Press Freedom Under Attack in Hong Kong

Journalists on the frontlines reporting on last year's protests

 

Press freedom in Hong Kong continues to be in a perilous state, with Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung reiterating what the police force said earlier this week, that the force's definition of who a journalist is will make it easier for front-line officers to distinguish between bona fide reporters and those "fake reporters" who blend into the crowd.

In his blog today, Cheung also said that press freedom in the city was protected by the Basic Law, adding more than 200 media organizations, including more than 30 online outlets were registered with the official Government News and Media Information Service.

However, how many of those 200 media organizations does the Hong Kong Police recognize?

Press freedom continues to be eroded by police

On Tuesday the force announced that only those reporters who were registered with the government news service or who work for "well known international media were "journalists".

Previously the definition of journalist included anyone with credentials from a local media organization, along with members of two press unions.

A coalition of eight media groups said on Thursday they were considering a legal challenge to the policy, adding the police had failed to substantiate claims about bogus journalists. In addition journalism instructors from the various universities in Hong Kong blasted the policy, saying it excluded student journalists.

They have been crucial frontline reporters who have courageously recorded incidents police brutality last year.  These include: police beating up passengers in the MTR carriage at Prince Edward station on August 31; an officer shot a protester at point blank range in Sai Wan Ho on November 11; another protester shot on October 1 by police.

The most recent clip by student reporters was on September 6, earlier this month, when several officers pinned down a 12-year-old girl in Mongkok.

After the Foreign Correspondents' Club wrote an open letter firmly opposing the move, the Foreign Ministry office in Hong Kong also weighed in, accusing the FCC of "meddling with Hong Kong affairs on the pretext of press freedom". 

Student reporter captured officer shooting protester

Unbelievable... the job of the FCC to speak out about press freedom the city.

Meanwhile, RTHK has reopened an investigation into reporter, Nabela Qoser, who is known for her blunt questions directed at government officials.

During last year's protests she asked very pointed questions at Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Secretary for Security Stephen Lo Wai-chung.

After the Yuen Long attacks of white-shirted men on people in the MTR station, Qoser asked Lam in Cantonese, "Where were you all last night?" and demanded that Lam "answer like a human being".

While many people praised her for asking what everyone wanted to know, pro-Beijing media have accused her of being "rude to government officials" and some have even urged RTHK to fire her. 

A staff member at RTHK who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was frustrating to see management assessing staff based on external pressure, and not on the merits of their work.

RTHK's Nabela Qoser known for her blunt style

"We've been fighting on the frontline, but the management are now working with some external force to suppress us," the person said.

The employee added Qoser has passed all six of her appraisals over the past three years.

Press freedom is very vulnerable in Hong Kong now. While there are reporters working hard to get the truth out, at the same time everyone must do whatever they can to protect press freedom from being further eroded.

 

HK Officials Lash Out at US Sanctions

The US sanctions punish HK and Chinese officials for NSL

 

Late last night Hong Kong time, Washington issued sanctions on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and 10 other local and mainland officials as punishment for their roles in enforcing the national security law that was enacted on June 30.

The economic sanctions, issued by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the US-based assets of individuals or entities will be blocked, and Americans and businesses are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

Personal details of the officials were published

That means for example, Lam, who has a Facebook account, would not be able to buy ads on the social media giant, and if she has a bank account in the US, it would have to shut it down. 

While Lam claims not to have any assets in the US; critics have noted one of her sons is currently studying in Harvard University, so how will this affect him?

What is remarkable is that the sanctions not only give the list of names, but also their personal information, which Lam says amounts to "state-sanctioned doxxing", though she adds the Barker Road address for her is incorrect. Oops -- should it say Government House on Upper Albert Road?

It is also interesting to see their reactions to being on this sanctions list. If you don't have any assets in the US, why should you care? Lashing out only makes you look even more insecure, but perhaps she was given instructions to sound angry by Beijing.

She described the sanctions are "shameless and despicable", and that "We will not be intimidated" in a statement on Saturday.

Luo mocked the sanctions as he has no US assets

Meanwhile her boss, Luo Huining mocked the list, saying: "Isn't such a 'sanction' in vain as I don't have any assets abroad? Of course I can send US$100 to Mr Trump for freezing."

