The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

The Growing Dangers of Reporting in Conflict-Torn Kashmir

It’s never been easy to report in conflict-torn Kashmir. But the past year has seen more press suppression and interference than ever. Words and photos by Sharafat Ali, in Kashmir.

A security officer walks past protesters in Srinagar, Kashmir. Photo: Sharafat Ali

On a Monday morning in mid-April, Masrat Zahra was scrolling through Twitter during a COVID-19 lockdown in Kashmir when she came across multiple tweets about a female Kashmiri photojournalist who had been charged for terror-related activities.

Scanning the platform for more details, Zahra was shocked to discover that she was the journalist in question. The police accused the 26-year-old freelance photojournalist, who has worked with The Washington Post and Al Jazeera, of uploading “anti-national posts [on Facebook] with criminal intentions to induce the youth to promote offences against public tranquility” – a crime that carries a seven-year prison sentence.

The grounds were unprecedented. In 2018, Zahra had shared a photo of children holding the banner of a slain militant commander. The banner – and subsequently Zahra’s photo caption – read “Shaheed,” the Urdu word for martyr. Under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act [UAPA], amended in 2019 to include special terrorism-related procedures, such language is considered grounds for treason when used to describe insurgents and armed rebels.

Relatives mourn the death of 18-year-old rebel Shahid Ahmad, who was killed in a gunfight with Indian forces. Photo: Sharafat Ali

Two days later, the police summoned Zahra to a station in Srinagar, the largest city in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). They released her after questioning but the charges remained.

A chill lingered in the air, particularly since Zahra’s case is far from unique in Kashmir, where India and Pakistan have vied for control for decades.

My own experiences with harassment include an incident in March of last year. While on assignment in Kupwara, a northern district in J&K, near the de facto border separating India from Pakistan, my local guide and I were detained without explanation for several hours.

I had pulled out my camera to capture a beautiful scene of horses running through the village’s deserted streets when several armoured vehicles pulled up.

Source: The Express Tribune

Army personnel surrounded us, guns pointed at our heads, as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. I complied when asked for ID, explaining that we were on assignment for a freelance project.

They took us to a police station, where an officer slapped me across the face and hurled abusive remarks at us. I pleaded with them to check my work online and contact my senior colleagues to verify my identity. The situation only improved once they learned that my friend was the son of the village head. After almost seven hours, they let us go.

I have covered Kashmir for the last seven years and, like almost every journalist in the region, I’ve faced harassment many times. But the situation has worsened in the past year – harassment, suppression and surveillance have grown increasingly common as the conflict between India and Pakistan escalates.

Often called the most militarised zone on Earth, Kashmir has been hotly contested since India’s independence in 1947. At that time, the British partitioned the region into predominantly Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India, leaving the princely state of J&K independent. A tribal insurgency, however, pushed J&K to ask India for help. India agreed, so long as J&K joined the country in exchange.

While covering a 2016 protest in Srinagar, Kashmir-based photojournalist Xuhaib Maqbool Humza lost vision in his left eye after a J&K police officer fired a pellet gun at his face. Photo: Sharafat Ali

Conflicts between India and Pakistan continued, leading to increased terrorist activity by militant groups who oppose Indian rule, as well as civilian calls for self-determination. Today, hostilities could potentially escalate into nuclear war.

The region has long held a special semiautonomous status within India, based on Article 370 of the Indian constitution. This included its own constitution, flag, and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defense, and communications.

But on 5 August 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and permanently incorporated the territory into the rest of India. In the lead up to the announcement, the J&K administration cut off telephone networks and internet services, banned public gatherings, and deployed thousands of Indian troops to thwart protests and enforce a curfew.

The government-imposed curfew lasted almost four months. Then came a self-imposed public shutdown to protest the presence of thousands of military personnel, followed by a countrywide lockdown due to COVID-19.

Residents wander through the rubble in Srinagar. Photo: Sharafat Ali

Amid the crises, journalists scrambled to share the news with the world. But without stable internet connections, news agencies could not print daily papers, live stream broadcasts nor disseminate dispatches to their international desks. Farooq Javed Khan, a veteran photojournalist and president of the Kashmir Press Photographers Association, calls last year’s restrictions unprecedented. “Without communication [during the lockdown], it was difficult to work and get around,” he says.“We could not report a lot of stories.”

A government-run kiosk in Srinagar offered more than 100 journalists just four computers and a painfully slow internet connection. This chokehold on the flow of information effectively ensured sensitive photos and videos would not leave Kashmir. In June, the new administration released a new “Media Policy” and introduced an Information Department. As a de facto watchdog, the department has the right to “examine the content of the print, electronic, and other media for fake news, plagiarism and unethical or anti-national activities”, and may also take legal action should they deem any reports detrimental to national interest.

In addition, “there shall be no release of advertisements to any media which incite or tend to incite violence, question sovereignty and integrity of India or violate the accepted norms of public decency and behaviour.”

Paramilitary forces deployed at the birthplace of young rebel Sajad Gilkar, who was killed in a gunfight with Indian forces. Photo: Sharafat Ali

Under these conditions, the territory’s already precarious press freedoms have hit a new low, with reports of journalist detainments and arrests on the rise.

In April this year, police booked senior journalist Gowhar Geelani for “unlawful” and “anti-national activities” on social media. Similarly, police summoned Peerzada Ashiq, a journalist with The Hindu, over a story about an armed conflict between militants and security forces which contradicted police statements.

In July 2019, police detained Qazi Shibli, the editor of Kashmir-based news website The Kashmiriyat, for nine months for reporting on the military presence in the Kashmir Valley. They arrested Shibli again on 31 July this year without any charges; he was released after 18 days.

In another high-profile case, police arrested Asif Sultan in 2018 for writing a profile of a rebel commander whose death inspired several youths to pick up arms. Charged with aiding insurgents and terrorism-related activities, the journalist has been in jail for more than two years.

Kashmir is rich with stories – of tragedies, shattered dreams, resilience and, just as importantly, hope. And despite the persecution and danger that journalists regularly face, I hope one day, we can share all of these stories without fear.

Relatives mourn the death of a rebel commander, who was killed in a gunfight with Indian forces. Photo: Sharafat Ali

Key Events

August 1947
India gains independence, partition creates India and Pakistan

October 1947
J&K joins India to combat Pakistan-supported insurgency

1949
First Kashmir War ends after two years, India holds 65% of Kashmir, Pakistan holds remainder

1950
Article 370 in India’s Constitution secures “special status” of J&K

1965
India and Pakistan fight second Kashmir war, which ends in stalemate

1971
Third war begins

1972
India and Pakistan formalise ceasefire lines

1980s
Rise in militant groups, deaths

1990s
Discontent over Indian rule incurs protests, separatists, terrorism, nuclear weapons testing

2000s
Terrorist activity, militant attacks continue, thousands more die

2010
Anti-India protests erupt in Kashmir, following death of a young militant

2016
More protests erupt over youth deaths

2018
India declares central rule in Kashmir, terrorism continues

2019
India deploys troops to Kashmir, blocks internet, revokes “special status”

2020
Government increases media controls, military and civilian killings continue

Obituary: Remembering FCC Member Noel Parrott

By Pat Malone

In one of the last messages Noel sent to me, just two days before he died, he wrote: “Before they made me, they broke the mould and tossed it.”

