Now TV Journalist Manhandled By Beijing Police

An altercation between mainland police and a Hong Kong journalist in Beijing on Wednesday morning, which left the cameraman bloodied and bruised, has sparked fresh concerns over the safety of local reporters working on the mainland.

The Now TV cameraman, Chui Chun-ming, was detained for several hours after being manhandled to the ground by five uniformed and plainclothes officers.

Two officers forced Chui's arms behind his back and another pressed his neck down to immobilise him as colleagues put handcuffs on the journalist. Chui's glasses fell off as they hauled him away.

The cameraman, like many other Hong Kong journalists, had been in Beijing to cover a hearing involving human rights lawyer Xie Yanyi – one of hundreds of lawyers and activists rounded up in the mainland in 2015 in what was later dubbed the “709 crackdown."

Chui had handed over his press pass to officers for inspection. But officers apparently kept the pass for what he described as a long period of time.

He tried to argue and reason with the officers to get his pass back, but to no avail. The cameraman later told Now TV that, as one officer was handing over the pass to another officer, Xie snatched it from behind and handed it to Chui.

That's when Chui was manhandled to the ground and taken away in a police car.

Chui said at first, he tried to resist, but was helpless against the four men who were on top of him. Later, he said he was taken to a hospital.

The journalist said he was coerced into signing a document admitting that he had "overreacted" before the police set him free. But he refused their request for him to admit to trying to snatch his press pass from the officers.

The rights lawyer was also taken away, and his wife said she didn't know where he had been taken.

Now TV released a statement saying it was furious over what it called a "violent obstruction".

The incident has sparked concern over the safety of Hong Kong journalists working on the mainland.

Asked about the case, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said the SAR government is "concerned" about the personal safety of reporters, no matter where they are.

Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip said the government would continue to follow up on the incident, and discuss possible measures with mainland counterparts to protect the safety of Hong Kong reporters across the border.

The latest incident comes just four days after a Cable TV reporter was attacked in Sichuan while he was covering the 10th anniversary of the devastating 2008 earthquake that left tens of thousands dead.

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