2025-12-31-accounts

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2025 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTS

Registered Office: 15a Napoleon Road, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3EW

The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) is a voluntary, non-profit, people-topeople organisation that has been dedicated to promoting understanding and friendship between the peoples of the UK and China since our founding, by Dr. Joseph Needham and others, in 1965. SACU is a member-based organisation. We have no political affiliations and are open to all who subscribe to our aims.

Our mission

SACU’s mission is to promote understanding and advance the education of the UK public in all aspects of China and the Chinese People by:

providing facts and analysis about China, not uncritically but always from a firm basis of friendship.
helping the British people to understand the meaning of China, past and present.
promoting friendship and mutual respect between the peoples of China and the UK.

Understanding for a purpose

to help the UK flourish in a world increasingly influenced by China.
to help overcome misplaced suspicion and increase understanding of China within UK.
to help members progress their China-related interests and so to help SACU thrive.

SACU also has a role in helping to support people from China making their way in the UK as students and workers, with friendship and understanding as well as education in all aspects of living in UK.

Chair’s Summary .................................................................................................................... 3 Chair Emerita Report ....................................................................................................................... 3 Chair Designate Report .................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Committee .............................................................................................................. 4 Secretary (Cheryl Yu) ....................................................................................................................... 5 Treasurer (Gerard Tierney) ............................................................................................................... 5 Membership Secretary’s Report (Ros Antrobus) ............................................................................... 6 Public Education & Cooperation with External Partners .......................................................... 7 Public Education (Barnaby Powell) ................................................................................................... 7 Essay Competition (Wang Fang) ....................................................................................................... 7 SACU Publications .................................................................................................................. 8 China Eye Annual Report (Walter Fung) ........................................................................................... 8 SACU Newsletter (Yichao Shi) .......................................................................................................... 8 SACU Archives (LI Linxi) ................................................................................................................... 9 Council of Management and Executive Committee as of March 2026 ................................... 10 SACU Annual Accounts ......................................................................................................... 11

SACU Annual Report 2025

Chair’s Summary

Chair Emerita Report

Chris Nash, SACU’s Chair appointed in 2023, was unable to return to UK so stood down in December 2024. In these circumstances, as former Chair I took up the reins whilst we recruited a new Chair. I’m delighted to say that Pete Jarvis has now been appointed as Chair Designate and will become the Chair at the AGM in June 2026.

We began work in 2024 to plan with our partners what we might do together to mark SACU’s 60[th] Anniversary year 2025. In June 2024 SACU hosted a delegation from Gansu provincial government who wanted to discuss with us how we might also mark the 80[th] anniversary of the end of WWII and the victory of the Chinese people over fascist aggression. We decided to focus on George Hogg, and you can see below a report from Pete Jarvis who, as a George Hogg relative, led on this key element of our 2025 Programme.

There were many threads to our 60[th] Anniversary Year which you will see in the contributions of other Council members throughout this Report. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all Council members for their commitment to SACU and its aims and for their continuing hard work.

I want to draw attention to the visit to the Needham Research Institute and walking tour of Cambridge which gave members the opportunity to better understand the contribution of our founder Joseph Needham. The centre piece was our 60[th] Anniversary Celebration on 20[th] September at Kings College London. The day was divided into 4 main sections, and we were honoured to open the event with speeches from Chargé d’Affaires Wang Qi Chinese Embassy in UK and Mr Lu Xiandong Vice President Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries who led a delegation from China to be with us. In that opening session Pete Jarvis and I reflected in person, and Jenny Clegg and Michael Crook via video, on the honour that four SACU members had been invited to the event led by Xi Jinping to mark the 80[th] anniversary of the Chinese People’s victory and end of WWII on 3[rd] September. Martin Jacques gave a political commentary on the significance of that event.

