Foreign Correspondents' Club (Hong Kong)

The Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Hong Kong is a members-only club and meeting place for the media, business and diplomatic community. It is located at 2 Lower Albert Road in Central, next to the Hong Kong Fringe Club, and they both occupy the Old Dairy Farm Depot at the top of Ice House Street, one of the few remaining colonial buildings in the Central district.

Entrance of the Foreign Correspondents' Club on Lower Albert Road.

History
One of the buildings having historically housed the Foreign Correspondents' Club was located at 41A Conduit Road. It was portrayed as a hospital in the 1955 film Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. The building was demolished in the late 1960s.

The Club was founded in Chongqing in 1943 and moved to Hong Kong from Shanghai, where it was set up on 23 June or 25 June 1949.[1] The Club has been located in several buildings since its inception in Hong Kong.[2] It has occupied the North Block of the Old Dairy Farm Depot since 1982.[3] On 14 August 2018, the Club hosted a lunch talk which pro-independence activist Andy Chan gave a speech. Beijing had tried to block the talk, but the club did not change the plan on ground of freedom of speech. [4] As retaliation, Victor Mellet, the vice-president of FCC, was denied renewal of his visa.[5]

Membership

The FCC has the following membership categories:

  • Correspondent
  • Journalist
  • Associate (in this category anyone can join although there is a waiting list of several years)
  • Corporate
  • Diplomatic

The membership of the FCC (which totals around 2,400) includes foreign correspondents, reporters, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and members of the business and diplomatic community. The majority of members (around 1,600) are in the associate membership category.

When prominent international figures from the worlds of commerce, politics or entertainment visit Hong Kong, many choose to address the FCC's speaker lunches as the best means of reaching their desired audience – both directly and through media coverage of the events. Recent speakers include the former chief executive Sir Donald Tsang, former Chief Secretary Mrs Anson Chan. In 2018, the FCC invited Chan Ho-tin, convenor of the Hong Kong National Party, the event precipitated the Victor Mallet visa controversy.

Features
Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong.

The heart of the FCC building is The Main Bar (on the ground floor) which maintains its reputation for colourful characters both from the media and other professions. The FCC has two restaurants on the first floor: the Main Dining Room focused primarily on western-style cuisine, and the Chinese Restaurant.

In the basement is Bert's Bar, named after the late Bert Okuley, long time FCC member and jazz pianist. Bert's features live jazz several nights each week, often with the house band under the leadership of Musical Director Allen Youngblood.

The basement also contains The Work Room where local and visiting members can use the broadband-connected facilities to prepare their articles, and a small but well-equipped Health Club with fitness equipment, a sauna and a steam room.

See also

References
  1. "Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club turns 60". AFP via Terra Daily. 22 June 2009.
  2. Foreign Correspondents' Club – History Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Brief Information on Proposed Grade 1 Items. Item #68" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. "Beijing tries to block pro-independence activist Andy Chan talk at Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  5. Cheng, Kris (5 October 2018). "Hong Kong rejects visa renewal for foreign press club vice-pres. who chaired independence talk". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. F.C.C Facilities – Main Bar Archived 8 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Hong Kong as City/Imaginary in The World of Suzie Wong, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and Chinese Box", by Thomas Y. T. Luk, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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