Hong Kong Journalists Association says concerns among BBC staff about proposed move to city are appreciated, but that reporters should ‘go where the news is’
KC.NG@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Wednesday, 27 April, 2016, 8:17pm
British newspaper The Guardian reported that BBC World Service staff were up in arms over a cost-cutting plan that would see the bulk of the Chinese service move to Hong Kong. Photo: EPA
Opposition by BBC staff to a plan to move the public broadcaster’s Chinese service headquarters from Britain to Hong Kong has added weight to growing fears about press freedom in the city, journalists’ groups have warned.
Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Sham Yee-lan said she appreciated the concerns raised by BBC staff about the move, but also hoped they would think again on the issue.
“As journalists, I believe we should go where there is news,” said Sham. “We’d like them to be able to work here and together fight interference from the authorities.”
British newspaper The Guardian reported that BBC World Service staff were up in arms over a cost-cutting plan that would see the bulk of the Chinese service move to Hong Kong.
The staff feared the move could threaten the service’s editorial independence and that their safety could be compromised.
A letter is being sent to former BBC chairman and last governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten and Britain’s Foreign Office to petition for support, according to the Guardian report.
Staff were worried the plan “grossly underestimates the level of threat posed by the Chinese regime in Hong Kong to both BBC editorial integrity and the safety of BBC journalists”.
Some £300,000 (HK$3.38 million) could reportedly be saved from the £1.8 million budget for the Chinese service.
The news coincides with a brewing row in Hong Kong over the sacking of a liberal editor at the local Chinese-language daily Ming Pao amid speculation the paper was exercising self-censorship, as well as the disappearances last year of local booksellers producing titles critical of the Chinese government.
Serenade Woo, Asia-Pacific manager of the International Federation of Journalists, said the Hong Kong government was to blame for the poor impression held by some about local press freedom.
“What we have seen is the city’s leader openly criticising Next Magazine over its reporting,” said Woo, referring to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s criticism of the Chinese-language magazine for sending reporters to chase after his daughter in the United States over the so-called “baggage-gate” saga.
“What we have not seen is any concrete action to protect the interests of Hong Kong residents in the Lee Po incident,” Woo added, referring to one of the booksellers who went missing.
On Monday, Leung pledged to uphold press freedom in Hong Kong, saying it was the government’s “constitutional responsibility” and in indispensible element that made Hong Kong an international city.
The Guardian quoted a BBC spokesman as saying: “We need to change the way BBC Chinese works to improve our reach and impact in China. In a fiercely competitive market, we need more first-hand reporting in China.”
The spokesman dismissed fears about the impact on editorial integrity of staff working in Hong Kong, saying the city hosted “regional headquarters and offices for more than 100 leading international media organisations”.
The Hong Kong government said it was not prepared to comment.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1939390/lets-fight-together-hong-kong-journalists-welcome-bbc