The other local officials targeted included Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, Police Chief Chris Tang Ping-keung, and even retired police chief Stephen Lo Wai-chung.  

Aside from Luo, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Xia Baolong, his deputy Zhang Xiaoming, and Beijing's national security chief in Hong Kong, Zheng Yanxiong.

The US Treasury Department singled out Lam for "implementing Beijing's policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes," citing her role last year in attempting to pass an extradition law and, more recently, her involvement in "developing, adopting or implementing" the national security law.

A picture of Lam in Washington on her FB page

Lam said she would cancel her US visa right away even though it was due to expire in 2026. 

"Since I personally do not look forward to visiting this country, it looks like I can take the initiative to cancel it," she said in her Facebook post, which was accompanied with a photo of her smiling near Capitol Hill.

While this sanctions list does ratchet-up tensions between China and the US, it will affect Hong Kong. But many in the city are celebrating that a foreign power is finally making officials be accountable for their actions. 

Will this put a halt to the things that are happening at break-neck speed in Hong Kong? Probably not, but definitely a bump in the road to democracy that protesters will take as a win for now...

The Chorus Grows Louder

A sign that not all is well with Hong Kong, visitors please take heed!

The Hong Kong government has practically lost its mandate to govern the city now that there are even louder calls for it to do something, the very least set up an independent inquiry into how the police have handled protesters in the past several weeks, and yet it is silent.

And today even senior civil servants have added their voice in the growing chorus. About 100 administrative officers (AO) have written an open letter to the government, calling for an independent inquiry as this is "the only way that Hong Kong will have the opportunity to reconcile, recover from the trauma and move forward again".

Civil servants call on government for an independent inquiry

There are also 200 executive officers (EO) that include the Department of Justice and the Judiciary are calling for the government to meet the protesters' demands and tonight there is also word that 20 government lawyers in the Department of Justice have also said that top officials' views "absolutely do not represent the political views of civil servants" and that they vowed to protect people's rights.

A few hours ago Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung apologized on behalf of the government for what happened in Yuen Long last Sunday, describing the men dressed in white as "rioters", and urged protesters to demonstrate "peacefully and rationally".

This completely angered the Chief of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung, who was completely in the dark about Cheung's intention to apologize. He and the police unions feel the government have thrown them under the bus after all they have gone through.

Matthew Cheung apologizes -- without the police knowing

"The government gave us up, after we defended them for nearly two months. we took bullets for the administration," said an inspector who had been working since the first extradition bill protest broke out in early June.

Oops. Cheung was probably only trying to help the situation but didn't think out too clearly how this would have a knock-on effect on how the police would react. The Hong Kong government probably feels even more vulnerable and isolated than ever...

Meanwhile a sit-in at Hong Kong Airport has just ended after 11 hours, where mostly airline staff but also people dressed in black gathered at the arrivals area, occupying both Halls A and B.

Tear gas fired on protesters in Sheung Wan on Sunday night

For a visitor arriving, it must have been a scary sight seeing so many people in black and waving placards like "Welcome to Hong Kong a city run by police and gangsters" or shouting "free Hong Kong", and "Hongkongers add oil!" A Cathay Pacific flight attendant waved to the crowd and everyone erupted in cheers and applause. Other locals coming back from trips immediately sat down to join the massive crowd.

However some mainlanders were completely confused by what they saw, and there was at least one shouting match between one mainlander and a local woman. But overall it seems that the sit-in was peaceful, and this evening hundreds of medical staff also staged a sit-in outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon.

Tomorrow though things will definitely be tense in Yuen Long. The police have banned the protest march, and yet people feel compelled to go there to demonstrate their anger about what happened last weekend.

Thousands sit in at the arrivals hall in the airport today

So to skirt around the issue, many will be "shopping" in Yuen Long, or holding a commemorative rally to remember the late former premier Li Peng -- wouldn't Beijing be pleased to see that?

These protesters will be prepared. They have raided shops to buy goggles, masks and even walking sticks for self defense.

We can only hope people will be safe tomorrow...

More Questions than Answers

Is Carrie Lam really governing Hong Kong? The chaos is out of control...

Everyone in Hong Kong is still reeling from what happened last night, particularly in Yuen Long.

