luk Yuk-Kwong and Wong Lui, Radio
Television Hong Kong PHOTOGRAPHY
Feature Photography Grand Prize
"Dying t0 breathe": a series about a Chinese coal miner The New York Times Feature Photography Spec¡al Prize "Refugees crossing the Aegean Sea for survival" Spot News Merits "Defendant" * Ho Kwan-Kin
-
-
Sim Chi Yin,
Nicole Tung, /nlfium
-
Sing Tao Daily "Disputed land" - Sam Tsang, South Ch¡na Mom¡ng Post "The lonely life of the McSleepers" - Dickson Lee, South China Morning Post "British Lesbian faces d¡scrimination in Hong Kong" - Yik Yeung-Man, Apple Daily "The first blood shed in the Yuen Long anti-smuggler movement" Chan
Y ik-
Cniu,
-
y
A p p I e D ai I
Feature Photography Merits Southeast Asian migrant crisis France-Presse
-
Christophe Archambault, Agence
"Stage performers with Down Syndrome" - Fu Chun-Wai, East Week Myanmar elections - Ye Aung Thu, Agence France-Presse "We Shout'Eruianal"'
-
Ko
Nert
STUDENT PRIZES ENGLISH.LANGUAGE
PRIZES
High School Students Prize
"Disenfranchised: education for non-Chinese-speaking children in Hong Kong" - Xaviera Artaza of West lsland School, Harbour Times Univers¡ty Broadcast Prize "Education for all" - Ho Kar-Hei, Leung Ka-Yu, Tsui Kit-Sze, Xi Qiaosong and Wong Wing-Kwan of The Chinese University of Hong l<ong, Varsiv Magazine
University Print Prize "Transparently Uncleaf' - Tsim Wing-Sze, Lin Yi-Ting and Kwan ChoMing of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Varsig Magazine University Print Merits "Finding a way fonruard" - Jayce Lai, Man Sze-Wai and Tsang Hoi-Kee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Varsw Magaz¡ne "Sexual harassment at Hong Kong's universities - rarely reported, but not rare" - Medhavi Arora of the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Free Press CHINESE.LANGUAGE
PRIZES
University Print Prize "Questionable police testimony and unfair prosecution after 0ccupy" - Lam Tsz-Ch¡ng and Gloria Chan Hoi-Ching of the Hong Kong Baptist University, Sanpoyan
University Broadcast Prize Body of work: "The rights of domestic workers" and "Power of the pol¡ce"- Li Lok Man, Nicolle L¡u Ka-Wun, Leung Yat-Nga, Winnie Tang Man-Yan and Yeh Ka-Lun of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Plnporllf website
Choy Yuk Ling, Radio Television
Hong Kong
THECORRESPONDENT
19
COVER STORY
Humqn Rights Press Awqrds qlive qnd well qfter 20 yeqrs In the annals of the struggle for press freedom in Hong Kong, a small chapter deserves to be devoted to the or¡gin and development of the Human Rights Press Awards, writes Francis Moriarty, founding co-chairman of HRPA and founding
chairman of the press freedom committee.
The HRPA is celebrating its 20th anniversary this I y.u. with a speciat evät featuring a previóus two-time winner Fergal Keane, special correspondent - for the first time - an evening prizegiving event held in a venue other than the upstairs dining room at the FCC, wliere we have gathered annually since the awards'inception. The HRPA has become fÌrmly established in Hong Kong and recognised globally and is among the more prestigious awards honouring thc work of journalists As one of those who helped found the HRPA, its
with BBC, as guest speaker, and also
satisfaction, mixed with alarge dose of humility when I think about how much work has been done by so many others over these past decades. But to be perfectly candid, I also feel an abidlng sense of guilt. So I guess this is about as good a time as any to confess my first reaction when the suggestion of creating the awards came up. I tried to kil1 the idea on the spot. And I had reasons for wanting to. In my view, the atmosphere in the Ciub at that time - the early 90s - was not as openly supportive of taking public stands on free speech and free press issues as it is today. Of course, there have always been individuals, including past presidents and Board members (Associates among them), who have bravely stood up for these issues at critical moments. But taking such stands in those pre-handover days could at times be a somewhat lonely proposition. China was already castÌng a long shadow and Hong Kong's future was uncertain. Without the security blanket of the
departing colonial administratìon, many individuals were weighing their personal and business interests vis à vis the soon-to-be-incoming order. I recal1 a Board discussion in my very early days about the renewal - or not - of the lease on our building. At that time, a chapter of Amnesty 20
TTJF-
CORRESPONDENT
Iniernational held monthly meetings in the Albert (now Burton) Room. During the discussion, I asked what sort of things members felt might pose a threat to renewal. Someone - not a journalist said, "maybe as a journalism-based organisation, we oughL rroL le[ Antresly lrreel- hele, as sorneorre might question the Ciub's neutralitf'In those days; "someone" was shorthand for Be¡ing. The Club had aì.ready been Ìssuing occasional statements on relevanl issues on a sort ol ad hoc basis. lt was evident that there would be increasing idea of creating a press freedom commÌttee with then president Hans Vriens, who immediately agreed and
if I would chair it (the traditional punishment for proposing something). This by no means put an end to the often heated, sometimes bruising discussions on the Board over issuing statements, but this commìttee provided a place for discussion outside the Board and affirmed our commitment to asked
defending journalists' values and rights. It was within this atmosphere when the idea of the Awards first arose in mid-1994. And it helps explain, in part, why I was in full conflict-avoidance mode when someone called me asking for a meeting. She said she wanted to discuss an idea that - perhaps intuiting my response - she did not want to talk about over the phone. The "she" was Robln Kilpatrick, then chairperson of Amnesty International Hong Kong. When we did meet I did not yet know what I would quickiy come to realise: Robyn was not just someone with an idea; she is a fuli-fledged force of nature. Robln explained the idea of creating press awards similar to the successful and very prestigious awards being given by Amnesty in Brltain. Could we not do the same thing in Hong Kong with the assistance of the FCC?
COVER STORY
reasons why we should not go near lhis proposal
memory stj.cks, MP3 and now smartphones. VHS tapes became DVDs or posted onlj.ne. We struggled
with a bargepole. Clearly, this idea had to be stopped
with tradj.tional categories: Does it make
in its tracks. But how? I was already beginning to sense Robln's determination, which was a little scar;r ObviousLy, I said, such a venture, however worthy, could not possibly succeed without the involvement of local journalists, but would they support something with the words "human rights" up front?
the multi-platform digital age to distinguish between Print and Online? What isn't online? L)nce we managed to have our application form printed, it went out by snall mail and fax to the news media. As the deadline drew closer few forms had been returned and there were signs of worry among some organisers. However, with the deadline almost upon us hundreds of entries poured in. The question of interest ¡Mas settled. But I still had my own doubts about the deeper goals of the project. The answers to my doubts came in quick succession. Among the early entries was a Taiwanmade documentary about the Uighurs in Xinjiang that had never been aired, save at a film festlval in the US. Not having been shown, it was clearly outside our rules. "Not so quickly," said the judges. It had not been shown because it had been censored for political reasons by the station that commissioned it, and that was just the sort of thing they felt the awards ought to spotlight. And promptly decided to give it a special award. When the producer accepted his prize he said to me, "May I say somethlng?" This was not in the rundown, and I didn't know how to respond. Then I heard a judge, Fred Armentrout, sayrng in a loud voice: "Of course you can!" The producer then explained how hard his colleagues had worked and how each time they edited the film they were instructed to cut it further - until at last they realised that 1t was never going to be aired. As he spoke, his hands began to shake. "My team and I," he said, "we felt like we had been... sexually abused". And he burst into tears. The audience instantly rose and gave him a lengthy standing ovation. Thls was very much in my mìnd when a young reporter for a Chinese-language paper walked up to me after one ceremony with her winner's plaque in hand for a story about the political rights of prisoners in China. She held it up in front of her. "Do you know what this means?" she asked. Please tell me, I replied. "l had to fight for this assignment," she said. "My editors told me, 'Don't waste your time. Nobody gives a shit about the rights of prisoners in China'. And then t had to fight, But I did the story published. Noq you have given very hard, to get it ^nyway. me this - and nobody can ever tell me again, 'don't do that story because no one gives a shit'." Any questions about whether the HRPA accomplishes anything were settled for me early on, and there have been many simÌlar examples since. One television entry that has stayed firmly in my mind these 20 years was a beautifully filmed story about homeless street children in MongolÌa done by Fergal Keane, then BBC bureau chief in Hong Kong. It
I nodded politely whiie mentally tabulating
a1l
the
(I was asking myself the same question about the FCC as well.) Robp agreed to take it away and I - relieved thought that was the end of that. However, a week later Rob;m was back again saylng she had put the idea to Daisy Li, then chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. To my amazement, Daisy and the HKJA backed the idea. "Well," asked Robl'n, unable to disguise her pleasure, "can we count on you?" Sometimes, you have you know when you're beaten. The Board backed the idea - also to my surprise, frankly - and a joint organising committee of the FCC, HKJA and Amnesty was formed. We had nothing to start with, no rules, no regulations, no application forms, no resources
-
nothing. But with the FCC and HKJA involved, it was quickly agreed that these new awards first and foremost would recognise high-quality journalism in tlne area of human rights, and they would be open both to local journalì.sts (ì,ncluding Macau) and foreign correspondents based in Asia. My view from the start was that the awards would themselves serve as a barometer of press freedom in the territory and the region. If they endured and flourished, that would be good news. If they didn't
it would be the proverbial canary in the mineshaft. And we all saw the awards as awaLy to empower journalists who would need support when reporting and writing about sensiLive issues. The timing of the start - coupled with the relatively short period left before the handover onJune 30, L997 , and the worries about Hong Kong's future freedoms - spurred the committee to work qulckly It was decided that the Awards would be open to work that was published or aired between April 1, 1995 and the March 3I,1996, with the first Awards ceremonies scheduled for June 1996. But given the short lime to organise and promote the HRPA, the question worrying the organÌsers was whether journalists would in fact take part. And, would their organisations even allow them to take part? To address the latter concern, it was decided at lhe start that all awards would be given to ind ividuals, not organ isat¡ons. What we could not have foreseen were the rapidly changing technological developments that the HRPA has had to face. When we began, photographers were usì.ng film, and making prints and slides. Audio recording tape is now a museum item, with cassette recorders replaced by MDs, mini-discs,
sense
in
continued on page 42 THE CORRESPONDENT
21
REPORTAGE
Offìcers at the l'lossack Fonseca offlce during the raid in Panama City (SourcerAP)
While the release of the Panama Papers rocked governments around the world,
it hardly caused a ripple in China, one of the biggest sources of funds for these offshore accounts, China's clampdown on any news of the leaks has been pa
rticu
la
rly effective.
