Hong Kong’s largest association of journalists will consult members about its future, including whether to disband in the face of mounting government pressure to disclose details of its operations. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said on Wednesday it would hold an extraordinary general meeting via Zoom on April 23 and discuss if it would amend its constitution and options for its future in “a rapidly changing social and political environment”. Association chairman Ronson Chan Ron-sing told the Post that options to be considered included dissolving the 54-year-old group. Disbanding would require the consent of at least five-sixths of the members, according to its constitution. Chan said that following the closures of the Apple Daily newspaper in June last year and the websites Stand News in December and Citizen News in January, as well as the arrest of veteran journalist Allan Au Ka-lun this week, members were worried about their future. Some were proposing disbanding, while others wanted to hang on, he said. “So we should give the members a chance to speak and let the executive committee listen,” said Chan, who was a deputy assignment editor at Stand News . The HKJA said in September it had 486 members, 56 student ones and 43 retired or permanent members. The association has been facing mounting pressure since a war of words erupted with the city’s security chief. In September last year, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung challenged the HKJA to disclose its financial records and membership list to alleviate “public concerns” about its ethics. The association should consider revealing the amount of money it had received in recent years, the sources of the funding and whether the financial support came from foreign political organisations or people with clear political inclinations, he argued. Tang said that without revealing any personal information, it should also consider disclosing its membership list to show people which media outlets or schools its members were affiliated with. The association called Tang’s suggestion “illogical” and “incomprehensible”, saying divulging its member rolls would violate privacy laws. Chan said at that time the association had never received any overseas funding. The exchange came after Tang accused the group in an interview with a pro-Beijing outlet of “infiltrating” local schools to lure student journalists. Apple Daily and Stand News ceased operating after key personnel were arrested and its assets were frozen by the police national security department, while Citizen News decided to close to ensure staff safety. Au, who worked at free-to-air television station TVB and public broadcaster RTHK, was arrested by national security police on Monday for allegedly conspiring to publish and reproduce seditious materials. A police source said that articles written by Au and published on Stand News were alleged to have incited hatred against the government.