Standing room only in packed Hong Kong press freedom event in UK Parliament
On 26 April, Hong Kong Watch launched our new report on press freedom in Hong Kong, at a packed event in the Houses of Parliament hosted and chaired by our Patron Catherine West MP, who serves as the Shadow Minister for Asia. Two other Patrons – Fiona Bruce MP and Alistair Carmichael MP – also attended, along with members of the Hong Kong community in the United Kingdom, media and other representatives of civil society.
The report, In the Firing Line: The Crackdown on Media Freedom in Hong Kong, provided the basis for a panel discussion on the dismantling of press freedom, with speakers including the distinguished journalist and broadcaster Stephen Vines, who lived in Hong Kong for 35 years and presented programmes on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK); former Ming Pao reporter Matthew Leung; Reporters Without Borders’ Campaigns Officer Azzura Moores; and the report’s author, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive Benedict Rogers.
Catherine West, a Labour Member of Parliament, emphasized the cross-party support that Hong Kong Watch has always received, and welcomed the presence of Fiona Bruce (Conservative) and Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat) as symbolic of that cross-party collaboration. In her remarks Mrs Bruce promised to ensure that the report receives attention from Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Mr Carmichael described the report as a “wake-up call” and called for pressure on corporate interests in Hong Kong to leverage change.
Stephen Vines said that Hong Kong has joined the list of places in the world where it is “dangerous to be a journalist” and highlighted the fact that “red lines” had been drawn up but “nobody knows where they are”. He said that authoritarian governments always “hate the free press” but noted that “the crushing of an independent media reflects their insecurity and a fear of the people that they rule.”
Matthew Leung predicted that the situation with worsen further when John Lee becomes the new Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He endorsed Hong Kong Watch’s recommendation that governments should establish a fast-track special emergency visa scheme for Hong Kong journalists in danger, who may need to leave the city quickly for a place of sanctuary.
Azzura Moores noted how far Hong Kong has fallen in Reporters Without Borders press freedom index over recent years, from 18th in the world in 2002 to 80th in the world last year, and said that the 2022 index, released next week on 3 May, will show a further decline. “Hong Kong represents the most dramatic shift of any country in the world,” she said. “So many journalists are struggling with the question of whether to stay and be censored into silence or leave. People in Hong Kong may not be able to speak out now, which is why we need our governments to speak out.”
Benedict Rogers outlined why and how Hong Kong Watch had researched this report and explained that the title – In the Firing Line – was chosen for its double-meaning. “In 2019, journalists and media workers were physically in the firing line of the police’s violence, teargas and pepper spray. In 2021, they were in the firing line for their jobs, being fired when media outlets were forced to shut down or chose to close because of the threats they faced,” he said.
He called on governments around the world “to speak out clearly at every opportunity,” and to take action to “end impunity with targeted sanctions on those responsible for dismantling Hong Kong’s freedoms. He also urged governments to establish “special emergency procedures for HK journalists who need to flee quickly”, and to support “the growing diaspora of journalists abroad.”
Mr Rogers warned: “Don’t think that these are issues simply confined to Hong Kong. They affect all of us. The weaponisation of visas will increasingly impact foreign correspondents. And, as Hong Kong Watch knows from first-hand experience, the draconian National Security Law has an extra-territorial reach. It is clear that there is an attempt to use this law to silence critics well beyond Hong Kong’s borders. Let us all together stand up for press freedom in Hong Kong and make sure Hong Kong and the press in Hong Kong are not forgotten.”
The report’s release has been widely reported, including by The Guardian, The Independent, AFP, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Benedict Rogers also wrote about the report launch on CapX and UCA News.
香港監察於英國國會舉辦香港新聞自由報告發佈會座無虛席
香港監察於 4月 26日在英國國會發佈香港新聞自由研究報告，活動反應踴躍，各界人士均有出席活動。活動由香港監察贊助人、影子亞洲事務大臣 Catherine West MP 國會議員主持，另外兩位香港監察贊助人兼國會議員 Fiona Bruce MP 和Alistair Carmichael MP、以及身在英國的香港人、傳媒和其他公民社會代表亦有出席。
出席活動的嘉賓就名為《站在抗爭前線 – 香港新聞自由遭受的各種打壓》的研究報告，討論香港新聞自由如何被打壓。參與討論的嘉賓包括在香港工作接近35年的著名新聞工作者及香港電台前節目主持Stephen Vines、前《明報》記者梁銘康、無國界記者英國倡議統籌 Azzurra Moores 、以及香港監察行政總監兼報告作者羅傑斯。
工黨國會議員Catherine West MP 強調香港監察一直獲得跨黨派支持，並歡迎保守黨的Fiona Bruce MP和自由民主黨的Alistair Carmichael MP出席活動，象徵跨黨派合作。Fiona Bruce MP承諾會確保報告得到外交、聯邦及發展事務部大臣及其他官員的關注。Alistair Carmichael MP指報告「敲響了警鐘」，並呼籲向香港的企業利益施壓，推動變革。
Stephen Vines 指香港變成了一個「做記者很危險」的地方，並指當局「劃了紅線」但「沒有人知道紅線在哪裡」。他指極權政府一直「討厭新聞自由」，但「打壓獨立的新聞媒體反映了他們的不安和害怕他們管治的人民」。
梁銘康預計隨著李家超將成為新任行政長官，新聞自由狀況只會繼續惡化，並認同報告的建議，指各國政府應建立快速通道，為急需離開香港尋求庇護的記者簽發特別緊急簽證。
Azzura Moores指最近幾年，香港在無國界記者的新聞自由指數排名由 2002年在全球排名第 18位，到去年下跌至排名全球第 80位。她指即將在 5月 3日發佈的2022年度指數排名，將顯示香港的新聞自由進一步惡化。Azzura Moores表示︰「香港是全球新聞自由狀況轉變得最劇烈的地方，許多新聞工作者都在為應該留守香港但被審查滅聲還是離開而掙扎。身處香港的人士未必可以再發聲了，因此我們的政府需要為香港發聲。」
羅傑斯解說香港監察為何及如何撰寫這份研究報告，指報告的標題 – 《站在抗爭前線 – 香港新聞自由遭受的各種打壓》 – 帶有雙重意義︰「在 2019年，記者和傳媒工作者在面對警察暴力、催淚彈和胡椒噴霧，確實是站在抗爭的最前線。到去年 2021年，他們仍然站在抗爭的前線，傳媒機構被迫關閉或因面臨風險而選擇關閉，傳媒工作者因而被解僱。」
羅傑斯呼籲各國政府「把握每個機會清晰地為香港發聲」，並採取行動「透過制裁懲罰有份催毀香港的自由的人士」。他亦促請各國政府「為急需離開香港的記者特設緊急處理程序」，以及支持「愈來愈多移居海外的香港記者」。
羅傑斯警告︰「不要以為這些議題只影響香港。這些議題影響我們每一個人。以限制簽發簽證為例，這對外國記者的影響將日益加深。再者，根據香港監察的親身經驗，嚴苛的國安法可帶來跨地域的影響。顯而易見，當局正以國安法嘗試令身處香港境外的異見人士滅聲。我們要一起捍衛香港的新聞自由，確保香港及香港的新聞工作者不會被忘記。」
報告發佈活動獲多間傳媒機構廣泛報導，包括英國衛報、獨立報、法新社、美國之音及自由亞洲電台。羅傑斯亦在CapX和UCA News就研究報告撰寫專欄。