Wå:ï.:i'#li:'ff:lT,i:ïiî.:?ffi
,ïff 5i,1,.*
ripple in China, one of the biggest sources of funds for these offshore accounts. China's clampdown on any news of the leaks has been particularly effective. Search engines, for example, reply to queries with: "Sorry searches for'Panama' came up with no relevant results." A censorship notice sent by a Chinese provincial Internet office told editors to delete reports on the leaks, according to China Digital limes. "fi material from foreign medla attacking Chlna is found on any website, it will be dealt with severely," the notice said. a
Social meclia in China was also effectively curbecl. However, a well-known Chinese civil rights lawyer, Ge Yongxi, known for defending underground church leaders and political and social activists, was recently taken into police custody after sharing information about the Panama Papers on social media. The leaks come at a bad time for China which is in the midst of a massive crackdown on corruption that 22
THE CORRESPONDENT
has already been criticised as being an internal power play rather than actually tackling graft. The Panama Papers leak is one of the biggest ever - larger than Wikileaks in 2010 and Edward Snowden in 2013. There are 11.5m documents and 2.6 terabytes of information drawn from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca's internal database. The records were obtalned from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Sitddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the lnternational Consortium of Invest igative Journal isLs. The documents show the myriad ways in which the rich can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. Twelve national leaclers are among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens. In China the leaks show that relatives or business partners of several current and former members of China's ruling Politburo were tied to offshore companies that had the effect of obscuring theìr ownershlp interests.
REPORTAGE
Probably the most politically sensitive leak was the revelation that DengJiagui, the brother-inlaw of President Xi Jinping, had set up rwo British Virgin Islands-registered companies through Mossack Fonseca ín2009, when Xi was vice-president. What the two companies - Best Effect Enterprises and Wealth Ming International - were used for is unclear. By the time Xi came to power the companies were dormant, it was reported. Deng, of course, has been in the news before. In 2012, Bloomberg News reported on ihe vast business empire built by Deng and his wife both inside China and through offshore companies that amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. Another politically powerfui Chinese couple also in lhe news previously - Li Xiaolin, the daughrer of the former premier Li Peng, and her husbanã, Liu Zhiyuan. The Panama Papers leaks showed thar Li and Liu were the owners of a foundatlon based in Liechtenstein that in turn owned a company in the BritishVÌrgin Islands, Cofic lnvestments. A lawyer for Cofic told Mossack Fonseca that the company,s profits came from helping the law firm's othei clients export heavy machinery from Europe to China. Another reiative of a rop leader isJasmineLiZidan, the granddaughter ofJia Qinglin, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee. Li's farher, Li Botan, \Mas a central ligure in a report last year by The New Yorh Times on the political ties of rhe Oálian Y1"d,u Group chairman, Wang Jianlin. Companies linked to Li made hundreds of millions of dollars in capital gains from their holdings in Wanda property and entertain menl enterprises.
ldeologicol leoks One of the few mainland news outlets to mention the Panama Papers was Global Times, a newspaper run by the Chinese Communist Parry The newipaper questioned the lack of a named source for the documents, and the Chinese version of the article suggested that Westem intelligence agencies could easily slip fake information into such a large trove of records. The article accused the Western news media of using the leaks for ideological purposes by attacking, for example Presidenr Vladimir V putin o'f Russia. "The Western media has taken control of the interpretation each time there has been such a document dump, and Washington has demonstrated particular influence in it," Global Times wroÍe. "Information that is negative to the US can always be minimised, while exposure of non-Western ieaders, such as Putin, can get extra spin." The Mossack Fonseca data relates to more than 200,000 companies for which rhe firm acred as registered agenr. Often used lawfully to anonymously hold property and bank accounts, these companies were registered in a range of tax havens. Rather than dealing directly with company owners, Mossack Fonseca - the world's fourth biggest provider of
offshore services - mostly acted on instructions from intermediaries, usually accountants, lawyers, banks and trust companies. The biggest centrei for rhis activity are Hong Kong and Switzerland. And China, Hong Kong and Russia rop rhe list of hidden owners. It should be noted that going offshore is legal. There are many legitimate reasons for doing ðo. Business people in countrics such as Russia and Ukraine typically put thelr assets offshore to defend them from "raids" by criminals, and to get around hard currency restrictions. However, there are also many not-so-legitimate reasons. In a speech last year in Singapore, UK prime Minister David Cameron said "the corrupt, criminals and money launderers" take advantage of anon)..rr,.ous company structures. Others use them too: an offshore investment fund run by Cameron's father avoided paylng tax in Britain. The fund has been registered since its inception and has filed detailed tax returns every yeat. Mossack Fonseca itself defends its conduct sayrng it complies with anri-money-laundering laws and carries out thorough due diligence on all its clienrs. The firm- says ir cannot be blamed for failings by intermediaries, who include banks, law firms and accountants.