No one who knew Noel Parrott would argue with that. Kind, funny, warm and original, Noel was his own man. He preferred harmony but was no push-over, and woe betide the writer of a sloppy story or purple press release.

Noel graduated with a journalism degree from Melbourne University in 1969. Right out of school, The Herald Sun threw him into the deep end. Noel cut his teeth doing police rounds, court work, and theatre and film reviews.

Noel Parrott and friend Pat Malone at the FCC. Photo: Supplied

In 1971, Noel moved to Hong Kong to work for the territory’s first tabloid, The Star, founded by fellow Australian Graham Jenkins. After his three-year contract expired, Noel joined the South China Morning Post. He lived in a house in Shek O, where he hosted legendary Sunday Scrabblethons. He freelanced under eccentric names and once acted in a Tiger beer ad, both testaments to his great sense of humour.

Later, he shifted into public relations – and that is how we met. I worked with him at Hill+Knowlton PR company in the World Trade Centre, opposite the Noonday Gun in Causeway Bay. The firing of the gun signaled it was time for the first beer of the day.

At Hill+Knowlton, Noel managed an international team of disparate talents, keeping them motivated and entertained. Following the topping-out ceremony for Exchange Square in 1985, someone brought a construction helmet back to the office. Without a moment’s hesitation, Noel put it on and burst into the YMCA dance routine.

When Aussie John Cardenzana set up Gavin Anderson’s Hong Kong PR office, Noel left H&K to join him, and I soon followed. After all, Gavin Anderson’s office on Ice House Street was much nearer to the FCC. At Friday lunch hour, we were a fixture at the bar for years.

In 2001, Noel moved to Chiang Mai, where he indulged in interests like physics – he once tried to explain a “quark” to me – gardening and antiques. In typical Noel fashion, he built a beautiful home with a guest wing so friends could stay. Last February, when I visited him, Noel told me that he still listened for the Noonday Gun every day, remembering our office ritual.

At the time of his death from throat cancer, he had just finished building an antique shop and a few flats to let. He had also completed a draft of what would have been his debut science-fiction novel, The Inventor of Impossible Things. Flamboyant and sensitive, Noel was one of a kind and we all miss him desperately.

Noel Parrott (16 March 1942–23 August 2020). Photo: Supplied

Noel Parrott is survived by his sister Denise, who requests any donations in his memory be made to the Hong Kong Cancer Fund (www.cancer-fund.org).

The Future of Visas for Foreign Journalists in Hong Kong

As the visa situation for foreign journalists in Hong Kong grows murkier, Morgan M. Davis looks for precedents across the border.

Hong Kong has long been viewed as a welcoming place for foreign journalists and news agencies. Visa rejections are rare, so long as the applicant in question has the skills and experience to do the job. But Article 54 in the new national security law, which seeks to manage “organs of foreign countries and international organisations”, has raised concerns about potential visa restrictions.

Simultaneously, both the US and China have weaponised journalist visas amid souring relations. On 6 August, the FCC released a statement on the issue. “The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong is aware of recent examples of delays involving the issuing of visas to foreign journalists in Hong Kong, as well as suggestions by the Chinese government that more foreign journalists could face repercussions in response to US actions,” wrote the FCC.

“The FCC calls on the Trump administration to lift its restrictions on Chinese media working in the US, and on Hong Kong and China’s governments to refrain from retribution in targeting US media and journalists working in Hong Kong.” This “downward spiral of retaliatory actions” not only puts journalists at risk yet also fails the public “that needs accurate, professionally produced information now more than ever,” the statement continued.

In response to the FCC’s statement, the Commissioner’s Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, saying “if the US is bent on going down the wrong path, China will be compelled to take necessary and just reactions to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. It is the US that has caused the situation and should be solely responsible for it.”

Later that month, the Immigration Department rejected a visa transfer for Aaron Mc Nicholas – an incoming editor of Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) – after a six-month wait, despite the Irish journalist having been granted prior visas to work in Hong Kong for Bloomberg and Storyful. The department did not provide an explanation to HKFP.

When The Correspondent inquired, the department declined to comment on specifics. A spokesperson responded: “Hong Kong has always adopted a pragmatic and open policy on the employment of professionals… including journalistic work.” In the absence of further information, such developments are troubling. “It’s an evolving situation and it involves a maddening degree of uncertainty for everybody,” says Steven Butler, Asia programme coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“You have to assume it’s because [the government doesn’t] like what HKFP is doing, and honestly, why would they?” says Butler of Mc Nicholas’s visa rejection. “There’s a lot of coverage that is critical of the Hong Kong government and China.”

Lingling Wei at a press conference during the 2018 National People’s Congress. Photo: Supplied

Insights from the Mainland

Many foreign journalists working in China have been directly impacted by rising US–China tensions. In March, the central government effectively expelled 13 foreign journalists – all of whom worked for American publications.

In most cases, the government abruptly rescinded the journalists’ press accreditations and instructed them to leave the country within as little as five days. According to statements by the Chinese government, the move was a direct response to US restrictions on Chinese journalists. Just days earlier, the US had forced 60 Chinese nationals who worked at state media outlets to vacate the US or secure an appropriate visa to stay.

In early September, Chinese authorities informed several journalists at American news outlets that their press credential applications were being processed, rather than automatically renewed, as is routine.

The visas of foreign journalists are tied to their press accreditation, and both are usually renewed on an annual basis. This time, journalists received temporary extensions of just two months, with a clear warning that they may be revoked any time.

Within the same week, two Australian correspondents – Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith – rushed to leave the country after Chinese police visited their homes about a national security investigation. Their departures came just days after the central government confirmed the arrest of Cheng Lei, an Australian working for China’s state media.

In the case of Australian journalists, the turmoil can be attributed to fragile relations between the two countries and critical China coverage by Australian media over the past two years. According to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, this year’s series of forced departures of foreign journalists from China are thought to be the first outright expulsions since 1998.

On 8 September 2020, Bill Birtles arrives in Sydney after rushing out of China. PHOTO: AFP / TARYN SOUTHCOMBE / ABC NEWS

‘Pawns in the bigger struggle’

Lingling Wei, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was among those forced to leave China this year. Born in China, Wei moved to the US as a young adult and became an American citizen in 2010. The journalist returned to China in 2011 to write for The Wall Street Journal in Beijing.

“For me, going back to China to practice independent reporting was the kind of career I [had always] wanted,” says Wei, calling the experience a “dream come true”. Over the past nine years, Wei focused on the internationalisation of China’s renminbi and the US–China trade war. But in March, she became collateral damage in the economic battle she was reporting on. The government rescinded Wei’s press credentials, effectively banning her from working as a journalist in China, Hong Kong or Macao.

“We were experiencing many more challenges getting access to people, be it business [executives] or officials,” Wei says of the reporting situation in China prior to her forced departure. Even so, Wei never expected to leave this way. “It broke my heart,” she says.

