The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

FCC Hong Kong remembers fallen journalists on World Press Freedom Day 2018

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the FCC honours the memory of the 10 journalists who lost their lives in Afghanistan this week, and calls on Afghan authorities to safeguard and facilitate the vital work of the country’s media.

The targeting of Afghan journalists in a suicide attack in Kabul comes against a backdrop of mounting threats to press freedom across Asia, creating one of the most restrictive environments for media workers in recent memory. Tools including fake news laws in Malaysia, press shutdowns in Cambodia and the Philippines, and outright violence elsewhere have created a dangerous climate that poses a fundamental threat to democracy.

Press freedom is at the core of free societies around the globe. For those who believe in keeping the powerful accountable to the public, it’s more important than ever to speak up.

FCC Hong Kong stands in solidarity with Afghan journalists after April 30 attack

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong was deeply shocked and saddened by the deaths of 10 journalists in Afghanistan on April 30, including AFP’s highly respected chief photographer Shah Marai, much loved by his peers and the father of six children.

The reporters had all rushed to the scene of an earlier suicide attack in Kabul and were killed in a second blast, specifically targeting the media and other first responders.

“The bomber disguised himself as a journalist and detonated himself among the crowd,” AFP quoted a police spokesman as saying.

The FCC stands to defend press freedom throughout the region and is appalled by this brutal and despicable attack. It calls on Afghan authorities to safeguard and facilitate the important work of the country’s journalists.

In a separate incident on the same day, Ahmad Shah, a 29-year-old reporter with the BBC’s Afghan service, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Khost province, the broadcaster said.

We offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and colleagues of the 10 journalists killed.

Those who lost their lives in Kabul were:

Mahram Durani – Azadi Radio
Ebadullah Hananzai – Azadi Radio
Yar Mohammad Tokhi – TOLO News Cameraman
Ghazi Rasooli – 1TV Journalist
Nowroz Ali Rajabi– 1TV Cameraman
Shah Marai – AFP Photographer
Saleem Talash – Mashal TV
Ali Saleemi – Mashal TV
Sabawoon Kakar – Azadi Radio

“This terrorist attack is a war crime and an organised attack on the Afghan media,” the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists (AFJ) said in a statement.

The FCC would like to express its solidarity with all journalists in Afghanistan who work heroically, risking their lives on a daily basis. April 30 will be remembered as the deadliest day for Afghanistan’s media since the fall of the Taliban.

Foreign press clubs call for immediate release of Reuters journalists in Myanmar

Three months ago, Myanmar police invited two Reuters reporters to a restaurant in northern Yangon. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men who were buried in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by ethnic Rakhine Buddhist villagers and soldiers.

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. REUTERS/Antoni Slodkowski

At the dinner, police handed the pair some documents. They were arrested almost immediately afterward and later charged under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

On the 100th day since the arrest of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, 10 foreign correspondents’ clubs throughout Asia are again calling for their immediate release. The two journalists were engaged in normal reporting activities, and had not committed any wrongdoing. All charges against them should be dropped.

“We are not doing anything wrong,” Kyaw Soe Oo told reporters after the pair were formally charged. “Please help us by uncovering the truth.”

Their trial is now underway, with a verdict possible in the coming weeks. The outcome will have repercussions for Myanmar and the entire region, where press freedom is increasingly under attack.

We call on Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government to act to defend press freedom as the country undertakes its transition to democracy. It is vital that Myanmar respects the beneficial role of a free and independent media and ensures that journalists are able to work without threat of retaliation.

FCC Hong Kong’s president Florence de Changy (left) with Geoff Crothall from the Press Freedom Committee at the Myanmar consulate on March 21. The consulate had closed early but building management promised they would hand in the 3 volumes of signatures to the consulate when it opens again.

We also call on all those who believe in press freedom to keep up the pressure on authorities who want to silence journalists, in Myanmar and elsewhere around the globe. One easy place to start is by signing a petition for their release: goo.gl/1kPTwX

A delegation of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong walked to the Myanmar consulate on Wednesday, March 21 to hand over a petition with more than 42,000 signatures demanding the immediate release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.

“We are not doing anything wrong,” Kyaw Soe Oo told reporters after the pair were formally charged. “Please help us by uncovering the truth.”

