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FCC Hong Kong deeply concerned over disappearance of photojournalist Lu Guang

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club is deeply concerned over the disappearance of award-winning photojournalist Lu Guang in Xinjiang, amid concerns he has been detained by authorities.

Mr Lu, who is best known for documenting serious social and environmental issues in China such as the AIDS villages of Henan, had reportedly been invited to a number of photography events in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi in late October but has not been heard from since he talked to his wife, Xu Xiaoli, last on November 3.

Ms Xu said she was told that her husband had been taken away by national security officers but she has been unable to get any confirmation from the authorities in Xinjiang, despite repeated attempts.

“It is our 20th wedding anniversary (next week). We should be celebrating it together. I can only hope for his safe return,” Ms Xu told the BBC.

Xinjiang, in the far northwest of China, has been under increasingly repressive government control over the last five years as the authorities seek to crackdown on unrest among the region’s ethnic Uighur population. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has reported that more than one million Uighurs are now being held in internment camps in the region.

China has sought to stifle international criticism and reporting of its policies in the region through a range of measures, including the harassment and detention of dozens of family members of Uighur journalists at Radio Free Asia.

The FCC calls on the Chinese authorities to, at the very least, confirm Mr Lu’s whereabouts, and ensure that he is safe, and, if he has not broken any laws, be allowed to leave China and return to his family in the United States as soon as possible.

Lu Guang has been recognised for his work with a number of top awards in the industry, including multiple World Press Photo awards (First Prize in Contemporary Issues in 2004), the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund in 2009, and a National Geographic Photography Grant in 2010. In 2005, he became the first photographer from China invited as a visiting scholar to the United States by the State Department.

Statement from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong on Victor Mallet

The FCC is shocked and baffled that the government of Hong Kong has denied entry to Victor Mallet, Asia news editor for The Financial Times and 1st Vice-President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

Since the Hong Kong government refused to renew Mallet’s work visa in early October, the FCC has been asking for a reasonable explanation, to no avail.

The FCC is now reiterating its demand for an immediate explanation for this aggravated and disproportionate sanction that seems completely unfounded.

This action places journalists working in Hong Kong in an opaque environment in which fear and self-censorship may replace the freedom and confidence essential to a free society, and guaranteed by the Basic Law.

Hong Kong, 9 November 2018

Petition demanding authorities explain Victor Mallet’s visa refusal: English version, Chinese version

FCC Statement on Victor Mallet’s case

The refusal by Hong Kong authorities to renew the work visa of the Financial Times Asia News Editor Victor Mallet has generated grave concerns both in Hong Kong and around the world.

The FCC has asked the Hong Kong authorities to explain this decision, which sets a disturbing precedent and undermines Hong Kong’s reputation as a jurisdiction where the rule of law applies and where freedom of speech and freedom of association are guaranteed by law.

On October 9, the Chief Executive dismissed as “speculation” the link between the visa refusal for Mr Mallet and the lunch held at the FCC in August where he hosted Andy Chan Ho-tin, co-founder of the now banned pro-independence party HKNP. However, no alternative explanation has been offered. Throughout its long history the FCC has hosted politicians, businesspeople, professionals and artists of varied political persuasions, including senior members of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments and their critics.

The importance of this visa sanction goes far beyond the Foreign Correspondents’ Club and its short or long-term future in Hong Kong; it goes far beyond the FT Hong Kong bureau losing its Asia News editor, and beyond Victor Mallet himself.

This visa decision suggests that free speech may not be permitted in certain unspecified areas. The absence of an official reason or a clear explanation makes the decision appear arbitrary and lacking any basis in Hong Kong law and creates an impossible working environment for the media.

The rule of law is an essential feature of Hong Kong’s identity and its success as an international financial and commercial centre. The FCC therefore reiterates its call for the Hong Kong government to explain its action, or, in the absence of a reasonable explanation, to reverse its decision.

The FCC remains committed to playing an important civic role in facilitating debate and exchange of ideas on a wide range of topics that concern Hong Kong, Asia and the world. We will continue to welcome speakers with a range of views, including pro-establishment figures as well as Hong Kong government and Chinese officials.

12 October 2018

Sign the petition demanding an explanation: English and Chinese

香港當局拒絕續簽金融時報亞洲新聞編輯Victor Mallet的工作簽證，引起香港以及國際的極度關切。
香港外國記者會要求香港當局解釋這一決定，因這絕對是個令人不安的先例。香港法律保障言論自由和結社自由。這一決定破壞了香港作爲一個行使法治的司法管轄區的聲譽。
今年8月，Mallet先生在香港外國記者會主持香港民族黨創始人陳浩天的午餐會。10月9日，行政長官聲稱Mallet先生的工作簽證被拒續與此有關純屬「猜測」，但沒有交代其他原因。香港民族黨是在今年九月被禁止運作的。
香港外國記者會成立多年，經常接待不同政見的政治家､ 商人､ 專業人士和藝術家，包括香港及內地官員以及批評他們的人士。
這次簽證制裁的嚴重性並非只關乎本會以及其在香港短期或長期的未來，亦不止關乎英國金融時報香港分社失去其亞洲新聞編輯，以及Mallet先生本人。
該簽證決定表明言論自由並不適用於某些未指明的議題。由於沒有提供官方解釋或明確理由，這一決定令人覺得是武斷的，在香港法律缺乏任何依據，並令傳媒工作面對嚴峻考驗。
法治是香港身份及其作為一個成功國際金融和商業中心的基本要素。因此，本會再次呼籲香港政府解釋它的做法並推翻該決定。
香港外國記者會會繼續履行對社會的責任，致力推廣有關香港，亞洲和世界的廣泛議題的辯論以及意見交流。我們將繼續歡迎持不同意見的講者，包括親建制人士以及香港政府和中國官員。