Gerry Shih, a China correspondent for The Washington Post who had worked in Beijing for five years, including at The Associated Press, was expelled around the same time. He called the experience “surreal” when he spoke at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) 2020 awards on 26 August.

Though disappointed by the decision, Shih says the “writing was on the wall” for some time. “These [expelled] diplomats and journalists are pawns in the bigger struggle,” he said of the US–China fight. Many in the cull were journalists who had lived and worked in China for more than a decade. They love China and their lives there, adds Wei. Among them, Australian Chris Buckley, who had been based in mainland China for The New York Times and Reuters since 1998, was expelled in May.

Likewise, Canadian Ian Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times, lived in China for more than 20 years before the government stripped his press credentials in March. Johnson, who learned of his expulsion via email while in London, wrote about the consequences of fraying China–US relations in an opinion piece for The New York Times:

“Taken individually, stories of severed friendships and strained family ties seem insignificant – certainly they do when you talk to a true believer who thinks that the US policy toward China is necessary to make the world safe for democracy.” “Yet cumulatively these small wounds change how all of us experience the world, forming a collective trauma over the loss of an optimistic era dating back several decades, when the world seemed to be opening up, however imperfectly.”

Gerry Shih discusses his departure from China at The SOPA 2020 Awards on 26 August. PHOTO: SOPA

Finding a future in journalism

For Wei, the last six months have felt more like a decade. She moved back to New York City in May at the height of the pandemic, with her husband and seven-year-old following later. She says The Wall Street Journal has been supportive, giving her the option to move anywhere.

The Chinese government also allowed her to stay two extra months in China to be with her sick mother and pack up her life, she notes. “I will always be grateful for those officials who helped me,” she says. “I really have no complaints. It is what it is.”

Meanwhile, Shih has relocated to Seoul where he continues to cover China. In May, he won the 2020 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia for his extensive China reporting. Buckley is also reporting on China, though his location is unclear, and he did not respond to our interview request.

Unfortunately, journalists have few options if a government chooses to quash press freedoms, says Wei. If media suppression escalates in Hong Kong, she says journalists may face difficult decisions.

“In my situation, I still believe in what I’m doing,” says Wei, who continues to report on China from New York City. If journalists are concerned about their visas or safety, she says, they should consider their priorities and mental well-being.

There is no shame in leaving the industry if that is what’s right for you, she says. It’s something she contemplated doing herself, in order to stay in China.

In the end, Wei’s passion for journalism overcame her doubts. “When things like this happen, it really makes you question whether [journalism] is something you should keep doing,” she says.

Wei’s mother also encouraged her daughter to persevere, since Wei has a wealth of China expertise that is valuable, regardless of where she is based. “That kind of knowledge and insight cannot be easily taken away,” says Wei.

PRESS FREEDOM: ASIA IN FOCUS

Every year, Reporters Without Borders ranks 180 destinations in its World Press Freedom Index. Here’s how countries across the region stack up:

Source: Reporters Without Borders

Hong Kong’s National Security Law: Implications for Journalists

As soon as the government enacted the national security law on 30 June, the rules changed for Hong Kong journalists. Kate Springer discusses the potential implications with legal and journalism experts.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam discusses the national security law at a press conference on 7 July, 2020. PHOTO: ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP

When the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted the Hong Kong national security law on 30 June, the city changed overnight. The far-reaching law criminalises “terrorist activities”, “secession”, “subversion”, “collusion” with foreign entities and inciting “hatred among Hong Kong residents” towards the local or central government – not just in Hong Kong, but anywhere in the world. The law, however, does not define these crimes, leaving room for interpretation by authorities and the courts.

Despite assurances in Article 4 that “freedoms of speech, of the press, of publication” will be safeguarded, many journalists and news agencies remain concerned. There is good reason to worry: For starters, the law states that the government will take greater measures to regulate and manage the media, as well as “promote national security education” in the media.

In addition, the government could require journalists to relinquish sensitive material, if it relates to an investigation under the new law. It remains unclear if journalists can interview pro-democracy voices, criticise the law or print offending slogans. On 7 July, the FCC hosted a panel with veteran journalists and legal experts to hear their thoughts on the national security law (NSL).

From the high-profile arrest of Jimmy Lai to mass disqualification of pro-democracy lawmakers and unexplained delays in granting journalist visas, a lot has changed since then. In mid-August, we invited the panelists to revisit the conversation at the FCC.

Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai (centre), 72, in police custody on 10 August, 2020. PHOTO: VERNON YUEN / AFP

Before we kick this off, can you introduce yourselves?

Sharron Fast: I’m a lecturer in media law and the deputy director of the Master of Journalism programme at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). I also teach in the Faculty of Law at HKU.

Keith Richburg: I’m the director of the JMSC, HKU’s school of journalism. I’m also a longtime FCC member and a board member.

Antony Dapiran: I’m a writer and lawyer. I’ve also written two books on Hong Kong’s protest movements, including City on Fire, about last year’s events.

What does the NSL say about journalism?

SF: If we look at Articles 9 and 10, the law says the Hong Kong government has a duty to ensure that mechanisms are put in place to promote the national security law through the media. That is sounding dangerously like propaganda. It doesn’t mean a free press – it means that the government will ensure that the media gets the coverage ‘right’.

AD: I’d also highlight Article 54, which has caused grave concern. The article says the government will ‘strengthen the management’ of foreign media, international organisations and NGOs. There’s a great deal of uncertainty over what that will mean. But it is certainly ominous.

How are you feeling about the law at the moment?

KR: Some [decisions] have given me more optimism. For example, the law didn’t provide any presumption of bail, but Jimmy Lai was released on bail. Others have made me more pessimistic. Sending about 200 police officers into the Apple Daily newsroom [on 10 August] was a shocking trampling on press freedom. I’ve covered the Middle East and authoritarian governments in Africa, and I don’t recall seeing police search a critical newsroom like that.

AD: And then lying about it after the fact. They claimed not to have searched news materials when there’s footage of police rifling through journalists’ desks. That’s troubling.

KR: When the FCC put out a statement criticising the raid at Apple Daily and the arrest of Jimmy Lai, they accused us of ‘smearing’ the national security law. They’re implying that even being critical of the law could itself be a violation. That tramples on free speech. I may have to obey the law, but it is still my right to criticise it.

Antony Dapiran (left) and Keith Richburg (right) discuss the implications of the national security law at the FCC on 15 August, 2020. PHOTO: BEN MARANS

August 10 was a sad day for the Hong Kong press. What stood out to you?

SF: We had many sharp shocks that Monday. Around 7 a.m., Jimmy Lai is being arrested. By 10 a.m., the police are entering Next Digital [the publisher of Apple Daily]. Then quietly, news breaks about the immigration situation – people start noticing changes to foreign visa applications. Then we hear about changes to directorships of broadcast news. It was just layer after layer. These weren’t coincidences – every single thing that happened that day is part of creating an atmosphere of fear.

KR: Let’s not forget, the week before, it seemed like politicians had their day. The government disqualified [a dozen] politicians and cancelled the elections entirely.