The other sections of the day included an insightful speech from our President Michael Wood and the Annual Joint SACU/Peking University Essay/Art Competition Awards ceremony presented by Prof Sun Hua PKU and chaired by Dr Wang Fang. Mr Liang Baoping Deputy Director Gansu Foreign Affairs Office presented a statue of George Hogg to Beth Fisher the Mayor of Harpenden as part of the section marking George Hogg’s 110[th] Anniversary. Minister Counsellor Bi Haibo from the Chinese Embassy gave his reflections as did Dr Frances Wood SACU Vice President when she relaunched the George Hogg Cooperative Education Fund. Mark Alwyn Thomas author of George Hogg’s biography talked about carrying on his legacy and we were delighted to have a CGTN film screening of a documentary and digital storytelling – Witness to War: George Hogg in China. The day ended with a Panel discussion chaired by Professor Kerry Brown with panellists Professor Michael Wood, Dr Chenger Deng and Dr Frances Wood discussing 60 years of mutual understanding between UK and China. SACU is grateful for the sponsorship from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the UK; the LAU China Institute, Kings College London; China Center for Edgar Snow Studies, Peking University; CGTN Europe without which we would not have been able to have had such a splendid celebratory day attended by around 150 people.

Zoë Reed Chair Emerita

Chair Designate Report

I am truly honoured to have been selected as Chair Designate of SACU and proud to take on this responsibility at such an important moment in UK–China relations. I look forward to working closely with our members, trustees and partners to strengthen the Society’s educational mission, broaden engagement, and ensure that SACU continues to offer balanced, thoughtful and well-informed perspectives.

My interest in China began early, inspired by stories shared by my great-uncle George Hogg’s sister, Rosemary. In the late 1980s, I spent several months backpacking across the country—an experience that left a lasting impression. I returned in 2016, when I met Jenny Clegg and became actively involved in SACU as website manager.

While planning the Society’s 60th anniversary, I mentioned to Zoe that I had long wanted to recreate part of George’s “Little Long March”, when he relocated 60 boys and all their equipment from a school in Shanxi to a new home 700 miles away in Shandan, crossing snow-covered mountains during what became one of the coldest winters in decades. SACU’s 60th year, coinciding with the centenary of George’s birth, provided the perfect opportunity to turn that idea into reality. With the support of WildChina, an organisation dedicated to sustainable and immersive travel, we developed an itinerary beginning in Shanghai and broadly following George’s route to Shandan.

In early April 2025, 15 SACU members gathered in Shanghai. Over the following three weeks, we shared a remarkable journey filled with history, discovery, new friendships—and, of course, plenty of memorable food. Highlights included a guided tour of the Bund led by an American history professor; a moving visit to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall; learning how the Eighth Route Army sustained its resistance during the war; retracing a short section of the march from Shuangshipu; and visiting George’s tomb in Shandan. For me personally, it was especially meaningful to have my two children join the trip and begin to understand the impact and sacrifice of their great-great-uncle.

I would like to close by placing on record my sincere thanks to Zoe Reed, who has served as Chair and Chair Emerita of SACU since 2009. Her leadership and dedication have been exceptional, and she leaves a remarkable legacy. I am committed to building on the Society’s strong foundations while helping it adapt and thrive in a changing global context.

Pete Jarvis Chair Designate

Executive Committee

SACU Council met regularly at quarterly intervals. The Executive Committee met in between Council meetings to advance decisions made at the Council meetings. On 24 January 2024 SACU converted to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, with the assistance of Andrew Hicks (Council) and Ward Hadaway LLP (Solicitors). SACU is no longer a limited company. This conversion to a CIO offers SACU several benefits, including limited liability for trustees, a separate legal identity, and streamlined regulation with only the Charity Commission, reducing bureaucratic burdens on us as a small charity.

Secretary (Cheryl Yu)

2025 was a significant year for SACU, a year of celebration. I have observed the enormous contributions from SACU council members who took personal time to lead on various celebration planning, preparation and execution of activities throughout the year.

My role in supporting SACU lies in the administrative support to organise the Council meetings, meeting notes, and contributing to the SACU Executive. As being relatively new to SACU, I started to get a grip of what SACU does and how SACU runs. Last year, in addition, I also provided technical and administrative support for the Public talks that Barnaby has organised. I have to say that they are of enormous interest and learning for me.

When we set up the LinkedIn account for SACU, we had a volunteer, but very quickly, he disappeared from SACU, due to his studies and other commitments. While I still support it occasionally, it requires a really dedicated person to run it.