The video footage of people being attacked, including a Stand News reporter who kept her phone rolling on Facebook live while white-shirted thugs hit her, were absolutely shocking. There was a former TVB reporter Ryan Lau whose face was bloody, and a pregnant woman who was injured as well.

Thugs attacking passengers in the MTR train at Yuen Long

The biggest question on people's minds were -- where were the police? Why did it take them so long to respond to the crisis? Hong Kong has 30,000 police officers -- were they all in Sheung Wan firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters? They were definitely not along the protest march route because I didn't see any.

Last night when the police finally arrived (after the bloody attacks had taken place), reporters asked them why it took them so long to respond and the police claimed they came as soon as they could, and that they were not looking at their watches when the call came.

It was their condescending attitude that was unacceptable, and telling people to move along instead of asking witnesses what had happened was very bizarre. 

Another curious observation was pro-Beijing lawmaker and lawyer Junius Ho Kwan-yiu who was shown in a video clip on social media shaking hands with white-shirted men in Yuen Long, giving them the thumbs up and saying, "Thanks for your hard work".

Junius Ho last night with white-shirted men in Yuen Long

It was unclear whether the video was taken before or after the melee in Yuen Long MTR station, but some online sleuths managed to match up some people Ho met with those in the station.

On Monday morning Ho held his own press conference where reporters demanded to know why he was shaking hands with these people who could have been thugs. He explained he was passing through the area after dinner and people were asking to take pictures with him...

And then he later had the gall to say it was the protesters who provoked Yuen Long residents to get out their bamboo sticks to "protect themselves".

Is it surprising that his office in Tsuen Wan was surrounded and completely trashed by angry people this afternoon?

The liaison office being pelted with paint and eggs last night

At 3pm today Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had a press conference, and with her cabinet standing behind her with solemn faces, she reiterated again how she was shocked at the violence last night and again blamed the protesters for instigating the incidents that led to the paint attacks at the liaison office, and the attacks in Yuen Long.

A reporter asked if she prioritized the attacks on the liaison office (that resulted in no injuries) over the 45 who were injured in Yuen Long because a press release was issued at 3.54am when people had been watching the MTR station attacks all evening. Lam said at the time the press release was issued, the government "didn't have all the facts".  A collective groan could be heard all over the city.

Then police chief Stephen Lo Wai-chung dismissed claims there was collusion between the triads and the police; he was later was grilled about why there were no police officers in Yuen Long station when the attacks happened (twice), and he claimed that at the time two officers went to the scene and saw that they would be outnumbered and so they left to call for reinforcements.

What kind of response is that when civilians are literally being beaten up?!

Yoho mall in Yuen Long is completely empty today

As to why calls to 999 were not answered, he claimed the line was jammed with hundreds of calls and they did their best to answer everyone of them. He added they were busy with the situation in Sheung Wan, and protesters in front of the police headquarters and the Legislative Council.


He reiterated what Lam said: "Violence is not a solution to any problem. Violence will only breed more violence. We absolutely do not tolerate such violence."

At this point reporters were getting frustrated and started shouting questions at Lam and Lo -- something unheard of as usually these question and answer sessions are usually civilized.

One asked Lam if she felt she was still able to govern Hong Kong after what happened in the Yuen Long MTR last night, and she replied the government "did poorly" and would endeavour to work harder to improve.

Another collective groan could be heard. Endeavouring to work harder is not good enough, especially when you've said that before, and things are worse.

Junius Ho tries to shake a reporter's hand at a press conference

A reporter asked Lam where she was last night when she was able to give a press conference at 4am on July 2 after Legco was trashed. Lam claimed they were still gathering the facts...

Watching that press conference was like watching robots just say the stock phrases that had been pre-programmed into their brains. Many viewers likened it to the Korean movie, Train to Busan where zombies are on a train.

One reporter even asked Lam, "Can you please speak like a human being?"

Towards the end of the press conference Lam said, "You don't know but I was very upset by what happened last night." If you were, why didn't you tell us last night? Why wait until this morning? And what are you going to do about these white-shirted men who injured at least 45 people?

Today Yuen Long was a ghost town, with businesses shuttered all day or from the afternoon onwards as people were worried about their safety. How come the government didn't address the economic impact these incidents have had on the city? Isn't that what it really cares about in the end?

