'Child Reporters Highlight HK's Press Card Loophole'

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Priscilla Leung on Monday urged the government and media organisations to work on introducing an official press accreditation system, saying it was "shocking" to see two children working as reporters at protests on Sunday.

A 12-year-old boy wearing a reflective vest and carrying a press card was livestreaming events at the Harbour City mall in Tsim Sha Tsui when police officers surrounded him.

The boy, and a 16-year-old girl, were taken to a police station before their relatives were allowed to collect them. An online news outlet set up by students earlier this year, Student Depth Media, said the two young people were working for them.

Leung, from the Business and Professionals Alliance, said the lack of an official press accreditation scheme means even children can go out to report on events, putting their safety at risk.

She said a registration system would give proper recognition to professional journalists, while preventing others from simply claiming to be reporters.

"Maybe this is time for us to reconsider how to ensure a person claiming themselves as a reporter does have the experience and the background and also the qualifications to claim so," Leung said.

Earlier in the day, Chinese University journalism professor Clement So said that it is inappropriate for young students to report on protests as they are not trained and they may not know how to protect themselves.

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said in general, there is nothing wrong with student reporters going out to cover events to gain experience, but protests could be risky for them.

Sunday night saw police officers kettling journalists, pepper spraying them and shoving them around. A group of media workers were also forced to kneel down and switch their cameras off in Mong Kok.

The government, meanwhile, said it was highly concerned about children saying they were at protest scenes as reporters, saying this is extremely dangerous.

“We are very worried about some organisation arranging young students to be volunteer reporters at protests. It’s extremely irresponsible for them to neglect the risks posed to the children,” a statement said.

The police have repeatedly complained about "fake journalists" since Hong Kong's unrest began last summer, claiming that protesters are hiding among media packs to launch attacks on officers.

In response to rumours last October that the government was considering an official press card system, various journalist groups and media outlets warned that such a move would damage press freedom.