February 2015 Newsletter

Submitted by markwj on 24 February 2015 - 9:43am

Since our launch event a few weeks ago, we’ve received a large number of enquiries about membership and how people can help. This is just a short note to keep you up to date on our progress with the establishment of Charged Hong Kong, and to let you know what will happen, and when.

It is important to point out that we are building this association for the long-run. Something that can be inclusive for all owners/enthusiasts of electric vehicles in Hong Kong, and something that can accelerate real change. For that reason, we want to ensure that we have a strong foundation.

Website and Constitution

We’ve established a website (charged.hk), agreed on a constitution (which you can view online at charged.hk/constitution), and formed the founding executive committee. Applications have been made to the Societies Office and the Inland Revenue Department, for the registration of our society. We are now waiting for the result from the relevant government departments, but we hope that these applications will be successful, and that we can be registered and up-and-running, before the end of February.

Membership Types

Once these registrations have been complete, and the bank account is open, we can begin accepting memberships. We’ve agreed the following offerings:

  1. Founder Member: Up to a limit of 50 founder memberships will be offered, on a first come first served basis, until the limit is reached. The membership fee will be HK$3,000 for 10 years of membership, and further renewals will be offered after that time on terms agreed by the executive committee prior to the renewal date. In consideration for their contribution, and in addition to the benefits offered to Ordinary Members, Founder Members will have priority in registration and seating for society events, as well as new product offerings.
  2. Ordinary Member: Ordinary memberships will be offered with no specific limit on numbers. The membership fee will be HK$200 per year, or HK$500 for 3 years membership, or HK$700 for 5 years membership. Ordinary Members shall receive newsletters and society communications, be entitled to participate in society events, receive preferential pricing, and are voting members of the society.
  3. Associate Member: Associate memberships will be offered with no specific limit on numbers. The memberships will be offered free of charge. Associate members shall receive newsletters and society communications.
  4. Honorary Members: Honorary memberships may be offered, according to the constitution of the society. The memberships will be offered free of charge, and honorary members shall receive the same benefits as ordinary members.

Hopefully, we can begin to accept these memberships around mid March.

Once the society registration has been completed, we will start the process of applying for charitable status. That is at least a 7 month process, and our target is to get it completed before the end of this year. Even if we can’t achieve charitable status, our approach will still be to run the association as a non-profit.

Vehicle Labels

We’ve started the design and production process of Charged Hong Kong vehicle labels (to be stuck on the rear/front window of our members’ electric cars). These labels will be used to advertise and promote membership in our organisation, but will also include a QR code that can be used to access the ‘contact’ system under charged.hk (more on this, below). We hope to be able to have these labels ready sometime during April, and to be able to distribute these to members as part of your membership benefit.

Membership 'Contact' System

We’ve also started development of a ‘contact’ system for our members. The purpose of this system is to facilitate anonymous contact with a vehicle owner. For example, when parked at a public charging station, it will allow other users to contact you to ask permission to unplug, or ask when you will be finished. Perhaps if someone notices you have a particular accessory, they could contact you to ask for details. An alternative is to leave your mobile phone number on a sign in the car, but that is not at all anonymous. The system is opt-in, so you decide if, when and how people can anonymously contact you (and if you do nothing, you can’t be contacted, even if you have the label in your car window).

This ‘contact’ system will be accessed via the charged.hk website (from mobile phones or desktops) and a QR code will be provided on the Charged Hong Kong vehicle labels for quick and simple access. Members of Charged Hong Kong will be able to opt-in to this service by associating one or more of their vehicle registration numbers with their mobile phone numbers. Using the Charged Hong Kong ‘contact’ system, visitors will be able to enter (a) their mobile phone number, (b) the registration number of an opted-in member’s car, and (c) a short message. The message will then be delivered anonymously via SMS (the recipient cannot see the mobile phone number of the sender, and the sender cannot see the mobile phone number of the recipient). Replies will also be possible simply by replying to the SMS message received. All communications will be anonymously relayed via the charged.hk servers. The system will be cross-platform web-based and will work on any mobile phone with a web browser and SMS capability. The service will be available to any founder, honorary or ordinary member of Charged Hong Kong, and we anticipate being able to start beta testing of this service during March.

Tipping Point

We’ve got lots more planned for the coming year, but the above should give you some idea and some expectations of what we’re hoping to achieve.
Charged Hong Kong
Executive Committee