The Foreign Correspondents' Club Hong Kong

We will keep publishing for as long as we can: New Naratif editor on the challenges facing independent news in Singapore

The challenges of running an independent news website in Singapore on a shoestring budget as the government continues to squeeze press freedom were discussed by freelance journalist and editor Kirsten Han.

Kirsten Han, editor-in-chief of Singaporean news website, New Naratif, has been accused of publishing political material. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

Fresh from her appearance on the Fighting Fake News In Asia panel at the 3rd FCC Journalism Conference on April 14, Han told of her battle with Singapore’s accounting and corporate regulatory authority to have New Naratif, the website of which she is editor-in-chief, registered as a subsidiary company. Currently, the fledgling news operation is owned by Observatory Southeast Asia Ltd (OSEA UK), a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) has rejected the application, saying it “would amount to allowing a foreign entity or foreigners to fund and influence political activities in Singapore”. Acra added that granting the application would be “contrary to Singapore’s national interests”.

New Naratif, launched in September 2017, is subscriber-funded and has 457 members in 17 different countries. It describes itself as a “platform for journalism, art, research, and community-building for the people of this region” and seeks to “go deeper” than rival news organisations covering Southeast Asia.

New Naratif website.

“We’re not interested in reporting events,” Han said, adding that she left the day-to-day news coverage to rivals, instead opting for providing different perspectives and insights on a story. “If we cannot beat them on their own turf, we will take the turf they cannot stand on,” she added.

New Naratif is non-profit and operates on a tiny budget. It relies heavily on freelancers, who, Han said, get paid before the editors pay themselves. She said she doesn’t believe in not paying contributors as is common practice with some news organisations. The site takes on staff with no journalism experience because “we want to get more local writers writing about Southeast Asia”, Han said.

Singapore ranked #151 in last year’s World Press Freedom Index, an annual survey produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which described the country as having an intolerant government, and self-censorship. It also highlighted various legislation it believes will stifle independent reporting, including a proposed law that would allow the police to search homes and electronic devices without a warrant, posing “a grave threat to the confidentiality of journalists’ sources”.

But Han said she is undeterred: “We will keep publishing for as long as we can,” she said.

Clarification: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that New Naratif had 3,500 members. We apologise for the error.

We’re keeping an eye on it: Macau journalists’ association on its fight to safeguard press freedom

Journalists in Macau still enjoy a level of press freedom despite incidents such as the barring of Hong Kong reporters into the enclave following Typhoon Hato in 2016, says the president of the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM).

José Carlos Matias spoke about press freedom in Macau on January 18, 2018. Photo: Sarah Graham/FCC

And while publications in the Special Administrative Region receive government subsidies, this has not affected the integrity of the Portuguese or English language newspapers, said AIPIM president José Carlos Matias, emphasising that this was his opinion. He added that he was unable to comment on Chinese language publications.

The 30 square kilometre former Portuguese colony, has the highest concentration of media in the world, with a staggering 18 daily newspapers (in Chinese, Portuguese and English) to serve the 648,000 population. Additionally it has 19 weeklies, two TV and radio stations.

In recent years, Macau has been the focus of fears over press freedom. In August 2016, four journalists – one from HK01, one from South China Morning Post and two from Apple Daily – were denied entry to Macau in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Hato. The government cited that they ‘posed a threat to the stability of the territory’s internal security’.

“The explanation by the authorities we found particularly hard to understand to say the least,” Matias told FCC guests. “We have to keep an eye on this problem that is becoming relatively common.”

In a separate incident, Portuguese-language weekly, Plataforma, was ordered by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) to remove from its online edition an interview with a candidate of the Legislative Assembly elections. Matias explained that in Macau there is a period between publication of candidate lists and the start of the campaign during which electoral propaganda is banned. However, AIPIM issued a statement at the time that said: “AIPIM deplores this situation, stressing that it is perplexing that news content, such as an interview, can be considered electoral propaganda.”