SF: We have everyone from politicians to video journalists to media executives being targeted… If I look at someone like [freelance journalist and activist] Wilson Li versus [media mogul] Jimmy Lai, it’s clear that this law is an ‘all creatures great and small’ kind of instrument.

AD: It has a calculated chilling effect. I think you’re right – the point they want to make is that anyone is at risk.

KR: I’m speculating a little bit here, but I don’t think their intention is to conduct mass arrests in Hong Kong. With these targeted arrests, they can scare a lot more people.

You know, the old Chinese saying, sha ji xia hou (殺雞儆猴), which means, ‘You kill the chicken to scare the monkey’. That raid on Apple Daily, disqualifying candidates and picking up young students… that’s just killing a few chickens. But all of us monkeys are thinking, ‘Wow, I don’t want to be like that chicken. Maybe I better fall in line.’

How could the law pose problems for journalists?

KR: Personally, I write a lot of op-eds these days. I think it’s still okay to address what’s happening here and offer my interpretations, but I am going to be more cautious about calling on world powers to do anything. That could be interpreted as ‘inciting foreign intervention’.

SF: Anything is possible with this law. Let’s talk about Article 20 on secession, which includes participation as part of the offence. But what is participating in secession? It’s undefined, unclear. Does this include interviewing [a pro-democracy or pro-independence activist]? Are you an accessory if you give them a platform?

KR: We have already seen an increase in self-censorship across some media outlets. And here at the FCC, we do a lot of events and Zoom panels. We have a lot of debates about who to have on, as we have gotten in trouble in the past.

SF: Yes, and the law is unclear [about what it means to advocate secession]. Normally, under Common Law, you would need to prove intent. But the national security law is crafted to be very purposive, meaning that the purpose of the accused individual is presumed. For example, a person will be assumed to have the intention to advocate secession by displaying a flag imprinted with the phrase ‘HK Independence’.

What if a reporter obtains documents that could be considered ‘state secrets’?

KR: Let’s hypothesise: A police officer is upset about police brutality and has some internal documents to prove that the department buried an investigation. The whistleblower passes the documents to a reporter who writes a story. Now, I would imagine the top brass might accuse that reporter of possessing ‘national security documents’ and ‘fomenting unlawful hatred’. What liability would that journalist have?

SF: I think direct [liability]. You might have to publish it overseas. There are no sunshine laws [freedom of information laws in the US that require federal bodies to disclose information]. And, whereas in the US, you can go after the leaker but not the reporter, that won’t stand here.

AD: There would also be pressure on the media to reveal the identity of the leaker. Just saying, ‘I can’t reveal my sources’ is going to be a difficult argument.

Sharron Fast unpacks the law’s vague language at the FCC. PHOTO: BEN MARANS

How might the government punish ‘rogue’ media?

KR: I worked in mainland China as a correspondent for The Washington Post [from 2009 to 2013]. They had this idea of collective punishment. For example, I was invited on a government-sponsored trip to Tibet. At the last minute, they said there was no space for me because The Post had written an editorial criticising what was happening in Xinjiang.

Even though I had nothing to do with it, they said: ‘Yes, but you are The Washington Post’s person in China. So you are responsible.’ So what happens if Nathan Law or Jimmy Lai writes an op-ed that appears in The New York Times or The Washington Post in the US? Since they can’t get to the reporter overseas, would they punish the bureaus here? All we have to go on is how they do it in China.

AD: True, but even though it is hard to report in China, we still see excellent journalism coming out of the country.

KR: Absolutely. China is one of the most restrictive places for journalists in the world. It ranks 177 out of 180 countries, according to Reporters Without Borders. But there’s good journalism being done if you look at Caixin, Southern Weekend, Sixth Tone, The New York Times’ Xinjiang papers…

AD: In Hong Kong, journalists will need to be more careful. They will need to learn from how journalists operate in other countries, like in Thailand, where you can’t criticise the military or the monarchy.

KR: Even in Myanmar, there’s good reporting. It takes brave journalists, brave editors, brave websites that are still going to print this stuff. At the same time, we need to pay attention and start to learn where the red lines are – and know that they will always be shifting.

Could entrapment become more common?

SF: The lengths to which authorities will go to in order to ensnare journalists are still unknown. Right now, everyone’s thinking about legal advice, encryption, using Signal – doing everything possible to keep the forensics clean.

KR: Journalists will figure it out. They have to learn how to navigate the new rules, protect their sources, data and notebooks. We can’t just pretend things are the way they were before. You may have to use burner cell phones, VPNs, remember your interviews instead of taking notes, and assume you’re being surveilled.

AD: That is a good point. The law has a whole raft of mechanisms that can compel people to provide documents and answer questions. So the way journalists record and safeguard their data is going to be important.

Do you think press freedom is dead in Hong Kong?

KR: Press freedom is dead, in terms of being protected by law. That said, I believe press freedom will survive because of the bravery of journalists, who get out there and report.

SF: There is definitely still a pulse. We have a great new cohort at HKU this year. Our students are extremely interested in reporting here; this attempt to extinguish press freedom and free expression is the biggest story in the world right now. It is the story of their generation.

AD: And certainly, I was heartened by the public’s reaction to Apple Daily and all the outpouring of support they’ve seen since the arrests and newsroom raid. That shows how important press freedom is to the people of Hong Kong.

Read the law in full here.

Speaking Up for Press Freedom in Hong Kong

FCC First Vice President and Press Freedom Committee co-convener Eric Wishart revisits the club’s core mission – and the many ways in which it has fought for unfettered, independent journalism since its founding.

Ming Pao’s Lai Chun Kit won the People’s Choice Photo Award at the Human Rights Press Awards 2020 for his shot, “Mattress Shield”, which was taken during clashes with police at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in November 2019.

Hong Kong has been through turbulent times over the past year with the protests and unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently, the imposition of the national security law. The club has witnessed many seismic events since it was founded in China in 1943 and subsequently moved to Hong Kong after the establishment of the PRC in 1949.

From a handful of foreign correspondents that established our foothold in Hong Kong, the FCC has evolved to become one of the most famous and prestigious press clubs in the world, with a large and diverse membership. The FCC is a vibrant place to meet, share views and bring guests. As we have seen over the past year, it serves as a welcoming oasis in troubled times.

Riot police pepper spray a group of journalists on 1 July, 2020. PHOTO: DALE DE LA REY / AFP

It is also important that all members – journalists and non-journalists alike – understand that the defence of press freedom is fundamental to the club’s existence. As the FCC site asserts:

“The club’s core mission is to promote and facilitate journalism of the highest standard, and to promote press freedom across the region.”

Our press freedom actions take a number of forms. For two decades, we have jointly organised and sponsored the Human Rights Press Awards, recognising journalists in Hong Kong and throughout the region for fearless and distinguished reporting. Often focusing on press freedom or human rights themes, our Wall exhibits in the Main Bar showcase the best in photojournalism.

Our speaker events often involve press freedom issues. Last year we held a series of briefings, which we opened up to the community, to help journalists deal with the multiple challenges of covering the protests. When the government adopted the national security law, we held a panel discussion with experts on the potential implications of the law for journalists and press freedom.

