Page 21 - Varsity Special Issue

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founded. He cites wordings such as of similar cases. nalists or revokes foreign journalists’
“incites” and “advocates” in some ar- Varsity filed a question about the working visas,” Yeung says. “We did
ticles of the national security law as visa application of foreign journal- not have this in the past, but it seems
sources of worries, as reporters could ists after the enactment of the law to that there are signs showing that this
be incriminated by wordings such as the Security Bureau. “In handling is happening now,” he adds.
‘incites’ and ‘advocates’ easily. each immigration case, the Immigra- The HKJA, as promised by Yeung,
Hong Kong ranks 80 out of 180 tion Department will consider the vows to speak up and may take legal
in 2020 World Press Freedom Index circumstances of the case and act in action against the government to de-
as compared to 18 in 2002 when the accordance with the laws and immi- fend press freedom. Yeung adds they
index was first launched. Yeung ex- gration policies”, the bureau says in a will also remind their members to
pects a further decline in Hong Kong’s written reply. uphold professionalism to gain public
ranking in press freedom after the “This may give foreign journal- support.
introduction of the national security ists an impression that Hong Kong is
law. like China which expels foreign jour-
Yeung points out foreign journal-
ists are having difficulties in applying “
for working visas in Hong Kong. On
August 25, the Immigration Depart- Unfortunately, under the national secu-
ment denied a working visa applica-
tion filed by an editor hired by Hong rity law, perhaps journalists can no longer
Kong Free Press (HKPF). serve the public, but the government.
“The government has not ex-
plained this matter, but it is believed
Yeung at the annual dinner of the Hong Kong Journalist Association. (Photo courtesy of Chris Yeung Kin-hing)
to be related to the law,” Yeung says. Yeu ng at the ann u al dinner o f the Ho ng Ko ng J ou rnalist Associati o n. (Photo c ou rtesy o f Chris Yeung Kin -hing)
He expects to see a rise in the number ” The Road Ahead is Lost journalists can continue to do their reau says: Any measures or enforce-

Journalism students are also wor- duty and serve the public in the fu- ment actions taken under the law
ried that the law will have a great ture,” Chan adds. must observe the principle that hu-
impact on their future career. Lcarus Allan Au Ka-lun, a pro- man rights including freedoms
Chan, a journalism and communi- fessional consultant of the of speech, of the press and of
cation major student of the Chinese School of Journalism and publication”, the Security
University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Communication of CUHK Bureau says in a written
and the president of the CUHK Cam- and a former journalist reply.
pus Radio says, “To be honest, I may says, “Some principles have “However, the above
not work as a journalist after my grad- to be adhered and we should rights and freedoms are not
uation,” Chan says. not scare ourselves at once.”. “If absolute, and may be restricted
Citing the arrest of Jimmy Lai, we practice self-censorship Allan Au Ka-lunAllan Au Ka-lun by law for respect of the rights
Chan worries that reporting the truth out of fear, it is us who are giv- or reputations of others, and
may be considered as illegal by the na- ing up our values,” he adds. for the protection of national security,
tional security law. “I study Chinese Asked if the national security law public order (order public) and public
news reporting as I think it is worth will affect journalists doing reporting health or morals,” the bureau says.
studying. But it is hard to say whether duty in Hong Kong, the Security Bu-

“

If we practice self-censorship out of fear,

it is us who are giving up our values.

”
Chan in a protest in January, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Ronson Chan Long-sing)
Chan in a protest in J an uary , 2020. ( Photo c ou rtesy o f Ro nso n Chan Lo ng -sing)