Taipei, August 23, 2024 – The Hong Kong Immigration Department has denied a work visa to Bloomberg News reporter Haze Fan, a Chinese national who was previously detained for at least 13 months by national security officials in Beijing.
“Hong Kong authorities should not normalize the practice of refusing foreign or mainland Chinese journalists visa applications or renewals,” said Iris Hsu, CPJ’s China representative. “The government must recognize that the city’s economic vitality heavily depends on the work of these journalists.”
On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s independent news site Hong Kong Free Press reported that Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait announced in a staff notice Fan’s visa denial and her subsequent transfer to the outlet’s London office.
Fan was first detained in Beijing by plainclothes security officials in December 2020 on suspicion of participating in activities that endangered national security. She was released on bail in January 2022, according to a statement by Chinese authorities dated May 2022. However, the journalist was unable to be located for more than a month, according to her employer.
On Tuesday, a Hong Kong Journalists Association reported in its annual survey that the city’s press freedom is currently at its lowest point in 11 years. The survey, which gathered responses from 1,000 public members and 251 journalists, revealed journalists’ significant concerns about the impact of Article 23 national security legislation, which can be used to criminalize journalistic practice under the guise of national security, on Hong Kong’s media.
A Bloomberg News spokesperson declined to comment on Fan’s visa application in an emailed request for comment sent by CPJ.
The Hong Kong immigration department did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.