HONG KONG – Media outlets here must not “subvert” the government, said the city’s leader today, rejecting United States criticism of recent action against a pro-democracy newspaper under a powerful new security law.
Hong Kong has long hosted a vibrant international and local media scene, but press freedoms have slipped dramatically in recent years.
Last week, authorities froze the assets of the city’s largest pro-democracy paper Apple Daily using the national security law that Beijing imposed on the financial hub last year.
An ongoing campaign by China to root out dissent after huge and often violent democracy protests in 2019 has deepened unease over Hong Kong’s future.
Two Apple Daily executives have been charged with “collusion”, a national security crime, over what police said are articles calling for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong’s leaders.
“It’s not a problem to criticise the Hong Kong government, but if there is an intent to organise activities to incite the subversion of the government, then that is, of course, a different thing,” said Chief Executive Carrie Lam when asked about the raid on the paper, and the city’s press freedoms.
“Media friends should have the ability to distinguish between them,” she told a weekly press conference.
Unlike mainland China, where the press is overwhelmingly state-owned and heavily censored, semi-autonomous Hong Kong has free speech protections baked into its mini constitution.
But, the national security law has criminalised a host of political views, and the action against Apple Daily has left the media wondering what views or reporting could trigger an investigation.
Echoing other officials, Lam said the prosecution of Apple Daily is not an attack on “normal journalistic work”, and that the paper is trying to undermine China’s national security with its coverage.
Asked by a reporter about the government’s definition of “normal journalistic work”, she replied: “I think you are in a better position to answer that question.”
The US is among multiple Western nations that have criticised the police operation against Apple Daily, saying it undermines press freedoms, as well as Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe place in which to do business.
Lam rejected these suggestions, specifically naming the US in her comments.
“Don’t try to accuse Hong Kong authorities of using the national security law as a tool to suppress the media, or to stifle freedom of expression.
“All those accusations made by the US government, I’m afraid, are wrong.” – AFP, June 22, 2021
