Club News
Club News
Journalism matters
News Pool
At Kau Sai Chau: Jeremy Bolland, Connie Bolland, Sabrina Wong and Russ Julseth.
Teeing up for ‘Bad Pants’? Golf, gambling and gallons of beer highlighted the FCC Golf Society’s Macau outing this past August. It was hot. Damn hot. But that didn’t stop the FCC linksters from racking up good scores and brilliant shots at the Macau Golf and Country Club. We were back at Kau Sai Chau’s south course in September where typhoon Koppu blessed us with slightly cooler temperatures and softer greens. The low number of putts champion was Steven VanEtzdorf and the overall net
medallist was Jeremy Bolland with an overall net 71. On October 18 we will hold Hong Kong’s first annual “Bad Pants” golf tournament. Prizes will be awarded for the worst, loudest golf pants worn on the course. So, dig into your closet and dig out those wild ‘70s striped and checked polyesters now popularized by John Daly. We will play the East Course at KSC for an added challenge. Contact Russ Julseth at russjulseth@netvigator.com for details.
The FCC Pool Society’s annual Merv Hayworth 8-ball tournament saw Jason Furness beat Paul McConomy in the final, held at the Club on September 12th. Both Jason and Paul are past winners of the tournament and both have also won the Society’s 9-ball tournament, held annually in December. The Pool Society is always keen to welcome new members – be they journalists, correspondents or associates. Under the tenure of long-time Pool Convener, Anthony Wong, the FCC has grown to become a respected and formidable team within the highly competitive Hong Kong Pool League. Although the Society is taking a break from the League this year, there will be plenty of social matches in the coming months. To find out more, contact Anthony on awong@asbroadcast.com.
Want to play cricket? The FCC is forming a social cricket team to play occasional games (with an initial target of four games per season) against social sides in Hong Kong. There will also be some net practice sessions. Novices and rusty players are welcome to join
as the emphasis is on fun. The joining sub is $250 to enable the team to start getting kitted up for our first net, hopefully next month. Anyone interested in joining should drop a note to Neil Western: neil_western@yahoo. co.uk AFP
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THE CORRESPONDENT
Images by Carsten Schael
FCC protests journo beating A copy of the letter to Central Government authorities regarding the beating and detention of Hong Kong journalists: “The FCC Hong Kong wishes to convey its deep disgust and anger regarding the manhandling of Hong Kong journalists at the hands of security officers in Urumqi, and at the subsequent effort by some officials there to shift blame onto the reporters. We condemn such crude treatment in no uncertain terms. Our feelings are clearly spelled out in the public statement (attached) issued by the FCCHK, to which we draw your attention. A public apology from local and provincial officials should be forthcoming. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, urges the Central Government to conduct a full and impartial investigation in the affair, and to publish a complete and uncensored report of its findings.
Veteran BBC correspondent Anthony Lawrence celebrated his 97th birthday at the FCC, saying journalism still matters, writes Vaudine England. Mr Lawrence worked for the BBC from 1945 until the 1970s, almost entirely in East Asia. He has often been listed in the group of pioneering BBC correspondents including Charles Wheeler, John Osman and Gerald Priestland. He chose to retire in Hong Kong where he has outlived his German wife Irmgard and son, Alex. He is active in the charitable International Social Service, which has named a refuge after him, and is a former FCC President. “I want to take tonight as a sort of acknowledgement that the journalist has a quite important role to play, that he can ... reveal crimes that have been hidden and congratulate the deserving,” the still wide-eyed veteran told a party of well-wishers at the FCC on Thursday, August 13th. He received greetings from both the last Governor Chris Patten and current Chief Executive Donald Tsang, perhaps indicative of that old BBC idea of balance.
While we appreciate the responsibility of the police to maintain order, there is simply no justification for beating and detaining reporters who are covering the news; indeed, it is the responsibility of security forces to protect them, in line with China’s constitutional guarantee of press freedom.” For the full story, read the President’s Report on Page 5. Image: Bob Davis THE CORRESPONDENT
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