'Fugitives Law A New Blow To HK's Limited Freedom'

Thirteen media outlets and unions issued a joint statement on Wednesday warning that the government's proposed new extradition laws will be "a sword hanging over the head of journalists."

The groups said the move to allow extraditions on a case-by-case to any jurisdiction in the world, including the mainland, will "muzzle both reporters and whistleblowers, dealing a further blow to the already limited freedom of speech that Hong Kong still enjoys".

The statement was jointly issued by the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, various online news organisations, staff unions including that of RTHK, and the director of Chinese University's journalism school, Professor Francis Lee.

It notes that the SAR government has stated that the proposed changes to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance will not allow renditions on charges relating to spying and leaking of state secrets.

But the statement says this assertion is far from reassuring, and in recent years numerous journalists have been charged or harassed by mainland authorities for alleged criminal offences that will be covered under the new legislation.

It gives examples, such as law enforcement officers storming the hotel room of Now TV journalist Wong Kar-yu in Sichuan province, purportedly on suspicion that she had drugs. They searched her room for four hours, preventing her from carrying out a planned interview with activist Tan Zuoren.

The statement also notes the 2014 jailing of Hong Kong publisher Yao Wentian for “smuggling ordinary goods”, at a time when he was preparing a book critical of President Xi Jinping.

The media groups said the proposed legal amendments will make it possible for the mainland authorities to demand the surrender of journalists in Hong Kong on all kinds of unfounded charges.

The government's bill on the legislation was scheduled to have its first reading in Legco on Wednesday.