Author name: RCommSHK

Hong Kong celebrates Commonwealth Day 2022 April 12, 2022 Since the Royal Commonwealth Society Hong Kong Branch (RCSHK) was established in 1983, RCSHK has customarily celebrated Commonwealth Day with a cocktail reception at The Hong Kong Club attended by branch members, the Commonwealth consular corps, and a diverse range of citizens and friends of the Commonwealth community in Hong Kong. For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, due to current government regulations RCSHK took to Zoom to host a Virtual Commonwealth Day 2022 celebration in collaboration with our friends at the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong (CCCHK). This was RCSHK’s inaugural virtual event, with the branch having succeeded in organising regular physical events throughout the ongoing pandemic period notwithstanding the limitations imposed by social distancing requirements.   Approximately 50 attendees representing the Commonwealth community in Hong Kong and the Asia region joined the virtual event, which was addressed by RCSHK Chairman, Mr. Peter Mann MBE, CCCHK Chairman, Ms. Julia Charlton, and RCSHK Co-Patron, Mr. Andrew Wells. The Commonwealth Affirmation was led by Peter Mann, with HM British Consul-General to Hong Kong, Mr. Brian Davidson CMG reading HM The Queen’s Commonwealth Day Message 2022. The honour of reading HM The Queen’s Commonwealth Day message rotates annually amongst the Commonwealth consuls-general in Hong Kong. Other members of the Commonwealth diplomatic corps in attendance included the consuls-general from Bangladesh, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Singapore.     The honour of proposing the Loyal Toast to HM The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth in this special year of the Platinum Jubilee fell to Mr Nicholas Tam, RCSHK Council Member and Chairman of the RCSHK Young Fellows. Attendees drank enthusiastically to the good health of HM The Queen, with many looking forward to the Platinum Jubilee Dinner scheduled for Thursday 2 June 2022 at The Hong Kong Club. The event concluded with a Commonwealth Quiz hosted by Nicholas Tam, which tested participants on their knowledge of the Commonwealth. Split into two rounds of twelve questions, participants demonstrated their knowledge of (or otherwise learned) a series of fun facts about the Commonwealth, including the following:   Singapore is the Commonwealth country with the highest GDP per capita; Tuvalu has the smallest population of any Commonwealth country; ‘Nollywood’, as Nigeria’s movie industry is known, is larger than Hollywood and second only to India’s Bollywood for number of movies produced; The Commonwealth is home to 33% of the global population; Lawn Bowls is played at the Commonwealth Games, but not the Olympics; Botswana is the Commonwealth’s largest diamond producer (by carats), and second globally (behind Russia) French, Mandarin, and Portuguese are all official languages of at least one Commonwealth country Each $1 spent by the host city of the Commonwealth Games generates $2 for the local economy   Congratulations to Keith Jones, David Keating, Shanling Wells, Tony Lau, Victor Hui and Hari Om Dahiya for ranking among the top scorers. Each will receive one bottle of Commonwealth wine as a prize, kindly sponsored by The Honourable Jeffrey Lam GBS JP, Honorary Advisor to CCCHK.   Author Nicholas Tam is Council Member and Young Fellows Chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society Hong Kong Branch. He is qualified to practise law in Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, and relocated from Australia to Hong Kong in 2013.   This article was originally published on Royal Commonwealth Society and is reproduced here with permission. [View the original post →]

RCS Cricket Cup | 20 Nov 2020 November 22, 2020 Children from Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities who are struggling with language benefit from charity cricket event News from South China Morning Post This article was originally published on South China Morning Post  [View the original post →]

Shakespeare evening | 5 Feb 2020 February 6, 2020 RCS, Hong Kong Branch organized a Shakespeare evening for 30 fellows on 5 February at the Hong Kong Club. The dinner theatre included a Bard’s Quiz, first prize of which was a free birthplace tour kindly donated by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust at Stratford-upon-Avon. Here actor Daniel Foley is seen giving a Shakespeare masterclass to Consul General for Canada, Jeff Nankivell.

Burns Supper | 26 Jan 2019 January 28, 2019 RCS HK Branch celebrated their traditional Burns Night Supper on 26 January at the Ladies Recreation Club. Around 80 guests enjoyed the Address to the Haggis, Toast to the Lassies and Reply from the Lassies. At midnight all sang Auld Lang Syne before departing.

Remembrance Sunday | 11 Nov 2018 November 11, 2018 Exactly one hundred years after the Armistice in 1918, Mr Peter Mann, Mrs Joan Campbell and Dr Verner Bickley lay a wreath on behalf of RCS, HK Branch at the Cenotaph. RCSHK Chairman and Council members

Obituary: Sir David Tang, KBE August 31, 2017 Royal Commonwealth Society, Hong Kong Branch is deeply saddened by the passing, aged 63, of our President, Sir David Tang. Sir David was a great supporter of RCS over the years, generously providing hospitality at the China Club and recently addressing our Commonwealth Day Reception in March. A successful businessman and philanthropist, and grandson of Sir Tang Shui-kin, Sir David was a flamboyant entrepreneur who founded fashion house Shanghai Tang and the unique China Club. Friend of the Royal Family, witty author and FT columnist, he was an art, cigar and wine connoisseur. A larger-than-life character, he was knighted by the Queen in 2008. Sir David is survived by his mother and brother, his wife Lucy and a daughter and son from his first marriage.

Mrs Joan Campbell MBE June 13, 2016 We are delighted to announce that our past Chairman, Mrs Joan Campbell, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her services to dance in Hong Kong.  

Celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday | 21 Apr April 22, 2016 Celebrated in style in Hong Kong with 74 guests and Consuls-General, including a crown cake and champagne toast. SPEECH OF MR. PETER MANN, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RCS, HONG KONG BRANCH Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today is the 90th birthday of her Majesty, the Queen. She is not only the longest-reigning monarch in British history but also the Head of the Commonwealth. Moreover, she is the Queen of Australia, Canada and New Zealand and 13 other countries. She is a much loved and respected figure around the world and is well known for her capacity for hard work and her sense of duty. On her 21st birthday, she announced to the public: ‘My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’ And it certainly has been.  Apart from making 114 state visits over the last 63 years, receiving innumerable heads of state, opening hospitals and schools, she has connections with over 600 charities, professional bodies and public service organisations. The Queen has always taken a great interest in the Commonwealth and shared its core values of peace, democracy and equality. On Commonwealth Day this year she gave a speech which emphasized an ‘inclusive’ Commonwealth.  What will the Queen do today? She will go for a walkabout in Windsor on a new trail called the Queen’s Walkway, which links 63 points of interest (one for each year of her reign) and there is a plan to have 100 similar walkways throughout the Commonwealth by 2018. She has also started an initiative called the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, a network of forest conservation areas, including Epping Forest and commitments from Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Belize, Sri Lanka and Zambia. In the evening, she will light a beacon which will set in train a series of 900 beacons across the country and worldwide.  I’m sure you would all like to wish the Queen a Happy 90th Birthday and Many Happy Returns (glasses/toast) Her Majesty the Queen!

Year of the Monkey Charitable Dinner March 7, 2016 On 5 March 2016, RCS and Por Yen Charitable Foundation held a joint event t the China Club to raise money for 15 scholarships in Business Administration at the Institute for Vocational Education (IVE), part of the VTC Group. RCS Council members will attend the interviews to ensure that the scholarships go to deserving students. The 36 guests were treated to a delicious Chinese banquet and enjoyed Chinese music and dance. Thanks go to our patron, Dr Aron Harlilela, the Por Yen Foundation and other guests for their generous donations.