Steps are being taken to defuse a row that erupted in one of Hong Kong's most renowned private clubs over the fast-tracking of membership applications.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) in Lower Albert Road enjoys a proud reputation in the city and has three types of membership - correspondent, journalist and associate.
There is no waiting list for correspondent or journalist memberships, but the wait to become an associate member has risen steadily in recent years.
At the club's annual meeting in May, members raised the issue of whether some associate members were able to jump the waiting list.
Three members then wrote letters of complaint and asked that the matter be looked into.
An investigation by FCC president Anna Healy-Fenton found that while some of the 170 people on the waiting list had been waiting for as long as 18 months, other associate membership applications were completed in less than two weeks. The shortest time from application to membership in the last six months was just eight days.