Foreign Correspondents' Club of China

February Happy Hour

manager — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:17:35 +0000

VENUE: The Bookworm
DATE: today, Friday, Feb 3
TIME: 6:30-10:30pm
ENTRANCE: Free. Non-members very welcome as always.
DIZZY DRINKS DISCOUNT: for FCCC members on Carlsberg and Yanjing draught beer; bottled Tsing Tao, house wine and mixed drinks.

Chinese Cities: In Search of Identity

manager — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:55:20 +0000

This event is for members only.

China’s cities have been subject to thirty years of Soviet-style modernization, followed by thirty years of American style modernization. From an architectural point of view, it may be the worst of two worlds. Yet Chinese cities are increasingly affirming their own underlying “spirit”.
Join a talk with Professor Daniel A. Bell who will draw on the findings of his new book (co-written with Professor Avner de-Shalit), The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in a Global Age (Princeton University Press) to discuss the social and political implications of China’s changing urban landscape.

Professor Bell’s book looks at nine cities – Jerusalem, Montreal, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Oxford, Berlin, Paris and New York – and shows how the ethos of each is expressed in its political, cultural and economic life, and how the character of each city works against the excesses of nationalism on the one hand, and the sameness of globalization on the other.

DATE: Jan 18 (Wednesday)
TIME: 10-11:30am
VENUE: Canadian Embassy, 19 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chao Yang District, Gate 3, on the North side of the main complex
ENTRANCE: FCCC members only. Please bring a photo ID.
RESERVATION: at fcccadmin@gmail.com

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Daniel A. Bell is the Zhiyuan Chair Professor of Arts and Humanities at Shanghai Jiaotong University and professor of political theory and director of the Center for International and Comparative Political Philosophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

New Year Happy Hour

manager — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:45:35 +0000

Happy New Year!

Look out 2012 – The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China is Ready! So why not prepare to breathe some fire into the forthcoming year of the dragon by joining fellow FCCC-types and their friends for the first Happy Hour of 2012 at the Bookworm*?

Enlightened Zhongguo tong discourse will be as free-flowing as the Yangze and so will the discounted beers and wine for those members in possession of their new FCCC membership cards.

See you there!

元旦节快乐! 这个星期五晚上是FCCC的快乐时光。欢迎参加！

*VENUE: The Bookworm
DATE: Friday, Jan 6
TIME: 6:30-10:30pm
ENTRANCE: Free. Non-members very welcome as always.
DIZZY DRINKS DISCOUNT: for FCCC members on Carlsberg and Yanjing draught beer; bottled Tsing Tao, house wine and mixed drinks.

The Chessboard of Geopolitics in Eurasian Seas

manager — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:03:31 +0000

The divisions of Cold War area studies are collapsing: rather than the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, and so on, we will have an organic continuum of competition, trade, and conflict encompassed by the Greater Indian Ocean world. China and India compete for rights to natural gas fields in Iran and Burma, even as energy pipelines crisscross Eurasia, with China as a prime destination. As European defense budgets decline, the countries of South and East Asia are building great navies and air forces. China, Vietnam, and other countries compete for control of the energy rich South China Sea, even as Middle Eastern countries face severe crises of central authority. Join one of America’s most prominent strategists as he discusses the new center of geopolitics.

DATE: Dec 15, 2011 (Thursday)
TIME: 4-5:30pm
VENUE: Royal Norwegian Embassy – 1, Dong Yi Jie, Sanlitun 100600 Beijing (enter from 3rd ring road South direction) – 挪威使馆，朝阳区三里屯东一街1号 – phone: +86 10 8531 9600
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 80 rmb at the door to non-members
REGISTRATION: email fcccadmin@gmail.com

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Robert D. Kaplan is a senior fellow at the Center for New America Security and a foreign correspondent for The Atlantic; he is the author of 13 books on foreign affairs, most recently Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and The Future of American Power.

The Secret Life of a Beijing Ambassador – with former Australian Ambassador Geoff Raby

manager — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:02:10 +0000

Australia’s recently retired Ambassador to China Geoff Raby talks about life behind the scenes in Beijing, dealing with the Foreign Ministry and tough times during his 4 1/2 year tenure which saw the arrest of Rio Tinto executives and a cooling relations with Canberra before vital repairs were made to the relationship. An economist by trade, Dr Raby will also give his view on the future of China’s economy and the role that Australia plays.

DATE: Dec 13 (Tuesday)
TIME: 6-7:30pm

VENUE: CHANGED! FACE Bar, 26 Dongcaoyuan, Gongti Nanlu 工体南路东草园26号, Beijing, China
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 80 RMB at the door for non-members
REGISTRATION: closed

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Geoff Raby is principle of Geoff Raby & Associates and sits on the board of Fortescue Metals Group, the world’s fourth largest iron ore producer. Prior to Ambassador to China, Raby has also held positions as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s APEC Ambassador.

Book Talk: Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance

manager — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:29:21 +0000

“February 2021. It’s a cold blustery morning in Washington. The newly inaugurated president of the United States is on his way to the office of the Chinese managing director of the IMF to sign the agreement under which the IMF will provide 3 trillion dollars in emergency financing to the U.S. and the conditionality to which the U.S. will have to adhere.” Join Arvind Subramanian as he speaks about his new book and China’s growing economic might.