Hong Kong conneclion The South China Morning Post tracked down the firm,s man in Hong Kong, ZhangXíaodong, who is better known by his adopted Cantonese nime, AustÌn Cheung. Zhanghas run the operation for more than 20 years. The firm is accused of helping relarives of past and present Chinese leaders set up offshore companies in an alleged bid to avoid paying raxes. Abour ã third of the Panama firm's business was conducted on the mainland, with the bulk passing rhrough the Hong Kong office. Zhang joined the fÌrm initially in its panama City ,head office, sta)'1ng there for a few years. His name first appeared on the Hong Kong branch's list of directors in 1995, two years after it was set up. He moved to Hong Kong in 1997 and, tn2O}2,ihe oflice was rebranded as the Asia headquarters, of which he was president. Among the banks, accountants and lawyers in Hong Kong which acr as intermediaries is HSBC which has helped rich clients regisrer more rhan 2,300 shell companies, the leaked reporrs sa)¿ Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is a client ol Mossack Fonseca. The leaked datishowed thar Cheung K-ong lnfrastructure, the Cheung Kong group's infrastructure arm, used the firm to ,,organise', a string of related subsidiaries in panama and the British Virgin Islands. reply to an inquiry by the posr, a spokesman for _In Cheung Kong Infrastrucrure said the group fully complied wirh rhe law of the countrieJit operarád in. K THECORRESPONDENT
23
MEDIA
Punching qbove its (slender) weight Tom Grundy has filled in his applieation to join the FCC, but hasn't sent
it
in
yet. That,s because he is so frenetically busy running his English online news source Hong Konq Free Press, he simply doesn't have
time to make good use
of a Club membershiP'
rt
3
fh;q"t;1,:"';'"m":l:'
*.:mellli
rf,
i" title at I ìl(l'P is cclitor in fJ l- Lclriet. but hc has a lol ttlot'e
on hrs plaie than strPervising tlÌe oì,it1'ilf of his tin,v C1'berport t*f$iit'*',-t+,1* based team, which comPrises three ^*d.lLt,,..,,,",' reporters, an intern and himself. He has to devote much of his time and effort to financial issues - a recent I crowdfunding campaign by HKFP failed to reach its target by a large margin - and finding suitable stafl - "lt's tough." I 1r l,-- l-^^-but consloeraDle ploEfess llaS uccrr i Y*\ made in terms ol quantity arrd quahty tr since HKFP opened for business in lateJune last year. Positioning itself as a totally independent - and free a - alternative news source, in its first six months HKFP attracted over eight Grundy: money and staff recruitment concerns million page views to its website and published more than 2,300 news and comment pieces. popular photography section called HKFP Lens, and HKFP says its reporters have beaten their main, it ái¿.¿ and abetted by seasoned local columnists to SCMPcom, competitor' and lar better resourced, and analysts. "We try to maximise our very limited the punch on a number of landmark developments resoutcei. I think we over-deliver on most days. We hotË it', Hong Kong and greater China. They incìude end up provicling 15-20 pieces a day" This includes the Hong Kong University pro-vice chancellor. items from outside contributors. crackdown China's and debacte,lhe Mong Kok riot However Grundy is the first to concede tha[ on lawyers. progress has been everything but smooth, HKFP's In original reporting this year alone, HKFP has and staff recruitment the two major money with extensivãly covered the Hong Kong bookseller . 'toft.t-t we are taking two steps back before concerns. j ected ej ournallst a interviewed d.isappearánces, -China we take two steps forward." and carried features on the plight of from On finances, Grundy says HKFP will continue relugees and sexual harassment. HKFP also nurtures lunding drives but will focus more on attracting with has a a grõwing community ol citizen contribulors,
I
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24
THECORRESPONDENT
\
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MEDIA
monthly donations from supporters. He says HKFP now has almost 40,000 followers on
,gFoctWire
Facebook, the second largest total for an English news outfit
TÊSTIMONIALS 'nosJdonlg of
ln Hong Kong, after the SCMP "If¡ust half ol our audience
indispasbtê slodes. lhey Mll
contributes monthl),, thÌs
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6. dd thEy ûLL not be dæeved sFiat-intec$ driw l¡fomatrcn . { ¿ot6 - clobål lilËt¡g:¡thß Jouûsus Ntull
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cowdfunding €mFign ær @n lh Hong t(ong. perhaps that crowd lunding bæomrnq helate$ pbyer tomerge¡n the M6 indusùy ¡n @trtmnths: tug ¿t 2016 - Sauth Chlm Morfng pod every few months cloesn't." Grundy says he never considered charging readers, which SCMPcom did until 64nqht2or5 krq.eñM&{ìq new owners Alibaba dropped the payrvall on April 6. "I am not sure how many of our readers are coming [o us is staff-wise, he cÌtes the "bus-factor" management because we are free," he says. "l think they come to concept, which measures the number of staff who are us because HKFP is an alternative. We have trust and unexpectedly losr ("hir by a bus" as it were) ro cause credibllity when it comes to certaìn issues." He adds: a project to collapse. "We have a bus factor of one.,, "l thlnk we wiil survive because we are very nimble So ler us wish Grundy berter luck in finding the in everythlng we clo." staff he needs - at least so that he has enough'spare On the staffing front, he has been humbled ro time to make it worrhwhile for him ro send that FCC find that many job applicanrs lack the initiatrve, application ln. K proactive attitude and general nose for news required of a reporter. To illustrare how thinly stretched he Jonathan Sharp by the targest
oo
A calculated rIS k
lj
ã
Though crowdfunded medio ventures ore no longer o rority even in Hong Kong's reloTively smoll morket,
FoctWíre {www.foctwire.org). founded by veteron locol iournolist Ng Híu-lung, stonds out both in terms of its model ond the scope of irs ombitions. Ng roised HK$5 million lqst yeor in o Fringebocker compoign - well over lhe initiol HK$3 million torget -by pledging to moke FoctWire o news ogency to rivol the likes of AFP ond Reuters, spurning the "shollow ond sloppy" reporting thot domÌnofes fhe "instont informotion" oge ond focusing rigorously on long-form investigotive iournolism. He hos been busy ossembling o teom of eight experienced iournollsfs ond FoctWire is oiming to publish its first report by eorly Moy. While Fringebocker wos crificol to getting FoctWire off the ground, Ng doesn't see crowdfunding os o vioble ongoing revenue source, ond hos no plons to conduct further lorge-scole fundroislng. lnsfeod FoctWire plons to sell its news feeds to existing medio orgonisotions, much os trqd¡fionol wire ogencies do. lnitiolly FoctWire reports will be mode ovoilqble olmost simultoneously to poying customers ond the generol public, but loter o slight tîme log will be introduced in fovour of subscribers. FoctWire will ol oll iimes be od-free ond, Ng soys, operote os o "non-profit, public service", relying ot leost port¡olly on sociql mediq users lo spreod the word. Content will be published in English qnd Chinese ond the orgonisofíon will
,,t-
; Û¡l'
Ng Hiu-tung announced that his has raised more than HK$3 million in less than Photos:
RIH(
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media venture
two months.
FringeBacker
concentroïe exclusively on Hong Kong news ot firsl, but Ng hopes eventuolly lo hire correspondents in olher ports of the world ond build o truly globol ogency.
Ng is investing heovily in the newsroom, poying obove morket rotes for the seqsoned tolent needed to drive in-depth investigotive proiecfs. But ihot olso represents o substqntíol cosl, ond he is open oboui success being for from certoin - especíolly when investigotions moy delve into sensllive topics. "lt is quíte risky; Hong Kong's news environmenl is nol very sfroightforword ot fie moment." Thot soid. FoctWÌre's solld Fringebocker performonce shows ihere is subslonfiol public oppetite for on orgonisolion of its kind, ond should ot the very leost get the fledgling ogency off to o strong sforl, Jonolhon Hopfner
THECORRESPONDENT
25
ON TH E WALL
CUBA Photographs bY Leong Ka Tai
From November, 2013, to Februor¡ 2O1 4,1trovelled with my wife to South Americo on o conloiner Itship, disemborking ot Corlegeno, Columbio ond meqndering olong the Andes to Chile, Argentino ond finolly, Cubo. up 1o Cubo ot thot time reminded me so much of Chino in the l98O's, when the populotìon were woking new enterprises were There plonned economy. - BnB's, the possibility of moving beyond the confines of o optimism' ond of energy full were they but scole, smoll in o restàuronts, shops, designeri - odmittedly in We met everywhere people intoxicoted with their future. FurThermore, iusl like the good old doys Chino, there wos, ond sfill is, o duol currency sysfem' been fo observe But I trovelled lhere not for reportoge. The primory interest in my lrovels hos olwoys to see how ordinory interested I om lives. people's on their effecl ond environments different cultures ond people live, to see fhe differences ond similorities in their lives compored lo ours. The imoges on exhibifion here coplure speciol momenls in everydoy life in Cubo.
Xl00S. When I For fhose interested, I used one comero wilh o fixed lens throughout the iourney - A Fuii up Leico beoten o one lens ond first stqrted work os o photogropher, I could offord only one comero but ogoin, go fo bqsics bcrck to wonted I thls for lourney with o 35mm Summicron (l still hove them). So no hove I periods nowodoys. for extended film with trovel to it is impossible with o digitol cqmerc|, since to the opportunity gove me out in ond zooming ond lenses chonging worry obout lo hoving Ñot regrets. oltrocts light, ond compoct, is olso concentrote on the imoge ond the moment. The rongefinder comero little ottention. lt is by no meons perfect. lts bottery is too smoll, which couses power monogement problems. But it worked, ond still works, extremely well for me'"
leong Ko loi 26
THECORRESPONDENT
ON THE WALL
All four
images were taken in
Trinidad, Cuba.The images are a part of a more etensive exhibition, Over the Ocean, On
the Road:A Ylultimedia Exhibition by Leong KaTai, held at the Hong Kong Design lnstitute Gallery
from lYarch l8 to May 30,20116.
THECORRESPONDENT
27
REPORTACE
Bock to school for cqrêêrsqvvy hqcks By Luke Hunt
"Entirc arcas arc being left llncovered. Student ¡ef we.en acadcmia arrd journalism journalists can stepìntotlat vaid. ¿{nd that's one media the been well-defined. But ãs L)nui I hope to do at JMSC, is to make sure we're tLoL thing shake-nd'*ry ^liuys unprecedented, an .onrírru., with onlf training the next generation o[ journalists but ù-roigttt on by the digital age, journalists are ""i becoming an lmportant news_source."_ increasin-gly turning to universitj.eð for work and a His sentiments were echoecl by Ray Leos, i)ean flltrlre. of Communications and Media Arts at Pannasastra academia Asia where It's an issue across East of Cambodia (PUC), an English language unìversity courses, media shun countries Some fickle. can be institution whj.ch is a popuiar source lor loreign others deliberately restrict their curriculum to local
T\c'rarcarirlrr
embassies that
,espect tor"quaîilicatiáns t r-tot
languages only,
rovidc scholarships
rrr^ ^^ i^^,,¡ Âcir where iorstudentstortrrày ^^F^-. E=cù East Asia issue across uni'ersalandsrandard, It's an abroacl' withinthelecturehall , fickle' .! ,,- ^^-^^ some countries be can Âsa'i.d'str1" academia canvarydramatically.