With Iris having left SACU, I also took over the YouTube account for SACU and uploaded recorded talks.

Towards the end of the year, my work suddenly got busier, as well as more international travel, I recognise that there were meetings that I could not attend. But I made a decision to join SACU, hence still trying my very best to make it work. Thank you for the other council members’ understanding.

Treasurer (Gerard Tierney)

Overall, we remain in a strong financial position (this year posting a small surplus of just over £2,000) and we should be able to continue with the range of membership activities that are being proposed.

The preparation of these accounts would not have been possible without the hard work and support provided by Ros Wong Antrobus. Ros had the difficult task of steadying the ship after the resignation of the previous Treasurer, in addition to all she has to do as Membership Secretary. Furthermore, as reported elsewhere, the Co-operative Bank insisted that we would need to open new bank accounts, as we were treated as ‘a new legal entity’ once we became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Ros, along with Zoë Reed, had to deal with this process, opening the new accounts in April. Ros was therefore dealing with two sets of Current Accounts and two sets of Reserve Accounts when I was co-opted onto Council, and became Treasurer, in October. (We have allowed for some overlap before closing the old accounts; the Reserve one is now closed, and the Current one soon will be.) Ros and Zoë have answered endless questions from me since I have been involved, for which I thank them. My thanks also to Pete Jarvis for IT and admin support. Of course, any errors or misinterpretations in these accounts are my own.

SACU’s main income comes from our members, through their subscriptions and their donations. These continue to cover our operating costs . The regular recurring costs are: the production of ‘China Eye’, and postage of some issues; license fees for online events and meetings; venue hire fees for AGMs and other in-person events. 2025 saw a significant one-off set of costs associated with the 60[th] Anniversary event at Kings College London. There was, however, considerable financial support for this event through Peking University, the Chinese Embassy and Lau China Institute, KCL.

Normally, Council meets online every quarter, which reduces costs, but there was one inperson Council meeting, at the Needham Institute in Cambridge, with minimal travel expenses paid. This meeting was followed by events for members.

In December, a delegation from the Soong Ching Ling Foundation visited the UK. SACU entertained them to tea at the British Museum and the next day showed them various Harpenden sites from George Hogg’s life. Our guests later made a contribution towards the cost of lunch in Harpenden, having received payment from the Foundation towards their expenses. The money has been paid in, but in the 2026 financial year, so it will be shown in next year’s accounts.

A more detailed breakdown of our finances can be found in the Annual Accounts at the end of the AGM report .

Membership Secretary’s Report (Ros Antrobus)

Membership Numbers and Trends: At year-end, SACU membership stood at 288, consistent with the previous year. While 49 new members joined, this was balanced by lapsed and resigned memberships, resulting in steady overall numbers. Of the 49 new members who joined in 2025, over half cited word of mouth or events as their introduction to SACU, whilst another quarter found us via social media or internet searches. New members expressed a wide range of interests in China and reasons for joining, with no clear occupational or background trends.

Membership Composition: The largest categories of membership are ‘Individual’ and ‘Retired/Unwaged’. This year, ‘Retired/Unwaged’ members outnumbered ‘Individual’ members, indicating an ageing membership base. Most members are UK-based (259), but membership is open worldwide and we have several members based in China (14) and other parts of the world (several European countries, USA, Canada, India and Southeast Asia). Complimentary memberships were extended to guest speakers and student Essay/Art Competition participants, broadening our reach.

Engagement and Events: The 60th anniversary programme significantly influenced engagement. Notable new members including Rosemary and Gavin Ross and David and Marsha Kendall strengthened ties with Harpenden, birthplace of George Hogg. Dr Kelly Ngo accepted our membership offer and presented the Confucian tradition lecture series with her sister Dr Katherine Ngo (SACU, 2024). New student members Perry Sun and Hainuo Feng were highly involved in planning and preparations for 20th September anniversary event. A large group of volunteer members all helped make that day such a success. Several school students joined SACU following the Essay/Art Competition.

