Hong Kong’s largest journalist group ‘needs one or two more weeks’ to answer authorities’ request to justify its activities

Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Ronson Chan says group spoke up against extradition bill over fears press freedom would be undermined

HKJA is still drafting its response and needs time to seek legal advice, Chan says, adding he has contacted the relevant authorities but received no reply

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Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Ronson Chan. Photo: May Tse

Published: 6:51pm, 4 Feb 2022Updated: 9:44pm, 4 Feb 2022

Hong Kong’s biggest journalists’ group has said it will “need one or two more weeks” before it can respond to labour authorities’ request for it to justify its activities and provide additional financial information about its operations.

Ronson Chan Ron-sing, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), also confirmed on Friday that the association was asked to explain how its opposition to a now-shelved extradition bill was consistent with the group’s nature as a trade union. But he said the association was only reflecting members’ worries.

“We spoke up at that time because journalists were worried that the bill would undermine press freedom,” he said on a radio programme on Friday, referring to the legislation that eventually sparked the months-long social unrest in 2019.

Two weeks ago, the association revealed that it had received a letter from the Registry of Trade Unions demanding it provide additional information to explain “its activities which are suspected to be inconsistent with the Trade Unions Ordinance and/or union rules” by Friday.

The investigation came hot on the heels of the closure of two online news portals, Stand News and Citizen News, with the former being accused of publishing articles breaching the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Chan said the association needed more time before it could respond to the request.

“We are still drafting our response, and we need time to seek legal advice,” he said. “We’d like the deadline to be pushed back by one or two weeks, and I’ve contacted the relevant authorities. But maybe they are working from home and no one picked up my call on Friday morning.”

Chan also revealed that the registry had asked the association to explain how its Facebook posts criticising the government, publications and annual press freedom reports related to the body’s status as a trade union.