The Education Secretary, Eddie Ng. Photo: RTHK file
The Apple Daily newspaper has accused police of interfering with press freedom after two of its journalists were taken away for questioning on Thursday. They had been following Education Secretary Eddie Ng in a car. The newspaper said it will seek legal advice on whether to take the matter further, including lodging a complaint against the police.
The Police said they had cause to investigate as they had received reports of suspicious behaviour. Apple Daily said the officers had accused the reporters of loitering, even though they had produced their press passes. The two reporters were taken to a police station and questioned for about an hour and a half.
Apple Daily criticised the way the police had handled the incident, saying they had unreasonably obstructed news gathering activities, and interfered with press freedom.
But the police said they were concerned about possible criminal behaviour.
They said they had received information from the Education Bureau that Mr Ng had been followed by strangers in unknown cars several times this week.
The Police said while the two in the car - a man and a woman - claimed to be reporters, officers had to verify their identities at the station. The two were later cleared of suspicion and released.
The Police said they always respect press freedom and fully understand the importance of accommodating news gathering activities. They pledged to maintain effective communication with the media.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it was unreasonable for the police to detain the reporters for questioning, even though they had shown their press passes. It said the monitoring of senior government officials is part of a journalist's duty.
They demanded reassurance from the police that such incidents would not happen again.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1231786-20151225.htm