education is exPanding FormerFCCpresident deliberately others LvurJçr' courses, rneclia rrr=\rrq üo*iin*. shun Þlrurr ""'' KeithRichburghasjust, "'''-"'"
director
restrict their curriculum to local . HottgXo"g¡loirrrulirrn na¡aa¡t fnr qualifications for nrrrl languages onlç, respect
been appointed of the University ol and Media
Srudies
traditionaljournarismis
:iöïitä
and Leos has
seenasubstantialrise 1'' job inquiries from xperienced journalists
says
^-, ^r^^r^--r^ standards within the frnr.r uror.d rhe world. is not universal.r and J schools have long been "Manv o[ these folks ^.^rr^r L.. -^^^.,^-i-ñ dramatically' vary can hall lecture ur"r,oifreelancing :åiä,,"äå:;;äd" Cenl,re (JN4SC) and
¡ournaìists. ' ;i,fri"f. one key dlfference now is that with a1l the downsizirrg gôi.tg on, you are seeing a lot more younger ¡our.tãtit6, ã"¿ ,á-. ut the peã\ of their áu*"ir, iraking the shift inro acadernia," he said. ,,And as ¡ourãalism schools become not jusr trainì.ng p1äces but news-producing spaces, J ,.rrootr"i"*uin a place -h".. you ãan stlll practice jou*uto- outside of a tradltiónal newsroom ." That has become evident wirh the number of pubiications being put out by universìri.es which aiso irave the ..rour..ã io puy, prodr,ce and distribute r.."* ,ff piatforms oi-.diu, including television, radio and the lnternet.
In the US, Harvard and Wharton business schools have been prominent and pay at the higher - end of market
rates.
thìnk journalism schools can be raking on more of thät news producing role, particulãrly as ,,I
newsrooms shrj,nk and news"organìsations cut on coverage," Richburg said.
28
THECORRESPONDENT
back
nd looking for ways to have never taught Some income. their supplement before. But I warn many of them' especially those who have little or no previous. te^aching experience that teaching is a completely different pr-ofession in number of ways, often requiring very different skill
a
sets," he said' "Being a good journalist-doesn't necessarily mean you will make a good teacher. Although currently iome of my best lecturers are working journalists, I've also had experiences of excellent journalìsts not
being able to cut it in the classroom' ''lt's partrcuiarly true h-ere in Cambodla, where Llie educational system is still develop_ing and students often don't have the requisìte academic skills." Judith Clarke, an associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist Univelsity, said there wcrc issucs on campus beiween traditional academics and journalists with experience in the field who are needed to teach students skill sets for the job, and help get them employed
REPORTAGE
Top: Richburg reporting from Kabul: in J schools you can still practice journalism. Right: Ray Leos being a good journalist doesn't mean you,ll be a
good teacher:
"It's difficult for an experienced joumalisr ro ger a tenured academic job, especially wirh no phD, but even with one, because they are older than those who took the academic track early on," she said, adding experience from the fleld was too often undervalued. "Having these skills is rhe key ro geting aJob on graduation, so you would rhink rhe people who teach them would be highly valued, but they rarely get senior academlc jobs - there are exceptions, of course - having either to take the "lecturer" track, which has limited promotion opportunities, or work on temporary or part-time contracts," she said. As Leos mentioned, lecturing in journalism has emerged as akey plank for freelancers - including this one - who can bolster their income by teaching part time. But there are other benefits. Academic institutlons have a credibility among the public and governments who are often wary
of publicatlons that are porenrially crirical or are deemed unfair. As such a university can open doors for a reporter in much the same way as a respected mastheaA does elsewhere. Students also offer a unique insight into societres thatjournalists are covering and students who succeed reflect well on the lecturers as well as their alma mater. Teaching works both ways. Clarke said the digital age and the upheaval in the industry had changed the medla landscaped but had also helped settle rhe role of journalists in academia where "teaching becomes just one of their jobs',. "However, traditional journalism jobs are few and far between these days, and offer little in the way of career prospects," she said. "Two points here. Journalism skills and the eclectic nature of what's taught on degree pïogrammes coverage of many areas of society, intervrews with
movers and shakers
- provide good training for a number of other fields of employment, from the obvious public relations to things like adminlstrarion, financial analysis, teaching and so on." It was George Bernard Shaw who once wrote, perhaps unfairly, in "Man and Superman": .He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches." It's a nev^er-ending cycle. Undergraduates emerge
into an unfriendly job market, retÍealback inro university for a masters degree and end up staying on as iecturers where they cut their teeth and .-érg. u, career academics.
Now thelr ranks are being infiirrated by older, experienced hands whose lack of academic history rs made-up through surviving and thriving in the reâl world. But Leos stressed a journalist neãds ro bring more to the job than jusr a resume, particularly wñen dealing with difficult srudenrs. ''You need to have patience, understanding, tolerance and an ability to motivate and inspire young people, and even be a bit of a psychologist or guldance counselor. It's hard and challenging work; not,everyone can do it. You have to reaily iove it,,' he said.
lÍl
THECORRESPONDENT 29
F&B
Correspondent Wine cqndidqtes
These wines are some of the candidates
for the FCC's new Correspondent house wine list. Please try them and if yctu like tlrem let the staff know - thcy could make the new.list.
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Among the reds, are: ;roa._¡1f
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THECORRESPONDENT
w
Quintida Pacheca Colheita Rouge, from Douro, Portugal; Ogier Lieritages Cotes cln Rhône Rouge, from RhÔne, France; Mr Rigg's *' The Tiuant Maclaren Vale Shiraz, from Australia Among the whites, are: Corte Giara Chardonnay delle Venezia, from ltaly' No Stone Unturned Semillion aná Chardonnay, from Murray Valley, Australia Pinta Negria Blanco, from Portugal
\. {
SPEAKERS
Whot they so¡d... It's been another busy period for speakers at
FCC lunches,
covering topics like
the future of the rule of law in Hong Kong, the Vatican and China, US policy in Asia, more women for senior roles, infectious diseases threats and Assignment China,
The chollenges focing the Hong Kong courts
centre: affordable justice.
One of the two fundamental challenges facing the Hong Kong courts now and in lhe future is to deliver - and demonstrate that they are delivering affordable and readily intelligible justice according to law without undue de1ay, saidJustice Kemal Bokhary, Non-Permanent Judge, the Court of Final Appeal at an FCC lunch on April 18. While this is common to courts everywhere in the world, the other fundamental challenge pertains to our courts in particular. It is to play their part in making the "one country, two systems" principle work. Already - and perhaps far more so in the future - this will have to be done while the quest for democracy continues and in the midst of much social discontent, some of it spilling over into civil disobedience and even violence in the streets. Justice Bokhary joined the Hong KongJudiciary as a Judge of the High Court in 1989. He was appointed aJustice of Appeal in 1993. From 1997 to 2012,he served as a PermanentJudge of the Court of Final Appeal. He has published "Recollections", "The Law is a Crocodile" and "Crocodile-at-Law", reflecting upon his career in the law. http ://www. fcchk. orglno del65 80
ì,\ \
,_
China qnd rule of lqw in Hong Kong Since 2012, the new Chinese administration headed by XiJinping has launched many Wang: rule of law init¡at¡ves.
rule of
1aw programmes, said Wang Zhenmin, head of the law department, China's Hong Kong Liaison Offlce and professor of law, Tsinghua University, at an FCC lunch on April 12 described the main rule of law initiatives, how China would achieve its ambitious rule of law dream, and what impact it might have on Hong Kong's future, including the implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law. Wang has been with the Hong Kong Liaison Office since December 2015. He has a PhD in law from Renmin University of China. His academic fields included constitutional and administrative law, and the Hong Kong Basic Law. This speaker was arranged in coordination wlth the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong.
http ://www. fc chk. or { no de/ 6 57 2
Chinq qnd lhe Voticqn's
new globol slrclegy Is the Vatican's "foreign policy" changing and is
it
adopting a more forward-
looking stance? Would the Pope visit China? These were some of the questions addressed by Francesco Sisci:Vatican China policy, Sisci, Senior Research Associate, China Renmin University, at an FCC lunch
on March 31 Rome is certainly not standing on rhe sidelines - ir is helping with the rapprochement berween the US and Cuba, and having Pope Francis meet with lran's President Rouhani and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Sisci, who recently interviewed .
the Pope, discussed the Vatican's policy towards China and its bigger role in international politìcs. Sisci is also an Asia Times columnist. He also served as Asia editor for the Italian dally La Stampa and as Beijing correspondent for Ii Sole di 24 Ore, THE CORRESPONDENT
3'l
SPEAKERS
j.n addrtron to
writing for numerous Italian
ancl
inlenraLiurlal publications. IIe was the first forcigncr admitted to the graduate programme of the Chinese Acaciemy of Social Sciences, and is the author of t ' r r -l-:---^,^l^f."^^..^-, allu a llçLlucllt elgnL DOOKS Oll \'lltlla
LUrllllr(rrL4ruL
on CCTV http ://rvwrv. fcchk. org/node/6539
More senior roles for
women needed Women in Hong Kong have come a long way when it comcs Ltr
partlcipation in the labour force, said Diana Cesar, CEO for Hong Kong at HSBC, at an FCC lunch on March 29. However, there was still a significant gender gap when it comes to lèmales
Cesar: right: gender gap
in senior roles. With women making up more than 50o/o of the population, there were huge economic benefits to he gained [t'om ensuring ihat nlorc lvorLlcn join and stay irr Lhe worktorce. Cesar said companies need to be flexible in their HR policies -- or risk seeing female employees leave for more accommodating competitors, or take up more unconventional ways of working. She talked about her experiences on what 1t took for a woman to climb the ladder to the top of the financial industry. She also gave an overview of what HSBC was doing to help more women attain leadership positlons. r^-^-;^ ^l^^ A ^ -^*l^^Ill( llruLl vl ^l l-.¡cRaL trvanr¡riva LC)AI l> 4ì)V
Committee. During her career with HSBC, she has held leadership roles in marketing, cards and loans, mortgages, distribution strategy and consumer propositions in Hong Kong and across Asia Pacific. http ://www. fc chk. or { no del 6 5 43 Role of Asiqn
Americqn volers Christine Chen, founder of Asian and Pacific Isiander American Vote, gave a short talk at a cocktail reception on March 23 onrhe growing influence of Asian American voters in thc t JS presrrìenlial election Chen:AsianAmericaninfluence.
proceSS.
