25-10-2014
Journalists from RTHK and TVB came under attack on Saturday evening while covering a rally organised by the Blue Ribbon Movement in Tsim Sha Tsui in support of the police. The reporter, Wong Wing-yin, was covering the rally when she found herself surrounded by several people who questioned whether she was a journalist.
She said someone tried to snatch her press pass and her backpack.
When she fell to the ground Ms Wong said someone kicked her in the leg and body before other journalists intervened and took her to the Cultural Centre where she reported the incident to the police before being taken to hospital.
RTHK and the RTHK Programme Staff Union have condemned the attack.
The union said it's the third time in a month that RTHK journalists have been attacked while doing their job.
An RTHK spokesman said the station would take legal action.
In a separate incident at the same event, a reporter and two cameraman with TVB were also assaulted. The station said a group of people yanking at the clothes of the news team when they went to investigate a confrontation.
The three were also assaulted. The station also strongly condemned the attack and said it hoped that all sides would respect the rights of journalists in covering news stories. The station also called on the police to resolutely enforce the law.
A spokeswoman for the Journalists Association, Shirley Yam, described the attack as barbaric and unacceptable. She said about 24 journalists have been attacked since the protests began. She said she couldn't understand why people would attack the journalists, especially when they clearly displayed their press passes and their equipment showed the logo of their media organisations.
http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20141025/news_20141025_56_1048631.htm