DATE: Dec 14 (Wednesday)
TIME: 10:30am-12:00pm
VENUE: Face Bar, 26 Dongcaoyuan, Gongti Nanlu (behind the Cervantes Institute), 工体南路东草园26号
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 80 rmb on the door to non-members
REGISTRATION: email fcccadmin@gmail.com

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Arvind Subramanian is senior fellow jointly at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Global Development.
He was assistant director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund. He served at the GATT (1988–92) during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations and taught at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1999–2000) and at Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies (2008–10).

Teaching in Pyongyang

manager — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:58:38 +0000

What is the life of an elite North Korean student? What are their dreams? What do they think about “money” and the internet? Join a British professor as he speaks about his unique experience of teaching at Kumseong Number One junior high school in Pyongyang, a school designed to train computer programmers and scientists, with students recruited from all over the country.

He will also discuss a new English text book written by North Koreans.

DATE: December 10 (Saturday)
TIME: 4-5:30pm
VENUE: James Joyce Bar – 14, Xindong Lu, Chaoyang district 朝阳区新东路14号, phone: 6415 9125 14
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 80 RMB on the door to non-members
RSVP: to fcccadmin@gmail.com

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Professor Stewart Lone is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales and a social historian of East Asia; since last year he has spent seven weeks teaching English in Pyongyang. He is also the author of the book “Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia.”

Milking China

manager — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:39:11 +0000

China’s consumption and imports of dairy products continue to soar. Come join a panel of veterans discuss efforts to modernise China’s
dairy farming scene, and where the bottlenecks are in raising the quantity and quality of local milk output.

DATE: Nov 28 (Monday)
TIME: 4-5:30pm
VENUE: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Liangmahe Nanlu 4
荷兰王国驻华大使馆 – 北京, 中华人民共和国北京市亮马河南路4号,
Phone: 010 85320200
RSVP: to fcccadmin@gmail.com to ensure entrance through security
ENTRANCE: free to members, 80 RMB on the door to non-members

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
China representative for World Wide Sires, Alastair Pearson has advised Chinese dairy farms on breeding and dairy herd management. He was also manager of the first of China’s new wave of large-scale dairy farms.

A dairy expert by training, Dr. Ezra Shoshani is Counsellor for International Cooperation MASHAV (Science and Agriculture) at the embassy of Israel. In that role he’s helped establish and oversee a dairy demonstration farm in China. The demonstration farm has had excellent results, with milk production per cow reaching 11,500 kg per cow in 2010.

Alex Tseng is farm manager at Wonder Milk, a large-scale dairy farm outside Beijing run on organic principles.

Hat-tastic Xmas Party!

manager — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:08:40 +0000

“Christmas is coming, visa anxieties are back
So best buy a FCCC Xmas Party ticket,
And dust off your best Yuletide hat!”

Indeed, dear FCCC members, it is fast approaching that special time of year when we stage our annual Christmas bash on SATURDAY DECEMBER 3rd at SEALING on Gongti Xi Lu.

This year the dress code is…Hats! Yes, that’s right. Our Christmas wish is for the venue to be brimming with panamas, stetsons, boaters, bonnets, fedoras, sombreros – all manner of your favourite headgear, infact, and all festively decorated.

Prizes will be awarded for the best in show, so don’t be shy nor hattist and do don a topper on the date above.

Tickets cost 200 RMB for members, 250 RMB for non members. The price includes a finger buffet and four hours free flowing drinks to help you forget about your visa renewal during the first hat-tastic bash of the holiday season.

The fun starts at 8pm till late so make sure you’re there!

You can buy tickets in advance from the FCCC office and at upcoming FCCC events.
You can also pop into the Bookworm, where party tickets will be sold between 5.30pm and 8pm every Friday until Dec 2. Look out for the FCCC sign.

We expect the event to sell-out but, if there are any tickets left, you can buy them at the door for 50 yuan more. Please reserve tickets at fcccadmin@gmail.com.

*DATE: December 3, 2011
TIME: 8pm onwards (free flowing drinks from 8-12pm)
VENUE: SEALING, Second Floor, 6 Gongti Xi Lu, Chaoyang district, 朝阳区工体西路6号 (on top of METRO restaurant, opposite French Cultural Centre), phone: 65525529
REGISTRATION: at fcccadmin@gmail.com

Meet the Ambassador: Pakistan’s Masood Khan

manager — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:22:52 +0000

Pakistan and China enjoy one of the closest bilateral relationships in the region, calling each other “all weather friends” after 60 years of diplomatic ties; trade and other forms of cooperation are on the rise and Pakistan government leaders are increasingly regular visitors to China.

DATE: Nov 23 (Wednesday)
TIME: 11:00am-12:30pm
VENUE: Embassy of Pakistan
No. 1, Dong Zhi Men Wai Da Jie
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 80 rmb on the door to non-members
REGISTRATION: email fcccadmin@gmail.com

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Mr. Khan has been Pakistan’s ambassador to China since September 2008, having been Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations for three years. Earlier he served in Washington, The Hague, Beijing and UN headquarters in New York. He was also Foreign Ministry Spokesmen from 2003 to 2005.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: In order to secure the participation of the ambassador in this event, the FCCC is making an exception to its usual ‘on the record’ rule. THIS EVENT WILL BE OFF THE RECORD. By attending this event, members accept this condition.