Hong Kong police scheme to give only ‘trusted media’ access to cordoned off areas draws press backlash
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Only representatives from 15 media agencies were allowed inside the cordon, police public relations branch Chief Superintendent Kwok Ka-chuen said on Tuesday, adding that the scheme was imposed in the wake of the “new challenges” in coordinating media reporting and police operations in the past year. Kwok also vowed to review the new arrangement and make improvements.
Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung confirmed on Monday in an interview with local media outlet HK01 that the practice was a pilot programme.
But he denied that in running the arrangement police were effectively licensing the media, saying all journalists, including citizen reporters, could still report from outside cordoned off areas.
Journalists from “trusted” media, which Tang identified as those who had reported fairly, and had not acted unprofessionally or obstructed officers, would be allowed to report from inside cordoned areas.