Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published an open letter to Chief Executive Carrie Lam calling on her to take “immediate and proactive action” to protect press freedom in Hong Kong. Here is the full text:
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FCC members hold silent protest in wake of violent attacks against journalists in Hong Kong
Members of the FCC held banners declaring ‘Yes to press freedom, no to violence against journalists’ as they staged a silent protest outside the club on July 23.
The protest was organised after a weekend of anti and pro-government demonstrations that saw violence break out at Yuen Long station, resulting in injuries to dozens of people, including journalists.
Club President Jodi Schneider said: “We held the silent protest for press freedom at the FCC today to make it abundantly clear that we condemn the violence we saw in Hong Kong over the weekend and we want to express solidarity with journalists who were injured. Our message, written on posters in both Chinese and English, is simple and clear: Yes to press freedom, no to violence against journalists.”
She added: “We also are renewing our call for an independent investigation into any violence or intimidation by authorities of journalists since the protests began in June. Hong Kong law allows journalists to cover demonstrations free of intimidation or violence by the police.”
FCC statement condemning violence in Hong Kong including against journalists
FCC statement condemning violence in Hong Kong including against journalists
FCC statement condemning violence in Hong Kong including against journalists
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong strongly condemns the latest violence that injured dozens of people, including journalists, and in particular the sickening scenes of mob violence at Yuen Long.
The club expresses solidarity with the journalists who were injured. It calls on the Hong Kong police and authorities to urgently find and bring to justice those who carried out the unprecedented mob attack.
Members will hold a silent protest outside the FCC on Tuesday, July 23, at 9:30 a.m. under the banner “Yes to press freedom, no to violence against journalists.”
Also, FCC board members will be meeting with the Hong Kong Journalists Association to discuss future steps to defend media freedom in Hong Kong.
The FCC expresses its unequivocal support for the right under Hong Kong law of the Hong Kong people to hold peaceful protests and for the right of journalists to cover such demonstrations free of intimidation or violence by authorities.
The FCC renews its call for an independent investigation of all forms of violence and intimidation directed at journalists by police since the start of the protests in June and urges that such investigations be thorough and transparent.
FCC statement on July 14 silent protest march in defence of press freedom
Several Hong Kong organisations including the Hong Kong Journalists Association are organising a silent protest march this Sunday, July 14, starting at 10.30am from Harcourt Garden to the Office of the Chief Executive, in defence of press freedom in covering the Hong Kong protests free of violence. The organisers welcome working or former journalists, journalism teaching staff and students and campus news teams to join them.
As this silent protest occurs, the FCC reiterates its call for Hong Kong authorities to allow unfettered press access to those covering the demonstrations and urges an independent investigation of allegations made by journalists and other witnesses of the use of force by police.
FCC statement on press access and journalists’ rights in covering Hong Kong protests
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong calls on Hong Kong officials to ensure unfettered press access to those covering demonstrations and to uphold the rights of the media to cover such protests free of violence and intimidation by authorities. Under Hong Kong law, journalists and correspondents have a right to cover such protests.
The FCC expresses grave concern about reports of journalists with visible press identification apparently being targeted by police firing tear gas and using other crowd control measures during the recent demonstrations that resulted from the government’s proposed extradition bill. We condemn any use of force against journalists during the protests, urge an independent investigation of allegations made by journalists and other witnesses of the use of force by police, and call for such investigations to be thorough and transparent.
FCC Hong Kong statement on release of Reuters journalists
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong welcomes the release of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who had been jailed for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
Reuters journalists Wa Lone (L) and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are based in Myanmar, pose for a picture at the Reuters office in Yangon, Myanmar December 11, 2017. Picture taken December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Antoni SlodkowskiOver the 16 months the pair spent behind bars, the FCC Hong Kong and other press organisations had repeatedly called for the charges to be dropped and for the two men to return home to their families. They were only doing their jobs, and had not committed any crimes.
The FCC Hong Kong congratulates them on their long overdue freedom and reunion with their families.
Reporters in Myanmar continue to face prosecution for public-interest reporting as well as pressure to self-censor, even under the elected civilian-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate who had been the country’s most famous political prisoner for many years.
The FCC Hong Kong continues to call on Suu Kyi and her administration to support press freedom and ensure that journalists are able to work without threat of retaliation.
FCC statement on proposed extradition agreement between Hong Kong and mainland China
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong supports local media organisations and plans to host discussions on the proposed extradition agreement with mainland China, which has been criticized for threatening the safety of journalists and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
The media organisations’ statement can be read here:
And the associated petition is here:
FCC appalled at arrest of Philippine journalist Maria Ressa
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, is appalled at the Philippine government’s efforts to silence Rappler’s CEO, Maria Ressa.
Maria Ressa, RapplerOn Wednesday, Ressa was arrested on a cyber libel complaint filed by a businessman for an article published in 2012. She has denied wrongdoing in the case, calling it “baseless”.
The move came several months after a warrant was issued for her arrest on five charges of tax fraud — a case she called “politically motivated.”
“We are not intimidated,” Ressa told reporters.
“No amount of legal cases, black propaganda and lies can silence Filipino journalists who continue to hold the line,” she said. “These legal acrobatics show how far the government will go to silence journalists, including the pettiness of forcing me to spend the night in jail.”
