Hong Kong police have condemned claims that a press group chief received an “unreasonable warning” from an officer while covering the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
Police on Wednesday rejected a statement from the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), which criticised police officers over obstructing reporting, issuing an “unreasonable warning” and taking a photojournalist aside in Causeway Bay on Tuesday.
Crackdown anniversary
Tuesday marked 35 years since the Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, which put an end to months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army dispersed protesters in Beijing.
Police put up an extensive security presence in Causeway Bay on Tuesday around Victoria Park, where annual commemorative vigils were held for three decades. No official commemoration has been held in the city since police banned the gathering in 2020 and 2021 citing Covid-19 restrictions.
The vigils’ organiser – Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China – also disbanded in September 2021 after its leaders were detained under the national security law.
According to the press group, its chairman Ronson Chan, who is a multimedia journalist for digital outlet Channel C, was accused of breaching the police cordon while he was reporting in Causeway Bay on Tuesday night.
HKJA said Chan was “invited” into a cordoned area near SOGO mall by a superintendent. But later a chief inspector issued at least two verbal warnings and accused the press group chairman of “taking the lead to disrupt order.” Chan eventually stepped outside of the cordon.
“Going forward, anyone who breaches the police cordon will be arrested immediately,” an HKFP reporter at the scene heard an officer said after Chan left the cordoned area.
‘Stern warning’
On Wednesday night, police said officers were conducting a stop and search operation at the scene and had to expand the area of operation in light of the crowded situation. Media liaison officers were in the area for coordination and most journalists were cooperative.
But an online media reporter refused to cooperate and kept shouting, before officers gave him a warning and asked him to enter a cordoned area to “further issue a stern and clear warning.”
“Police appealed to journalists to exercise professionalism, report and comment on news events accurately and pertinently and based on facts, and refrain from publishing false information so as to sustain their credibility in serving the community,” a statement from the police read.
Photographer taken away
The HKJA also referred to Swiss photographer Marc Progin, who was taken aside by police together with a friend near SOGO at around 8.40 pm on Tuesday before being put into a police vehicle. They were taken to the Wan Chai police headquarters and were released at around 11 pm.
The press group condemned the police for taking Progin away, saying it was not the first time police had detained media workers without reasonable grounds while they were covering the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary.
“It constitutes a serious infringement on press freedom, and the police must provide an explanation for the incident,” a Chinese statement from the HKJA on Wednesday read.
In response, police said a foreign man and a woman were taken to Wan Chai police station because their behaviour had “attracted a large crowd of people” and might lead to a breach of peace. They were taken away with their consent, police added.
“The action was based on their behaviour at the time and had nothing to do with their profession,” the police statement read.
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