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HONG KONG – The Financial Times said Sunday in an editorial that the expulsion of one of its Hong Kong reporters sent an alarming message about the continuing erosion of fundamental rights in the semi-Chinese city. autonomous, while more than 15,000 people had signed an online petition calling for an explanation from the government.
The newspaper said Friday that Victor Mallet, its editor-in-chief for Asia, had been informed that his work visa would not be renewed. It would be the first expulsion of this type of foreign journalist since Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese control in 1997.
Mallet returned to Hong Kong after an international trip on Sunday and was allowed to enter the country on a seven-day visitor's visa, the Financial Times said. As a British citizen, he would generally be allowed to stay in the territory for up to six months on a tourist visa.
"Immigration officials have not explained why the visitor visa has been shortened and we continue to seek clarification from the Hong Kong authorities on the rejection of his work visa renewal," he said. the newspaper in a statement.
The Hong Kong Immigration Department said on Friday that it would not comment on an individual case.
Hong Kong, known for its independent judiciary and strong legal system, has long been a fundamental rights fiefdom in Asia. It has also been a haven for journalists since the international media was forced to leave mainland China after the Communist Party seized power in 1949 in recent years, when Beijing fired journalists to cover sensitive topics in China. China.
"Hong Kong was ironically the place where foreign reporters expelled from China usually met," said Keith Richburg, director of the Hong Kong University's Center for Journalism and Media Studies. former longtime foreign correspondent of the Washington Post. "The idea that China controls which foreign journalists can come to Hong Kong, whether the Chinese government is offended or not, is a turning point for me."
Pro-democracy politicians, organizations for freedom of expression and human rights defenders have warned of growing repression in Hong Kong under the influence of the authoritarian system of mainland China. These worries have been exacerbated after several people associated with a book publisher of rumors about China's elite policy in Hong Kong. disappeared in 2015, to reappear in detention in mainland China.
Although the Hong Kong authorities have not provided any explanation for the case of Mr. Mallet, it has been widely established that he was linked to a speech given in August at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club by the head of a separatist political party. In July, the government announced its intention to ban the tiny organization, the Hong Kong National Party, under a colonial law authorizing the banning of groups for reasons national security, public security or public order.
Mr. Mallet, as first vice-president of the club of foreign correspondents, was the host of the event and the main spokesperson of the club at the time, while his president was on the move. The event was condemned by the authorities of Hong Kong and mainland.
Leung Chun-ying, chief executive of Hong Kong from 2012 to 2017, seized the event to say that the The government should reconsider the lease of the clubhouse of the F.C.C. in a building owned by the state.
Mr. Mallet stated that the club regularly held events featuring speakers representing a range of voices that he neither argued nor opposed. He saw Andy Chan's lecture as part of his normal program of talks on important events in the city. A month after the conference, the Hong Kong government banned Chan's party, the first such ban since the transfer of power in 1997.
In its editorial, the Financial Times said that Hong Kong's independence was an unachievable idea without the support of the people and would violate the Basic Law, the local constitution of Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which defined the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.
"This newspaper does not support the idea of Hong Kong's independence, but it strongly supports the principle of freedom of expression," the editorial said.
He noted that Mr. Mallet's work as a journalist had not been criticized.
The expulsion "sends a scary message to everyone in Hong Kong, highlighting the tightening of Beijing's control over the territory and the constant erosion of fundamental rights guaranteed by Hong Kong's international laws and agreements," says l & # 39; editorial.
Richburg said worries about how the government would use immigration laws would spread beyond the media.
"People are talking about a cooling effect, but it's more like a frost," he said. "People will be afraid to hold a conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club that could offend China – what about university meetings? Does this mean that the university can not meet to discuss what could offend China? Does this mean that no one here can talk about something that China sees as a red line? "
Representatives of Hong Kong journalists' groups presented the petition requesting an explanation of the expulsion to the government on Monday.
"Refusing a visa in this case, to a bona fide journalist working for one of the world's leading newspapers, creates a terrible precedent for Hong Kong's reputation as a place where the rule of law applies." and where freedom of speech is protected by law, "the petition said.
The British government said it was "concerned" by Mr Mallet's rejection of the visa renewal. "We have asked the Hong Kong government for an urgent explanation," the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement. "Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and freedom of the press are at the heart of its way of life and must be fully respected."
Harvey Sernovitz, spokesman for the US Consulate General in Hong Kong, said the decision was "deeply troubling".
"This decision is particularly troubling because it reflects the problems faced by international journalists on the continent and seems inconsistent with the principles set out in the Basic Law," he wrote in an e-mail.
The newspaper belonging to the Communist Party Global Times said the deportation, if it was related to the conversation, was a sign that the event was a "political provocation that far exceeds the scope of the freedom of freedom." 39; expression. "
"Without Mallet, Hong Kong will not have less freedom of expression," the paper said in an editorial. "The future of the city does not have to be the concern of Mallet, the British government or the Western media."
The office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said on Saturday that visa issues "were under the sovereignty of a country" and that the central government strongly supported the Hong Kong government "in dealing with related issues in accordance with the law".
"No country has the right to intervene," the statement said.
Last month, after the United States ordered Chinese news media representatives to register as foreign agents, China accused the United States of obstructing and politicizing the media.
"Countries need to see the role of the media in promoting international exchange and cooperation in an open and inclusive way," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. "They must facilitate, rather than hinder, the normal work of the media, let alone politicize the issue."