Key points:

Our overall member numbers have remained stable in recent years, but high annual turnover indicates ongoing retention issues.
We have an ageing membership base so need to expand our reach to younger people to carry forward SACU’s mission.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank all members for their continued support, especially those who have contributed donations or volunteered their time.

Public Education & Cooperation with External Partners

One of SACU’s core objectives is to improve the British people’s understanding of China. We promote this goal by organising SACU speaker events and seminars, by collaborating with external partners, and through the Speakers’ Bureau, which arranges to send speakers to British schools.

Public Education (Barnaby Powell)

SACU reached agreement with the BACS (British Association for Chinese Studies) to offer schools affiliated with the 'Mandarin Excellence Programme' to give talks by our select panel of speakers to pupils on Chinese history and culture to complement their language study. This initiative has met with a limited response so far and will need to be further publicised.

SACU also attended the 10[th] Global China Dialogue at the British Academy, which focused on Global Education.

Essay Competition (Wang Fang)

For 2024-25 Essay Competition we received entries from four schools and 7 students have received prizes for their excellent works, two of them under 16 and five of them over. The competition prize ceremony was successfully held at SACU’s 60[th] anniversary celebration.

2025-26 SACU-PKU Essay/Art Competition has been launched with the topic on “How do you see the environmental development in the context of globalisation? ” in consistency with SACU’s strategic focus on environment in next decade.

In 2025, SACU has successfully supported two prize winners of the competition for their field trip and on-site research in China with financial support and academic connections from Peking University. Both of them have completed their research and submitted their research reports to us, as below.

Eileen Wang ---- “Understanding what services provided by the modern retirement homes for the elderly, ensuring their physical, mental health and the quality of life in China - a case study of Kang Ning Jin Yuan Retirement Homes”
Desmond Zee ---- “The Modern Huangshan Identity”

2025 is also the tenth anniversary of SACU-PKU Essay/Art Competition. So we produced a handbook of all the prize winners works, not only as a summary of the competitions in the past ten years but also as an exhibition to encourage more young people to join us in the mission of promoting UK-China understanding.

To celebrate SACU’s 60[th] anniversary, a series of 12 talks on traditional Chinese culture entitled “A Practical Guide for Every Day ---- The Art of Living from the Confucian Tradition”have been delivered to our members in 2025, with one talk in each month as planned. Due to the intense preparation work of SACU’s 60th anniversary event, the talks have been postponed for three months in the middle so will be completed by April 2026. The talks give the audience a perspective of Confucian theory, one of the main part of Chinese culture, and its connection with Chinese daily routine, and therefore helping the audience with a better understanding of Chinese culture and Chinese people’s daily life.

SACU Publications

China Eye Annual Report (Walter Fung)

After Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing relations between the UK and China should improve as the commercial realities become more appreciated. However, the British press still tends to concentrate on negative aspects of China. China Eye has continued to try to balance these negative reports with more positive news. The country’s achievements are highlighted, especially China’s efforts to combat climate change, green energy development and production of electric vehicles. In addition, China Eye articles have dealt with a wide range of historical, cultural and touristic subjects, which attempt to focus on the Chinese viewpoint.

SACU events and initiatives have been reported in some detail. They show our contribution to AngloChinese understanding and our cooperation with external organisations with the same objectives e.g. Harpenden Museum (George Hogg tributes) and CGTN (remembering Chinese sailors in World War 2).

I am always grateful to authors and encourage all members to send in articles on any aspect of China and Chinese culture. China Eye has been fortunate by having articles from new authors, both Chinese and British. These include, Pedro Agostinho, Gerard Tierney, Fang Wang, Emily Lau, Nick Smith, Peter Jarvis and Mark Aylwin Thomas.

Also, many thanks are due to the regular contributors, Iris Yau, James De Burghe, Andrew Hicks, Zoë Reed, Jenny Clegg, Rob Stallard and Ros Wong Antrobus.

Keith Bennett has continued to send in links to important news items, Jiaxi Sergeant, has continued to prepare the PDF for the printers. I am very grateful for these valuable contributions, and indeed to everyone who has helped in some way over the past year.