Petition created demanding authorities explain visa refusal for FCC VP Victor Mallet

A petition demanding an explanation from Hong Kong authorities as to why the work visa of FCC Vice President Victor Mallet was not renewed has been created by the Alliance of Hong Kong Media.

Mallet, Asia editor for the Financial Times, was refused the visa without explanation from Hong Kong immigration.

The Alliance of Hong Kong Media said: “Refusing a visa in this case, to a bona fide journalist working for one of the world’s leading newspapers, sets a terrible precedent for Hong Kong’s reputation as a place where the rule of law applies and where freedom of speech is protected by law.”

It added: “In the absence of any reasonable explanation, we call on the authorities to rescind their decision and allow Mr Mallet to continue to work for the Financial Times in Hong Kong and serve as FCC First Vice President.”

Sign the petition here.

FCC calls on authorities to explain visa decision on club Vice President Victor Mallet

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong is deeply concerned over the decision to refuse a work visa renewal for Victor Mallet, the Financial Times’ Asia News Editor. The FCC is expecting a full explanation from the Hong Kong authorities for this extraordinary move, which is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.

Journalist, author and FCC board member Victor Mallet discussed the threats facing India's Ganges river. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC Journalist, author and FCC Vice President Victor Mallet. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Mr Mallet has been a journalist for the Financial Times and Reuters for more than 30 years, and this is his second stint in Hong Kong. He first joined the FCC in 2003. He has served as the Club’s First Vice-President since 2017.

Hong Kong rightly prides itself on its reputation as a place where the rule of law applies and where freedom of speech is protected by law. The FCC has been proud to represent and champion that reputation since it moved here in 1949.

In the absence of any reasonable explanation, the FCC calls on the Hong Kong authorities to rescind their decision.

5 October, 2018

Independent journalism under threat in Myanmar, says U.N. report

REUTERS – Military and government officials in Myanmar have waged a “political campaign” to quash independent journalism, arresting and prosecuting many through the use of vague and overly broad laws, the U.N. human rights office said this week.

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 Slodkowski 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 Slodkowski

Its report examined five cases, including that of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, found guilty last week of breaching the law on state secrets and sentenced to seven years in prison after investigating a massacre of 10 Rohingya men.

The U.N. report called it a “particularly outrageous and high-profile example of judicial harassment against the media in Myanmar” and illustrative of how arrests and prosecutions are conducted “in violation of the right to freedom of expression”.

Myanmar has said the court that convicted the two Reuters journalists under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act was independent and followed due process, after international calls for the pair to be released.

FULL REPORT: Myanmar: The Invisible Boundary

Ministry of Information spokesman Myint Kyaw declined to comment on the report when reached by Reuters on Tuesday. Yangon officials have rejected claims that press freedom was shrinking under the administration of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kui.

“The report refers to the ‘instrumentalisation of the law and of the courts by the Government and the military in what constitutes a political campaign against independent journalism’,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a Geneva briefing.

Laws on telecommunications, official secrets and import-export acts have been invoked against journalists, she said.

The group Reporters Without Borders estimates that around 20 journalists were prosecuted last year in Myanmar, Shamdasani said.

The U.N. report entitled “The Invisible Boundary – Criminal prosecutions of journalism in Myanmar”, which examined freedom of the press since Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in 2015, said it had become “impossible for journalists do to their job without fear or favour”.

SIGN THE PETITION CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF WA LONE AND KYAW SOE OO

FCC Hong Kong statement on cancellation of FCCT talk on Myanmar war crimes report

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, supports the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand as it expresses disappointment over the move by Thai officials to cancel a discussion about a UN-backed report on alleged war crimes in neighbouring Myanmar.

The report last month by UN investigators detailed atrocities committed against the country’s Rohingya minority, among others, and called for military leaders to face international justice.

Stifling reporting in Thailand on the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar has a negative effect on press freedom across the region.

The following is a statement from the FCCT:

The professional membership of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Thai authorities to shut down a planned discussion about a hard-hitting report by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar released last month. The report recommended prosecution of Myanmar’s military leaders for alleged genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in ethnic minority areas.

