HKJA annual dinner canceled after Eaton HK Hotel axes booking

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) announced on Thursday that it has temporarily canceled its annual fundraising dinner as Eaton HK Hotel unexpectedly canceled the reservation without any explanation.

This follows a previous incident reported on Monday by HKJA chairwoman Selina Cheng, in which the Regal Hongkong Hotel also canceled the venue booking for the same event, citing a "water leakage causing unstable power supply."

The HKJA rescheduled their gala to Monday (Feb 24) at Eaton HK Hotel in response to the cancellation. However, it received a notification yesterday (Feb 19) from the hotel that the booking was canceled without any reason given.

It is the second consecutive cancellation of bookings for the HKJA annual fundraising dinner this year, despite having paid deposits and signed contracts with both venues.

The HKJA decided to cancel the event temporarily and will arrange refunds for the tickets. In lieu of the physical gathering, the association has activated a fundraising backup plan which includes an online auction of 11 donated items originally intended for the gala. 

The auction is set to commence on February 28 and will last for 24 hours, ending on March 1. The HKJA will announce further details about the auction soon.

Additionally, the HKJA has launched an online store, which is currently in its final testing phase.