Regina Ip takes flak for attack on media
SECRETARY for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has drawn sharp criticism for comparing the media to a pig in the novel Animal Farm.
Mrs Ip told Lianhe Zaobao, a Singapore newspaper, the media applied double standards in the case of university students who faced prosecution for breaching the Public Order Ordinance. Seven students were arrested over 'illegal assembly' in two separate cases.
Mrs Ip compared the Hong Kong media with the autocratic pig Napoleon in the George Orwell novel. She said by urging the Government not to prosecute the students, the media had taken on the role of judge, while claiming to promote human rights and freedom.
Legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing, of The Frontier, said: '[The Government] likes to criticise pro-democracy politicians going overseas to bad-mouth Hong Kong, but I think she's doing that, and in an unfair way . . . I don't agree with her . . . She should have discussed it with the media before making it a public issue.'
Hong Kong Journalists' Association chairman Mak Yin-ting said Mrs Ip had forgotten it was the responsibility of the press to monitor the Government and report on its policies. A spokesman for the Security Bureau said Mrs Ip had used the analogy to illustrate the point that no group was above the law. She said the Government respected press freedom but expected the media to be balanced.
