It was déjà vu all over again today as Hong Kong journalists once more donned full protective gear to attend the police force’s daily press briefing in silent protest of authorities’ use of pepper spray and tear gas on reporters covering demonstrations over the weekend.
Members of the city’s press pack turned up for today’s presser in helmets, gas masks, and yellow reflective vests — a form of protest first adopted after journalists similarly found themselves on the receiving end of police violence while covering an unruly protest on June 12.
One video from this weekend’s at-times violent protests shows a police officer in riot gear walk out of an MTR exit at Causeway Bay and lob a tear gas canister at a reporter just a few feet away. The canister hits the journalist on the shoulder before falling to ground and exploding in a fiery flash.
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Images from Saturday also show police hosing down a pack of reporters — easily identifiable by their high-vis press vests — with pepper spray.
A joint statement issued by the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association and the Hong Kong Press Photographers’ Association said that on Saturday evening, when police were arresting demonstrators in Mong Kok, reporters from several local outlets were told by officers to stop filming, with cops from the elite “raptor” squad pepper spraying them.
The statement said that the group comprised nine reporters and photojournalists from HK01, AFP, Ming Pao, i-Cable, and RTHK. At least two people in the group were pepper sprayed directly in the face.
The statement goes onto say that the reporters couldn’t file a police report as none of the officers had their warrant cards displayed on their uniforms, while all the reporters involved had been wearing press vests and press passes.
https://www.facebook.com/HKJA.official/posts/10157313524865309?__xts__[0]=68.ARAr0qLRI1O9uZCdeGHh3LgLPNf-tP0ZINr0Azkc1O5cGFUzQRoKNzFrApbm3z1TUFgkmoEFxZhQL4fimCdP4szekIMYYM44kAu2lTeVGt-d4OAJaHLrslJZROsqNsxpq9HJR_-aM9s0vRJgkDN_gM9ARDffaV5zX7MMd2_o61WCLoLgPrE3XzJpkvcWtYqiSWdUsBn8-gZtPs1U79K0L49XgCOqAYR-kcR_YprBBt3xTqz33V2WEbAU4D53u-EMUqsTNJVd8a5_A8pTdPOhglSwYsTTi3KoIpxx1I8rybr3Z5JWkUbluCpmaS340z24C1c4eEjZ23n25M5cMEDM&__tn__=-R
Speaking shortly before the 4pm police press briefing this afternoon, a spokesperson representing the HKJA and PPA read out the statement, and accused officers of abusing their powers and losing control of their emotions, and urged the police to respect journalists’ work.
In response, Chief Superintendent John Tse said officers at the scene did ask the reporters politely to move away, and that “using pepper spray is, in fact, to establish a safe distance between police officers and other people at the scene.”
“We appeal to bona fide members of the press to maintain a safe distance with our officers, especially when they’re making arrests and carrying out dispersal operations,” he added, maintaining that officers weren’t sure whether the people in neon-yellow press vests were reporters or not, and that, in any event, officers were also attempting to disperse protesters behind the journalists.
“We must first ensure the safety of our officers by maintaining a safe distance between our officers and all people, including reporters.”
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