In nearly every regard, 2020 was a rather strange and unusual year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and various rounds of government restrictions, one of the biggest changes at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong was a significant decrease in the number of club lunches featuring guest speakers we were able to host compared to previous years. (And the introduction of Zoom events!)

Still, when it was safe to do so (and when government restrictions allowed for it), the FCC managed to welcome a variety of notable guests throughout the year. Here’s a look back at the lineup of speakers we hosted in 2020.

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January 9: Professor Niall Ferguson

We kicked off the year by hosting Professor Niall Ferguson, an accomplished author, historian and public intellectual, to discuss a wide variety of topics. Predictions he made included the likelihood of a naval conflict between China and the United States, and that Boris Johnson will still be Britain’s prime minister in 2025.

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January 14: District Council Elections Panel

In the aftermath of Hong Kong’s November 2019 district council elections, we invited Lo Kin-hei, Derek Yuen and Christine Fong to discuss the city’s political future. The three panelists agreed that Hongkongers would “come out and strike again” to show their dissatisfaction with the government.

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January 21: Nick Frisch

The life and art of Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese dissident and Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, was the subject of Nick Frisch’s talk at the FCC. Frisch first interviewed Liu when he was writing for The New Yorker.

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January 22: Policing Hong Kong’s Police Panel

In response to widespread dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Police Force, we invited Dr. Lawrence Ho, Clement Lai and Doriane Lau to discuss how public trust could be rebuilt. The panelists agreed that significant changes needed to be made to policing in Hong Kong.

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February 20: Rebuilding Hong Kong Panel

Rebuilding Hong Kong in the aftermath of the protests was the subject of a panel discussion featuring Anson Chan and Dr. Priscilla Leung. The need for a new Chief Executive as well as an independent inquiry into the protests were both proposed as ways to help the city move forward.

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February 26: COVID-19 Panel

Our first COVID-focused event of the year was a panel discussion featuring Professor Keiji Fukuda, Dr. Arisina Ma, Elizabeth Cheung and Odile Thiang. The panelists discussed the mental and physical challenges facing Hong Kong in the early months of the pandemic.

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March 18: Matthew Marsh

With the motor racing season delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, we welcomed Formula 1 analyst and Fox Sports Asia presenter Matthew Marsh to the club. The former professional racing driver gave insights into the personalities of some of the world’s top Formula One drivers and shared anecdotes from the press pit.

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July 7: National Security Law/Press Freedom Panel

Following a hiatus of several months, we resumed in-person events with this panel discussion of the National Security Law’s effects on Hong Kong journalists, held one week after the law was enacted in Beijing. Panelists Sharron Fast, Antony Dapiran, Keith B. Richburg agreed that journalists needed to be more serious about protecting sources and information given the new law.

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July 14: Hong Kong Economy Panel

As the pandemic took its toll on local businesses, we invited business owners Syed Asim Hussain and Douglas Young to speak alongside economist Alicia García Herrero about the city’s economic prospects. The panelists agreed that businesses should be proactive and seize the opportunities brought about by the pandemic.

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November 12: Antony Dapiran

After another hiatus from in-person events, the author of City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong, Antony Dapiran joined us to discuss the legacy of the 2019 protests. Dapiran also talked about the weakening of the Legislative Council and the deleterious effects of the National Security Law on the rule of law in Hong Kong.

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November 19: Jake van der Kamp

Veteran financial columnist Jake van der Kamp, author of The Rise and Fall of the Hang Seng Index, joined us to share his philosophy on investing and talk about his time covering the markets. His main takeaway? Trust yourself, not investment advisers.

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December 3: Weijian Shan

PAG CEO and chairman Weijian Shan spoke about his recently published book Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank. He also discussed how private equity has transformed Asian economies in the past two decades.

Looking back on 2020, it was a year that posed numerous challenges for The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong, not least of which was a limited ability to host in-person events. But, like the rest of the world, we adapted to the new normal and found a way to get on with things.

At the FCC, that meant taking our events virtual by turning to Zoom as a way to host guest speakers and panelists including Noam Chomsky, Jiayang Fan, Maria Ressa, John Bolton, Garry Kasparov and many others. While Zoom allowed us to continue planning speaker events in times when social distancing measures prevented them from taking place at the club, it also allowed us to transcend time zones and welcome speakers located all over the world. As a result, you can expect to see plenty more Zoom events happening in 2021.

But first, here’s a look back at the lineup of notable speakers we hosted on Zoom in 2020.

