Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong summoned representatives and journalists from some foreign media organizations, including The New York Times, on Saturday to warn them about coverage of the city’s deadliest fire in decades as well as of upcoming legislative elections.
The warning underscores the heightened scrutiny facing international news organizations in Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city with sweeping powers to curtail dissent. The officials said that foreign journalists would face consequences if they were deemed to have violated the law, adding: “Do not say you have not been warned.”
During the briefing, officials from the Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong read aloud a statement that criticized recent reporting by the foreign media on a massive fire last month at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise complex in northern Hong Kong, that had killed at least 159 people.
The officials said that some reports had “distorted facts,” spread false information, and smeared the government’s rescue and relief work. The statement also said that some reporting had “attacked and interfered with” the legislative election to be held Sunday. The officials did not give specifics or single out any particular outlets or reports.
“‘Press freedom’ and ‘obeying the law’ are not mutually contradictory,” the officials warned. “No media organization may use the banner of ‘press freedom’ to interfere in China’s internal affairs or interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs.”
The officials did not identify themselves nor take questions. The national security office later posted the same statement on its website.
The meeting was a rare direct engagement between China’s national security office in Hong Kong and the foreign media, highlighting the increasingly assertive role the office plays in regulating public discourse in the city.
In recent days, the office put out statements warning “anti-China forces” not to exploit the Wang Fuk Court fire to try to undermine social stability. It also said that “hostile foreign forces” were seeking to cause trouble for the Hong Kong government, adding that the authorities would punish such forces “no matter how far away” they may be.
Analysts have said that the sharply worded statements by the security office suggested that the authorities are concerned that last week’s disaster could fuel a fresh political reckoning in a city that was engulfed with antigovernment protests in 2019.
The warnings also come as the Hong Kong government has been encouraging residents to vote in legislative elections on Sunday.
Turnout at the last poll, in 2021, hit a record low, following a major overhaul of the political system that tightened the Chinese Communist Party’s grip over the territory. Beijing imposed a “patriots only” policy that limited which candidates could run, leaving space only for the barest semblance of an opposition.
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