In a letter ordering the FCCT to cancel the event, the Thai police stated that the discussion might be used by ‘third parties’ to cause unrest and endanger national security. There are no grounds whatever for such suspicions. The club has regularly held orderly and informative panel discussions on current affairs for over 62 years, and these have never led to any unrest or subversion. The FCCT has also hosted dozens of events on Myanmar over the decades, and these have generally contributed to a better understanding of the country and its relations with others in the region.

The professional membership of the FCCT believe the Thai authorities have overreacted. This incident has caused unnecessary further harm to the country’s already dented reputation for media freedom — Thailand was once one of the freest countries in Southeast Asia with a vibrant press.

For the record, this is the sixth programme cancelled at the FCCT since a coup was staged in 2014 and the country became subject to military rule.

10 September 2018

FCC Hong Kong deplores shocking verdict against Reuters journalists in Myanmar

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong deplores the guilty verdict against two Myanmar journalists with the Reuters news agency for conducting normal reporting activities, a decision that will have a chilling effect on the country’s embattled media.

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 Slodkowski 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 Slodkowski

A Myanmar court sentenced Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years in jail on Monday for breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, a shockingly excessive punishment even by Myanmar’s long history of press prosecutions.

The verdict has wide-ranging ramifications for journalists in Myanmar at a time when press freedom is under attack across Asia. 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.

Instead, her government has allowed this case to move forward, effectively sending a message that it doesn’t support free speech in Myanmar. We call on Aung San Suu Kyi and her administration to do everything it can to immediately release Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, express its support for press freedom and ensure that journalists are able to work without threat of retaliation.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men who were buried in a mass grave at Inn Din village — an atrocity Myanmar’s own military has since admitted took place.

The two reporters, both fathers of young children, were called to a meeting with police who handed them documents. They were arrested almost immediately after leaving the meeting and prosecuted for receiving those documents in what even one of the police officers present testified in court was an operation to entrap the pair.

Both pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Over the past six months, the FCC Hong Kong and other press organisations have 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 crime.

Everyone who believes in press freedom will be appalled by the verdict. Now is the time for citizens across the world to speak up for free speech, in Myanmar and elsewhere around the globe.

Make a difference today: FCC Hong Kong needs your help, please sign this petition – The Myanmar Government: Release Myanmar Journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo

#FreeWaLoneKyawSoeOo

FCC Hong Kong supports FCCC statement on Buzzfeed China bureau chief’s visa denial

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, supports the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China as it expresses concern over the denial of a new long-term visa for Buzzfeed News China bureau chief Megha Rajagopalan.

The following is a statement from the FCCC:

The FCCC has learned that Buzzfeed News China bureau chief Megha Rajagopalan was denied a new long-term visa by the Chinese authorities and, as a result, is being forced to take up a new assignment.

Ms. Rajagopalan, a former FCCC board member who has conducted herself according to the highest journalistic standards while in China, says China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to give a clear and transparent reason for denying her a visa. We find this extremely regrettable and unacceptable for a government that repeatedly insists it welcomes foreign media to cover the country.

We are attempting to get clarity from the Foreign Ministry on its reasoning for effectively ejecting a credentialed foreign journalist from China and will relay any information they provide. In the meantime, we wish Megha the best of luck in her new role.

FCCC Media Freedoms Committee

Megha Rajagopalan, China Bureau Chief & Asia Correspondent, Buzzfeed News; and Emily Rauhala, China Correspondent, The Washington Post Left: Megha Rajagopalan, China Bureau Chief & Asia Correspondent, Buzzfeed News; appearing at the 3rd FCC Journalism Conference with (right) Emily Rauhala, China Correspondent, The Washington Post. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Visionary Bangladeshi photographer marks one week in custody

Renowned Bangladeshi photographer and commentator Shahidul Alam has now spent a week in detention, after speaking out on the political situation in Bangladesh and mass protests by students demanding improvements to road safety and an end to corruption.

Shahidul Alam Shahidul Alam

The award-winning photographer, 63, told reporters he had been beaten so badly in police custody that his tunic needed washing to get the blood out. He was taken to court barefoot, limping and in need of assistance to walk.

A judge ordered him taken to hospital but he was soon returned to custody.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong deplores the actions of Bangladesh authorities and appeals for his immediate release. Shahidul’s detention is a severe blow for freedom of expression and press freedom in Bangladesh, where several other journalists have also been beaten while covering the student protests, including a photographer for The Associated Press who was briefly hospitalised.

With assaults on journalists in Bangladesh worsening in recent times, the FCC Hong Kong expresses its deep concern and calls on the authorities to ensure that all media are able to do their jobs without fear for their safety.

Shahidul is known not only for his own fine photographic work but also for his bold vision for photojournalism in South Asia which earned him international standing and immense respect. He launched the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, a photography school in Dhaka that spawned hundreds of photographers. And he is the founder of Chobi Mela, the ambitious biannual international photography festival in Dhaka, and has judged many photography competitions around the world.

His arrest has led to an outpouring of support from his friends and colleagues across the world which have highlighted his important work, his social activism and his empathy for others.

Here are some of those tributes and appeals which have lit up social media with the hashtag #freeshahidulalam.

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