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April 29: Ben Cowling

Our first Zoom event of the year featured Professor Ben Cowling, who joined us to discuss Hong Kong’s battle with COVID-19.

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May 6: Press Freedom Panel

The pandemic and its effects on press freedom was the focus of this panel discussion featuring Maria Ressa, Hélène Franchineau and Mohammed Hanif.

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May 20: The Rt. Hon Lord Patten of Barnes CH

Hong Kong’s last governor joined us to discuss the city’s future in the midst of sweeping changes and increased intervention from the Chinese government.

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June 11: Clifford Stott

Professor Clifford Stott, a protest policing expert, explained why he resigned from an international panel appointed by Hong Kong’s police complaints body to investigate the policing of last year’s protests.

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June 18: George Floyd Protests Panel

As the George Floyd protests swept across the United States, we invited Amelia Brace and Joel Simon to discuss the threats facing journalists covering the movement.

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July 9: Maria Ressa and Caoilfhionn Gallagher

The Rappler CEO and press freedom advocate spoke alongside her international human rights lawyer about Ressa’s conviction in the Philippines on cyber libel charges.

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July 15: John Bolton

The day after President Trump signed an executive order ending Hong Kong’s preferential trade treatment, former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said that Hong Kong still enjoyed broad support in the U.S. even as the city’s freedoms were being eroded.

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July 20: Jeffrey Sachs

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, an economist and author, warned that improving relations between the U.S. and China was crucial for maintaining global stability in the coming years.

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July 30: COVID-19 Infodemic Panel

The rise of disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic was the focus of this panel discussion featuring Kristin Urquiza, Claire Wardel and Alice Budisatrijo.

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August 4: Suzanne Nossel

The CEO of PEN America, a nonprofit organisation which defends free expression, spoke about how democracy and freedom are in decline around the world.

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August 7: Noam Chomsky

Renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky spoke about the potentially disastrous consequences of relations between the U.S. and China further deteriorating.

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August 10: Kishore Mahbubani

The author and Asia scholar said it would be a “huge mistake” for China to eradicate Hong Kong’s unique characteristics.

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August 12: Sino-American Relations Panel

Relations between the U.S. and China was the topic of this panel discussion featuring Lingling Wei, Mary E. Gallagher and Bonnie Glaser, who agreed that a Biden presidency could improve the situation.

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August 18: Stan Grant

Author and journalist Stan Grant shared his experiences of racism growing up and discussed what the Black Lives Matters movement means to indigenous Australians.

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August 27: Garry Kasparov

The former chess world champion turned democracy campaigner said it would be wise for Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activists to leave the city to avoid facing prison or worse.

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September 2: Admiral Bill Owens

The former top U.S. military official claimed that Taiwan’s political status was the greatest threat to the already tense relationship between China and the U.S.

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September 8: Brian Stetler

The host of CNN’s Reliable Sources warned that Fox News could cause “enormous damage” on election night in the United States.

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September 15: Joseph Stiglitz

The Nobel Prize winner and professor predicted that the U.S. and China would enjoy greater cooperation if Joe Biden were to win the presidential election.

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September 22: Ben Bland

The author of a biography of Indonesian president Joko Widodo said that Widodo’s “lack of leadership” had caused Indonesia’s struggle with containing COVID-19.

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October 5: China & Hollywood Panel

China’s influence on Hollywood was discussed by panelists James Tager, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Rebecca Davis, who said that the greed of America’s film industry was leading to increased self-censorship in a bid to reach Chinese audiences.

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October 7: Rana Mitter

The author and China scholar spoke at length about how “wolf warrior” diplomacy has hurt the PRC’s global reputation.

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October 12: Sebastian Strangio

The Southeast Asia editor of The Diplomat said that the response to the coronavirus pandemic had accelerated a trend: the “image of both the United States and China are suffering in Southeast Asia.”

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October 15: U.S. Election/Disinformation Panel

Weeks before the U.S. presidential elections, panelists Craig Silverman, Elyse Samuels and Thomas Kent agreed that election-related disinformation had reached an all-time high.

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October 20: Jiayang Fan

A staff writer at The New Yorker, Jiayang Fan spoke to us about her blockbuster cover story “How My Mother and I Became Chinese Propaganda.”

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October 22: The Future of COVID-19 Panel (Dr. Sarah Borwein, Prof. Ivan Hung, Prof. John Nicholls)

With winter on the horizon, we invited Dr. Sarah Borwein, Professor Ivan Hung and Professor John Nicholls to share their predictions for the future of the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong and around the world.

