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Welcome back to HKFP Monitor. This week, we discussed how the denial of a Bloomberg journalist’s visa reignited concerns over Hong Kong’s unexplained rejections, including those affecting other reporters. Lingnan University seized booklets from its sidelined students’ union, while a Ming Pao analysis showed the government is holding fewer – and shorter – public consultations.
| NO VISA, NO REASON
Hong Kong authorities have reignited concerns over press freedom after denying Bloomberg journalist Rebecca Choong Wilkins’s work visa renewal.
The case came to light last weekend when the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) revealed Wilkins – a senior correspondent covering politics and national security across Asia – was given no explanation for the decision. She has worked at Bloomberg for six years, previously covering China’s credit market.
The FCC said the denial “reinforces widespread concerns about the erosion of press freedom,” while Hong Kong Journalists Association chair Selina Cheng warned that such cases were becoming routine and would undermine the city’s bid to “tell a good story” about itself.
The decision comes despite government efforts to attract overseas talent following an exodus of professionals after the imposition of the national security law and years of strict Covid-19 restrictions. While the authorities have repeatedly assured that press freedom remains intact in the city, several journalists have had visas rejected or not renewed in recent years.
Last year, Bloomberg journalist Haze Fan was denied a visa to work in Hong Kong. She was previously detained in China on suspicion of national security offences.
Months later, Associated Press photographer Louise Delmotte – who captured rare shots of media mogul Jimmy Lai behind bars – was denied entry after her visa renewal was refused.
At the time, Chief Executive John Lee defended the Immigration Department, saying the officers acted no differently than their counterparts elsewhere.
Explainer: Press freedom under the national security law
Other journalists who have faced visa or entry restrictions include:
- 2018: Victor Mallet, Financial Times – visa renewal rejected.
- 2020: Chris Buckley, New York Times – visa rejected.
- 2020: Aaron McNicholas, Hong Kong Free Press – visa rejected.
- 2021: Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist – visa renewal rejected.
- 2022: Michiko Kiseki, freelance photojournalist – detained, questioned, then deported at airport.
- 2023: Yoshiaki Ogawa, freelance journalist – detained, questioned, then deported at airport.
- 2023: Matthew Connors, freelance photojournalist – refused entry.
- 2024: US journalist who requested anonymity – visa denied, according to NGO Reporters Without Borders.
- 2024: Activist-journalist David Missal – refused entry.
EMBATTLED STUDENTS’ UNIONS
Hong Kong’s embattled students’ unions took another blow this week after Lingnan University seized orientation booklets handed out by a student body it no longer recognised.
Security staff confiscated copies of the “unofficial” publication, and police stood outside the Tuen Mun campus to monitor students distributing the booklet.
Last month, Lingnan University severed ties with its students’ union and its affiliates, calling them “external organisations” that were not authorised to operate on campus. The institution said the groups made statements that clashed with the school’s “core values, mission, and objectives.”
Such moves have become common since the 2020 national security law, with many local universities distancing themselves from their student bodies. Institutions found themselves at odds with students’ unions after many sympathised with or even supported protesters during the 2019 extradition bill unrest.
The month-long political turmoil also saw several campuses turned into brutal battlegrounds between police and demonstrators. Security measures have been stepped up since then to restrict public access.
Alongside the crackdown on students’ unions was the clearing of “democracy walls.” Message boards that used to be covered with colourful posters expressing political views were stripped bare.
Some universities took a step further. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) cleared out the students’ union premises in July 2021, shortly after their leaders were criticised by the government for mourning a man who stabbed a police officer.
Four HKU students were later arrested and eventually jailed for two years each for “incitement to wound with intent” in October 2023. Their sentences were reduced to 15 months last year upon appeal.
Today, out of eight publicly funded universities, only City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology still have active, university-wide students’ unions.
| LOCAL MEDIA MONITOR
Public consultations plummet: Public consultations by the Hong Kong government have sharply declined over the past decade, according to an analysis by Ming Pao.
The report covered public consultation efforts by three administrations led by Leung Chun-ying (2012-17), Carrie Lam (2017-22) and John Lee (2022-present).
The number peaked at 45 in 2018 but dropped to just 18 last year, while the average consultation period shortened from 60 days before 2022 to less than 50 last year.
Excluding routine exercises like the Policy Address and Budget, consultations on new policies or laws fell from an average of 25 a year before 2016 to 14 in the past four years.
Compared with his predecessors, Lee’s administration has held fewer consultations, particularly on political issues. The report noted that there have been no recent consultations on political reform.
A government spokesperson told Ming Pao that officials remain “open” to public opinion, pointing to polls, focus groups, district meetings and talks with “relevant groups and individuals.”
Pro-Beijing scholar Lau Siu-kai said society was “highly politicised” in the past, which turned policies into political battles. With the current government focusing on livelihood issues and fewer controversial topics, he said, consultations have naturally decreased.
While the government says it relies on opinion polls, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) announced in February it would halt all self-funded research and may “even close down.”
CEO Robert Chung has twice been taken in by police for questioning since former deputy head Chung Kim-wah – now in the UK – was put on a wanted list in December under the national security law.
PORI, which tracks public satisfaction with officials, policy views, and economic sentiment, has long been attacked by Beijing-backed media as “anti-China” and accused of fabricating results.
| SOCIAL MEDIA MONITOR
Kwai Chung Plaza, known for its cheap eats and bargain shops, made headlines this week after a heavy police presence flooded the mall on Thursday.
The move followed an incident a day earlier when a staff member at a secondhand bookstore clashed with officers called to settle a dispute with a nearby shop. Viral videos showed the man hurling profanities and growing agitated after an officer touched his hand. He was eventually arrested for disorderly conduct, but the arrest was not recorded on camera.
The next day, dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers were seen patrolling the mall. Yahoo News reported that police inspected bookstores for pirated goods and other illegal activity. One shop owner said the checks “scared off customers,” while another was told the patrols were linked to the earlier bookstore quarrel and would continue in the coming days.
| HKFP PHOTO OF THE WEEK
The 156-day national security trial of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai wrapped up on Thursday as the court finished hearing closing arguments. When asked about a verdict, hand-picked Judge Esther Toh, speaking for the three-judge panel, said the court would “inform the parties in good time.”
Lai, 77, smiled, waved, and gave thumbs-up gestures to supporters before being led away. The Apple Daily founder has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the security law and a third count of conspiring to publish seditious materials under a colonial-era law. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted.
| BEST OF THE REST
The Guardian: Drugs, smuggling and abductions: inside the fast and furious world of pigeon racing in Taiwan
Bloomberg: Xi Unleashes China’s Biggest Purge of Military Leaders Since Mao
Broadvay: The Busiest Cargo Airport on Earth
The New York Times: How China Influences Elections in America’s Biggest City
NBC News: The electric scooter sharing scam
