Journalists March For Press Freedom

Organisers say 1,500 journalists joined a silent march on Sunday morning demanding better treatment from the police at protests and a stronger voice in support of press freedom from the government.

The march from Harcourt Garden in Central to police headquarters in Wan Chai and the government headquarters in Admiralty was organised by seven groups including RTHK's staff union, the Journalists Association and the Press Photographers Association.

They carried banners with slogans including "Stop police violence, defend press freedom" and "Press freedom, no attack". Some wore black while others donned the reflective vests often worn by members of the media to identify themselves during protests.

Journalists Association chairman Chris Yeung said: "We demand the police abide by the Police Force Ordinance, to facilitate media reporting. Journalists have been driven and pushed away, verbally abused or even beaten by police officers on several occasions."

On reaching government headquarters, no one from the Office of the Chief Executive was available to collect a petition from the marchers, so their letter was stuck to a fence around the area instead.

Members of the media, including some RTHK staff, say they've been shoved and insulted by police officers and, in some cases, hit by batons or bean bags while attempting to cover recent anti-extradition protests.

Protesters called on Chief Executive Carrie Lam to honour her promise to uphold press freedom, which she undertook to do during her campaign for chief executive in 2017.

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