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November 10: Ambassador Kurt Tong

Shortly after the presidential election, the former U.S. consul general in Hong Kong spoke about what the world could expect from the Biden presidency.

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November 20: The Biden Administration & China Panel

Discussing the upcoming Biden administration’s approach to China, panelists Bonnie Glaser and Tom Orlik said it would be characterised by competition and cooperation.

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November 23: Mara Hvistendahl

The investigative reporter discussed her second book, The Scientist and the Spy, which recounts the story of a Chinese-born scientist who was caught trying to steal genetically modified corn seeds from a field in Iowa.

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November 24: Mark Thompson

With RTHK coming under increasing criticism from the government, former BBC Director-General and New York Times Co. CEO Mark Thompson spoke about the challenges facing public broadcasters in Hong Kong and around the world.

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December 9: Michael Palin

An accomplished actor, writer and traveller, Monty Python star Michael Palin issued a full-throated defence of comedy’s importance as a form of free speech.

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December 10: Alan Rusbridger

Amateur reporters can play as vital a role in news gathering as trained professionals and it is not up to governments or the police to decide who is a journalist, said former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger.

Between in-person events at the club and virtual events on Zoom, we hosted dozens of guest speakers in 2020. In case you didn’t already know, we post videos of all guest speaker events on the FCC HK YouTube channel, which allows us to reach audiences far beyond Hong Kong and our members roster.

Unsurprisingly, some of our events have gained a lot of traction on YouTube, and these are the most popular ones from 2020.

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#1: Noam Chomsky

Views: 151,000 and counting

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#2: Niall Ferguson

Views: 25,000 and counting

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#3: Admiral Bill Owens

Views: 21,000 and counting

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#4: Kishore Mahbubani

Views: 20,000 and counting

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#5: The Rt. Hon Lord Patten of Barnes CH

Views: 8,900 and counting

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#6: John Bolton

Views: 5,000 and counting

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#7: Anson Chan & Priscilla Leung

Views: 4,600 and counting

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#8: Joseph Stiglitz

Views: 3,100 and counting

Amateur reporters can play as vital a role in news gathering as trained professionals and it is not up to governments or the police to decide who is a journalist, said former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger in an FCC Zoom discussion moderated by FCC first vice president Eric Wishart.

The definitions of journalism and what it means to be a journalist are key topics explored in Rusbridger’s new book, News and How to Use It: What to Believe in a Fake News World.

While there are numerous examples of amateur journalists contributing valuable reporting, including during the Hong Kong protests, Rusbridger said this new reality has created a “world of chaotic information” in which the average person has access to more information than ever before and yet doesn’t know which sources to trust.

One response to this phenomenon in Hong Kong was the introduction by the police of new guidelines about who they would recognise as a journalist.

“The moment you’ve got anything that looks like a government register, it becomes very problematic,” Rusbridger said.

He added that police should not be involved in the discussion about who is and who isn’t a real journalist: “It’s an impossible thing and we shouldn’t ask the police to make those decisions.”

Rather than governments and police forces deciding who is a journalist, Rusbridger said it was a job for the media industry.

“It’s probably [better] for the industry itself to develop norms and say, ‘This person we recognise as performing the functions of a journalist’ than for the state to do it,” he said. “Both are problematic, but I think it’s better for the industry itself.”

He gave the example of the killing of George Floyd by a policeman in Minneapolis in May, one of the biggest stories of the year.

“We know about that because somebody filmed it, but I don’t think it was a journalist,” said Rusbridger. “It was just somebody standing on the street who did what journalists do. Repeatedly now, we know what we know because people are doing acts of journalism, and that’s a good thing I think we would all agree. But of course that doesn’t necessarily make you a journalist.”

He also spoke about his former collaborator, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and whether or not he could be considered a journalist.

“In the stuff we did together, we were both in joint pursuit of journalism,” he said. “But he would be the first to admit that he was also a political activist and a whistleblower, he was an entrepreneur and a troublemaker.”

According to Rusbridger, in spite of Assange’s complicated and often conflicting identities, he should be defended by journalists: “I think as journalists we should say, ‘Well, in as much as he’s being accused of journalism, we should defend him for that, because if he goes down for acts of journalism, that’s something that will affect all of us.’”

According to Rusbridger, traditional media have been confronted with an erosion in trust, and it will not be easy to regain.

“I don’t think there’s been an awakening among journalists about how they’re going to have to change their behaviour in order to win the position of trust I think we want”, he said.