Christine Chen is also executive director of APlAVote, a Washingtonbased nonpartisan organisation that conducted 32
THECORRESPONDENT
researeh and pollrng of Asran Amencan votcrs and organised regional training and field programmes to help grassroots partners mobilise Asìan American and Pacific Islander voters. She served from 2001 r,, lfllì( ) óc ovêc111'rta,1iroetnr tw Lwv
nf thn flroqnicqtinn
of Chinese Americans. She was also president of Strategic Alliances USA, a consulting fìrm speciaLising in coalition buildlng, institutional development, and partrierships among thc corporatc scctor, government agencies, and the nonprofit and public sector. http ://www. fcchk. org/n od e/6
5
1
5
How cruciql is the US rebolqnce lo Asio US AmbassadorJohn D. Negropon[e, at an FCC breakfast address
on March 22, looked at the questì.ons facing Asia roday: Would the 2lst century be known
to future historians
as
'The Pacific Century'? Would Asia Paci.fic gror,v
from strength
to
itrerrgthecononiically,
lrlegroportle: US arrd tlre F¿cific century
politically and strategically, extending its inlluence around the world? And, would the US still play a vital roie in the region - serving as a bastj.on of economic support, of political stability, and of military security? Negroponte is a career diplomat and national security official and has been aml:assador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philìppines, the UN, and lraq. He \.^/as the first director of national ìntelligence undel President Geor:ge W Bush. His most rcccnt position in government was as Deputy Secretary of State. Since 2013, he has been chairman of the Intelligence ancl National Security Alliance. http ://www. fcchk. orglnode/65 The mirqculous hislory lwo Poloce Museums Mark O'Neill, an
author and former China-based
journalist, at an FCC lunch on March 14, presented rare
historical images to describe the cxtraordinary story of the two Palace Museums, in Beìjìng and Taipel, since O'Neill: | 6-year journey
3
5
of Chinq's
SPEAKERS
their foundation in 1925. He looked parricularly af rhe I6-year odyssey of thousands of pieces that left Be¡ing in 1933 and arrived in Taiwan with the Nationalist government in 1949. O'Neill moved to Hong Kong in 1978 and has stayed ln Asia since, working for Reuters, the South China Morning Post and many other publications. Since 2006. he has been hasecl in Hong Kong and written six books on Chinese history, with three translated into Chinese. His latest book, "The Miraculous Hlstory of China's Two Palace Museums", is avallable in English and Tiadltional Chinese. http //www. fc chk. or g/ no de / 6 4 87 :
From Ebolq to Ziko: lessons from infeclious diseqse lhreots Professor Baron Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene 6r Tiopical Medicine, is a clinician and microbiologist by training, co-discovered the Eboia virus inZaíre in 1976, and led research on HIV/AIDS, sexually rransmitted diseases and women's health, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Piot, at an FCC lunch on March 8, spoke about the global threat posed by emerging infectious diseases, and what this could mean lor the region. Piot is also founding execulive
reshaped the narrative of the China story, and reshaped the experience of the foreign press as well, said Mike Chinoy, senior fellow ar the US-China Institute, University of Southern California, and a former CNN Ber.¡ing bureau chief, at an evening
presentation of his film on March 7. "Tiemors", which is an account of what it was like to cover the remarkahle year of 20C)8, is part of "Assignment China," a multi-part documentary series on the history of A.merican correspondents in China. The film featured interviews with journalists who covered China during this period, including such well-known correspondents as Joseph Kahn, Edward Wong, and David Barboza of The New York Times, Barry Petersen of CBS, Stan Grant of CNN, Tom Brokaw of NBC, Louisa Lim of NPR, Evan Osnos of the New Yorker, Andrew Browne of The Wal1 Street Journal, and many others. http //www. fc chk. or gl no de/ 6 4 5 I :
How to deql with difficult people Ajahn Brahm, Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, at an FCC lunch on March 3, claimed that for 2,500 years, Buddhism had kept i.ts cool even
dÌrector of UNAIDS and was Under Secretary-General of the UN from 1995-2008. He was also an associate director of the global programme on AIDS at WHO. Piot is a past president of the International AIDS Socieqr He has received numerous awards for his research and service and was named a 2014 TIME Person of the Year (The Ebola Fighters) and has published over 580 scientific articies and 16 books, including his memoir, "No time to iose".
among difficult people in dangerous times. He spoke about strategies based on
Buddhist principles on
http //www. fc chk. or gl no de / 6 4 5 9 :
O
Assignmenl Chinq: Tremors In 2008, to mark the hosting of the summer Olympic Games, Ber¡ing pledged to allow a freer atmosphere for the international press, lifting many long-standing restrrctlons on the movements
and activities of foreign correspondents. However, the year also saw several
Brahm: Buddhism kept its cool.
how to be atpeace with challenging individuals and
how to avoid being a difficult person oneself. A Cambridge graduare of theoretical physics, Brahm is the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia and the spiritual advisor to Bodhinyana International Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation in Hong Kong. A Theravada Buddhisr
monk for over forty years, he is a sought after speaker
traumatic events,
at global conferences on Buddhism. He has also
including riots
written numerous international bestsellers including "Opening the Door of your Heart", "Mindfulness",
in Tibet and the
These
"Bliss and Beyond", "The Art of Disappearing" and "Good? Bad? Who Knows?" http ://www. fcchk. orglevent/clublunch-how-dea1-
dramatically
difficult-people
massive Sichuan earthquake. Chinoy: China story reshaped,
o
E
THECORRESPONDENT 33
MEDIA
Governmenl snooping? Get over it By chance, eminent foreign correspondent, eclitor
and military historian Sir Max Hastings spoke at
the
FCC
a day aiter the deadiy Brusseis bomb
attacks. He said such attacks are the new norm
for waging war, and fighting it means we should get used to some loss of personal liberties. Jonathan
f lrr¡i l!{lìrrr r1t'e the days rvhen Brita.in \\'as clcfcnclccl l-by Spitlites and ciLizen armies. ln the lront lì.nes against cncmies today are the
intelligence
services, the likes of the UKb vasl GovertLlrìent
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the largest building constructed for secrel intelligence operaiions outside the US. The main theme of Hastings' fluent and forthright remarks at a sold-out FCC hinch was that if countering the new way of waging war meant that governments eavesdrop on what we take to be private communications, then so be it. He also came firmly down agaì.nst Apple in its spat with the FBI; said whistleblower Edward Snowden had done serious harm to the struggle against terrorism; ridiculed British Prime Minister David Cameron over his analysis of what was happening in the Middle East; and introduced us to a military term that many of us may no[ have come across before. "Pred porn". Hastings, whose latest book, "The Secret War", is about spies and sp)4ng in World War lI, said the old distinction between a state of peace and a state of war had vanished, almost certainly for ever. "We, our children and their descendants, will exist in a new world in which they will not face all-out war, but also one in which they will never know absolute security and over which terrorist attacks will cast a continuous shadow." Speaking Iargely from a British perspective on the issue of governments covertly listening in on people, Hastings said: "Personal liberty never has been, and never can be, an absolute." A balance mus[ be struck between the rights of privacy and
)4
THECORRESPONDENT
Sha
rp reports.
the need for qovernmenfs fo profect socj.etr¿ "C)ttr tolerance of electronic surveillance, subject to legal and parliamentary oversight, seems a small price to pay for some measurc of sccurity against threats that nobody - today of all days - can doubt are reai and will persist." He added: "l find it almost incredible that civil lihertarians wax so wrathful about lnterception of our communications." lf not by using such means of countering terrorist attacks, how else can British security forces detect terrorists? "lt's almost impossible lor agents to penetrate Moslem communitìes in Britain," and Ml5, the UK's domestìc counter-inteiligence and security agency, gets dismayingly 1itt1e help flrom them. "lt's unlikely that beat policemen - who no longer exist in Britain - will glance over a garden fence ln Birmingham and spot
cùnspirators concocting
a
bomb."
