The Hong Kong Journalists Association annual report, released on July 7, shows a deterioration of press freedom in the special administrative region as China toughens its “one country” policy.
The report, entitled “Red Line Stifles Freedoms,” documents events over the last year that have damaged free expression in Hong Kong, such as a proposed extradition law that would allow fugitive suspects to be sent to mainland China, incidents of censorship in local publications, government inaction in enacting a proposed freedom of information law, the visa denial of Financial Times Asia News Editor Victor Mallet after he chaired a talk by pro-independence activist Andy Chan Ho-tin at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, and indifference to the cause of press freedom fostered by Communist Party of China propaganda.
The report also highlighted complaints filed by journalists against police officers over the alleged use of excessive force during protests in June, which CPJ covered at the time.
In a press release accompanying the report, the journalists association urged the Hong Kong government to “reaffirm [its] commitment to uphold freedom of expression and freedom of the press through concrete actions and convincing words.”
The full report can be seen here.