Hong Kong journalists' union warned before election

Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang warned the Hong Kong Journalists Association on August 7, one day before the media union was due to hold committee elections.

Asked about the election at a media briefing, Tang warned against what he called organisations misusing the title of “union” to engage in activities unrelated to unions.

Tang said that anyone seeking to endanger national security, collude with foreign forces or subvert state power would “bear the consequences.” He also said the HKJA's electoral candidates were all employed by foreign or online media outlets and alleged suspicions of “black-box dealings” because their names were not published.

HKJA interim chair Selina Cheng said the candidate information was not public because of intense harassment campaigns against the board in recent years, including during the election. She said the union had submitted its board information to the union registry as required by law.

The HKJA is Hong Kong's longest-established journalists' organisation and one of the last remaining groups advocating for media rights in the city. This year's leadership election had been postponed from June because of a lack of candidates.

Hong Kong's press freedom ranking has fallen since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 after large and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Hong Kong has since introduced its own security law. Many media outlets have disbanded since the 2020 law was enacted.