About 40 Hong Kong journalists held a rare protest yesterday after reports that Chinese police beat up and detained their colleagues who were covering ethnic unrest in western China.
They crowded up against the gates of the Chinese government’s liaison office, chanting, “Violence against reporters is shameful.”
The protesters accused the Chinese government of clamping down on Hong Kong journalists in recent days. Broadcaster TVB says military police in Urumqi on Friday shoved one of its reporters and cameramen to the ground, kicked and punched the reporter and tied up both of them.
Radio RTHK says Urumqi police detained two of its journalists and three other Hong Kong reporters on Sunday for about half an hour before releasing them and telling them the incident was a “misunderstanding.”
The journalists were covering the aftermath of a mass protest by Han Chinese in Urumqi after a string of needle attacks that Beijing blames on Muslim separatists.
“We don’t expect police to protect us. We can take care of ourselves. Just don’t get in our way,” Hong Kong Journalists Association chairwoman Mak Yin-ting (麥燕婷) said.
Hong Kong officials have expressed support for the journalists, who have complained of mistreatment in China before.
“Hong Kong is very concerned about freedom of press and the free flow of information. These are core values for us,” Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee (李少光) said on Sunday, adding the government had contacted Chinese officials about the alleged police abuse.
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