Arthur Shek incited violence on Saturday

And this evening the police have announced it will raid those involved in the last night's bloody rampage in the MTR station, adding they had triad connections. Why is the police announcing this now and giving these thugs an opportunity to flee Hong Kong?

One can only groan again at the incompetence.

The police should really arrest Arthur Shek, vice president of the Hong Kong Economic Times for inciting violence. On Saturday at the pro-police rally, he instructed people to buy bamboo canes to "beat the kids up" as punishment. And that's what happened the following day.

Why is Hong Kong governance breaking down so fast? It is clear Lam doesn't have control over the city -- she has only been focused on pleasing Beijing, the extradition bill one of her pet projects.

In the meantime everyone is mourning the state of their home, that this is not the Hong Kong they know and love.

Lam and Co. still insist it is the protesters who have brought all these incidents on the city and refuse to set up an independent inquiry into the police handling of protesters.

It's going to be a long, hot summer.

What's Carrie Lam's Next Move?

Carrie Lam today visiting the injured police officers in hospital

Hmmm... did the Financial Times get it wrong?

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's office denies that Lam tried to resign several times during the extradition bill fiasco.

Eric Chan Kwok-ki, director of the Chief Executive's Office, dismissed the report as "groundless", where it quoted two people who claimed to have knowledge of the situation.

The police were outnumbered by protesters in a shopping mall

"The chief executive has never offered to resign nor tendered her resignation. Never," Chan told a local newspaper.

So who leaked that?

In the meantime, the Junior Police Officers' Association that has 25,000 members has warned it will seek legal advice to protect themselves from danger if management cannot guarantee their safety at work due to the escalating violence over the extradition bill.

In response, Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung pledged in a meeting with four officers' associations on Monday to make their safety a priority when planning strategy.

The scenes were ugly and violent for everyone

Strategy? What strategy? Last night there didn't seem to be any cohesive plan on the side of the police in terms of diffusing the situation and getting protesters out of Sha Tin. They corralled them to the MTR station but then didn't allow the trains to stop to stop in Sha Tin -- so how are people supposed to leave?

Very strange and frustrating. And then the ugly battle scenes in New Town Plaza...

In the end at least 28 people were injured, 13 of them police officers.

Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun believed the association issued the statement to "protest indirectly and show the government's uselessness in the way it handled the situation politically".

Over 100,000 people marched in Sha Tin yesterday

"Police don't want to be sandwiched between the government and protesters and shoulder the political blame on behalf of the government," To added.

He said officers understood the nature of their work was to deal with dangerous situations, but they did not want to be used as a political tool.

So -- it all leads back to Lam. The ball is in her court...

Eddie Chu Hoi-dick's Fears Assauged for Now

Eddie Chu (in white shirt) with pro-democracy politicians at the police station

Eddie Chu Hoi-dick may be "king of the votes" for garnering over 84,000 votes in Sunday's Legislative Council election, but now the 38-year-old is fearing for his life after "imminent" death threats made against him and his family.

They are so terrified, that he, his wife and daughter haven't been home since Sunday.

Chu was accompanied to the police station with his lawyer

This afternoon, Chu along with Paul Zimmerman, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, and "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung went to police headquarters in Wan Chai to file a report. He also sent letters to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung, seeking assistance.

His request was granted and now Chu and his family are under round-the-clock protection and they are staying in a secret location. His daughter will not be going to school for the time being.

"I have faced threats against myself and my family since I announced my bid for Legco," Chu told the media. "They have escalated into an imminent death threat since I was elected."

Chu is a longtime a grassroots environmental activist, and during his campaign he may have upset some people on issues such as changing the land use in the New Territories and an illegal dumping case in Tin Shui Wai.

Chu (holding bouquet) with his supporters on Monday

He is also promising to take on the powerful Heung Yee Kuk, a statutory advisory body that is supposed to represent villagers' interests, but is widely accused of corruption and anti-environmental practices.

In his election platform, Chu campaigned not only for Hong Kong self determination, but also animal rights, and strong opposition to the "South Lantau Metropolis", that the government wants to develop into a residential and business enclave that could have a massive impact on the environment.

Chu is one extremely brave man and hopefully police protection will help him breathe a bit easier.

But he should also remember over 84,000 people support him and hopefully strength in numbers will help him stand down those making dangerous threats.

Hong Kong is ruled by rule of law, not intimidation.