'Police Treating Journalists As Trouble Makers'

The Journalists Association head Chris Yeung on Monday accused the police of treating journalists as "trouble makers" during protests and treating some reporters with violence, hindering their work.

The association said journalists were treated roughly during the anti-extradition bill protest overnight, with some reporters saying they were shoved around and stopped from doing their work when a clash between police and protesters took place at the Legco complex.

The association said police officers had unreasonably tried to force reporters to leave the scene when confrontation with protesters took place.

Some reporters were shoved and pushed around while flash lights were used to block some from filming or taking pictures, it said.

The association chairman Chris Yeung said it’s requesting a meeting with Police Commissioner Stephen Lo over its concerns.

Yeung said police were seeing reporters as trouble makers who are hampering their work.

He told RTHK's Joanne Wong that this is a wrong perception. Allowing reporters to cover a confrontation would help police to allay any doubts that may arise about it later, he said.

In response, the police said they've always respected press freedom and have tried their best to cooperate with journalists.

Reacting to a reported incident where a journalist was searched during the chaos, the police said the incident could have happened because they had to verify the identity of the protesters. Some of the protesters were carrying fake press passes, he said.

Kong Wing-cheung, senior superintendent from the Police Public Relations Branch, said they will be happy to discuss the matter with reporters if any of them had complaints.