Questions of Press Freedom during Pandemic

Lam continually thanks the central government for its help

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's daily press briefings have now become a concern for press freedom after a reporter's question led to pro-Beijing figures and media to accuse the journalist of spreading hate speech.

The Now TV reporter asked Lam how Covid-19 patients should lodge complaints over mainland Chinese medical professionals who are working in the city to help battle the fifth wave of the pandemic. The mainland medical staff are in Hong Kong to help alleviate healthcare staff shortages.

This is a legitimate question to ask as these temporary workers are exempted from obtaining local licences under an emergency regulation introduced last month. Typically, patients' complaints are handled through the Medical Council of Hong Kong, the industry's registering body, but it does not have the jurisdiction over these workers. The Hospital Authority said it bore ultimate responsibility for the mainland workers.

Lam greeting hundreds of Chinese healthcare staff

But the reporter's question led to a flurry of criticism from pro-Beijing groups and individuals. One association called Politihk Social Strategic launched an online petition that accused the reporter of spreading hate speech and questioning whether she breached the national security law.

Under Article 29, it is a crime for anyone to provoke hatred among residents "which is likely to cause serious consequences" towards the central or local governments.

The group even called for the reporter to be sacked, which led to fears that press freedom was further being eroded in Hong Kong.

Others who criticised the reporter include former chief executive Leung Chun-ying and pro-Beijing paper Ta Kung Pao.

This led to Now TV issuing an apology on Thursday, saying: "We are deeply sorry for the attention and frustration caused by a question asked by our reporter regarding mainland medical staff."

The company vowed to "humbly listen to" public criticisms and be subject to scrutiny, while continuing to provide updates on the pandemic.

Now TV apologised for the reporter's questions

Now TV even added: "With the fifth wave of the pandemic still raging, we are very grateful for the selfless help from the central government and mainland."

The news outlet is owned by Richard Li Tzar-kai, son of Li Ka-shing, and offered help to combat the pandemic during a meeting chaired by Luo Huining, director of the Beijing liaison office.

However, it should be pointed out the same accountability question of the mainland medical staff was also asked by lawmaker Tang Fei, of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers. 

Media lecturer Grace Leung Lai-kuen said the incident demonstrated the "cultural shock" journalists in Hong Kong were facing as the city became increasingly intertwined with the mainland on many levels.

She said journalists in Hong Kong have always questioned local officials over their responsibilities.

But the mainland side could be struggling to understand why it is still facing scrutiny while having taken the extra step to help the city," she said.

"I would say things are different now if you ask me whether it has undermined press freedom," she said.

Just what we needed -- another level of anxiety to add to our pandemic woes.

Nervous Trip to Macau

Chefs awarded three stars have their pictures taken in the Grand Hyatt Macau

Today was pretty nerve-wracking for me -- I had to go to Macau to cover the Michelin Guide announcement on who got stars and how many in Hong Kong and Macau. However, with President Xi Jinping coming over tomorrow to mark the 20th anniversary of Macau's handover to China, security measures have stepped up significantly these few days.

And on top of that last Friday a man was detained while trying to go to Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. It turns out he was arrested on charges of phone smuggling in 2012... and they caught him now?

On the way to Macau with Lamma Island in the distance

There were also reports of people being turned away from the border to Macau too for not carrying their passport with a China visa in it. Chinese security insist these measures are temporary, but why should we be carrying our China visa with us if we're going to Macau?

Whatever happened to "one country, two systems"?

I took the 10.30am ferry to allow for enough time to get prepared for the 2pm announcement and already at Shun Tak ferry terminal. As soon as we passed immigration, we were subjected to a security check. Several booths were set up for our bags to be manually checked, while each passenger got wanded over.

Then we were allowed to go to our ferry.

Macau and China flags decorate the city for Xi Jinping's visit

On the other side, as soon as we walked into the Cotai ferry terminal we had to wait in line, first to have our bags screened by an X-ray machine while we went through a metal detector, and then my handbag was manually searched again. If people had luggage, they had to be checked over in the customs declaration area before they left the terminal.

It turns out I was lucky to be allowed in without an incident.

At least three reporters were barred from entering Macau today to cover Xi's visit. One from the SCMP who took the ferry was detained for three hours, and then asked to fill out a form including not only his personal details, but that of his parents, marital status and the purpose of his visit, even though he had received accreditation for the visit before he came to Macau.

This reporter had also been detained last week while on assignment, questioned in the same room, but let go after two hours.

