A legislator has come out in support of a police decision last week to handcuff journalists who refused to be confined to a 'media area' during the Chater Garden protests.
Chan Kam-lam, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, said yesterday that police had been unfairly criticised for their media arrangements in Thursday's operation.
'We can see from TV footage that . . . some reporters did defy the police order of [staying in the media area]. They could have obstructed police action. It was a big operation and the media area was for the reporters' safety. Reporters should not confront police.'
Cyd Ho Sau-lan, of The Frontier, condemned the action as a restriction of press freedom. 'Police feared reporters could witness their abuse of power. They resorted to arresting their watchdog.'
He said Ms Ho's criticisms 'distorted the facts'.
'You are harming police morale and harming public support for the right actions taken by the police,' he said.
