#HumanRights #WhiteTerror
Hong Kong’s Human Rights Press Awards cancelled, citing legal risks

Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (#FCC) has cancelled this year’s Human Rights Press Awards, citing “significant areas of uncertainty” under the law.

In a statement emailed to members on Monday, club president Keith Richburg said the FCC board met on Saturday and “after a lengthy discussion, regretfully decided to suspend the Human Rights Press Awards pending further review.”
The winners of the Human Rights Press Awards were expected to be announced on May 3, which is also World Press Freedom Day.

“Over the last two years, journalists in Hong Kong have been operating under new ‘red lines’ on what is and is not permissible, but there remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish unintentionally to violate the law,” Richburg wrote. “This is the context in which we decided to suspend the Awards.”

“I know this is an unusual step to take so late in the process, just weeks before we were set to announce the winners,” he added.

According to FCC's website, “The Human Rights Press Awards recognise top rights-related reporting from around Asia, with the goal of increasing respect for people’s basic rights and focusing attention on threats to those freedoms.”

Since the onset of Hong Kong’s national security law in 2020, two of the city’s newsrooms have been raided and their top editors arrested, as press freedom NGOs have sounded the alarm. #AppleDaily, #StandNews and #CitizenNews are among the outlets that have shuttered.

Full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/04/25/breaking-hong-kongs-human-rights-press-awards-cancelled/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press

#PressFreedom #HumanRights #WhiteTerror

#PressFreedom #Award #FCC #HKJournalistsAssociation
Hong Kong journalists win Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan press freedom prize

While the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (#FCC) in Hong Kong scrapped its annual human rights press awards just days before it was due to announce winners, claiming fear over the city’s wide-ranging national security law, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan offered Freedom of the Press Asia Award to all Hong Kong journalists.

Freelance journalist Ilgin Yorulmaz, co-chair of the club’s press freedom committee, said that the award recognised journalists and media organisations who fight for free speech, the free exchange of information, and fight against censorship.

Upon receiving the award, Ronson Chan, Associate Chairman of Hong Kong Journalists Association, said "although the environment changed, most of us have remained in our position and try our best to find the truth for the Hong Kong community.”

Source: Inmediahk, #Apr25

https://bit.ly/3Mn4lsK

Hong Kong’s axed Human Rights Press Awards to be hosted by #ArizonaStateUniversity from 2023

Arizona State University’s (ASU) journalism school will host the Human Rights Press Awards from next year, after Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (#FCC) axed the event citing legal “red lines.”

Last week, the FCC scrapped this year’s awards after the defunct local outlet Stand News won nine accolades. Two former Stand News employees are facing sedition charges after the outlet was raided and its editors arrested last December [2021].

The press club’s move prompted a board member to step down and eight members of the club’s press freedom committee to resign. HKFP later obtained and published the full list of winners.

“Recognising exceptional reporting on human-rights issues is more important today than ever before, due to the many – and growing – threats to press freedom around the world. The Cronkite School is honoured to take on the administration of the Awards and we hope to expand their global reach as part of our #CronkiteGlobal initiative,” said Battinto L. Batts, Jr., dean of the Cronkite School in a press release.

Jeffrey Timmermans, who directs the school’s Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, will be the head judge. Timmermans, a former governor of the FCC in Hong Kong, told HKFP he believed that “all past winners of the Human Rights Press Awards should be recognised,” when asked about this year’s awardees. However, he said “there has been no decision yet.”//

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #May3
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/05/03/breaking-hong-kongs-axed-human-rights-press-awards-to-be-hosted-by-arizona-state-university-from-2023/

#PressFreedom #HumanRightsPressAward

#PressFreedom #Censorship
Why the days of Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club may be numbered

//I fear the days of the FCC itself are numbered. ...//

// The end could happen suddenly, given the news on Monday [Ed. April 25] that the club had cancelled its annual Human Rights Press Awards because of the “red lines” China has drawn on what is permissible to be published and the club’s fear the awards could inadvertently cross into dangerous territory for the club, its members, and participants in the awards. //

Read full article
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/05/01/why-the-days-of-hong-kongs-foreign-correspondents-club-may-be-numbered/

#FCC #RedLine #HumanRights #WhiteTerror