#FreeWaLoneKyawSoeOo

Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China
Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand
Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club
National Press Club of Australia
Editorial Committee, The Society of Publishers in Asia
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, New Delhi
The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia

Democracy Now reports on the story – watch from 5 minutes 20 seconds.

Last Call for Human Rights Press Awards

2018 HUMAN RIGHTS PRESS AWARDS

Last Call for Entries

(Scroll down for Chinese version)

The Human Rights Press Awards, Asia’s most prestigious honours that recognise outstanding human rights reporting, have returned for the 22nd year. The closing date for entries is one week away. Apply before 9 February 2018 (next Friday).

The Human Rights Press Awards are organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association. The awards aim to increase respect for people’s basic rights and to focus attention on threats to those freedoms.

Submissions must have been reported from the Asia region and been published or broadcast during the 2017 calendar year. Entries must be in either English or Chinese. Categories include Spot News, Features, Commentary, Multimedia, Television/Video, Radio and Photography. Winners will be announced in May 2018.

Each entry must cite the article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the work seeks to address. This landmark document, which marks its 70th anniversary next year, set out the inalienable rights to which every person is entitled. The full text is available here: www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Entry registration at:
https://humanrightspress.awardsplatform.com/

For further information of the Awards, please visit:
http://humanrightspressawards.org

And follow us on:
Twitter https://twitter.com/HRPressAwards
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsPA

For queries, please contact the awards administrator:
Cintia Huen
The Chinese University of Hong Kong – School of Journalism and Communication
Email: [email protected] Tel: (852) 3943 8705

二零一八年人權新聞獎
即將截止報名

亞洲矚目的新聞界盛事、二零一八年人權新聞獎即將截止報名，誠邀新聞工作者把握最後機會參與，截止日期為 2018 年 2 月 9 日。

人權新聞獎由香港外國記者會、國際特赦組織香港分會及香港記者協會合辦，以表彰亞洲區的卓越人權新聞報道，今年已是第二十二屆。獎項旨在增加公眾對人類基本權利尊重，並令大眾關注任何對這些權利之威脅。

參選作品必須為亞洲區的人權議題採訪報道，並於二零一七年內刊出或公開播放。參賽作品須以中文或英文提交，今屆參賽類別包括：新聞報道、特寫、評論、多媒體、電視及錄像、電台廣播和錄音及攝影。

參加者必須註明參選作品與《世界人權宣言》中哪一條人權宣言相關。
《世界人權宣言》全文：www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

網上報名平台網址：
https://humanrightspress.awardsplatform.com/

有關比賽詳情請瀏覽新聞獎官方網站：
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亦可追蹤我們的社交平台以獲得最新資訊：
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如有查詢，請聯絡新聞獎秘書處：
香港中文大學新聞與傳播學院
聯絡人：禤小姐
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電話：(852) 3943 8705

FCC Hong Kong speaks out on mounting threats to press freedom across Asia

Press freedom is under attack across Asia, creating one of the most restrictive environments for journalists in recent memory. Over the past few months, critical newspapers have been closed and reporters have been charged with crimes for simply doing their jobs. Leaders are routinely crying “fake news” to undermine stories that speak truth to power, employing a phrase made popular by the president of the United States – a country that was once one of the biggest advocates for a free press across the globe.

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

What’s particularly worrying is that supposedly democratic governments are increasingly taking action to silence critical reporting. It’s no longer just China, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam that are bullying the media. Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and Myanmar – now led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – are also becoming hazardous for journalists.

Today in Myanmar, two journalists with the Reuters news agency who have been arrested and charged under a section of the Official Secrets Act were denied bail. They now face months in custody during pre-trial hearings on the charges which carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The FCC deplores the legal action against the pair, which will have a chilling effect on press freedom in Myanmar.

Other recent major incidents include:

– The closure of The Cambodia Daily after 25 years due to government pressure over a tax dispute
– Rappler, a news organisation that undertook brave reporting about Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly crackdown on drugs, had its operating license revoked because it violated the country’s restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic media

Press freedom is the core of free societies around the globe. For those who believe in keeping the powerful accountable to the public, it’s more important than ever to speak up. And for all politicians around the globe who care about democratic values, it’s essential to keep up the pressure on those who want to silence journalists.

