After the Hong Kong police responded to the change in the definition of media to facilitate media coverage, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and eight media unions accused the statement of confusion and hostility to journalists, and did not rule out a judicial review to overturn the decision.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA) and the Independent Reviewers Association (IRA) have criticized the police for forcing a change in the definition of media representatives, which only recognizes local media registered with the Government Information Services (GIS) and internationally recognized and well-known non-local media, at a press conference on Thursday.
Journalists’ Association Chairman worried about obstruction of journalists’ access to the media
Hong Kong Journalists Association President Yang Jianxing at the press conference criticized the police for seriously misleading and deceiving the public by arguing that the new measure is to facilitate journalists’ interviews. He fears that in the future, frontline police officers will be even more rationalized to obstruct journalists.
Yang Jianxing said: “All the journalists will be driven away from them is probably the most efficient operation, the most efficient, this is actually what we will worry about, is to rationalize some of the obstruction of journalists, and even ask them to leave completely.
Under the new measures, media outlets accredited by the police will be allowed to stay inside police cordons when covering street movements in the future; those that are not accredited may be deemed to have violated crowd restriction orders, or to have participated in illegal gatherings, and may even be charged with riot-related crimes.
Non-Screening Conditions for Government Information Service Registration System
The eight major labor unions criticized the press release system used for registration, which is only the work of the Government Information Service and the media, and was never a condition for accreditation of journalists. They accuse the police of defining journalists, and possibly even making it an official licensing system, in serious violation of Article 27 of the Basic Law, undermining Hong Kong people’s right to press freedom.
Since the anti-sentinel campaign last June, relations between frontline police officers and journalists have continued to deteriorate, with numerous instances of frontline police officers verbally abusing and even attacking journalists with pepper spray. The police have repeatedly questioned the presence of fake journalists in the area, obstructing the actions of frontline police officers.
Make three major demands or deal with them through legal means
In his analysis, Yang Jianxing said that after the social movement, the police are now revising the definition of media representative, which is obviously to restrict journalists’ access to the media and to treat them as enemies. The Journalists’ Association is currently seeking legal advice, and does not rule out the possibility of dealing with this incident through legal means, however, there is no deadline for filing a judicial review. They have three main demands to the Hong Kong government, including the immediate cancellation of the amendment.
Secondly, the media must stop the practice of demarcating the press area, blocking the area and restricting some media coverage. Thirdly, we hope they will really and sincerely fulfill a public commitment to respect the freedom of press and the right of the media to press. “
Photojournalism chairman criticizes police for zoning interview areas without important footage
The Hong Kong Photojournalists’ Association and the Radio Television Hong Kong Producers’ Union also cited the August 10 police raid on the Apple Daily building as evidence of the continued obstruction of media coverage.
Photojournalist Association President Stephen Chan showed a photo of Next Media founder Chi-Ying Lai being put in a police car, explaining that the newsworthiness of the photo was determined by the journalist’s own sense of touch, and that the police arranged for the journalist to enter the cordoned off area, so the photojournalist could only take photos of unimportant things.
Chen Yizhao said: “I saw police officers using their mobile toilets to go to the restroom, I could not get the picture I wanted, another most commonly seen picture of police officers taking lunch boxes to eat, these are not in the cordoned off area inside the request to shoot the image?
RTHK union criticizes police for using public power to evade surveillance
The president of the Radio Television Hong Kong Producers’ Union, Shan-Yan Chao, added that Radio Television Hong Kong journalists were also once turned away from the police cordon line, showing that the police use public power to evade monitoring, and that frontline police officers have repeatedly insulted journalists by asking them to show their credentials in front of the camera and read out their names loudly before being released. She believes that the police have not been introspective and are completely unaware of the freedom of the press and are trying to avoid monitoring journalists.
The police often ‘remind’ the media to report all the facts, but now it (the police) is taking the lead in dividing the interview zone, defining the media, and using these methods to create some ‘partial facts,'” said Cho Sun-eun. …. If it has the guts to say it’s going to help the media work, I think it’s a real disgrace.”
Civil Rights Watch Criticizes Revisions for Violating Press Freedom and Press Space
Civil Rights Watch issued a statement expressing concern over the unilateral amendments to the Police General Orders (PGOs) by the police, saying that the two amendments constitute a serious infringement of press freedom and press space guaranteed by the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and are tantamount to censoring the media.
Civil Rights Watch expressed particular concern about the new preconditions under the section on how to work with the media, which allows police officers to make arrangements that are not conducive to media coverage and even hinder journalists from filming due to operational efficiency, and reiterated that the police should judge whether a person is a journalist or is conducting an interview based on his or her behavior, and if anyone, including journalists, commits an illegal act at the scene of a news event, the police already have sufficient power to stop and arrest them.
Civil Rights Watch criticized Police Commissioner Tang Ping-keung for claiming to respect the freedom of the media and the press, but in fact, he said one thing and did another, and even ordered the narrowing of the press space, urging the police to immediately withdraw the relevant amendments.
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