Speaking personally, lie saicl he was happy for Ìv{15 to listen in on his telephone conversatìons as Ìong as ir llked. He half-jokingly added that he was more concerned about the lnformation about him acquired by Amazon or the Tesco supermarket chain. He said Britain's security services had been astonishingly successful in frustrating terrorist plots. "But they themseives emphasìse rhat they cannol expect to continue to be this for[unate ìndefìnitely" Nobody sensible will be smug after the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels. "Sooner or later some atrocj.ty will be perpetrated in Britain," which has aheady seen a deadly terror attack. Fifty-five people were killed in bomb blasts focused on the London transport system on July 7 ,2005 , the day after the
MEDIA
city won the right to host tine 2012 summer Olynpics. Hastings said that of 20-30 major plots detected in Britain since the 2005 attack, an overwheiming number were discovered by electronic surveillance and not one of them by police work or inlormanls in the Moslem community. On Apple's fight wirh rhe FBI over rhe iPhone used by the shooter in the San Bernardino killings in December 2015 in which 14 people died, Hastings said he was amazed that Apple, "in a display of awesome hubris", should resist the FBI request for help in decrypting the phone data of a dead terrorist. "What I find scary about these hi-tech companies is that they act in so many respects
þ o o Hastings: unsympathetic about whistleblowers.
not least about taxation - as if they were above the law and [Í¡Ì(¡ilisi Q¡nN illtl Ítll lil l00lt as if they have no natj.onal allegiance." Hastìngs was similarly unsympathetic about whistleblower Edward Snowden, HAS : hailed by many for taking a heroic stand for civil liberties but condemned by others CAT ASTRO PllT IO llllAR tgl4 as a lraitor. Hastings was unequivocal: he IlJROPI said there was no doubt that Snowden's revelations had made the fÌght against terrorism trìckier because attackers were now much more aware of the need for secrecy in their communications. "There is clear evidence that terrorists both in Europe and the Middle East are using much more sophisticated encryption systems which they a lot of latitude to the British and US governmenrs can buy off the shelf from Apple and Google. This is over their eavesdropping activities, he was much making things far more difficult." more worried about the use of drones and the After Hastings spoke, reports from Brussels targeted killings of people outside of the countries spoke of a high leve1 of communications discipline flying them. "It ls a very, very dangerous business among the attackers: Briti.sh former foreign secretary to delegate to governments [the power] to act William Hague said the mobile phones the attackers unilaterally without any judicial process ro klll carried had not been used before and showed no whoever they feel like outside their own frontiers." record of texts, chat or emails. Whatever means of He introduced us to the military term "pred porn", coordination they used, it was sufficiently private meaning Predator pornography; Predator beÌng the or encrypted that the authodries did not seem to name of a drone wÌdely used by the US Air Force. have been aware of lt. He said that since Snowden's Hastings said it was "terribly seductive" for politicians allegatlons about Western intelligence-gathering in to sit in operations rooms watching live feeds from 2013, every mastermind of terrorism or organised drones and then give approval to fire missiles to kiil crime had been alerted to the need to change or people. While at present such drone attacks are made d isguise thei r communications. only by the US, Britain and Israel, what happens if Hastings was withering about British Prime Minister terrorists acquire the technology? "When terrorists Cameron's claìm last November that 70,000 "syrian do, we are not going to like it." moderates" were waiting impatiently to fight alongside On a more positive note, Hastings saÌd he was the West against both ISIS and Synan President Bashar confident the West could defeat the threat posed al-Assad. Hastings said he knew of no one in the by Islamic extremism. He said the West's social, military or intelligence communities who supported economic and cuitural values were incomparably such a vlew and Cameron was indulging in wishful superior to those of the death cults of ISIS and thinking. "When such a careless, even sometimes al-Qaeda, "and for that matter those of successor reckless, mindset operates in government, then the movements that will surely arise to trouble us." But best intelligence in the world is helpless." we will need to empower our "spooks, geeks and Anyone for "pred porn"? bugs" to protect us, at some admitted cost to personal Hastings said that while he was willing to allow privacy and liberty IE
-
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THECORRESPONDENT 35
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Where hqve qll the compqnies gohê, long time p qsslng ooo o
By Vaudine England
The assumption about Hong Kong corporate life I is that it has always been as monopolistic and
dominated by a few big names as it is now. It ìs often thought that in the beginnì.ng there was Jardines and Swire, and the two conglomerates ran business (and sometimes ran Hong Kong) until the first Chinese tycoons came up in the late 1970s, forcing a degree of power-sharing at the top of the wealth tree. This is not so. The first inaccuracy is about Swire which, with roots back to 18f 6, did not arrive in the East under its own name until 1866, in Shanghai. It didn't open in Hong Kong until 1870. The real competitor to Jardines in the early days - as immortalised inJames Ciaveli's novels - was Dent 6¡ 36
THECORRESPONDENT
Co, which collapsed dramaticalTy in 1867. Yet there were many more important companies in lgttr cerrlury Hong Kong. Gleat aud important names in financial hlstory must include Gilman & Company, Gibb, Livlngston 6¡ Co., Dodwell's, Caldbeck McGregor, and many more. The majority of young British men (and they were all men, alas) coming to Hong Kong were not coming to join Jardine, Matheson 6¡ Co. Instead, they worked for Gilmans or Gibb, or Holliday 6c Wise, Birley 6c Co, or Olyphant 6l Co, Turner & Co or one of the several banks. The second-largest business group after the British was, as the century wore on, the Germans. They
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A fuller answer might be found through a busy little park called Spafields, in norrhern London. This lies about a block sourh of Exmouih Market, between the headquarters of Amnesty International and the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company - depending on your
worked for Siemssen or for Blackhead 6s Co, or Arnhold, Karberg, or Schellhass 6¡ Co. Other chaps arriving in Hong Kong would joÌn the large community of Parsi, Armenian orJewish trading firms, one of whlch, Abdoolally, Ebrahim 6¡ Co, still exists, and many more of which have merged or morphed into different combinations. Anyone seeking their ancestors in these firms, or wishing to trace jusr how different firms made their money, faces a serpentine trail in an often frustrating search for old company records. Parsi firms and people would start with the ZotoasÛraî Foundation in Causeway Bay; Jews might start with theJewish Historical Society and the separate Hong Kong Heritage Project set up by the Kadoories. Armenians would need to contãct Liz Chater, ihe voracious researcher and descendant of the vitally imporranr Sir Paul Chater. Jardines and Swire each maintain excellent archives of their own. But what of all the other British firms. Where have all the old companies gone? The first step might be to contact the archives of HSBC, on the assumption that the companies or people held accounts there. They keep excellent and comprehensive records, but bear in mind the Bank was only founded in 1865, a lull24 years after business was flrst being done on the Hong Kong waterfronr.
points of reference. A rather dullJooking building by the park is home to the London Metropolitan Archives. This has long specialised in the close-up detail of London hfe - the parish registers, and street maps with land lots, the minutiae of London social hfè, economics, districts, natural history its fire and gas utilities, transport systems and much, much more. There is Crockford's Clerical Directory from past decades, the Middlesex Sessions Books Calendar from the 16th century and rhe vital Lloyds's Caprains, Register from the lgth century A wide range of charities and associations are also recorded, with shelves full simply of the catalogues ro rhose holdings as the holdings themselves are far roo extensive to bã kept in one place. In addition, in recenr years, the London Metropolitan Archive has become rhe roure through which ro access a growing range ofbusiness records, due to its links to the Guildhall of the City of London. The Cit¡ as many will know, is the specific business district of the wider conurbation called London. Its records, unsurprisingly, are Iargely about businesses. Given Londori! central point not only of the British gTpire through which so much of Hong Kong's early life was formed, and Ìts wider role ln the globãtising economy of the tgth and 20th centuries, you can imagine that the records from the City ol London are a veritabie gold mine of informational treasure. First, one has to work out where a particular company went, and when. The trio of Gilman's, Gibb Livingston and Dodwells, for example, were taken over by the Inchcape Group through the 1960s. So all you need to do is contact the Inchcape Archives and find the companies, yes? No. Since Inchcape bought ali these companies, and many more, it subsequently dropped mosr of rhem, and indeed did not hold on to their archives. Would that be the end of rhe road rhen? Never. Tracking a company's past involves some lateral thinking and a subsranrial dollop of luck. One could think of where the early companies might have banked, and please don'r assume they oñly banked \Mirh HSBC. If British, they may, insteaá or additionally, have banked wirh the Chartered Bank of India, London and China, or the Chartered Mercantile Bank, or the Oriental Bank Corporation. None of those names have survived as such bur that doesn't mean a dead end, as several of them merged to help form what we know of as rhe Standard Chartered Bank.
