Foreign Correspondents’ Club’s decision to cancel this year’s Human Rights Press Awards is further evidence of the destruction of press freedom in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Watch is deeply concerned about the decision by Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) today to cancel the annual Human Rights Press Awards.
It is yet another stark reminder of just how far press freedom has been destroyed in Hong Kong and comes just a day before the launch of Hong Kong Watch’s new report on the issue, In the Firing Line: The Crackdown on Media Freedom in Hong Kong.
The annual awards, which would have been in their 26th year, celebrate top rights-related reporting from around Asia.
Commenting on the FCC’s decision, Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive and a former member of the FCC, said: “This is yet another serious blow to press freedom in Hong Kong. It is not just a loss for Hong Kong, but for the cause of human rights and freedom across the whole of Asia.
“Hong Kong’s press freedom has been relentlessly undermined since the passing of the National Security Law in June 2020. Never has being a journalist in Hong Kong been more dangerous than now.”
The FCC statement said: “Over the last two years, journalists in Hong Kong have been operating under new “red lines” on what is and is not permissible, but there remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish unintentionally to violate the law. This is the context in which we decided to suspend the Awards.”
At least three journalists have resigned from the FCC’s press freedom committee over the club board’s decision to cancel the press awards.
Shibani Mahtani, South East Asia and Hong Kong bureau chief for Washington Post, said: “As a former winner and judge of the HRPA, I feel nothing but the deepest regret and do not stand by this decision. It is emblematic too of the self-censorship many institutions feel forced to subject themselves to in today's Hong Kong, whether with or without their merits, and entirely indicative of how the national security law has changed the landscape for all.”
Mary Hui, a reporter for Quartz, said: “The mission of @fcchk has long been to ‘defend press freedom in HK & across the region.’ Sadly, it doesn't seem it can serve that mission anymore.”
Hong Kong Watch’s report on press freedom in Hong Kong will be launched at 5pm GMT tomorrow at an event in Parliament chaired by Catherine West MP, Shadow Minister for Asia, with a panel that will include the report’s author, Benedict Rogers, distinguished broadcaster and journalist Stephen Vines who lived in Hong Kong for 35 years, former Ming Pao journalist Matthew Leung and Reporters Without Border’s Campaigns Officer Azzurra Moores.
外國記者會將取消今屆人權新聞獎 是香港新聞自由被摧毀的又一鐵證
香港監察對香港外國記者會（FCC）決定取消年度人權新聞獎深表關注。
在香港監察發表新報告《In the Firing Line: The Crackdown on Media Freedom in Hong Kong》的前一天，香港外國記者會的決定對又一次提醒大眾香港新聞自由被破壞的程度。
這個年度獎項已經是第26屆了，用以表揚來自亞洲各地與人權有關的傑出報導。
對於香港外國記者會的決定，香港監察行政總監及香港外國記者會前會員羅傑斯指：
「這是對香港新聞自由的又一次嚴重打擊。這不僅是香港的損失，也是整個亞洲的人權和自由事業的損失。自 2020年 6月通過《港區國安法》以來，香港新聞自由一直受到無情的破壞。在香港擔任記者從來沒有像現在這樣危險。」
香港外國記者會的聲明指：
「在過去的兩年裡，香港的記者一直在新的『紅線』下運作。對於什麼是允許的，什麼是不允許的，仍然有大量不確定的地方。我們不希望無意中違反法律。這就是我們決定暫停頒發人權新聞獎的原因。」
由於董事會決定取消人權新聞獎，至少有三名記者從香港外國記者會的新聞自由委員會請辭。
《華盛頓郵報》東南亞和香港分社社長 Shibani Mahtani 指：
「作為人權新聞獎過去的獲獎者及評委，我感到最深的遺憾，亦不支持這決定。這也是許多機構今天在香港被迫進行自我審查的象徵，並完全反映國安法如何改變了整個社會的面貌。」
Quartz 記者 Mary Hui 指：
「長期以來，香港外國記者會的使命是『捍衛香港及整個地區的新聞自由』。可悲的是，它似乎不能再履行這一使命了。」
香港監察將於英國時間明天下午5點在英國國會發佈香港新聞自由報告，活動由亞洲事務影子部長、國會議員 Catherine West MP 主持，講者包括報告作者羅傑斯、曾在香港生活35年的資深新聞工作者 Stephen Vines、前《明報》記者 Matthew Leung 和無國界記者的英國倡議統籌 Azzurra Moores。