We mark World Press Freedom Day and hold shows of solidarity after attacks on journalistic freedom, such as the terrorist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris in 2015.

Engagement is important, and over the past year, we have met representatives of the Hong Kong government, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Hong Kong Police Force. Dialogue remains essential.

The most powerful weapon journalists and defenders of press freedom have at their disposal is the power to shine a light on abuses and threats to the unfettered reporting of the news, which should be conducted without fear or favour.

Silence only encourages those who would turn the free press into a compliant tool and create an environment where journalists work in fear of losing their accreditation, work visas, freedom of movement, or in extreme cases, their lives. Keeping your head down, not “rocking the boat” and hoping things will get better never works when faced with enemies of press freedom.

At the FCC, the Press Freedom Committee is responsible for dealing with the club’s response to threats against journalists and the media, which includes our public statements and letters to the appropriate authorities. It comprises about a dozen members – all working journalists with a wide range of experience.

The FCC hosted a lunch panel on the protests and press freedom on 8 August, 2019. PHOTO: FCC

It represents members of the local and international media and includes journalists at the start of their careers as well as experienced correspondents who have faced a range of press freedom challenges, including in war zones and dealing with dictatorial regimes.

A large number of journalists at the club and in Hong Kong have confronted risks to press freedom, from facing physical threats to vicious online trolling. They have faced up to dictators and authoritarianism and seen colleagues imprisoned, kidnapped and killed.

The committee focuses on challenges to press freedom in Hong Kong, although it will occasionally take up high-profile cases such as the jailing of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar, expulsions of journalists from China, and the jail sentence against Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa in the Philippines. When it comes to cases outside of Hong Kong taken up by the committee, there is often an FCC connection.

The Press Freedom Committee responds to sudden events such as physical assaults or arrests of journalists in Hong Kong, as well as broader issues, such as the cumulative effect of delays in granting visas to correspondents.

The FCC takes a stand for press freedom on 18 September, 2019. PHOTO: NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP

In practical terms, once the committee has decided to act on an issue, a member is designated to write a draft that is then circulated for discussion to the rest of the committee. The process can take a few hours or longer, depending on its complexity. Once the conveners and president sign off on the final version, it is posted on the site, shared on social media and sent to the Board of Governors.

It is important that the club speaks with its own voice – we post statements from other press freedom groups on the FCC site, such as the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute.

However, we limit our social media posts to our own statements, and we avoid taking part in joint statements. We believe that the club should maintain its independence and be answerable solely for its own actions.

Why should the FCC speak up? The best defence of press freedom is to expose abuses and threats, engage with the relevant authorities when necessary, and respect the core mission that was entrusted to us by the founders of the club. Silence is not an option.

Introducing… FCC new members, August 2020

The latest group of members to join the FCC is, as always, an interesting bunch. The membership committee meets regularly to go through applications and is always impressed by the diversity of people who want to join the Club.

Richard Albuquerque

I am the founding partner of Richard Albuquerque & Co., certified public accountants. Our firm is in its 16th year. I came to Hong Kong in 1992 from Mumbai for a holiday, and it became my home. I was a book-keeper when I decided to study accountancy. I passed my first exams before my son Liam was born in 1997; I finished my final exams before my daughter Laila was born in 2001. I thank my wife Shirley and the kids immensely for their support. I enjoy travelling, the gym (coached by my son), swimming, reading and watching movies.

Jeremy Choy

I am managing director of China Renaissance Securities (HK) Ltd. My first encounter with the FCC was rather difficult. One night my wife and I were in the mood for jazz, and we had heard the FCC had the best jazz in town. We walked in (in hindsight it’s more sneaking in), enjoyed a piece or two, and you can guess what happened next. I decided to join the queue for membership. What also attracts me is the spirit the FCC stands for, an open forum for all voices to be heard. This is particularly important at this critical juncture for Hong Kong.

Tom Rogerson

As well as joining the FCC, I’ve hit another milestone of completing my seventh year in Hong Kong. It seems like only yesterday I moved here from Manchester and have loved every one of the fast-paced, Hong Kong minutes. I joined Private Capital in 2017 and am the fourth employee to join the Club, which is on the doorstep of our office – a blessing and a curse! When I’m not helping people change the way they think about investing, you’ll find me on the golf course, running up a hill, or in my kitchen cooking pasta…

Veronica Han

I arrived in Hong Kong 10 years ago – single, young, ambitious, smart, skinny. Now, I am a working mum with two crazy boys, trying to find a balance with work, family and private life, like so many! I moved from Frankfurt, Germany, to be with my husband. I work in the logistics industry, which has given me the opportunity to meet people from so many backgrounds. I’ve been a privileged guest at the FCC on several occasions. I enjoy the atmosphere of the Club; the people, the conversation. And I’ve become a huge fan of the Indian cuisine!

Brendan McGloin

I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, studied in London, and have been in Hong Kong since 2012. For most of that time I’ve been the head of Asia for a UK-based risk consulting firm, but I recently took the plunge, mid-pandemic and all, to start my own research firm with a couple of partners. We’re aiming to open up later this year. In the meantime, the FCC (workroom and then Main Bar and not the other way around) is quickly becoming a second home.

Chin Leng Lim

I make ends meet, people laugh, though sometimes also quite cross. I teach class as Professor of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I have not unpacked some of my belongings carried around the world since I was a teenager. My wife Lyn and I met during treaty negotiations; I may have pretended to have a smattering of Arabic, but can read Malay in the Arabic script. I have been on a camel, jumped out of a Jeep at night, and am known to practise law as a member of the London Bar. I am always gleeful of company, but never of teetotallers. Lyn is a far better creature.

Alan Chan

I was born and educated in Hong Kong. I am a quantity surveyor for BKAsiaPacific Group. I enjoy travelling and one day early in my career I was told that Australia was looking for overseas quantity surveyors. I couldn’t wait to go there. I worked and stayed there until the interest rate shot up to 18 per cent to send me back home in 1990. The venture proved to be very interesting and worthwhile. At least, it gave me a full Australian accent. My subsequent ventures took me to China, India, Singapore and the Philippines.

Robert Karr

I spent my earlier career working in automatic identification systems such as bar codes and RFID technologies which eventually brought me to Hong Kong where my lovely wife, Adeline, had been working in the airline industry since the 1980s. In 2013 I was part of a small group that started STAR Systems International which services the world with technologies for electronic tolling, parking and electronic vehicle registration systems. I am now chief executive. I live in Tung Chung and am fluent in Spanish and can ugly my way through Portuguese. Being from Philadelphia, some may say that I mangle English quite a bit also.

Mari Dhamodran

I run my own firm, Aptus Prime Ltd, that specialises in trust and corporate services and I’ve been in this industry for most of my career. My profession allows me to meet people from across the world. I have lived in Burma, India, and Australia and moved to Hong Kong in the early ’90s. I’m a keen sports enthusiast and love playing tennis and cricket. I also enjoy reading and am an ardent supporter of investigative journalism. Some of my other hobbies include expanding my knowledge of different red wines, exploring the hidden gems of Hong Kong’s restaurant scene, and watching legal dramas.

