Hong Kong Foreign Press Club suspends human rights awards
The storefront of the Hong Kong Foreign Press Club.
AFP - PETER PARKS
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The organization fears "
unintentionally breaking the law
" by crossing "
the new red lines
" established by Beijing.
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It is the first time in 26 years that the Foreign Press Club of
Hong Kong
(FCCHK) will not present a human rights award, fearing legal action.
"
Over the past two years, journalists in Hong Kong have worked with new
'red lines'
on what is and is not allowed, but there remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish to unintentionally breach the law
,” club chairman Keith Richburg said in a statement.
“
It is in this context that we have decided to suspend the prices
,” he explains.
According to sources inside the organization, several prizes were to go to Stand News,
a local outlet that shut down last year
after its main editors were charged with sedition.
It was these nominations that earned the FCCHK legal advice that an investigation for sedition or under Hong Kong's new national security law could be opened if it continued to give awards. at Stand News.
Eight resignations
The decision to suspend the awards ceremony led to eight resignations within the club.
"The fact that eight of us have resigned speaks volumes to the fact that we now believe our office is useless
," Shibani Mahtani, one of the committee members who resigned, told AFP.
Indeed, since the massive pro-democracy protests of 2019, Beijing has steadily
tightened the noose on Hong Kong
, including passing the National Security Law.
Since then, three news outlets critical of the government, including
the hugely popular tabloid Apple Daily
, have been forced to close after investigations under this law.
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