Journalists slam move to hide directors' data from public
Proposal to let company directors protect personal details from prying eyes for just HK$55 is condemned for killing free media
Proposed changes to hide company directors and secretaries' personal details - home addresses and full ID numbers - from the public are an affront to press freedom, the city's journalist groups said yesterday.
The changes to the Companies Registry, slated to start early next year, will also allow currently publicly available personal details to be removed for just HK$55, hampering scrutiny of those in positions of power, the proposal's critics said.
The proposed changes by the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau - recently added to the rewrite of the Companies Ordinance - follow a series of investigative reports into Chinese officials' hidden wealth by major news organisations last year.
The proposal's supporters welcomed the changes, which they say protect personal data.
But the Hong Kong Journalists Association said that the changes were "unquestionably a retrogressive development".
"It does not just hurt the media, it damages the city's reputation of having a free flow of information," said association chairwoman Mak Yin-ting. "It is irresponsible and I … wonder why the government would do this."
A meeting Mak had last night with other groups including an alliance of journalism professors ended with the groups agreeing to launch a signature campaign against the amendments.