New restriction of media freedoms: A large number of Hong Kong journalists will be left without accreditation

(Patria) – Hong Kong police have announced that certain types of media accreditation will no longer be recognized, which is the result of another attempt by the local authorities to restrict media freedom.  

It was explained that only journalists from 'internationally recognized and well-known' foreign press corps registered with the Hong Kong government's information system will be recognized.

It was also precisely explained that the Hong Kong police will no longer accept accreditations from major associations such as the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA), which represent hundreds of journalists.

The new rule will prevent many journalists from attending press conferences, and it is assumed that journalists will enjoy significantly less protection and support during protests and police operations.

The HKJA, HKPPA, as well as five other media unions, demand the withdrawal of the new rule or they will 'respond with available and necessary measures'.

In the past 18 months, media freedom in Hong Kong has seen a significant decline, especially after the introduction and implementation of the new security law, which has also resulted in numerous police raids on media newsrooms. This has caused Hong Kong to drop 10 places on the Media Freedom Index.

Hong Kong police are often targeted with accusations and condemnations for targeting journalists and photographers when using tear gas and other crowd control measures during the democratic protests that marked the past year.

Mak Yin Ting, a long-time journalist and former chairwoman of the HKJA, told The Guardian that the new rules represent another step in media control: 'It's absurd because the government, which should be supervised, is taking the power to decide who will supervise them'.

Ting recognizes two goals of such a move: 'First, to controlledly define who are the media from professional groups to government departments..., and second, to stop numerous online media and journalists from universities and journalism schools from publishing articles'.

Namely, some of the scenes from the protests, primarily incidents involving police against civilians – were most often filmed and widely distributed by university media.

- This should not be the police's job. They should not worry about whether there are more journalists than protesters there, concludes the well-known Hong Kong journalist Mak Yin Ting.