A conference about independent media in Hong Kong was forced to move online after multiple venues cancelled, with one calling the event “unsuitable.”
The WeMedia Summit 2023, originally scheduled to be held at the Jao Tsung-I Academy on December 9 and 10, was forced to move online after the organiser was unable to secure a venue for the two-day event.
Organised by NGO Culture & Media Education Foundation, the event featured sharing sessions by freelance journalists and representatives from independent media outlets. HKFP was one of the guest speakers at the event, alongside former RTHK documentary producer Bao Choy, media scholar Fang Kecheng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Factcheck Lab, local community newspapers and more.
The topics discussed included whether artificial intelligence was a blessing or a curse for news media, fundraising strategies for small media outlets and cyber security workshops.
Chine Chan, an executive committee member of the foundation, told HKFP last week that the organiser confirmed the venue rental with the academy in late September and put down a full deposit in mid-October. On November 17, however, the academy informed the foundation verbally that they decided to cancel the booking.
Following enquiries from the foundation, the academy said in a December 5 email that the contract termination came after “careful consideration.” But it did not give any detailed explanation for the decision.
“[O]ur academy has determined that the event is not suitable to be held in our premises,” the academy’s email read.
Chan described the cancellation as “sudden,” saying the foundation had given the academy information about the summit when the contract was signed. The organiser had to two weeks to scramble for a replacement venue before the summit, she said.
The foundation later found a meeting room managed by the Centre for Community Cultural Development (CCCD) in the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC), as well as a restaurant in the arts centre under the Hong Kong Baptist University’s (HKBU) management.
But around four days before the summit, the CCCD and the restaurant informed the foundation that they were unable to provide the venues, citing pressure from JCCAC. Chan said the venue providers told them that the media conference did not match the type of cultural activities hosted in the centre.
The organiser eventually moved the summit online, as they did not have enough time to find another venue.
‘We believe it was self-censorship’
According to Ming Pao, the Culture & Media Education Foundation was established in 2016 and is a registered charity organisation, per the Companies Registry records. The company currently has three directors, who are Oiwan Lam, one of the founders of digital outlet InMedia, director of the Internet Society Hong Kong Ben Cheng and Lisa Leung, a media and cultural studies scholar at Lingnan University.
Chan said the venue cancellations had a major impact on the conference, the first one held after the Covid-19 pandemic. It was an important opportunity for media workers – especially independent journalists – to discuss business operations and the impact of the social atmosphere on their work, she said.
“If we met in person, there would be many opportunities for mingling. It allows for immediate discussions on potential collaboration and the generation of new ideas and creative sparks,” Chan told HKFP, adding it was hard for participants to follow up on each other’s work when the event was online.
Asked what might have caused the cancellations, Chan said the foundation did not invite “sensitive” individuals as guest speakers, and the summit content was “carefully curated” and did not cover any political issues.
“We believe it was self-censorship from the venue providers, and [the cancellations] had little to do with the summit content and our guest speakers,” Chan said, speaking in Cantonese.
In response to HKFP’s enquiries, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Jockey Club said JCCAC was not affiliated with the Club and was a wholly-owned subsidiary company under HKBU. The building was only named after the Club to recognise its support for funding the building’s conversion in 2005, the spokesperson said.
Jao Tsung-I Academy and JCCAC did not respond to HKFP’s enquiries.
Hong Kong saw a rise in small, independent news outlets and media platforms after pro-democracy newsrooms Apple Daily and Stand News were forced to shut down in 2021. Police raided the two outlet’s headquarters, arresting their top executives on suspicion of national security violations and alleged sedition offences.
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