This would bring you back ro rhar dull-looking building at Spafields, because after some years of work creaiing the Finding Aids to disentángle many THECORRESPONDENT 37
ARCHIVES ljnear miles of papers, the Standard Chartered Bank archive now rests at the London Met. This is an asioundiug trove. All sorts of other
companies, once important and far-reaching but now forgótten, can be found through these papers - such oo wollot" Brothers, the Bomba;' Burmah Tiariing Corporation, and the E.D. Sassoon Banking Co. The records range lrom banks in Malawr and Sierra Leone to Nigeria, South Africa, India, Australia and, of course, to China and Hong Kong 'I'he records include anything from maps and
photographs t'[ ear'ly banking halls, to long scries ät i.ageri and jounals, lists of accotlnt holrJers anrl debtsiovered, correspondence on particular issues or conttoversies, tleeds of transfer, sale or mcrgcr' and Powers of Attorney One can find notes appointing
this or that Comprador [o a trading firm in a Ticaty Port long forgotten. Or one can find the tttinules books ol Dodwell's to check if, as reported, it was
engaged in liquidating German firms at the onset of World War One; as it happens, they weren't. Researchers have to harre a serious reasotr aucl probably an ìntroduction letter to access a lot of this,
and sometimes the files need to be ordered 48 hours ahead, to give time for the fleet of vans to bring the records from the Guildhall deposit rooms over to the publicly accessible reading room of the London Metropolitan Archives. But once there, a researcher can spend days (although never on Friclay) plunging into vast leather bound and metal-tipped rrolttmes, some too heavy for one person to carr)¡' tracing names and relationships and money across decades and continents. Just go to https :/Ávrvw. cityofl çn¿ott. gov r.tk/th i n gs to-do/london-metropolitan-archives. Start an online search with great patience and good coffee, ancl see where you end up. You might find that all those old companies ltave rrol disappear-ed conlpletely after all. K
FGG ARGHIUE s BEFORE YOU DIE! People make Bucl<et Lists
They Dream of the Sylvan ldyll,the Beach Sunset,the private jet Parachute Jump, orAssault on Evcrest, bult
BEFORE YOU DIE One thing you MUST do -
And as a Journalist, must you be Toldl?
TELL YOUR STORY
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Do you not seel< lmmortality? Do you not wish that the Bar remained enthralled by yourTales of Reportage & Derrìng-Do?
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE PleaseWrite, and/or Record and/or Make aVideo, orJust Jot Notes on Your Life Story, with Particular emphasis on yourworl<,the
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to archive@fcchk,org
BEFORE YOU DIE t The FGC Archive committee has begun a campa¡gn to encourage all members with
stor¡es and memorabilia of their time at the FGC to contribute to the FCG Archive.
]8
THECORRESPONDENT
BOOK REVIEW
Chqmpion of liberql cquses By Steve Irvine
Th. FCC's most venerable member Clare I Hollingworth earns three mentions in a new biography about newspaper editor David Astor. The most interesting is an anecdore about Kim Philby Philby had been hired by Astor's newspaper The Obseryer to be its stringer in Beirut, and had just filed what would be his last copy (a bizarre story about a fox falling from Philby's balcony to its death). The ex-MI6 agent then defected [o Moscow The first reporter ro learn of this was Hollingworth, who Astor's biographerJeremy Lewis describes as " the intrepid foreign correspondent". Based in the Middle East she had also worked lor The Observer, but on this occasion sent the copy to her current employer the Manchester Guardian. Sadly its foreign affairs editor spiked it, fearing Philby would sue for 11be1. When Hollingworrh phoned him to insisr thar the story was true he told her to "act her age". So the scoop that Britain's most famed Soviet mole had fled was broken not by Hollingworth, but by Newsweeh instead.
For anyone keen on the world of journalism this book offers a portrait of a period in the fifties and sixties when The Obseryer seemed to empioy more foreign correspondents than the whole of Fleet Streer does today. It tracks Astor's long tenure as editor (as well as proprietor) of the liberal Sunday broadsheet. Astor himself was a scion of the weaithy Germanic clan that had gotten fabulously wealthy from Manhattan propeft)¿ His own branch of the family had decamped to England in the late nìneteenth century, his grandfather having deciared: "America is not a lit place for a gentleman to live." William Waldorf Astor bought his way inro rhe British establishment through charitabie donations, the purchase of a fine stately home (Ctiveden), and newspaper ownership. David Astor was groomed by his father to rake over The Obseryer, which he did shortly after rhe end of the Second World War. Astor had spent some rime in Germany in 1932 - seeing the rise of the Nazis - and thìs informed his lifelong hatred of fascism. He was equally scathing about Stalin's Russia, and during the 1950s assembled a highly regarded ream of argumentative émigré Central European writers, who
offered military and diplomatic insighrs that gave The Observer a unique edge in foreign affairs His biographer believes that.particular decade was Astor's defining time as editor. By 1957 The Obseryer actually overtook The Sunday Times in circulation. The highpoint of its political influence was when Astor wrote a famed edirorial calling for Prime Minister Anthony Eden to resign over the Suez Crisis. But the end of paper rationing saw Astor's paper lose out to The Sunday Times.Increases in the number of pages played to the lattèr's srrengrhs - such as pa)4ng big bucks to serialise hot new memoirs - and its colour magazine became very lucrative (The Observer's attempt to copy the format was not
Declining sales would see the Astor family offload T'he Observer in the 1970s, unable ro a success).
subsidise it anymore. The book makes ciear that Astor had an oursized impact on post-war British journalism - parricularly
in championing liberal
causes - while noting that his staff weren't without criticisms ("the editor's indecision is final", one hack once quipped of his
management style). Lewis also reveals that Astor has another claim to fame. George Orwell wrote book reviews for The Obseryer and was one of the contemporary writers most admired by his fellow old Etonian. Indeed, it was thanks to Astor that "Animal Farm" found a publisher and through the loan of Astor's house onJura that a sick and impoverished Orweli wrore "1984". Steye Iryine is editor oJ Weeh in China.ß
David Astor Bt'Jeremv l-ewis Jonathan Capc THECORRESPONDENT 39
OBITUARY
Mqrvin Fqrkqs: qulhor qnd cqmerqmqn
'lË Þ
;.
t T
Th" F(.( .h long,esL sen'ing I r,'cr,lbct N4atvitr lìarkas (No 004) died in Apnl after
a short illness. The 89-year-old American was an author, photographer, carnerarnarri Broadway and film actor, sailor in the US nar,y, travelier and news correspondent. Fortunately for all of us, he liked a sood slorv) and told them weìl "Õ------and left many of them through his memoir "An Eastern Saga", published in 2011. Marvin also wrote many of those stories for The CorresPondentín recent years. On the magazine\ celebrated Timelìne (on the wall as
you go to Bert's) first produccd in 1999 and updated in 2013, Marvin is pictured in 1956 getting arrcstcd for trpng to film the infamous "Two Gun" Cohen, then Sun Yat-
Saga - which became the title of his memoirs. "We took five daYs to make the journey from Osaka. In those days, big ships weren't permitted to come ashore and rve were ferried over in walla-wallas. I marvelled at the houses that hung precariously from the hills over Lei Yue Mun Gap as we entered the
sen's personal bodyguard and a
harbour. lhere werejunks, great
general in the Chìnese army,
ships and sampans in the harbour. I remember the mix of coloniai
On Marvin's 60th anniversary of his joining the Club, Marty Merz wrote, "Among the hard-drinking, hardJiving loreign corlespoudents who have gravitated to the FCC over the years, Marvin always stood out. More likely to have a ukulele in hand than a beer - he's a
teetotaller
-
Marwin has been a
fixture ever since he moved into one of the rooms in the Clubi erstwhile premises on Conduit Road in
April
1954.
"While the hacks at the bar poLtndecl their livers, Marvìn, bounded up to the Peak at least three times a week, rain or shine, starting tn 1954." Mar-vin first came to Hong Kong in 1946 when he was with the US Navy 'l fell in love with Hong Kong then and vowed to come back and stay" In 1954, he returned on a cargo ship called the Eastern
40
THECORRESPONDENT
buildings, with their arches, and, although they were five or srx sLoreys ta1l, cach onc was an
individual with its own style. The squatter areas were spread al1 over every hill." Someone in Tokyo had told Marvin that the place to go in Hong Kong was the FCC. "I stayed at the FCC for morc than two years; the maìn reason was I couldn't settle my account! I ran up a bill u[ tnore tlian US$7,000 and didnt have the money to pay it. The FCC was a lively place, although lhe rooms left somethi.ng to be desired." Marwin worked as a loreign correspondent for about 40years and covered the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia, the lndo-Pak war, an earthquake ln Bali, a studenl uprising in Japan and one in Korea. "It all started because mY
father had given me a Rolleiflex camera and a cheque for US$500 and told me to go and'get some experierrce'." At Marvin's first job arrheTiger Standard [the original name for The Standard), the general manager "offered me HK$600 a month and whcri i usl<cd why they pald such low salaries she answered that it was a Chinese custom. I was hired as a sub-editor and erroneously thought this meant'assistant to the
editor'." After five or six years in the rvars, N4an4n turned to other stories in Asia. The story he was proudest of was his work with Dayak headhunters in Borneo. He was shooting for l\BC with Ron Nessen. Even though they were without military escort, they managed to shoot the pillaging and burning of a Chinese vì.llage, where the Dyaks kilied all the inhabitants. They saw headless bodies beside the road and in every stream.
