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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong has banned the editor of the newspaper "Financial Times" for Asia to enter the city, the newspaper reported, after authorities refused to renew his visa in October, raising questions about the city's commitment to freedom of expression.
FILE PHOTO: Victor Mallet, Financial Times reporter and Senior Vice President of the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), speaks at a luncheon hosted at the FCC in Hong Kong, China on August 14, 2018. Paul Yeung / Pool via REUTERS
Victor Mallet "attempted to enter Hong Kong on Thursday as a visitor but was turned back at the border after several hours of questioning by immigration agents," the Financial Times said.
Mallet did not comment further when contacted by Reuters.
The Hong Kong government said on Friday that it was not commenting on individual immigration cases.
"When processing each immigration case, the immigration department will act in accordance with laws and policies and will decide whether entry will be allowed or denied after careful consideration of the circumstances of each case" said the government in a statement sent by email. Analysts have cited the case of the chief editor of the FT among other examples of Hong Kong officials who strongly oppose criticism and dissent perceived in the former British colony.
On Thursday, a prominent Chinese dissident writer, Ma Jian, said on Twitter that a Hong Kong art center had told him that he would no longer hold two of his talks as part of the International Literary Festival. from Hong Kong.
In the case of Mallet, the government refused to renew its work visa last month after a speech he delivered to the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) by a pro-independence activist was strongly condemned by the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
The authorities did not explain why the Mallet work visa had not been renewed.
This decision shocked a large number of members of the international community and reopened a debate on the viability of the promised freedoms in the Asian financial center.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has asked the FCC to withdraw its invitation to Andy Chan, founder of the Hong Kong Nationalist Independence Party, officially banned by the Hong Kong authorities in September.
The FCC, however, refused to cancel the event by saying that it was defending the freedom of expression, without however endorsing or supporting the views of its stakeholders.
RIGHTS UNDER SCRUTINY
The authorities of Beijing and Hong Kong have stated that the concept of independence violates the principle of "one country, two systems" according to which the territory was ruled since Britain returned to China in 1997.
The principle promises Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed elsewhere in China, rights enshrined in a mini-constitution known as the Basic Law.
The human rights situation in Hong Kong was discussed in unprecedented ways this week by several foreign governments at a United Nations hearing.
On Thursday, Chinese exile author Ma Jian tweeted that the Tai Kwun Arts Center had canceled her events.
The arts center, which was set up with the support of the government, did not comment immediately to Reuters.
Ma said that he had not been able to find a Hong Kong publisher for his satirical novel China Dream, nicknamed by the organizers of the Hong Kong Literary Festival as "Ma's response to the news". President Xi Jinping's goal of restoring national greatness. "
"I am a novelist, not an activist, and I participate in the Festival to discuss my new novel, China Dream. My "policies" are simple: I believe in freedom of thought and freedom of speech. Without them, life does not make sense, "Ma wrote on Twitter.
My must arrive in Hong Kong on Friday afternoon.
Report by Farah Master; Edited by James Pomfret and Darren Schuettler
