Hong Kong (AFP)
Press freedom is "in ruins" in Hong Kong due to Beijing's strong takeover of the former British colony, said the main Hong Kong journalists' union on Thursday, fearing the imposition of a law on disinformation.
"The past year has undoubtedly been the worst year for press freedom," Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) chairman Ronson Chan said on the sidelines of the presentation of the annual report. 'organization.
He takes stock of a cascade of events that have had an impact on the press since Beijing imposed on Hong Kong the national security law a year ago, which has since been the main instrument of repression against Hong Kong dissidents.
The report's authors notably cite the incarceration of media mogul Jimmy Lai, one of the figures of the pro-democracy camp, and the freezing of the assets of its iconic tabloid, the Apple Daily, which resulted in the closure of a of the most critical titles in Beijing politics.
A thousand employees lost their jobs, including 700 journalists.
Mr. Lai and several of the newspaper's officials are currently in prison due to prosecution for undermining Chinese national security, in connection with the newspaper's content.
The HKJA also accuses the Hong Kong executive, which is aligned with Beijing, of turning the public broadcaster RTHK into a "government propaganda apparatus" by sacking critical staff or cutting programs.
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