Govt's Briefing Overload Irks Journalists' Union

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over the government's arrangement to hold a single press conference covering three separate controversial topics.

Ministers were to announce details about the government's amendments for extradition laws, its plans to adjust tunnel tolls, as well as an interim report submitted by the Commission of Inquiry looking into the Hung Hom MTR Station construction scandal.

The association said such an arrangement could make people suspect that the authorities are trying to divert attention.

It urged the government to avoid similar arrangements in future, as it makes it hard for reporters to focus on a single issue; and it's also difficult for the public to understand all the matters at hand.

At the start of the press conference, Chief Executive Carrie Lam addressed the association's remarks. She said the decision was made to brief the media on all three issues at once because they had all been discussed at Tuesday morning's Executive Council meeting.

Lam added that holding separate briefings might not have pleased media outlets and she stressed that there would be plenty of time for reporters to ask questions on the matters raised.

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