Hong Kong Journalists Association survey finds 98% members oppose national security law
蘋果日報 2020/06/19 09:15
Almost all journalists in Hong Kong are against a looming national security law Beijing has tailor-made for the city, as most fear the legislation would impact press freedom and increase self-censorship, a poll by the Hong Kong Journalists Association has found.
The city's largest journalists' group issued questionnaires to its 535 members between June 8 and 11 to ask their views on Beijing's plan to enact a national security law for the semi-autonomous city.
Revealing the poll results on Thursday, the association said 98% of the 150 respondents opposed the national security law and worried that the problem of self-censorship in the media would get "serious" or "more serious" once the legislation is passed. Close to 90% of respondents also said the law would "seriously affect" press freedom, the survey showed.
Some 92% of respondents expressed fear over their personal safety in light of the new legislation, and among them, 79 respondents said they were "very worried" about such a prospect.
Asked how the national security law would impact press freedom, 71%-93% of the journalists surveyed said they worried that reporting on stories deemed politically sensitive, such as independence movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan or the treatment of the Uighur population in China, would be suppressed. Seven journalists even reported that they had personally experienced intervention from their company's management when reporting on sensitive topics.
The proposed national security law targets acts and activities of secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong. The proposed legislation has caused great fear among many in the city over its impact on civil liberties guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" framework.
Chris Yeung, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, said the law once enacted would bring substantial threats to reporters and worsen self-censorship in the city's media.
"Our worries are not overblown," Yeung said, adding that threats to press freedom are "already happening every day."
In a letter sent on Wednesday to the standing committee of the National People's Congress — China's top legislative body, which is now drafting the law — the association stressed that the national security law should not infringe on human rights. Yeung also said that the law should not be used to apply the criminal laws of mainland China to Hong Kong and that the legislation process should include a public consultation.
The city's largest journalists' group issued questionnaires to its 535 members between June 8 and 11 to ask their views on Beijing's plan to enact a national security law for the semi-autonomous city.
Revealing the poll results on Thursday, the association said 98% of the 150 respondents opposed the national security law and worried that the problem of self-censorship in the media would get "serious" or "more serious" once the legislation is passed. Close to 90% of respondents also said the law would "seriously affect" press freedom, the survey showed.
Some 92% of respondents expressed fear over their personal safety in light of the new legislation, and among them, 79 respondents said they were "very worried" about such a prospect.
Asked how the national security law would impact press freedom, 71%-93% of the journalists surveyed said they worried that reporting on stories deemed politically sensitive, such as independence movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan or the treatment of the Uighur population in China, would be suppressed. Seven journalists even reported that they had personally experienced intervention from their company's management when reporting on sensitive topics.
The proposed national security law targets acts and activities of secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign interference in Hong Kong. The proposed legislation has caused great fear among many in the city over its impact on civil liberties guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" framework.
Chris Yeung, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, said the law once enacted would bring substantial threats to reporters and worsen self-censorship in the city's media.
"Our worries are not overblown," Yeung said, adding that threats to press freedom are "already happening every day."
In a letter sent on Wednesday to the standing committee of the National People's Congress — China's top legislative body, which is now drafting the law — the association stressed that the national security law should not infringe on human rights. Yeung also said that the law should not be used to apply the criminal laws of mainland China to Hong Kong and that the legislation process should include a public consultation.
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