SACU Newsletter (Yichao Shi)

The monthly newsletter is circulated to all members by email. It promotes SACU events, forthcoming China-related events organised by SACU partners and other organisations, and selected, relevant articles in the media. It also carries news of SACU members and notices of opportunities for SACU members to get involved in SACU’s work in various capacities.

All members are welcome to contribute recent articles, their own books or workshop or the events that they think worthwhile to share with other members. We thank lots of our members for their contributions and all are welcome to do so in the future please.

I started as editor in March 2024, Ros and Walter continued to support as proof-readers which I appreciate. As well as the editor’s work in compiling the content, there is technical work in adding the items to Mailchimp ready for circulation.

Suggestions: all media editors are better structured as a whole team in order to operate efficiently; have a backup person to do the Newsletter editor job, other jobs should have backups as well; SACU website should have a page to allow non-members to sign up to receive the Newsletter.

SACU Archives (LI Linxi)

This year, our archive project has been continuously improving and has played a positive role in several of the Society’s activities and projects. Having completed the digitisation of all SACU photos in 2024, we are now working to make the digital photos and documents more useful to support our events, including the Book Launch at the London Book Fair, In the Footsteps of George Hogg, and the 60th anniversary of SACU.

The Book Launch at the London Book Fair in March. After years of work on original photos, newspapers and manuscripts, the Chinese edition of Blades of Grass: The Story of George Aylwin Hogg (written by Hogg’s nephew Mark Aylwin Thomas, translated by Li Linxi) was published and was invited to be launched at the London Book Fair. The book launch and the online preview interview in January were widely reported by leading Chinese media groups and some local UK media, sparking year-long attention to George Hogg.

In the Footsteps of George Hogg in April. The three-week journey from Shanghai to Shandan, concluding in Beijing, commemorated the British hero. During the trip, relevant photos and newspaper clippings from the SACU archives were presented at: a) the Shandan Memorial Hall exhibition, b) a lecture at Lanzhou City University, and c) the Beijing Bailie University forum. Meanwhile, two short videos featuring George Hogg were unexpectedly donated to our archives during the Beijing leg of the tour; these are the first known “moving images” of Hogg to date.

The 60th anniversary of SACU in September. The pamphlet CATALOGUE: 60 Years of SACU in 60 Images encapsulated six decades of Sino-British cultural history. All the photos and illustrations were carefully selected from our archive database, showcasing the key figures, pivotal moments, and background stories throughout SACU’s 60-year history. The CATALOGUE was included in gift bags for each guest at the venue. It also attracted the attention of China Daily in London, leading to a full-page report on SACU’s 60th anniversary in October.

Apart from the above, we received several enquiries from organisations and individuals for various purposes, including a documentary crew from Channel NewsAsia (CNA) in Singapore, a doctoral student from Tsinghua University, and a SACU member who participated in the “young people’s study tour” in SACU early years, among others. This demonstrates that our archives remain dynamic and valuable for cross-border academic research and public education.

It is worth mentioning that the problems raised in the 2024 annual report (Archives part) received positive feedback from other SACU members and were appropriately resolved. For the “lack of legal assistance,” Andrew Hicks was responsible for providing professional legal advice on the CNA issue — CNA was seeking permission from SACU to use an image that originally came from a pamphlet of our predecessor, BCFA. Meanwhile, regarding “where to locate the new physical materials,” a box donated by SACU member Dr. Monica Janowski, which contains materials from her mother Carol Hughes (a member of the 1977 SACU delegation to China), was properly stored at NRI with the help of John Moffett and Rosamund Wong.

Council of Management, CIO Trustees and Executive Committee as of May 2026

The Council meets four times a year and is responsible for setting overall policy direction and ensuring that SACU activities are in line with mission and principles.

