Hong Kong lawmakers and media yesterday rejected the results of a Chinese investigation into allegations that police beat three journalists covering the recent unrest in western China.
The investigation by Xinjiang authorities blamed three Hong Kong journalists for inciting unrest in the troubled city of Urumqi last Friday.
The journalists said they were kicked, punched and shoved to the ground by police before being detained for about three hours.
The TV journalists were covering the aftermath of a mass protest by Han Chinese in Urumqi after a string of needle attacks the Chinese government blames on Muslim separatists.
In Hong Kong, lawmakers across the political spectrum criticized Xinjiang’s investigation. Democrat Emily Lau (劉慧卿) said the probe was unjust, while pro-Beijing legislator Ip Kwok-him (葉國謙) urged Beijing to investigate.
The beating of the Hong Kong journalists has dominated headlines in the Chinese territory.
A Chinese official accused the three Hong Kong journalists on Tuesday of “instigating” a group of demonstrators and breaking local regulations as they reported on the protest, a report by the official Xinhua news agency said.
“Security personnel repeatedly asked them to leave but failed. Under such circumstances, they detained three of them,” it quoted Hou Hanmin (侯漢敏), director of the Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Information Office, as saying.
Hou did not say whether police beat the Hong Kong journalists, but said “something that everybody doesn’t want to see took place,” Xinhua reported.
The news organizations that employ the journalists also issued separate statements to rebut Hou’s comments.
“Our reporters were conducting legal reporting work on that day,” TVB’s News and Information Services Division said in a statement. “The allegation of inciting public disorder by the relevant Xinjiang authorities is wholly a fabrication.”
Now TV said Hou’s comments were false and the station would complain to the central government. The Hong Kong Journalists Association also condemned the investigation.
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