Dr William Lo, JP

I was trained as a neuroscientist in the ’80s then moved on to the commercial world via McKinsey & Company. I have been in and out of the media and related industries a few times. I was the founder of Netvigator, the largest ISP in Hong Kong, in the mid-90s and vice-chairman of South China Media at the end of the last decade. In between I was CEO of Citibank and ED of China Unicom as well as the vice-chairman of I.T and Kidsland, the fashion and toys retailer, respectively. At the moment, I chair my own digital marketing company, Captcha Media, and am a lead independent non-executive director at TVB.

Marcy Trent Long

I am relatively new to the field of journalism, after 20 years in the energy sector and several years with environmental non-profits. Frustrated with the complexity of recycling in Hong Kong, I began hosting a weekly RTHK3 feature called Trash Talk. One thing led to another, and I partnered with chinadialogue to produce a long form podcast series about China’s policies and initiatives to address the rise of ocean plastic waste. The Sustainable Asia Podcast was born – and in our first year we were nominated for Asia’s Best Podcast. The logical next step? Join the FCC community. My husband Dirk and I are excited to be a part of this historic institution.

Choy Hon-Ping

I am the vice-executive chairman of New World China Limited and the chairman and managing director of Hip Seng Group, the construction company of New World Development Company Ltd in Hong Kong. I have over 40 years’ experience in the property and infrastructure construction sector. I have also served as director for numerous listed property developers and construction companies. I have overseen and participated in projects in Hong Kong, Macau, and the Middle East. I have five children and five grandsons, some of whom are living overseas. I enjoy watching movies and photography.

Benny Yip

I serve on the Institutional Relationship Management team in the Global Client Development department at HKEX. I joined HKEX in September 2015 after holding a similar role at CME Group in Hong Kong for two years. I have 24 years of industry experience, most of them as a cash equity trader across the U.S., Europe, and Asia markets. My trading experience includes buyside trading, sellside trading, sales trading, proprietary trading, program/algo trading, and being the head of five different sales trading and trading desks. I have a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business. I grew up in New York and relocated to Hong Kong in October 2010.

Man Cheong Tsoi

My wife Bonnie and I are glad we can have an opportunity to meet you all at the FCC. I am retired and my wife is a doctor. We married in 2014 and our wedding was held at St Paul’s Church, which is so near to our Club. We love travelling and our most exciting moment was to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the first day of 2019! My hearing has been bad since I was young and has become worse after marriage so you will always see us together at the Club as my wife is my ears now!

Jérémy André

The year I was born, 1984, describes well the times we live in. My heart belongs to the shores of Brittany, where I spent my holidays as a child. I grew up in the grey and wet suburbs of Paris, into my 20s drinking, dreaming, studying and teaching history. After a six-month trip to China in 2010, I slowly became a journalist. I lived two years in Iraq, covered the battle of Mosul, the genocide in Sinjar, the invasion of Afrin by Turkey and the fall of the caliphate in Baghouz in Syria, the 2019 protests in Hong Kong and now Covid-19, being appointed Asia Correspondent of French newsmagazine Le Point in January 2020. I love exploring uncharted territories and am a guide for the forbidden parts of the catacombs of Paris.

Ying-Wai Wu

British born, I’ve lived in London most of my life. I decided to give Hong Kong a try in 2009. A place I was familiar with from childhood holidays (including the ’97 handover), yet not so familiar since I never stayed long. I have a soft spot for Hong Kong since my family grew up here. I’ve worked in the financial industry (buy and sell side) in London, and saw Hong Kong as an opportunity after the 2008 financial crisis. I am now vice-president, compliance, for Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. I have an appetite for great cuisine, and a passion for the arts, music and film. I like to get away whenever time permits, whether a lazy beach holiday or more cultural offerings.

Edward Beeley

Dissolute work-shy freeloader seeks friendship, diversion, entertainment for self and charming wife Liane within hallowed halls of local institution. Deep passion for press freedom and self-expression combined with lethargic, pretentious snows-of-yesteryear melancholy and rapacious millennial consumerist avarice. Work: engineer turned solicitor delivering outstanding full-spectrum client service etc in Asia’s World City. Play: satire, guitar, dreadnought battleship construction and fire control, hiking. Activism: occasional; beloved chairman/celestial leader of British Chamber of Commerce youth wing. Likes: conversation, arts, adjectives. Dislikes: writing to a word lim…

Christopher Jones

I climbed Mount Everest and fought off sharks while swimming the Amazon … sounds great but unfortunately it’s not true! Part of the reason none of that is true is because I pursued a career in finance. I am managing director at Deutsche Bank AG, which I joined in 2008. I enjoy my work … hey if I did not, I would be atop Mt Everest! Well, actually in a way I am; I am blessed with a lovely wife and a beautiful 14-year-old daughter. I play field hockey and am an avid sports enthusiast. I collect South Asian art and vintage watches and would love to collect classic cars but unfortunately only have one in Hong Kong, a 1969 E-Type … I am a contented man.

Vikram Singh

I visited Hong Kong in the mid-80s as a student when Kai Tak was still operational but never imagined then we would move to Hong Kong. We’ve been on the move my entire airline career having lived in India, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, South Africa, the Netherlands and Qatar. I now run an airline services business, Air Logistics Ltd. Business has kept me in a plane most weeks for the past 10 years and it is surreal to have been on the ground for over two months now during the COVID-19 pandemic. And watching my team around the world stepping up to continue shipping cargo – to do our part to keep goods and essential items moving in this unprecedented crisis.

Petra Carlberg

Together with my husband, Anders, I was introduced to the FCC by our hiking friends. As a Swede, I enjoy outdoor life. When I moved to Hong Kong, I joined a hiking group to continue with my hobby. Pimm’s, the labrador, is a happy companion on the hikes. My background is a mix of exploration and enjoying my home ground. My past includes British boarding schools and living in the 1980s in the United Arab Emirates. I have always worked more or less connected to international business, mainly in the supply chain, with extensive travelling around the world.

Grounded? Take a dive in Hong Kong to reveal underwater gems

COVID-19 has grounded travellers in recent months, so Hong Kong people have been exploring closer to home. Keen diver Christopher Dillon has great tips for exploring the treasures beneath the waters around these islands

Flatworms repel predators by excreting foul-tasting mucus

Mention Hong Kong as a potential dive location and you’ll probably hear “Why in God’s name would you want to dive there?” or “Can you actually dive in Hong Kong?” You’re unlikely to confuse Hong Kong with the Philippines, but you can dive here. And there’s plenty to see, including wrecks, reefs and marine life.

Hong Kong’s main dive sites can be divided into three groups. South of Hong Kong Island, there are sites near Po Toi, and Beaufort and Waglan islands that are a short distance from Aberdeen. These locations generally have poor visibility, typically 1–5 metres, due to their proximity to the heavily populated Pearl River Delta.

