The Correspondent

Hear veteran broadcast journalist Karen Koh in discussion with Chinese foreign correspondent Dr Rose Luqiu and Hong Kong-born international broadcast journalist Laura Westbrook on the upcoming US election, from an Asian perspective: what is being discussed on Chinese social media and in state media, how "third culture" people view the attacks on Kamala Harris' mixed race heritage, how sexism and "strongman" culture dominate Chinese media narrative how US foreign policy is viewed very differently from this side of the world.

Grammy and Pulitzer-prize winning trumpeter, composer and band leader Wynton Marsalis has this month toured with his Lincoln Jazz Centre Orchestra through Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong dropped by for a QandA at the FCC with Robin Ewing, director of the Journalism Masters program at Hong Kong Baptist University and presenter of the RTHK3 'Feelin Kinda Sunday' program. It was incidentally the 63rd birthday for Mr Marsalis, and he reflects on his childhood, what he's learned teaching new generations of musicians as well as new compositions of music influenced by a tradition of American jazz in China begun almost 100 years ago. You’ll also hear the audience Q & A session in which Mr Marsalis fields questions about the role of AI in music, gender bias in jazz, comparisons between jazz and journalism, the traditions of democracy and jazz, as well as his deeply felt intellectual response to hip-hop music. Photo credit: Ben Marans @benmaransphotographyhttps://www.benmaransphotography.com/

Author, broadcaster and art critic John Batten discusses the life and legacy of architect IM Pei with Karen Koh, based on his published article in the latest FCC magazine "A Life in Architecture". Hear the history and symbolic post-colonial importance of the design of the Bank of China building, wrongly characterized as "a knife pointed towards China", and of the details you need to know in the M+ exhibition on IM Pei's life and works.

Selina Cheng, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association discusses the revelations of a campaign to intimidate journalists and their families by self-described "patriots" in what appears to be a coordinated campaign, how the Hong Kong government and tech companies Meta and Wikimedia have responded, and how the HKJA is helping journalists fight back. Hear her also speak to her own experience of losing her job at the Wall Street Journal soon after becoming chair of the HKJA, and the support she has received globally from WSJ staff, fellow journalists and unions based in the USA.Sources:Hong Kong journalists’ union says reporters, relatives and their bosses targeted in harassment campaign; SCMP Sept 13, 2024Hong Kong Customs clarifies on Hong Kong Journalists Association's press conference; Hong Kong Govt Sept 13, 2024

Hear the FCC statement published on August 29th upon the trial and conviction of Hong Kong journalists Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam for their roles in reporting, editing and publishing interviews, features and opinion pieces. Of the 17 articles the court considered, many had been taken down and only five remained active at the time of their arrest, but the Wan Chai District Court ruled that 11 had “seditious intentions”. 

Britt Clennett is a correspondent for US broadcaster ABC News, based in Hong Kong and has spent the past 10 years covering stories in Hong Kong, mainland China and most recently Ukraine and Gaza. In this conversation she discusses her feature article 'Staying Human' in which she looks at the challenges to journalistic impartiality, finding humanity amongst deep generational hatred, and how she deals with the mental health challenges in covering violent and bloody conflict.

An in-depth discussion between FCC president Lee Williamson and Joe Kahn, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, former China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and executive editor of the New York Times since 2022. Kahn discusses how the NYT coverage of Hong Kong and mainland China has changed, and how it reflects the changing environment of local and national security laws as well as the relationship between Beijing and Washington. Hear also how the NYT works to maintain its editorial independence and confront disinformation in this US election year, and how the ongoing digital transition has changed reporting, how Instagram and TikTok have changed priorities, and how generative AI challenges journalists' ethics, as well as the NYT lawsuit against Open AI.

Stephen Roach, former Wall Street chief economist and Hong Kong-based chair of Morgan Stanley Asia, caused controversy earlier this year with the publishing of an opinion piece headlined "It pains me to say Hong Kong is over." His case reflected three considerations - the tight economic linkages between Hong Kong and a faltering mainland Chinese economy, the crossfire of the US-China conflict and the tough political climate in the aftermath of the new national security laws enacted by Beijing and Hong Kong. Hear him speak about the fallout of that opinion piece in the ensuing months since publishing, hear about the issues and considerations he is focused on for Hong Kong and mainland China in the immediate future, and hear the questions asked of him at the FCC Club Lunch on June 5th, moderated by FCC Correspondent Governor Jenn Jett.

Laura Westbrook and Aaron Busch present this special episode for the return of the FCC Hong Kong journalism conference. Hear from David Pierson (New York Times) about the challenges of covering Beijing's foreign policy and China's geopolitics from Hong Kong; Kathleen Magramo (CNN) on the lessons she learned in her first year of journalism in 2019, Filipino representation in Hong Kong and covering the Philippines; and veteran journalist and editor Chris Yeung, 25-year veteran of the South China Morning Post, founder of news platforms Citizen News and Voices of Hong Kong, former chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, talking about the culture of Hong Kong journalism and the challenges of reporting in Hong Kong in an environment governed by Article 23 and Beijing's security laws.