This was one of the reasons he wrote News and How to Use It, noting that studies show that people are increasingly confused and distrustful of news: “We shouldn’t underestimate the size of the trust mountain that we have to climb.”

Given the proliferation of information outlets and digital platforms, Rusbridger recommended employing certain techniques, such as adding more links and other resources, avoiding unattributable sources, and using screenshots and interview transcripts to increase transparency. “Those are 21st-century techniques of trust that we’re going to have to learn to live with,” he said.

Similarly, journalists need to avoid partisan politics in order to succeed.

“The best and most necessary journalism is the one that doesn’t fall into the trap of attaching itself to right or left,” he said, “but just says this is where the evidence leads and, by the way, here is the evidence.”

A member of Facebook’s newly formed Oversight Board, an independent advisory group, Rusbridger said he understood why people might be sceptical and see it as little more than a PR exercise.

However, he made clear that several of his fellow board members are openly hostile toward the social media giant and had not been selected to make the company’s life easy. As for the so-called Real Facebook Oversight Board, an international ad-hoc body of activists and academics led by investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr, Rusbridger welcomed their contributions.

“I think we will do different things but we will complement each other,” he said.

Rusbridger, who served as editor of The Guardian from 1995 to 2015, is currently Principal of Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford.

Watch the full video:

An accomplished actor, writer and traveller, Monty Python star Michael Palin issued a full-throated defence of comedy’s importance as a form of free speech during a Zoom event moderated by club president Jodi Schneider at the FCC.

Asked if there should be any red lines for comedy in the era of “political correctness” and so-called cancel culture, Palin said, “Comedy should be free, it’s an exercise in free speech.”

One of the founding members of legendary comedy troupe Monty Python, Palin added: “It’s almost more important than anything else, comedy, because it allows you, by doing something which is not directly commenting on what’s happening, to make a point in a way which is much more effective than sometimes going head on. I think comedy is perhaps sometimes the best way to say the hardest things.”

Arguing that humour is a way to bring people together, Palin praised it as a balm for the absurdity of life. “Comedy is about the human condition, the human situation, the way we all are,” he said. “If we’re going to take ourselves so seriously that we can’t be laughed at, then I think we’re in real trouble.”

Palin is familiar with the intersection between comedy and controversy. Though the work of Monty Python has been largely celebrated, he recalled that the group received widespread negative feedback on Life of Brian, a 1979 film set in Biblical times that was banned in several countries for being blasphemous. “There were people saying this is just cheap jokes at the expense of people who have religious sensibilities, which it wasn’t at all,” said Palin.

Regardless, Monty Python’s television series and films have remained popular over time, in spite of being produced decades ago. Asked why he thought their work had such an enduring legacy, Palin said, “For a start, Python was never topical. It went really for the absurdity of life, particularly the pretentiousness of human behavior. That hasn’t really changed. I think that’s why Python’s looking at the world and seeing it as a very, very silly place strikes a real chord with the younger generations.”

Between Monty Python’s four series and his later travel programmes, Palin has worked extensively with the BBC, and he acknowledged the critical role the public broadcaster played in launching his career. “I don’t think we would have done Python without the BBC, I don’t think anyone else would have put it on,” said Palin. “At the time, of course, the BBC was all-powerful. There were very few other channels, so the BBC could take risks and take gambles, which it did really with Python.”

Today, however, Palin said things are very different at the BBC, with increased supervision and oversight of programming. After Monty Python was given the green light, “we were left to get on with it, and that just would not happen now,” he said. Nonetheless, he stated that “the BBC is extremely important and does extremely good work,” adding that there are vested interests that don’t want the broadcaster to succeed and constantly pose a threat to its future success.

Palin also acknowledged the role that American broadcaster PBS played in Monty Python’s success, as it began airing episodes in 1974. “We’d all given up hope of it ever going across to the States, and it really caught on amongst the students at various colleges and universities,” said Palin. “They really gave Python a new lease of life.”

Also known as the globetrotting author of several travelogues and the star of numerous travel programmes, Palin has surprisingly enjoyed being stuck in one place over the past year due to recovery from heart surgery and the coronavirus pandemic. “I’ve been quite content with actually doing very little,” he said, adding that he plans to take the vaccine once it’s available.

As for future travel plans, Palin said that Africa and Mongolia are at the top of his list. When asked if he would take a commercial trip into space courtesy of Richard Branson or Elon Musk, he replied: “Absolutely not.”

Watch the full video: