{"id":239905,"date":"2022-04-26T19:02:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T02:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=239905"},"modified":"2022-05-03T17:51:34","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T00:51:34","slug":"hong-kong-human-rights-press-awards-canceled-journalists-association-considers-disbanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2022\/04\/hong-kong-human-rights-press-awards-canceled-journalists-association-considers-disbanding\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards Canceled; Journalists Association Considers Disbanding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club (HKFCC) has <\/span>canceled its annual Human Rights Press Awards<\/span><\/a> over fear of violating the National Security Law. HKFCC president Keith Richburg <\/span>shared the news<\/span><\/a> with members on Monday, two days after the board made the decision. Scheduled to be announced on World Press Freedom Day (May 3), the Human Rights Press Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious journalism awards in Asia, and this marks the <\/span>first time in their 26 year history<\/span><\/a> that they will not be held. Christy Leung and Danny Mok from the South China Morning Post reported on <\/span>Richburg\u2019s explanation for canceling the awards<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement sent to members on Monday, club president Keith Richburg said the FCC board had reached the \u201ctough decision\u201d to cancel the accolades pending further review after a \u201clengthy discussion\u201d on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last two years, journalists in Hong Kong have been operating under new \u2018red lines\u2019 on what is and is not permissible, but there remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish unintentionally to violate the law,\u201d Richburg said. \u201cThis is the context in which we decided to suspend the awards \u2026 We explored a variety of other options, but could not find a feasible way forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] \u201cBut we still have a strong Press Freedom Committee, with myself and the club vice-president as co-conveners, and we\u2019ll continue to speak out on press freedom issues as appropriate,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] \u201cThe FCC intends to continue promoting press freedom in Hong Kong, while recognising that recent developments might also require changes to our approach,\u201d he said. [<\/span>Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The cancellation drew criticism from several HKFCC members. At least eight members of the organization\u2019s Press Freedom Committee <\/span>resigned in protest<\/span><\/a>. One of them was independent journalist Timothy McLaughlin, who stated, \u201cBy censoring statements and ending the awards the club is not only failing to uphold this mission but <\/span>risks being used as a prop to keep up the myth that things in Hong Kong are carrying on as normal<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Theodora Yu from The Washington Post described <\/span>other critical reactions<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Hui, a reporter at Quartz and former Post intern, was one of eight members who resigned from the press freedom committee at the Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club on Monday. Hui called the club\u2019s decision \u201cregrettable and disappointing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy canceling the awards, I think we send a rather worrying message that defending press freedom as the stated mission of the Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club is no longer tenable,\u201d Hui said.<\/span><\/p>\n

[…] Veteran documentary filmmaker Connie Lo, one of the adjudicators for four categories of the awards, said the club\u2019s choice to suspend the awards is \u201can insult to the journalism industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany times reporters had to risk their lives to pursue their journalistic works,\u201d Lo said. \u201cThis year\u2019s awards holds a special meaning to journalists from news outlets that have already disappeared.\u201d [<\/span>Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Last thought: in HK's authoritarian era, how we use words to perceive & reflect reality is critical. Nixing the press awards & censoring a statement on a colleague's arrest while continuing to profess a commitment to uphold press freedom isn't reflective of the reality we live in<\/p>\n

— Mary Hui (@maryhui) April 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n