Hong Kong’s largest association of journalists has defended itself over “untruthful remarks” after being called out by security chief Chris Tang as “unrepresentative” of the media at a consultation event for Hong Kong’s homegrown national security legislation.
The secretary for security on Wednesday said authorities sought to consult with “representative and legitimate” press groups over the enactment of legislation under Article 23 of the city’s mini-constitution. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) – a registered company and the city’s largest press group – was not among them.
See more: What is Article 23? The homegrown security law is back in the spotlight
“[HKJA] believes anyone can be a reporter. It has counted 13-year-old children, or even those foul-mouthed individuals who made derogatory comments while filming our female officers, as professional reporters. We found it to be unrepresentative, therefore we didn’t reach out to it,” Tang said in Cantonese after meeting with representatives from the media industry.
Tang appeared to be referring to two incidents in May 2020, which police requested the HKJA to look into. The first was related to two teenage student reporters who covered a protest in Tsim Sha Tsui, and the second was related to comments made by a reporter from an online media outlet who mocked the appearance of two female police officers during a livestream broadcast.
Responding to a single enquiry from HKFP as to which organisations had received an invitation to the consultation meeting, the Security Bureau said in Chinese on Thursday that the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association and the Hong Kong Federation of Journalists had been invited.
It added: “If an organisation goes about in the name of journalism, but it acted as an escort for rioters during the black-clad violence, showed biased positions and its members repeatedly breached the law, then we believe the society should have a fair view of its representativeness, credibility, and professionalism.”
The HKJA on Wednesday evening issued a statement refuting some of Tang’s claims, saying it was false that the press group had ever considered a 13-year-old or anyone who made derogatory comments about female officers as professional reporters.
“[HKJA] deeply regrets Secretary Tang’s untruthful remarks and his criticism that we are unrepresentative,” the Chinese-language statement said.
It said that an ethics committee under the HKJA had investigated the matters mentioned by Tang after receiving complaints from the police in July 2020 and had released a report that September.
HKJA said that the report had found the complaint against the reporters who made derogatory remarks about two female police officers was valid, adding that the group had urged media practitioners to maintain objectivity and impartiality while reporting.
Separately, the HKJA had concluded that it was common practice for student organisations to deploy student reporters at a news scene, but the group highlighted the need for young journalists to be aware of the potential risks associated with news work and to protect their personal safety.
It added that when Tang was commissioner of the police, he had said “residents could record what was happening in the society not being a reporter or assigned by a newspaper” during a District Council meeting.
“Secretary Tang’s remarks were false and inappropriate. [HKJA] found them to be offensive and urged the authorities to clarify the matter,” the statement said.
It is the second time the association has publicly refuted Tang’s remarks on underage reporters, having called his comments “factually wrong” in 2021.
Article 23
Tang’s remarks came after officials met with the city’s representatives to China’s legislative bodies as well as the finance sector and the news sector to hear their views on the legislation of Hong Kong’s domestic security law.
Asked if journalists and whistle-blowers would be exempt from breaching the offences in disclosing matters of public interest, Tang said authorities were still researching exceptions in current legislation and what constituted “significant public interest.”
He also said, as the leader of the government’s “rumour rebuttal team,” that speculation about whether those prosecuted under the new law could be sent to mainland China for trial was fabricated and showed “shadows of 2019,” referring to the pro-democracy protests and unrest that year.
According to the public consultation document, the new legislation covers five types of crime: treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage endangering national security, and external interference.
The public consultation period runs until 28 February.
The last attempt to enact legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2003 prompted an estimated 500,000 residents to take to the street in protest, resulting in the proposal being shelved.
A comparison of the consultation papers for Article 23 in 2002 and 2024 revealed that certain suggestions, such as protections for academic research and news reporting against breaching the proposed national security offences, were not present in the current document.
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