Important notice from the President
25/04/2022 17:39
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| Dear Members, |
| I write to inform you that the FCC Board met on Saturday, 23 April, and, after a lengthy discussion, regretfully decided to suspend the Human Rights Press Awards pending further review. |
| I know this is an unusual step to take so late in the process, just weeks before we were set to announce the winners. It is likely to be deeply disappointing to all those who took time to enter, and to the judges and everyone else who invested their time and energy into this project. |
| Over the last two years, journalists in Hong Kong have been operating under new “red lines” on what is and is not permissible, but there remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish unintentionally to violate the law. This is the context in which we decided to suspend the Awards. |
| This decision in no way reflects the FCC Board’s view of the content of any of the entries or the work of the independent judges. |
| The FCC intends to continue promoting press freedom in Hong Kong, while recognising that recent developments might also require changes to our approach. |
| This was a very tough decision to reach. We explored a variety of other options, but could not find a feasible way forward. It is particularly painful coming less than two weeks before May 3, World Press Freedom Day, when we normally announce the HRPA winners and celebrate their journalism. |
| We would like to thank and apologise to all the entrants, the judges, the staff members and others who gave their time. |
| Keith Richburg President |
| 25 April 2022 |
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