Mingle on a pretty hardwood deck dotted with plants and parasols under a blue sky, chilled
drink in hand, with tantalising aromas of sizzling delights wafting over from the barbecue, while the kids splash to their hearts’ delight in the large shallow pool. See the mouthwatering menu below.
DATE: Saturday, September 5th
TIME: 3-8pm
VENUE: Westside Bar’s outdoor terrace, entrance from GuangHua Road, Prosper Center – between Kerry Center and HanWei Plaza (click here for map)
RSVP to fcccadmin@gmail.com so we can cater accordingly
ENTRANCE: “bracelet” collectable and payable on the door
PRICES (includes local beer, cheeky house punch, soft drinks):
FCCC members discounted price: 200 rmb
- Bring your FCCC membership cards otherwise you’ll be charged full price!
- Each member may buy 2 tickets at member price
Non-members: 250 rmb
Kids: 4 years and under free; 5-12 years 100 rmb
Ayis: Food and drink as above 100 rmb; Drinks only 50 rmb.
PARENTS PLEASE NOTE: The pool surrounds the deck and has no fence. It is only 20 cms deep, so please decide whether it is appropriate for toddlers – or bring your ayi to keep an eye on them constantly. Why not bring rubber rings and water games too? Oh and towels! We’ve negotiated a special price for ayis. Let us know when you book places, so we can include them in the catering requirement.
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An AP photographer, reporter, and APTN camera crew were followed by local government officials in Fengxiang county, Shaanxi province, who attempted to block or disrupt interviews with parents of children hospitalized for lead poisoning on Aug. 19.
A cameraman was asked for his press card, which a policeman photographed, and the reporters were directed to a hospital administrative office where they were told a spokesman would be made available to answer their questions. When none appeared, they left and briefly gained access to a ward where children were being treated, before being asked to leave. The officials withdrew after reporters crossed the county line.
Throughout the day, the journalists were tailed, and the officials would follow on foot, leaning in over their shoulders while they interviewed people.
The same officials visited the APTN crew at their hotel the previous night, asking them to leave, and saying that matters were being taken care of and foreign reporters had no business reporting about it.
Beijing’s noxious air, melamine in baby milk, fish die-offs from industrial effluents: Rarely does a week go by in China without a report of some new environmental calamity. What’s being done to avert toxic disasters in China? Two experts will enlighten us. Eddy Zeng will give a big picture on the threat, and Arlene Blum will talk about an unsung danger: flame retardants linked to neurological and reproductive impairments.
Journalists are also invited to a separate symposium on toxics on August 22. Please see the attached notice for further information.
DATE: Monday, August 24th
TIME: 4pm
VENUE: Paddy O’Shea’s upstairs function room
http://www.thebeijinger.com/directory/Paddy-OSheas
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 50 rmb on the door to non-members
RSVP to fcccadmin@gmail.com with surname, first name and organsiation
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Eddy Y. Zeng is director of the State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Arlene Blum is a biophysical chemist at University of California, Berkeley and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. She is also an accomplished mountaineer, having led the first American-and all-women’s-ascent of Annapurna I, considered one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult mountains, among other exploits.
China faces a number of key foreign policy challenges in the lead-up to the next Communist Party congress in 2012. In this talk, London School of Economics International History professor Arne Westad will discuss three of these: China’s relationship with the United States, the situation in North Korea, and its ties to the Central Asian republics. Prof Westad, who has taught Chinese diplomats, has been visiting China for 30 years and is currently working on a book China’s diplomatic history.
DATE: Monday, August 17th
TIME: 7.30pm (pushed back from the original start time of 7pm to give you time to wrestle through the Beijing rush hour traffic – please allow time for it)
VENUE: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business 长江商学院, 12F, Classroom 6 (see below for full details)
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 50 rmb on the door to non-members
RSVP to fcccadmin@gmail.com
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Odd Arne Westad is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and an expert in contemporary international affairs. He co-directs LSE IDEAS, a centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy. He is also an editor of the journal Cold War History and co-editor of the forthcoming three-volume Cambridge History of the Cold War. His book The Global Cold War won the Bancroft Prize for 2006.
Prof Westad teaches at Beijing University every summer.
During the 1980s, he worked for several international aid agencies in Southern Africa and in Pakistan. He has taught at the University of North Carolina and at Johns Hopkins University and served for eight years as Director of Research at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Since 1998 he has been in the Department of International History at the LSE, where he teaches Cold War history and the history of East Asia.
Further information available at these links:
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/whosWho/westad.aspx
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business 长江商学院
Oriental Plaza, 12th floor, Tower E3 (Ernst&YoungTower安永大楼)
1 East Chang An Avenue, Beijing 100738, China
Tel: 010-85188552
地址：中国北京市东长安街 1 号东方广场东 3 座 12 层
English map: http://www.orientalplaza.com/eng/prime/transport.htm
Chinese map: http://www.orientalplaza.com/gb/prime/transport.htm
Cheung Kong’s website at http://en.ckgsb.com
A year after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) says the relaxed reporting rules made permanent after the Games have made travel easier for foreign correspondents. However, intimidation of sources and domestic staff mar this progress toward internationally acceptable reporting conditions.
While foreign correspondents are still denied access to the Tibet Autonomous Region, the FCCC took note of the relatively open reporting environment, with some exceptions, in Urumqi in the wake of the July 5 riots. The Olympic regulations, which were made permanent in October 2008, allow foreign reporters to travel out of Beijing without first seeking permission from local authorities.
FCCC members report increased intimidation of sources and domestic staff, a trend that threatens progress toward greater openness.
“Authorities are using intimidation to silence sources and prevent assistants from doing their jobs. This should be stopped immediately,” said FCCC President Scott McDonald. “We urge China to move closer to the best international practices by introducing legislation that protects sources.”
The FCCC is concerned about authorities’ recent threats to charge Chinese national staff and foreign financial reporters with violating state secrecy laws if they run afoul of certain guidelines on reporting of economic and financial data that are not spelled out clearly.
The FCCC condemns such threats, and urges China to bring its state secrecy laws in line with international practice.
“As China’s economic and financial influence increases, it is crucial for the global economy that China increase transparency and the free and fair flow of financial data,” said McDonald.