Soon after, AIPIM conducted a survey among around half of its journalist members that highlighted a growing trend among authorities to limit access to information to reporters. Matias said that part of the issue was the shortage of bilingual translators working in the judiciary and government departments, where the predominant language is Chinese.

The survey, analysed by an independent third party committee of experts, also found that 80% of journalists believed there was press freedom in Macau; 70% didn’t face violation of press freedom rights; and 76% dealt with different types of restraint.

Matias said that future aims of the AIPIM include conducting new surveys to go deeper into the challenges faced by journalists; and to deepen ties with Chinese journalists’ associations to promote press freedom and access to information.

FCC expresses concern over the exclusion of major news organisations from China’s political unveiling

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, is concerned at the unexplained barring of several major international news organisations from the most important political event in China in the last five years.

The BBC, the Financial Times, the Economist, the New York Times and the Guardian were all denied access to the unveiling of the new Politburo Standing Committee in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: AFP

The BBC, the Financial Times, the Economist, the New York Times and the Guardian were all denied access to the unveiling of the new Politburo Standing Committee in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the morning of October 25.

Chinese government officials did not explain why these particular news organisations were all excluded from the carefully stage-managed event attended by some 2,000 journalists. A statement from the congress media centre said that space was limited on Wednesday and noted that the media concerned had been able to attend previous briefings.

However, it seems almost certain that they were likely barred simply because of their, at times, critical coverage of China and Chinese politics.

As the Foreign Correspondents Club of China noted in a statement yesterday: “Using media access as a tool to punish journalists whose coverage the Chinese authorities disapprove of is a gross violation of the principles of press freedom.”

Restricting media access to key political events is an ominously retrograde step for a country and government that claims to be open and transparent. Moreover, it contrasts sharply with the relatively free and open access given to foreign journalists at Communist Party Congresses in the 1980s and 90s when the country was just re-emerging on the world stage.

If China wants to be seen as responsible leader of the global community it should honour President Xi Jinping’s claim that the country “welcomes objective reporting and constructive suggestions” and allow both domestic and foreign journalists to do their job.

FCC supports HKJA statement on threatening letters to Hong Kong Free Press staff

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, supports the Hong Kong Journalists Association as it calls for the police to thoroughly investigate threatening letters sent to Hong Kong Free Press staff and their family members.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association is appalled at the threat mails received by the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) over the weeks. We call on the police to investigate it with its best endeavour. Journalists should be allowed to work without fear.

An excerpt from a letter sent to the family of Hong Kong Free Press editor-in-chief, Tom Grundy. Photo: HKFP

The intimidation is real not only because the threat to harm but also the delivery of the letters to the home address of two journalists, namely HKFP’s Editor in Chief Tom Grundy and commentator Tim Hamlett as well as that of Mr Grundy’s family in UK.

The letters warned two and their team from “spreading hatred and dividing Hong Kong, China society”.

The one sent to Mr Grundy’s family said: “In politics, when one does not know ones enemies clearly, one could get hurt… I and many people would really regret if something happen to Tom in the next few years.”

These have gone beyond disagreement of a media’s editorial line and should not be tolerated in Hong Kong where press freedom is promised by the Basic Law. We understood the journalists have reported the threats to the police. The authorities should ensure their safety with their best effort.

Hong Kong Journalists Association
4 October 2017

Macau press freedom survey: Journalists cite decline in access to information

SCMP photographer Felix Wong was prevented from entering Macau. Photo: SCMP

Press freedom still exists in Macau in spite of a growing trend among authorities to limit access to information, according to a survey of journalists operating in the special administrative region.

While 79.55% of reporters surveyed agreed there was press freedom and 70.45% said they had never been subject to a violation of press freedom rights, a majority said that they had encountered obstacles in accessing sources of information, particularly the judiciary (68.18%). The survey found that 58.82% of respondents described access to the Government as the executive body as ‘difficult’; and 54.55% said the same of access to the group executing governmental policy and providing services to the residents of the MSAR.