"One time lwas interviewing Zhou Enlai lthe first premier of the People's Republic of Chinal when
OBITUARY
¿ E
my camera broke down. He waited patiently for 45 minutes until we got a new camera. I expected him to leave in a hufl when I started tinkering around. lnstead, he just stayed there and made jokes with the correspondent. He didn't have any airs about him. He belonged to the family of common man. Right there I started to think thar communism had somethÌng to it." Power wolking
Marty Merz contÌnues his story: "I joined Marvin in the early 1990s on his almost daily power walks up to the Peak. I made phone calls whìle he ran the 3.6km Lugard Road circuit withJagit Dhillon, one time Reuters scribe who first met Marvin during the Cultural Revolution madness on Garden Road when the angry mob turned
its violent attention toJagjit as
Marvin fllmed the whole scene - including the later notorious
policeman Mr Godber. "Every time t walked with Marwin back down to Central he'd laugh to himself and tell me a story from his colourful past - hÌs
briefstint as a teenage radio star working with Burl Ives; then as a Broadway actor; the most seasick saiior in the US Navy (he always felt queasy on the Star Ferry, but took it anpvay because pensioners travel lor free); his time with the graves commission on the China coast when he first saw and fell in love with Hong Kong. Then there was his circuitous return to the scene of the crime in 1954,
working under formldable Sally Aw at the Tiger Standard, then borrowrng a movie camera to
capture Ìnterviews of escapees from China at Lo Wu. And finally linding himself in VÌetnam for 13 years as a war correspondent for the TV networks.
"After 10 years walking with Marvin I realìsed that he had recounLed a new story every time we wended down Old Peak Road. I was havìng trouble remembering it all so I pesLered him to write them down. After initial reluctance he became an unstoppable memorialist: nine books at a steady
trot." In the words of Marvin: "The wars were my favourite beat, but I covered many stories all through Asia. At that time there was a certain laissez-Ïaire, letting you get on with your work. In other words, you knew best how to do your
job."
K
THECORRESPONDENT
41
Humqn Rights Press Awqrds qlive qnd well qfter 2O yeors continuedJrom page 21
won a pnze in our iirst competÌtÌon. Fergal wouiri wirr two HRPA awards during his time here. He has since gone on to cover stories ranglng lïom the Rwandan rnassacres iu tlìÈ recent Syrian r:efugee exodus. Ovcr thc dccadcs thc ansrver¡ to our early u'orrtes have again and again revealed themselves. The total number ofjoumalists who have entered the competrtron stands at more than 2,000; the nttmber of entries jn ail categories runs at least four-fold Lhat total. The contestants come from all over the world, and their submissions aciclress ìssttes in virtually every country rn Asia. HRPA winners proudiy note ltie awards ott therr hook jackets, resumes and online profiles. Although at the start the HRPA had few resotlrces, what we did have was a terrific resource in our management and staff. The amount of support they har¡e prnirirled is immeasllrahle. The big smiles on their faces as they stood at the back of the upstairs dining room during our first ar,vards' presentation, lvatching happy u'inners coming foru,arcl to receir¡e their prizes, are ttnforgettable. Ancl there has been
The lrqn sp ocific rock'n
., .. -.. -l'.1- - ---..,.-.!^ ¡l-^.rrrarraË(r, ul Lllr awalu5 Lllalr uur llo lulgEcl 5uPPUlLCl Gilbert Cheng. The office staff has assisted in countless ways ancl- always workecl cooperatì.vely lvith their colleagues at Amnesty and the HKJA. So, hout dicl the ar¡,ar,:ls finall¡r get a hrrdget? Well , it was becoming obvious that the awards were a success and I wanted to raise the idea o[ getting some funding bur was unsure of the reaction. Finally as I gingerly broached the topic at a Board meetingr David Garcia - who was the prime mover of the charity ball - cut me olT, saying: "Look, Francis, how lLuch do you needlJust tell us." flustered, alid afraid o[ asklrg too much, I replied: "$30,000". Dave thrcw rrp his arm and said, "I move we approve $30,000 for the HRPA." I was both relieved and moved. The HRPA had shown its worth and was weil on its way to becoming the flagship FCC event that it is today - the oldest and most prestigious journalism awards in Asia. As it enters its third clecacle, it reqrrires ever more work and resollrces. lts future depends entirely upon each of ,,,6¡. 6
lqx mqn
continucd Jrom pagc /14
programme in the world. He has appeared lrequently on CNN, Wal1 StreetJournal television, Reuters TV and CNBC. Lipsher specialises in tax lssues involving nine jurisdictions throughout Asia as well as US tax matters. Lipsher has lived in the Pearl River Delta capital city of Guangzhou since 1994. He is one of only a very few foreigners ever lo have been given a business licence to practice as a certilied public accountant in the People's Republic of China. He is the only nonChinese writer ever to have articles translated and pubtished in China Accountant, the official monthly publication of the Chinese lnstitute of Certified Public Accountants. He has also been writing monthly articles about international tax matters for Taxlndialnternational. com. Al1 in all Lipsher has written more than 300 tax articles since his very first article appeared in the AICPAJournal of Accountancy in 1979. "Truth be told, I would rather write fiction than non-fiction, but have not yet become passionate enough to spend the time doing this," he said in the introductlon to his book. "Alas, I am nothing more than a weekend jazz chromatic harmonica player because while the interest is there, the passion to practice is stlll lacking.
42
THECORRESPONDENT
"Yet, the passron 1s there to masochj.stically attempi to write a user-friendly ovewiew of what the US expat and green-card holder has to be aware of for the coming yeat, a year guaranteed to be even more onerous based on actions of the IRS towards those obligated to file who happen to resicle outside of the
US." The book is written to provide ali the expat US r^xpayü really needs to know about how to interface, on an annual basis, with the US government. "Yet please remember that while this is an overvrew, yoll are legally responsible to understand, if for no other reason than saving yourself from'wiilful neglect' and the penalties - costly, of course - that the IRS will assess for willful negligence (which the courts deem you to display as preposterous as it seems). "We ask you to do something different, something you have likely never done before when mat[ers of Íax aTe concerned: read this book for funl No, I am not out of my mind - I have trled to be as funny and c;mical as I can possibly be. And, let's face it since this is going to be my fÌna1 book, it will be more c1'nical
and funnier than ever." Some "reviews" of his last book: IRS celebrates, Say i[ ain't so, Larry, We're all toast, Hey Larry, what a siacker; and What must've led Larry astra)¿ lß
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THECORRESPONDENT 43
LAST WORD
The lrqnspqcific I rock n lqx mqn
signs off...Jnoybe T
arry Lipsher, who has been an FCC member 1992, has had them rolling in aisles rn the Main Dining Room for l0 of the past 11 years as he sewed up the latest drcary but frightcning US tax law changes with his off-the-wall humour. The one year he didn't speak was the year that there was no new US tax law passeci. Lipsher's latest book "Larry's 201ó US tax guide" rs the seventh in the series and may well be his 1ast. "I'm proud of the stuff l've written," Lipsher said. "l know it is damned good. It is accurate, easy to understand and, in instances, funn;r I don't appear to have any competition writing in this manner, but rhe cltullcttge is gurre - wriLurg itr a getue u'here no urrc real1y wants tû buy rhis sorL of book (ulrlcss, of course, you are an American with his/leer back
l-since
The book is actuaily in two paris. Obviously, the primary portion is about US taxes for expats ancl othcr LIS' tax filr:r¡ in ar "riìmplc n \\/ny nrl can pt-rmibly can be plesented", he said. "Aftcr seven cditions, this works and it ls the oniy book of its sort oul there for the US tax filer who really doesn't want the book
against the wall)." What's different this year is that
mlni-memoir,'Nine
essays
from
a
Lipsher is an American CPA who has been doing US tax returns for the past 49 years. "Imagrne,49 years as abean counter - how dreadfully
my lÌfe from the year I was initially paid to do a tax return through the present".
boring!" While he proudly states that over the past four-plus decades on the job, he has yet to develop serious brain damage from a life of tax work. Lipsher has been based ìn China for the past 25 years.In that time "I have changed from being just abean counter to, 1itera11y and figuratively being a rice counter... CPA in Mandarin,
Now... rs Lar
about
lifeilao.
com
really means rice counter!" Lipsher, a past presìdent of the American Chamber of Commerce of South China, was, for IZ years writer of the Asian Tax Review for Worldwide Tax Daily of Washingtonbased Tax Analysts. He has been featured on China Central Teìevision World Wide Watch, the most widely viewed evening television news
com
continued on Page 42
44
THECORRESPONDENT
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Unit I501, Bonk of Eost Asio Horbor-rr View Centre, 5รณ Gloucester Rocrd, Wonchoi, Hong Kong phone: (+852)2528'l230 Fox: (+S52) 25281231 moil@slevevickersossociotes.com
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