Rappler has repeatedly pushed to hold the government accountable despite repeated attacks from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It has exposed corruption within the police force, which has led the deadly crackdown against drugs, as well as in government ranks.
Duterte has repeatedly gone after his critics, and even said in 2016 that some reporters could be legitimately killed. “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” he said at the time.
Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 30 years and has won multiple awards for her work, including the 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. She has repeatedly sought to shine a light on misdeeds in a region where the powerful have increasingly sought to silence any media outlets that expose wrongdoing.
The FCC has previously honoured outstanding journalism conducted by Maria Ressa and her website Rappler, and expresses its staunchest support to her and her team to face this new challenge. It also calls on authorities to respect due process in the cases against Ressa, and uphold the right of Rappler and other media outlets to operate freely and safely.
New press freedom report ‘paints darkest picture of reporting conditions inside China in recent memory’
Rapidly expanding surveillance and widespread government interference against reporting in the country’s far northwestern region of Xinjiang drove a significant deterioration in the work environment for foreign journalists in China in 2018.
In December and January, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China surveyed its correspondent members about their work experiences during the calendar year 2018. The results of that survey, as well as interviews with bureau chiefs from nine major media organizations and a timeline of notable incidents, form the basis of a new report, “Under Watch: Reporting in China’s Surveillance State.”
Survey results painted the darkest picture of reporting conditions inside China in recent memory. For the first time in three years, a foreign correspondent was effectively expelled through visa denial. Separately, Chinese authorities also issued severely shortened visas and reporting credentials, one for just 2.5 months, to at least five correspondents. Pressure on Chinese national news assistants and sources intensified, and close to half of respondents reported themselves being followed or having their hotel room entered without permission while in the field.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said they believed conditions deteriorated in 2018 — the largest proportion since 2011, when foreign media coverage of pro-democracy protests prompted an extensive government backlash. Not a single correspondent said conditions improved last year.
“The wider monitoring and pressure on sources stop journalists even before they can reach the news site,” said FCCC president Hanna Sahlberg. “There is a risk that even foreign media will shy away from stories that are perceived as too troublesome, or costly, to tell in China. These trends run contrary to the FCCC’s hopes for real openness for foreign media to be able to cover China.”
Sahlberg said recent reports of Chinese authorities offering, on behalf of Malaysia, to conduct intense surveillance of Hong Kong-based foreign correspondents was a disturbing development that violated both Hong Kong law and international standards.
“While 2018 has seen state-supported Chinese media expanding and widening its scope abroad, the room for reporting inside the country shrinks,” Sahlberg said. “The restrictions now facing foreign correspondents call for a serious look at the commitments China’s government has as the 2022 Winter Olympic host. We want to see an even playing field.”
2018 KEY FINDINGS
The following results are based on a survey of journalists who belong to the Foreign Correspondents’ of Club of China in Beijing. The survey was completed by 109 of 204 correspondent members. More detailed results are in the full report, which can be downloaded through a link at the bottom of this email.
• 55% of respondents said reporting conditions deteriorated in 2018, compared with 40% in the FCCC’s 2017 survey.
• Surveillance, both human and digital, became a key concern. 48% said they were followed or were aware that a hotel room was entered without permission, 91% were concerned about the security of their phones, and 22% said they were aware authorities tracked them using public surveillance systems.
• Reporting grew much more difficult in Xinjiang, where the mass detention and political “re-education” of as many as one million persons from Muslim minorities has attracted global attention. 24 out of 27 of respondents who traveled to the region saying they experienced interference while there, with 19 being asked or forced to delete data.
• 37% of 91 respondents said their Chinese colleagues were pressured, harassed or intimidated, and 34% said sources had been harassed, detained or called in for questioning at least once.
• Six correspondents said they had visa renewal difficulties related to their news coverage. BuzzFeed News bureau chief Megha Rajagopalan was effectively expelled from China after she was unable to renew her visa. Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Matthew Carney, received a visa of 2.5 months, leading to his departure. Both had done reporting in Xinjiang.
Download the full report (click the download button at top right of the page)
FCC appalled at efforts to silence Philippines news website Rappler
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, is appalled at the ongoing efforts to intimidate and silence Rappler, a news organisation that has pushed to hold the government accountable despite repeated attacks from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
On Monday, Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa turned herself into authorities after a warrant was issued for her arrest on five charges of tax fraud. She paid bail and was ordered to return Friday for arraignment on charges that Rappler provided false information to tax authorities.
Outside the court, Ressa called the charges “manufactured” and “politically motivated.”
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission revoked Rappler’s operating license because it violated the country’s restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic media. The organisation has continued operating after an appellate court ordered the SEC to review its findings.
Rappler, which denies all wrongdoing, has defied Duterte’s threats and intimidation to expose corruption within the police force, which has led the deadly crackdown against drugs, as well as in government ranks.
Duterte has a long track record of going after his critics. Shortly after he was elected in 2016, he told reporters that some could be legitimately killed. “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” he said at the time.
Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 30 years and has won multiple awards for her work–including the 2018 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. She is a brave and powerful voice against injustice in a region where the powerful regularly seek to silence those who shine a light on misdeeds.
The FCC calls on authorities to respect due process in the case against Ressa, and support the right of Rappler and other media outlets to operate freely and safely. We also stand with Philippine media groups, including the National Union of Journalists and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, in denouncing the efforts to intimidate Rappler.