The relatively small number (20.45%) who said they had been subject to a violation of press freedom rights detailed incidents including the ‘Case of the Gravesites’, in which one journalist described a refusal of rights to sign notices of political nature; or of Oktoberfest 2015, in which “during the press conference the journalists were instructed to not ask questions that weren’t related to the event, as well as being instructed to ask questions about the brand of beer sponsoring the event”.

The survey, conducted in November 2016 by the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM), comes just weeks after the publication of the 2017 annual World Press Freedom Index in which Reporters Without Borders (RSF) highlighted Thailand, where the media industry is increasingly muzzled by a military government; and Cambodia, where defamation laws have been criminalised to silence dissent.

Since the survey was conducted, Macau has been at the centre of two incidents indicating an erosion of press freedom. In August this year, four journalists – one from HK01, one from South China Morning Post and two from Apple Daily – were trying to cover the clean-up work in Macau after the enclave was heavily hit by the Severe Typhoon Hato. They were denied entry on the grounds that they ‘posed a threat to the stability of the territory’s internal security’.

Shortly afterwards, the AIPIM learned that the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) had ordered weekly newspaper Plataforma to remove from its online edition an interview with a candidate to the Legislative Assembly elections.

FCC statement on detention of photojournalists covering Rohingya crisis

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong and the Editorial Committee of The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) are deeply concerned about the detention of photojournalist Minzayar Oo and his assistant Hkun Lat, Myanmar citizens who were on assignment in Bangladesh for GEO magazine to cover the Rohingya crisis. We call on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release both of them.

Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat were assigned by GEO magazine because of their professionalism and their journalistic integrity. Minzayar Oo is an internationally renowned, award winning photojournalist, whose work is published widely and has been recognised by some of the world’s most important journalism awards.

The pair were detained more than a week ago in Cox’s Bazar, where around 400,000 Rohingya have sought refuge since August from the fresh violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Their lawyer told AFP that they were charged with “false impersonation” and providing “false information” after police accused them of using the cover of tourist visas to enter the country, instead of journalist visas.

Cox’s Bazar police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ranjit Kumar Barua said the pair were also “primarily accused of espionage.”

“They were collecting information on the Rohingya for Myanmar,” he said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was unable to get comments regarding the matter from the Cox’s Bazar police immediately. Calls to Ranjit Barua were unanswered, and police did not respond to email promptly.

Cambodia Daily closure: FCC Hong Kong calls on government to drop charges against proprietors

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong expresses deep regret over the closure of The Cambodia Daily, which ceased operations on September 4 under government threats of legal action over a tax dispute. The independent newspaper, established in 1993 to provide a foundation of press freedom in an emerging democracy, trained dozens of local journalists and boasts an alumni spread across media outlets around the region and the world. Its demise is a blow to press freedom and diversity.

As the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia has noted, the government calculated a huge tax bill without referring to The Cambodia Daily’s books, and gave no opportunity for the newspaper to appeal or negotiate. Moreover, the Tax Department has reportedly filed criminal charges against its founder and two directors that could see them jailed for six years.

The episode shows how quickly a government can use its powers to silence the press, particularly smaller local independent publications lacking in financial means and international reach.

The FCCHK calls on the Cambodian government to drop any criminal charges against the publishers and seek a fair resolution of the tax dispute with The Cambodia Daily. It also urges the government to refrain from any other actions that undermine press freedom in the country, bearing in mind the benefits that a robust media environment serves in fostering democracy and promoting transparency.

The Cambodia Daily, whose motto was “All the News Without Fear or Favor”, sought to be a voice for the voiceless. Its abrupt closure after a quarter of a century shows that press freedom cannot be taken for granted.

FCC statement on threats to Al Jazeera

Three years ago, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong stood with our Al Jazeera English colleagues convicted in Egypt in a shocking attack on press freedom everywhere.

