There is little resemblance between Hong Kong since 1997 and the British colony I remember from the early 1960s. The expulsion of Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet, a member of the city’s venerable Foreign Correspondents’ Club, and his subsequent treatment, raises speculation that Hong Kong’s freedom of the press may be a relic of British colonialism (“British journalist Victor Mallet denied entry to Hong Kong as tourist”, November 9).

Hong Kong has always distinguished itself as distinct from the mainland, but that appears to be changing under Beijing’s long reach. As reported by The New York Times, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor dismissed as “pure speculation” the notion “that Mr Mallet’s forced departure was an act of retaliation signalling a new limit on political speech” (“Reason for journalist’s visa denial to stay secret as Legislative Council motion fails”, November 1). The evidence would suggest otherwise.