Secretary of State e
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Hon. Secretary of State Clinton,
In your recent July 25 visit in Hong Kong, you said, "Whether we're talking about politics or economics, openness, transparency, freedom and fairness stand the test of time."You also met with four Hong Kong pro-democracy legislators telling them that you appreciate the Hong Kong model and hope that China will move towards the Hong Kong model.
Currently, Hong Kong's model of "One country, two systems" is under threat as journalists have been continuously harassed using tactics that are being used in mainland China.Some of what happened has been documented by the International Federation of Journalists, based in Australia, as follows:
"On July 1, Kiri Choy, an intern journalist with New Tang Dynasty Television, and David Cheung, a citizen journalist with Green Radio, were detained by police when they were unable to produce their press cards when questioned. They were arrested and detained at a police station in Aberdeen, Hong Kong for more than 10 hours. Police Commissioner Tsang denied the arrests and detention of Choy and Cheung had occurred when questioned by media on July 9."
"On August 11, Emily Tsang, of Ming Pao, Cathy Tang, of Sing Tao, and James Yan, of Capital Weekly, were detained by police for at least six hours on accusations of attempted burglary after they had registered and received a visitor's permit at the reception office of the New Government Complex in Hong Kong."
"On August 18, Sit Ka-Kit, a camera operator with Now Television, was prevented by an unknown person from filming the visit of Chinese First Vice Premier Li Keqiang to Laguna City , Kowloon , Hong Kong . A police officer in uniform failed to act on Sit's complaint that he had been prevented from performing his professional duty, and that the person responsible had refused to identify themselves."
"Another journalist, Iris Hui, of a local radio broadcaster, was subjected to an arbitrary security check on August 16 when she covered Li's trip to Hong Kong. She said a police officer examined the contents of her wallet without explanation. Under Hong Kong law, police can only conduct such searches when they have reasonable grounds to believe a person may have committed a crime."
As you are well aware, freedom of the press is an integral part of the "One country, two systems" model. Maintaining Hong Kong's freedom of the press is most important not just to safe guard Hong Kong people's freedoms but to provide a free and unfettered information about China to the rest of the world.
Please send a letter of inquiry to Hong Kong's chief executive expressing your concern.
Yours truly,
Ann Lau
Chair, Visual Artists Guild