In the northeast, Rocky Harbor and Port Shelter are accessible from Sai Kung. Sites here include Bluff, Basalt and Shelter islands. Further north, there’s diving in and around Double Haven, including Crescent, Double and Crooked islands. With calm seas, it’s also possible to dive the Ninepin Group, which are southeast of Clear Water Bay.

Diving off Crescent Island and Round Island, near Plover Cove, NT, Hong Kong

Sites in the northeast are near blue water, which results in visibility of up to 12 metres. From Double Haven, you can see Shenzhen’s massive Yantian Port. Divers visiting these sites pass through the Tolo Barrier, a Hong Kong police checkpoint in the Tolo Channel. Clean water, beautiful scenery and a variety of sites make Double Haven a personal favorite.

The South China Diving Club (scdc.org.hk) and commercial operators such as Scuba Monster (www.scubamonster.com.hk) and Diving Adventure (www.divinghk.com) offer regular expeditions to sites throughout Hong Kong. Dives are staged from junks, dedicated dive boats and speedboats, with amenities ranging from spartan to hot lunches and showers. Operators generally provide tanks and weights, and you can rent fins, buoyancy compensation devices, dive computers, regulators, masks and wet suits. You’ll need to show a certification card to dive with these groups.

What can you see?

For history buffs, there are cannon, anchors, heavy chain and the occasional piece of World War II ordinance. Accumulated silt and time mean many of these items are well hidden.

Hong Kong is home to many species of sea anemone

Despite Hong Kong’s reputation for pollution and overfishing, there’s lots of life in our waters. Octopuses, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, crabs, eels, rays, brightly coloured coral and hundreds of species of fish are common. Hong Kong Geopark’s spectacular rock formations overlook many sites in the northeast.

For more than 20 years, Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has installed and maintained nearly 700 artificial reefs. Located in and outside marine parks, the reefs are built from a variety of materials, including steel-hulled ships and old tyres. The reefs serve as feeding, spawning and nursery areas for grouper, bream, snapper, sweetlips and other species.

Diving in Hong Kong is relaxed

Strong currents are uncommon and most dives are less than 15 metres deep. Visibility is best in winter, when water temperatures can drop to 18–19 degrees Celsius. That calls for a 7-millimetre wet suit and hood or a dry suit. In summer, water temperatures are around 28–29 C, which is comfortable in a 3-millimetre wet suit or a shorty suit. Hong Kong dives are shallow, so there’s little call for nitrox or exotic gas blends.

Christopher Dillon, here on a recent dive, wants others to discover the joys of diving

Compared to Australia, where visibility can reach 40 metres, Hong Kong’s turbid water isn’t ideal for shooting wide-angle photographs or video. But macro photography, with close-ups of smaller subjects, can work well. Point-and-shoot cameras with operating depths of up to 10 metres are available from major manufacturers.

Hong Kong does have hazards, including Diadema sea urchins covered with foot-long, needle-sharp spines and weedy stingfish, which are well disguised and have toxic spines along their backs. Container ships in busy shipping channels don’t mix well with divers, nor do inattentive pleasure craft operators.

Why Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is a great place to learn to dive. Major industry organisations, including the British Sub Aqua Club, NAUI, PADI and SSI, are represented here and there are dozens of dive shops and indoor and outdoor pools. Through dive shops, NAUI, PADI and SSI offer inexpensive “try dives” that combine a couple of hours of classroom instruction with a pool session where you can experience the underwater world firsthand.

Low visibility makes Hong Kong suitable for macro photography

In Hong Kong, even remote dive sites are easy to reach. We are also near the coral triangle, which encompasses Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. One of the planet’s most important centers of biodiversity, the coral triangle is home to some of the world’s best diving. Outside the triangle, there’s excellent diving in Thailand, Japan and other destinations, including historic World War II shipwrecks in Chuuk.

Whether you’re learning to dive, honing your skills for an overseas trip, or enjoying a sunny Sunday in the New Territories, Hong Kong diving is worth a peek beneath the surface.

*More of Christopher’s diving photos are available at dilloncommunications.com/images

Christopher Dillon was chairman of the Hong Kong–based South China Diving club from 2018 to 2020. He has been a member of the FCC since 1992 and is principal of Dillon Communications Ltd

The ex-convict now broadcasting to a captive audience of Hong Kong prisoners

Bruce Aitken, who spent 10 months in jail, broadcasts to prisoners in Hong Kong every Sunday night. Here he looks at how the pandemic is giving people insights into what it means to forfeit freedom

Bruce in the studio while broadcasting to his ‘captive audience’

Bruce Aitken in the studio while broadcasting to his ‘captive audience’

The present world calamity caused by the COVID-19 virus has given us all a chance, wished for or not, to get off of our treadmill and take a good look around, smell the roses and reflect on what is important to us in life. It gives us all a taste of imprisonment in many ways.

Social animals by nature, we have tasted the loss of freedom of movement and of choice, to meet with family and friends, for healthy affection and fulfilment of our dreams. For many it has focused attention, perhaps for the first time, on faith and the spiritual.

These same losses are experienced in much more profound ways by people who are imprisoned in Hong Kong’s correctional institutions. They often face long years forgotten by a society that focuses on punishment and monotony rather than on rehabilitation. The physical environment in prisons here is good compared to most countries in terms of cleanliness and hygiene, but there is still much to be desired. A good example is access to educational opportunities.

As we experience a taste of being somewhat confined or even briefly in quarantine, think of what it must be like to spend 10, 15 or more years in a prison such as Stanley Prison or Shek Pik Prison for men, or Lo Wu Correctional Institution or Tai Lam Centre for Women, for the crime of being a drug mule.

Day after day is the same, inmates required to work for a pittance, allowed only one 10-minute phone call home every month, with basic food and a small selection of snacks purchased from inmate wages. The snack selection has not changed in many years.

While I do not condone the crime, often committed out of poverty, it is the small fish, the mule, that pays the price while the big fish, the kingpins, often remain free.

Ignorance of the laws in Hong Kong can result in serving many years in prison. Even with a third off for pleading guilty, there is little hope of remission, even for the best model prisoners. (See box below)

The old Monopoly game offered a “Get out of Jail Free” pass to the lucky player but in real life those securely locked down in Hong Kong prisons are there for the duration.

Some respite is offered every Sunday night, for two-and-a-half hours, when they tune in, on their tiny purchased radios, to AM 1044 Metro Plus and the Hour of Love and Prison Visitation on the Air, programmes that I have produced and hosted for 16 years.

Stanley Prison

Known as Brother Bruce to my captive audience, the programme conjures up release from the chains that confine the soul, the spirit and the mind within the dark cocoon of prison walls. As one man writes in addressing his cell in Stanley Prison: “Physically I might never escape from you. But every Sunday from 8.30pm-11pm I will escape from you through the airwaves if you like it or not.”

What is unique about the programme is that listeners in Hong Kong and around the globe have an opportunity to learn much about the lives of peoples of all nationalities in our correctional institutions. In their walled-off society, inmates come to rely on their faith, and on ways to help each other when times are tough – such as loss of a loved one, missing their children growing up without them, birthdays and holidays spent confined.