SACU Council comprises three types of members: Vice-Presidents; CIO Trustees; Council Members. A subset of Council forms the Executive Committee. Details are below:

President and Vice Presidents

Michael Wood President
• Jenny Clegg Vice President • Jane Hadley Vice President • Rob Stallard Vice President • Frances Wood Vice President
Walter Fung [T] Vice President (also China Eye Editor; re-elected as Trustee 2025)

Council Members

Andrew Hicks [T] Legal advice
• LI Linxi SACU Archivist [re-elected 2025] • Barnaby Powell [T] Speakers’ Bureau • Yichao Shi Membership Newsletter [standing for re-election to Council 2026] • Muyang Shi Events; Projects; Programmes [standing for election 2026] • Joseph Harmer Podcasts and Social Media [standing for election 2026] • Hainuo Feng KCL Student Link [standing for election 2026] • [Flo Kenna Supernumerary Council member]

Executive Committee of Council

Pete Jarvis [T] Chair [standing for re-election as Trustee 2026]
• Zoë Reed [T] Chair Emerita [re-elected as Trustee 2025] • Vacant Secretary • Ros Wong Antrobus [T] Membership Secretary [re-elected as Trustee 2025] • Gerard Tierney [T] Treasurer [standing for election onto Council and as Trustee 2026] • Fang Wang [T] China link/Young People focus [standing for re-election as Trustee 2026]

CIO Trustees are indicated with a [T] after their name. They are listed on the Charity Commission website as SACU CIO Trustees. They have the responsibility for maintaining the organisation and ensuring it delivers its activities in accordance with the Constitution.

SACU Annual Accounts

Annual Accounts

Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) number 294651

BALANCE SHEET AS OF 31ST DECEMBER 2025

2024		2025
FIXED ASSETS
0	Net written down value	0

CURRENT	ASSETS
27872	Balance at Bank (including PayPal account)	31680
		(see note 1)
LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
0	Deferred Income to 2025
29272	SURPLUS OF CURRENT ASSETS OVER LIABILTIES	31563
	REPRESENTED BY: ACCUMULATED FUND BROUGHT
24292	FORWARD	29272
4979	SURPLUS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR	2291
£29272	ACCUMULATED FUND AT THE END OF YEAR	£31563

Note 1: New Current account £20005.77, New Savings account £10093.74, Old Current Account £64, PayPal account £1516.68. (Old Savings account closed.)

PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st DECEMBER 2025

2024
INCOME
4631	Membership subscriptions	6106	(see note 2)
0	Donations/Fundraising	0
4000	Essay Competition Fund	8000	(see note 3)
1637	Other	153	(see note 4)

£10268 £14259

EXPENDITURE

540	AGM & COUNCIL 82
n/a	60thAnniversary 2100 (see note 5)
2604	China Eye printing & postage 3226 (see note 6)
268	Website/Online Events/Social Media 838 (see note 7)
1617	Essay Competition 5085 (see note 8)
0	Archiving Project n/a
260	Other 637_(see note 9)_
£5289	£11968

£4979 NET SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR £2291

Note 2: Membership income received into the Co-op account or transferred from the PayPal account. The figure includes a number of donations received alongside membership payments; it was not possible to separate these out for the purposes of reporting. Some donation income received for the George Hogg fund at the 60[th] Anniversary event was paid directly into the main account and is included among these payments; a further amount paid into PayPal was not transferred to the Co-op in 2025, but has been in 2026.

Note 3: Two payments received. The first was for the costs of running the competition, purchasing prizes, and covering miscellaneous expenses at the prize-giving ceremony at the 60[th] anniversary event; the surplus was used for other AGM & 60[th] Anniversary event costs. The second was simply for the two research placements in China.

Note 4: Account credits and savings account interest.

Note 5: Although an enormous amount of help towards the cost came from the

organisations thanked in the Treasurer’s Report, there were still catering costs, transport costs for the materials in the delegate bags, and expenses associated with a Council member researching various other possible anniversary events.

Note 6: These payments cover five editions, not four. One payment appears to have related to a 2024 edition.

Note 7: The website hosting invoices had not been presented for a while, and the payment made represented three years’ worth. The cost of a Zoom subscription for online meetings was routine.

Note 8: These costs include the two research placements mentioned in note 3, plus prizes to students, one from 2024. Some students also had travel expenses, and a teacher’s travel expenses were covered.

Note 9: (i) Subscription overpayment refunds; (ii) payment for our membership service; (iii) expenses relating to the SCLF Delegation visit. On the last point, a £64 repayment sent to us (see Treasurer’s Report) will show in the 2026 accounts.