Club Lunch Panel : What the National Security Law Means for Press Freedom

The National Security Law is now Hong Kong’s “new normal,” and several of its provisions carry potentially significant implications for journalists — how we report, who we can interview, and what documents and data we are allowed to pursue and publish. Hong Kong authorities have made assurances that the Basic Law guarantees freedom of speech, of the press and of publication. Yet while much is still vague, the new National Security Law may alter the way the media in Hong Kong will do its job and perform its role in society.

How will journalists in Hong Kong navigate the National Security Law? Our panel will discuss the impact of the new law on the media here, and how journalists elsewhere in Asia have fared under similar constraints.

Sharron Fast joined the Journalism and Media Studies Centre in January 2016 from the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong, where she lectured for the faculty and conducted research at the Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL). Her research there focused on criminal law and human rights issues. She is the former editor of the CCPL Rights Bulletin and the Annotated Ordinances of Hong Kong.

Antony Dapiran is a Hong Kong-based writer and lawyer, and the author of the book, City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, New Statesman, Quartz and Foreign Policy, and he is a regular guest on television and radio. Antony is qualified as a lawyer in Hong Kong, England and Australia. Over a 20-year legal career he advised many of China’s leading companies on raising capital and doing business internationally. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he has resided between Hong Kong and Beijing for more than 20 years.

Keith B. Richburg, a member of the club’s Board of Governors, served as Washington Post bureau chief in Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Nairobi and Paris, as well as New York. He was the Post’s foreign editor from 2005 to 2007. He was FCC President during Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China. He is currently director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong and a professor of practice.