On the radio programme, real letters from inmates are received and read live into the public realm, dozens of short recorded messages are received from friends and family, and live messages from around the world are streamed on Facebook.

The programme has become a critical lifeline for prisoners, especially foreigners who have no local family support. Prisoners write and their families phone in requests to read letters, play special songs and exchange greetings in many languages.

In this picture taken on March 2, 2017, a prison officer opens a gate at Stanley Prison in Hong Kong. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

With its steady diet of scripture readings, along with praise and worship music, the Hour of Love offers both a welcome tissue for isolated tears and a source of happiness and joy.

There are no dull moments while on the air. As many a prisoner has said over the years Prison Visitation on the Air is not only great fun, it offers inmates a profound understanding of how good men and women can sometimes do things that society considers objectionable.

Support for the programme relies on donations, and our mission has evolved into not only the hours required to produce and broadcast live every Sunday night, but also days of travel visiting inmates on a one-to-one basis.

Nothing makes a person happier than having a visit while in prison. A sense of self-esteem and happiness radiates, and the visiting guest comes away with a sense of purpose and peace. And it is open to everyone.

FCC member Bruce Aitken is from New Jersey, U.S., and has lived in Hong Kong since 1972. Convicted for money laundering in the late 1980s, he wrote the bestseller The Cleaner, The True Story of one of the World’s Most Successful Money Launderers about the experience

‘Just as I came across a rainbow on the third day of the PolyU siege, I still have hope’

By any standards this has been an extraordinary year for Jessie Pang and Mary Hui to be the FCC’s first Clare Hollingworth Fellows. Here they share some thoughts on protests, the pandemic and press freedom.

Marco Leung, 35, unfurling banners against the now withdrawn extradition bill on the rooftop of Pacific Place on June 15, 2019. He died after he fell from construction scaffolding

At the time of writing this reflection, Hong Kong has entered another watershed moment. Some Western governments, business leaders and international rights groups say Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong is the beginning of the end for China’s freest city.

I didn’t realise what it truly meant to become a Clare Hollingworth Fellow until I found myself following in her footsteps. Just as Clare Hollingworth didn’t expect to cover wars or break the news of World War Two after being a journalist for less than a week, I never thought I would be reporting in the eye of the storm and witnessing my hometown turn into a conflict zone.

A rainbow forms near the bridge where protesters escape past riot police at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) campus that had been on lockdown for a week in Hong Kong, November 19, 2019

I was less than one year out of college when protests escalated. When I woke every morning, all I wished for was to become more experienced. Yet, here I was, covering the ebbs and flows of nearly daily protests and sometimes violent clashes between police and protesters on the frontlines for almost a year.

Every day presented new challenges. Like many of my fellow journalists and Hongkongers, I witnessed key moments throughout the protests. Those images are still vivid in my mind and motivated me to continue to report to the world the events as they unfolded in Hong Kong.

An exhausted protester sleeping on the No. 2 bridge of Chinese University of Hong Kong on November 13, 2019

I often wonder what happened to the protester who gave me his gas mask and filters when he found out mine was broken on my way to the airport; what happened to the protester who took my number to ensure I left the No. 2 bridge at CUHK safely?

I wish I had the chance to revisit some of those moments and faces and ask them: “How are you now?” or “Can you tell me your story?”

Lawmakers Eddie Chu and Jeremy Tam face riot police on July 1, 2019

International rights groups say Beijing’s proposal to impose a national security law in Hong Kong has only exacerbated concerns over press freedom in the city and could have grave implications for civil and media liberties. Balanced and truthful reporting on Hong Kong has never been more important.

Just as I came across a rainbow on the third day of the PolyU siege, I still have hope.

I have met and become friends with so many talented journalists during the protests. I know that we, fellow journalists, will continue to pursue and present the truth impartially, to show the beauty and the complexities of our city, and to let people tell their story.

Jessie Pang, Reuters

SWEPT UP BY A WAVE OF DISRUPTION

Hong Kong-based lawyer and writer, Antony Dapiran; Mary Hui, a reporter for Quartz; and vice convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, Bonnie Leung Wing-Man talking about the Hong kong protest- What happened and what's next. at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong (FCC) on July 10th 2019

Hong Kong-based lawyer and writer, Antony Dapiran; and Mary Hui, a reporter for Quartz; at the FCC on July 10, 2019

Like everything else this year, the Club’s inaugural Claire Hollingworth Fellowship has been swept up in the world’s wave of disruption. We were just getting into the swing of organising panels for the annual Journalism Conference when the prudent decision was made to postpone the event. Soon, social distancing regulations were tightened, and I avoided going to restaurants and bars altogether. Close contacts were also kept to a small circle of people. The handful of Club events that I did attend were lunch panels over Zoom. Such is 2020.

Still, even as the fellowship draws to a close, I look forward to continuing as a member of the club and joining the Club’s Press Freedom committee.

Mary Hui, Quartz

Congratulations to Jennifer Creery of Hong Kong Free Press and freelance reporter Tiffany Liang who have been named as the Clare Hollingworth Fellows, 2020-21. Interviews with the award winners will appear in October’s The Correspondent.

On The Wall: As strong as the war, as soft as the peace

Photographs and words by Nicole Tung

The Hong Kong-born photojournalist and 2018 recipient of the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting, Nicole Tung says: “I’d say the increased targeting of journalists around the world makes this profession much more difficult, and I have either had to stop working in one place or go about it in a different way – Syria was one example of that.”

A protestor throws a tear gas canister back at the riot police in Tsuen Wan neighbourhood in Hong Kong, China on August 25, 2019 following the end of a rally in which thousands participated.

People celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Peoples’ Republic of China as several dozen people joined a gathering to show their support of the Chinese government despite concerns that anti-government protests would continue on the day, on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 in Hong Kong, China.

Life after ISIS: Men bathe in thermal baths in Hammam al Alil two days after Iraqi forces liberated the town from ISIS as they retreat further into Mosul.

Khaled Mohamed and his bride-to-be step out of the bride’s house before their wedding ceremony in Mosul, Iraq. Both Khaled and his brother Hashem (not pictured) married their fiancees on the same day surrounded by family and neighbours.

Members of the Raqqa Civil Defense pray before at least 15 bodies and remains of people they retrieved from a mass grave, before reburying them in a cemetery further away from the city center, as seen in Raqqa, Syria. June 2018.

Women, some suspected of being ISIS family members, are seen at a screening point near Baghouz, Syria. February 2019.

Osama Abdulmonem, 27, readies a wedding dress for display in his shop in Mosul, Iraq. Abdulmonem’s shop remained open under ISIS but he had to sell used dresses as there was no way of importing new material or ready-made ones from outside of the city, especially Turkey, where he usually acquires them.

Men sit in a tea house smoking and playing dominoes in east Mosul, Iraq. The tea house remained open during ISIS’s rule over the city from 2014, but no board games, dominoes, or any other entertainment was allowed.

A mother cries while she cradles her son Laith, whom she had not seen for two years as they were finally reunited at the Hassan Sham camp for internally displaced persons near Mosul, Iraq.