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Pro-Beijing loyalists warn HK journalists not to ‘cross the limits’ of press freedom

蘋果日報 2021/06/19 05:05


Hong Kong journalists can only carry out their duties within the limits of the national security law, Beijing loyalists in the city said a day after multiple executives and journalists were arrested during a raid on Apple Daily headquarters.
About 500 officers searched the Tseung Kwan O offices of the tabloid newspaper on Thursday, arresting three business executives and two senior journalists on suspicion of violating the national security law.
Journalists were forced out of the premises during the raid, with officials describing it as a “crime scene”. But the operation sparked outcry in the international community, with critics seeing this as another crackdown on the city’s freedom of the press.
Tam Yiu-chung, a former lawmaker and a standing committee member of the National People’s Congress, warned reporters not to challenge the national security law. “Don’t challenge it [national security law]. Don’t try to think that it’s possible to avoid the legal consequences being part of the media,” he told reporters.
Starry Lee, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, echoed Tam’s views. She argued that press freedoms are not unlimited.
“Every individual has their own responsibility to abide by the law. News outlets are no exception … freedom of the speech and press freedoms are not boundless,” she told reporters.
A large number of items were confiscated during the police raid on Thursday, including computers and journalistic materials. Poon Pak-lam, of the Next Media Trade Union, feared that the arrests have sent a chilling effect across the media and may deter people from exposing wrongdoings as journalistic work is under attack.
“I never thought it’d become so difficult to be a journalist and print a newspaper now. Being a reporter has never been like this,” he said.
Hong Kong Journalists Association head Chris Yeung said by labeling journalists as dangers to national security, “great harm” had been inflicted on the media industry.
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