Today, we reiterate that call on behalf of Al Jazeera itself.

More than ever, the Gulf region and the world need the services of a news-gathering organisation that brings a unique, informed perspective.

To those that demand that Al Jazeera be shut down, and those that attack the work of our colleagues as fake news:

We demand journalists be able to do their jobs free from intimidation and threat.

We demand diversity of thought and opinion be cherished, not feared.

We demand the public have access to unbiased information.

We demand journalists not be treated as criminals.

We demand those without a voice be heard.

We demand press freedom.

You can join the conversation and share your demands using the hashtag #DemandPressFreedom.

FCC supports HKJA letter to Carrie Lam over discriminatory policy against Hong Kong online media

The FCC supports this letter from Hong Kong Journalists Association to new Chief Executive Carrie Lam over the Hong Kong government’s continued discriminatory policy against online-only media.

Dear Mrs Lam,

We are writing to express our disappointment in your failure to honour your promise to stop the government’s discriminatory policy against online-only media.

Journalists working in those media have been barred from attending at least two of your important press events, namely your first press gathering in your official capacity as the Chief Executive on July 3 and your press conference to introduce your team of principal officials on June 21.

The ban has contravened the press freedom charter that you have signed at an election campaign forum hosted by us. In the charter, you pledged to grant online-only media equal rights and access to government press functions.

Those arrangements have run against an earlier judgement by the Ombudsman Office that found the present ban unreasonable. The Ombudsman has called for flexibility in the accreditation of online journalists before a policy review is completed.

We appreciated that you and your campaign team have engaged online media in your campaign. Online journalists have been invited to attend all of your press events during the election campaign. By doing so, you have proved the so-called space and security concern raised by the Government in defending their ban is mere excuse. To keep the unreasonable and unjust policy towards online media after you took office unchanged is unacceptable.

We urge you to accept the Ombudsman’s recommendations in particular its call for flexibility. Before the completion of policy review, online-only journalists should be granted access to government press functions on the production of membership cards from the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association.

We look forward to your prompt response and are happy to discuss with you on the matter.

Hong Kong Journalists Association
4 July 2017

FCC and HKJA ‘concerned’ at government demand for journalists’ personal details for Handover anniversary coverage

The FCC stands by Hong Kong Journalists Association by co-signing this letter highlighting concerns that journalists have to provide personal details including their HKID number. They are also required to consent to the transfer of their personal data to the police.

Mr Joe Wong

The Director

Information Services Department

Dear Mr Wong,

We are writing to express our concern on the press accreditation for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the city’s return to China.

According to accreditation form sent to us by our members, journalists have to provide personal details including their HKID number. They are also required to consent to the transfer of their personal data to the police.

This arrangement deviates from the long-held press accreditation practise of the government in which the police is rarely involved. A good comparison will be the One Belt One Road forum attended by Mr Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Journalists were required to submit their personal data for accreditation and to bring along their identity card for entrance. There was no suggestion of police involvement in this process. Neither did the journalists have to consent to the passing of their personal information to the police.

There is no justification in changing the accreditation practice that has served every party well over the years. The personal data provided should be sufficient in identity verification while the meticulous security check and bag search at the door step of the venue would keep the event free from any hazard.

We are also disappointed that the digital-only media and their journalists are denied entry to this significant event. This is despite earlier appeals from both the Ombudsman and the High Court.

Both institutions have asked the government to be flexible in the accreditation of digital-only media before a review on the policy is completed. However, none of them has received any invitation to register for the event so far.

Both issues should be rectified as soon as possible. The police should not be involved in the accreditation of journalists. No journalist should be forced to consent to the transfer of their personal data to the police in order to get entry to the event. Journalists from digital-only media holding the association’s membership cards should be accredited and allowed entry to celebration events. That has always been the policy under the Police General Orders.

We look forward to your prompt reply.

Hong Kong Journalists Association

14 June 2017