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| The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong (FCC) is concerned that several media outlets were barred by the Hong Kong government from covering a National Security Education Day event on Saturday 15 April, 2023. |
| Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), a government-registered media outlet, reports that it was rejected from attending a ceremony at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, along with several other outlets and a wire service. |
| This follows last year’s decision by the government to bar some local and international media, including Hong Kong Free Press, from attending the swearing-in ceremony of Mr John Lee Ka-chiu as the Chief Executive of the HKSAR. |
| Media outlets being barred from covering public events raises concerns over the future of press freedom in Hong Kong, which is guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law. |
| The FCC also notes that the event in April was held with the aim of enhancing the public’s understanding of the importance of national security to Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability. The barring of certain registered media outlets is further perplexing given the stated objectives of the events of that day, as well as the guarantee of freedom of the press under Article 4 of the National Security Law (NSL). |
| The FCC has contacted the Hong Kong Information Services Department (ISD) to ask them to explain why journalists are being denied access to certain events featuring high-ranking government officials. To facilitate dialogue, the FCC has requested a meeting with the ISD to discuss media access to future government-sponsored events. |
| The FCC welcomes the Ombudsman’s decision on 2 May 2023 to investigate HKFP’s complaint against the ISD and urges that a full report be published outlining the Ombudsman’s findings. |
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FCC Board of Governors 2023-2024 Election Results
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| Congratulations to the new FCC Board of Governors for 2023-2024. They will begin serving after the Annual General Meeting on May 29. |
| We would like to thank the outgoing Board members for their service. |
| The new Board members are listed below. |
| PRESIDENT Lee WILLIAMSON |
| FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Jennifer JETT |
| SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Tim HUXLEY |
| CORRESPONDENT GOVERNORS Karly COX Morgan DAVIS Danai HOWARD Karen KOH Kari Soo LINDBERG Kristie LU STOUT Peter PARKS |
| JOURNALIST GOVERNORS Zela CHIN Joe PAN |
| ASSOCIATE GOVERNORS Genavieve ALEXANDER LIU Kin-ming Lynne MULHOLLAND Christopher SLAUGHTER |
| 23 May 2023 |
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FCC Election and Annual General Meeting Reminders
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| Dear FCC Members, |
| Please remember to vote in the upcoming election for the Board of Governors. Polling closes on Tuesday May 23 at 3 p.m. A ballot has been sent to the address you have listed. If your address has changed – if, for instance, you are working from home and your ballot is usually sent to your work address – please let the office know at [email protected]. |
| Ballots can be returned to the FCC via mail, courier or in person. If you are having trouble returning your ballot please let the front office know. |
| There are competitive races in all governor categories, so your vote is important. You can review the Board of Governors’ ballot and policy statements on the FCC website. |
| It’s also important to return your proxy voting form if you will be unable to attend the club’s annual general meeting, to be held on Monday May 29 at 6 p.m. The proxy form allows you to designate the chair of the AGM to vote on your behalf or to designate a member attending the AGM to vote in your place. |
| Thank you and remember to vote and turn in your proxies by 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, 2023. |
| Click here to download the AGM Notice Click here to download the Explanatory Note Click here to download the Proxy Form |
| May 18, 2023 |
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Temporary Suspension of FCC Website from Friday May 12 at 7pm
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Press Freedom Survey 2023
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| Press Freedom Survey 2023 |
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| Dear Correspondent/Journalist members, |
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| To mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the FCC press freedom committee is launching the second survey of its Journalist and Correspondent members for their thoughts on whether and how the environment for press freedom is changing in Hong Kong. We would really appreciate you sharing your experiences in this anonymous survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. |
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| A link to the survey has been emailed to all Correspondent and Journalist members today. Printed versions of this survey are available at the Club’s front desk. |
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| The survey will be open until midnight on Friday May 19. |
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| Many thanks in advance for your time, |
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| The press freedom committee |
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