The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Association has suspended its human rights journalism awards

Hong Kong’s Human Rights journalism Awards, established to honor reporting on human rights issues, are facing closure. The organizers, the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Hong Kong (FCC), announced on April 25 that it was suspending this year’s awards for fear of falling foul of the law. This is believed to have something to do with the multiple awards won by “Stand News,” an online media outlet that will close in December 2021.

The winners of the Human Rights Journalism Award, organised by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Association, were scheduled to be announced on May 3, world Press Freedom Day. Keith Richburg, president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, said in a statement on April 25 that Hong Kong journalists had to work under unclear new red lines in the past two years. The club decided to stop the human Rights Journalism Awards because it did not want to fall foul of the law. “It is a difficult decision to announce the closure just weeks before the winners are announced,” the statement said. “We apologize to the participants and the judges for not having found a viable solution.” The statement stressed that the suspension does not reflect the association’s views on the entries and the judging process.

Foreign journalists will continue to promote press freedom in Hong Kong in the future, but may need to adjust their approach. The Human Rights Journalism Awards, launched in 1995, entered its 26th year this year. Although winners have not been released, but comprehensive, Hong Kong media reported earlier by the Hong Kong police security searches after the shutdown of media “position news”, this year a total of nine awards, including reports the Hong Kong alliance and the pro-democracy camp is used at the beginning, and security guards have been Hong Kong director Deng Bingqiang shamed demonize “wisdom” prison law enforcement report. In response to Ming Pao’s enquiries, Rickard acknowledged that some of the Chinese-language award-winning reports “may cause problems”, but did not comment on the organisations involved. He said that he had not received any warning from the Hong Kong police in advance, but noticed that some of the award-winning Chinese-language reports might cause problems in the current environment, so the board decided not to award only some of the awards, and decided to stop the awards after discussion.

As for whether the award will be renewed in the future, Rickard replied that no one knows what Hong Kong will look like in five or 10 years. The Human Rights Journalism Awards were originally jointly organised by Amnesty International, the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association. The chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association, Francis Chan, told VOA that the award is aimed at recognizing the value of international human rights conventions. After Amnesty international pulled out of Hong Kong last year, foreign journalists organized the awards themselves. Taiwan scholar Hiei Wu’s article “To an Unfinished Revolution” has been published in Taiwan media after winning the Merit Award of 2021 Human Rights Journalism Award. Later, Ta Kung Pao, a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, named and criticized Wu Hiei for violating the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law.

Steve Vines, former president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association, who left Hong Kong earlier, told Ming Pao that the Awards were meant to represent Hong Kong as one of the few places in Asia where human rights news can be reported. He described Hong Kong as a place where there is no press freedom, and if the situation continues, I believe the Awards will not be held in the future. Foreign journalists will not hold human rights journalism awards. In addition, the recent departure of the outspoken scholar Zhong Jianhua has raised concerns that press freedom in Hong Kong is under further threat. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam cheng Yuet-Ngor publicly said on Thursday that she would not comment on the decision of individual units. She reiterated that press freedom in Hong Kong is guaranteed by the Basic Law and citizens have the right to enter and exit the territory. “Occasionally, there are isolated incidents that cause concern and concern about the freedom of the press,” Lam said. Especially those who misunderstand the relevant constitutional safeguards. The cancellation of the award ceremony by foreign journalists is decided by private organizations and the government cannot comment on it. Some scholars are only [exercising] their personal rights when they leave Hong Kong.”

Chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association
“Since foreign journalists could have given the prize to Wu last year, they should have known the risks this year,” Chen said. “It’s strange to stop now.” “The judging of the awards has been completed. At this stage you suddenly say the risk is too big to handle. Foreign journalists are worried about the nine awards won by Stance News, but is stance really so scary? Now the authorities have made no further arrests, the cases have been referred to the courts for trial and the positions have been closed. If the stakes are higher than those of Taiwanese scholars, some of my friends in the media may feel strange and unhappy. The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong summoned Chairman David Rickard and warned him not to make further statements after foreign correspondents made a statement after stance News was raided by the National Security Department of Hong Kong police in December last year. Rickard told Ming Pao Sunday that the PCPD did not warn them about the award in advance. Mr. Chen understood the concerns of foreign journalists.

“It is important to understand that foreign journalists who come to Hong Kong may not have a deep affection for Hong Kong, but may just see Hong Kong as a place to work,” He said. “When it comes to sacrificing freedom, accepting legal responsibility and even the risk of arrest, they will naturally have more concerns. Hong Kong Free Press, an independent English-language website, reported on April 25 that eight members of its Press freedom team resigned after foreign journalists were shocked by the suspension of human rights journalism awards. One of them, Shibani Mahtani, Hong Kong bureau chief for the Washington Post, questioned in an interview with Reuters that foreign journalists could no longer defend journalists and press freedom.