Members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong held a silent protest on September 18 to highlight the club’s concern over the increasing limits to media access and violence against journalists covering the ongoing protests in the city.
Carrying banners reading “Yes to press freedom, no to violence against journalists”, a dozen members gathered outside the club in Central.
“The FCC is gravely concerned about the growing number of incidents of police violence against journalists who are doing their job covering the protests in Hong Kong,” said Jodi Schneider, FCC president. “We are holding a silent protest against this violence and any attempts to interfere with media coverage.”
“We are also calling for press freedom — for support of our right as journalists to cover the protests; a right provided us under Hong Kong law,” she said.
The FCC continues to call for an independent investigation into all forms of violence and intimidation directed at journalists since the start of the protests in June. The organisation also calls on the Commissioner of Police to publicly address these reports of violence.
“We want access to cover the protests and answers from the authorities,” Schneider said.
The Human Rights Press Awards are run by the FCC, Amnesty International Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association. The 24th annual awards will be held on May 6, 2020, in a ceremony at the FCC. See last year’s winners.