Working conditions for reporters in China deteriorate – FCCC annual survey results

The Chinese government has intensified its attempts to deny or restrict the access of foreign journalists to large parts of the country while increasing the use of the visa renewal process to pressure correspondents and news organisations whose coverage it does not like, according to a new report.

Canada’s Globe and Mail Asia correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe used Twitter to spread word of his detention in China in 2017.

In December, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China surveyed correspondent members about their experiences during calendar year 2017. The results of that survey, as well as interviews with more than a dozen major media organisations and a timeline of notable incidents in 2017, form the basis of a new report, Access Denied: Surveillance, harassment and intimidation as reporting conditions in China deteriorate.

The report shows a significant rise in the number of foreign correspondents who believe journalism in China has grown more difficult amid rising pressures from authorities seeking to block newsgathering in areas they deem sensitive, such as Xinjiang, the border with North Korea and industrial areas. There was also no let up in 2017 in violent attacks against foreign journalists and intimidation of news sources, which continued alongside growing concerns about surveillance and invasions of privacy.

Correspondents surveyed by the FCCC also reported greater difficulties in renewing their visas. The FCCC is aware of five international news organisations that experienced visa difficulties in 2017 that appeared to be reporting-related. Those difficulties included lengthy delays in approval, the issuance of credentials with unusually short validity and outright refusal by Chinese authorities to provide accreditation.

“China-based foreign correspondents have long faced obstruction, harassment and intimidation for doing their jobs but this report will make depressing reading for even the most seasoned of them,” the FCCC Board said.

“Our survey results provide strong evidence to suggest that, from an already very low baseline, reporting conditions are getting worse.”

“Anyone who values independent news from China – news about the nature of its government, the state of its economy and the lives of its people – should be deeply alarmed by the serious, mounting pressure applied to the journalists trying to supply it.”

2017 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 117 of 218 correspondent members. More detailed results are in the full report.

• 40% of respondents felt reporting conditions in 2017 deteriorated from the year before, compared with 29% in the FCCC’s 2016 survey

• Reporting grew more difficult in many areas of China, but in particular Xinjiang, China’s westernmost region. 73% of respondents who traveled to Xinjiang in 2017 were told by officials and security agents that reporting was prohibited or restricted, compared with 42% in 2016

• 15% of respondents said they encountered problems during the renewal process, up from 6% the previous year. Compared to 2016, twice the number of respondents said the problems were related to their reporting. 6% of respondents were threatened with cancellation or non-renewal of visas in 2017, up from 2% in the FCCC’s previous survey

• Correspondents reported higher levels of concern about surveillance and invasion of privacy, as well as greater pressure by overseas Chinese officials on media organisation headquarters

• Nearly half of surveyed correspondents said they experienced interference, harassment and physical violence, roughly in line with 2016

• News sources in China continued to face negative consequences for interacting with a foreign journalist. 26% of surveyed correspondents said sources had been harassed, detained or called in for questioning, roughly in line with 2016

FCC appalled at decision to close down Philippines news website, Rappler

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, is appalled at the move to close Rappler, a news organisation which has proved to be a brave and independent voice in the very challenging context of the Philippines since the election of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday that it had revoked Rappler’s operating licence because it violated the country’s restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic media.

Rappler 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.

Rappler has rejected the ruling which it describes as “pure and simple harassment, the seeming coup de grace to the relentless and malicious attacks against us since 2016″. It will file an appeal within the next two weeks.

The order for Rappler to be shut down is part of a broader trend by Duterte to silence his critics. Duterte laid the foundations for his campaign of intimidation against the media shortly after he was elected in 2016 when 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.

The Rappler shutdown marks a dark day for press freedom and democracy in the Philippines. We call on the authorities to reverse the decision and allow Rappler and other media outlets to operate freely and safely.

The FCC stands with Philippine media groups, including the National Union of Journalists and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, which have denounced the Rappler ruling.

And it salutes the journalists who work in extremely difficult conditions to cover the threats to democracy and press freedom in their country.