A lot of people were on hand for the Michelin announcement

On today's occasion, they sent him back to Hong Kong with a written statement that there were "strong signs" he was trying to engage in activities that would "jeopardize the public safety and public order" in Macau.

Separately two reporters from Now TV who took the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge were also detained and were not given an explanation why they were not allowed to enter Macau.

Why were these reporters not allowed into Macau? They are only doing their jobs, to cover Xi's trip to the city.

Meanwhile for me, leaving Macau was no problem and I even managed to catch an earlier ferry, and get to Sang Kee in Sheung Wan for the last bowl of fish congee before it closed at 8.30pm.

What a day.

Two Hong Kong Reporters Attacked in Four Days

This morning Now TV's Chui Chun-ming was violently handcuffed by police

In the span of four days, two Hong Kong journalists were attacked for doing their jobs -- reporting on stories in China.

The first happened on May 12 when Chan Ho-fai, a reporter with i-Cable News tried to cover the 10th anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake in Dujiangyan, near the provincial capital of Chengdu.

He was kicked and beaten by two men when he saw a group of men surrounding a car with a Commercial Radio reporter inside.

"I saw a group of men surrounding a car with a Commercial Radio reporter inside. When I wanted to take a picture with my phone, two men suddenly grabbed me by each arm and dragged me away," recalled Chan.

i-Cable's Chan Ho-fai gets a strange apology from two men

He was dragged from the scene to a nearby river where he was repeatedly kicked and kneed in the stomach at least three times.

"When I kept calling for help, they kept kicking me in the head, and kneed me in the stomach... They just kept kicking and wouldn't let me go," he said in a video recalling the incident.

It lasted between five to 10 minutes before officials from the city's propaganda department came to separate them.

Chan said the two men would not reveal their identities, and one of them said they were from the area.

Meanwhile today's incident happened this morning around 9am when Chui Chun-ming, a cameraman for Now TV was covering the Beijing Lawyers Association's hearing that had to do with human rights lawyer Xie Yanyi.

On Now TV's own footage, Chui was held down by at least four people and then handcuffed by two uniformed police officers, but not without Chui's left temple bleeding.

Chan reporting from Sichuan in this screenshot

Just before the incident, Now TV had approached Xie, but were stopped by officers. The crew cooperated with police and gave them their press passes and ID cards.

Chui felt the officers were holding their press passes and ID cards for a long time; when he asked for their info back, he was violently forced to the ground and taken away.

Xie's wife, Yuan Shanshan, who was there, said Chui was beaten by "five or six policemen," while dozens of officers stand by.

"The policemen asked [Chui] for his ID and promised to let him in after checking the documents. But after the examination, the officer refused to return the ID and pressed him to the ground when he asked for it," Yuan recalled.

"It was total chaos. Five or six policemen beat the reporter, hit his head until he was bleeding and forcibly dragged him into a police car. My husband [Xie] was beaten and dragged into a police car as well when he tried to stop the officers from taking the reporter away," Yuan said.

At 11am, Chui was taken to a local hospital by Beijing police. There he was uncuffed and his wound was examined. Two hours later he was released.

Speaking to Hong Kong media after his release, Chui said he was forced to sign a "statement of repentance".

Cheung the government was concerned for journalists' safety

"[An officer] insisted I was wrong and told me to admit it. He said if I don't, I will lose my press pass," Chui said.

The statement claimed Chui had tried to "grab" his press pass from an officer. Chui admitted he was emotional at the time, but denied any physical contact.

Although he initially refused to sign the statement, Chui said he "had no choice" but to sign it, as he was not allowed to make contact with his company at the time.

In Chan's case his employer i-Cable said in a statement the company was "enraged" by what had happened, and called the incident "unacceptable", while Now TV lashed out at Beijing police, calling the incident "unreasonable and violent obstruction" of its reporting crew.

On Saturday, Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said the city's leadership was "very concerned about the [i-Cable] incident".

Later that evening the two men were suddenly brought to Chan and apologized, saying they had lost family members in the earthquake. When asked to which family members they lost, one of the men gave a strange answer, saying they were from the surrounding area and were neighbours.

In Chui's case, acting chief executive Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the Hong Kong government was concerned about the personal safety and freedom of Hong Kong reporters working on the mainland, and expected no more incidents to happen.

What is going on? What have these reporters done wrong that requires them to be violently handled? Were these two incidents meant to scare Hong Kong media into obedience?

It's shocking and terrifying to see any reporters being treated this way, and the Hong Kong government must work with the central government to ensure Hong Kong journalists are not harmed. How is there going to be any trust in China when they are roughed up like this?