FCC Hong Kong and FCC Thailand call for the immediate release of Reuters journalists held in Myanmar

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand demand the immediate release of Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, two Myanmar journalists with the Reuters news agency who were arrested on December 21, 2017.

The pair were formally charged in court on Wednesday for allegedly breaching the draconian Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

The FCC Hong Kong and FCC Thailand do not consider it to be a crime to be handed documents from sources – in this case from police officers who had invited the pair to a meeting. The two journalists were engaged in normal reporting activities, and had not committed any wrongdoing. All charges against them should be dropped.

“They arrested us and took action against us because we were trying to reveal the truth,” Wa Lone told reporters as he and Kyaw Soe Oo were led out of the court and back to Yangon’s Insein prison after the 30-minute hearing.

Reuters has expressed its outrage over the arrest and accused Myanmar authorities of an attack on press freedom. A number of senior officials from countries including the UK, US and Canada have appealed to Myanmar authorities to immediately release the journalists. The US State Department has voiced concern for the “safety and security of international reporters who are simply just trying to do their jobs”.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have both recently reported on the refugee crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where a deadly military “clearance operation” has resulted in more than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing into Bangladesh.

Their arrest is part of a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in Myanmar, which is facing severe criticism from the international community for its handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Journalists have been banned from travelling independently to northern Rakhine to investigate the circumstances of the crackdown, and verify refugees’ accounts of murder, mass rape and burning of villages by security forces.

The arrest of these two Myanmar journalists under the Official Secrets Act is unacceptable and counterproductive in a country aiming to take its place in the international community after decades of military rule.

We call on Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government to act to defend press freedom which is under serious assault as the country undertakes its transition to democracy. It is vital that Myanmar respects the beneficial role of a free and independent media and ensures that journalists are able to do their work without threat of retaliation.

22nd Human Rights Press Awards open for entries from January 1, 2018

Asia’s most prestigious honours recognising outstanding human rights reporting will be open for entries from 1 January 2018 to 9 February 2018.

Last year’s winner of the Photography Feature was Agence France-Presse’s Noel Celis for his pictures of Quezon City jail. Photo: Noel Celis/AFP

The Human Rights Press Awards, now in their 22^nd year, are organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association. The awards aim to increase respect for people’s basic rights and to focus attention on threats to those freedoms.

Submissions must have been reported from the Asia region and been published or broadcast during the past calendar year between 1 January and 31 December 2017. Entries must be in either English or Chinese. Categories include Spot News, Features, Multimedia, Television/Video, Radio and Photography.

Each entry must cite the specific article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the work seeks to address. This landmark document, which marks its 70^th anniversary next year, set out the alienable rights to which every human being is entitled. The full text is available here: www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Please mark your calendars and be ready to submit your work!

The online entry form will be open on 1 January 2018 at:

https://humanrightspress.awardsplatform.com/

For further information, please visit:

http://humanrightspressawards.org

Stay up to date with the latest news – follow us on Twitter and Facebook

For queries, please contact the awards administrator:

Cintia Huen

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

School of Journalism and Communication

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (852) 3943 8705

FCC Hong Kong calls for immediate release of Reuters journalists held in Myanmar

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong calls for the immediate release of Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, two Myanmar journalists with the Reuters news agency who were arrested on Wednesday.

The pair have been charged under a section of the Official Secrets Act that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The government has released a photograph of them wearing handcuffs with documents displayed before them.

Reuters has expressed its outrage over the arrest and accused Myanmar authorities of an attack on press freedom.

The US State Department has also voiced concern for the “safety and security of international reporters who are simply just trying to do their jobs”.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have both recently reported on the refugee crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where a deadly military “clearance operation” has resulted in more than 600,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing into Bangladesh.

Their arrest is part of a deepening crackdown on freedom of expression in Myanmar, which is facing severe criticism from the international community for its handling of the Rohingya crisis.

In November, two foreign journalists along with their interpreter and driver were sentenced to two months imprisonment for filming with a drone without official permission. And in June three journalists were detained in war-torn northern Shan state and spent two months in custody.

As Myanmar undertakes its transition to democracy, it is vital that the country respects the beneficial role of a free and independent media and ensures that journalists are able to do their work without threat of retaliation.