Selina Cheng, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, on September 13, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was published in Hong Kong Free Press on September 13, 2024. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

Reporters from at least 13 media outlets in Hong Kong have been harassed online and offline in what appears to be a “systematic and organised attack,” the city’s largest journalist group has said.

Selina Cheng, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), said during a press conference on September 13, 2024, that, since June, dozens of journalists have received emails and letters with defamatory content sent to their home addresses, workplaces and other venues. The journalists targeted included those from Hong Kong Free Press, InMediaHK, HK Feature, and those who are members of the HKJA’s executive committee.

Fifteen journalists saw complaints sent to family members, landlords, employers and organisations they are associated with, Cheng said. Some of the complaints threatened recipients that if they continued to associate with the journalists, they could be breaching national security laws.

Cheng said the HKJA was unaware of how those behind the campaign obtained journalists’ personal information, adding it was concerned about apparent and potentially unlawful leaks from the government or private databases.

Facebook users had also posted “hateful content” targeting media outlets and journalists in private Facebook groups. At least 36 journalists were named and had their photos shared in these posts.

The harassment also involved death threats, Cheng said. Online, photos were posted of journalists and members of the HKJA pictured alongside knives and shooting targets. Screenshots of these photos were then sent to journalists and their parents in a “clear effort to scare and intimidate them,” Cheng said.

“HKJA, along with several affected individuals, has reported the harassment and nuisance behaviour to the police, and two journalists have also made criminal doxxing complaints to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner,” Cheng continued, referring to the city’s privacy watchdog.

Responding to questions from reporters, Cheng said “most” of the HKJA’s executive committee members had received such harassment, including herself. She said two of her family members had also received threatening messages sent to their workplaces.

Asked whether the harassment appeared to be targeting specific reporting topics or outlets, Cheng said it did not seem to be the case. Some of the posts highlighted reports such as about the Taiwan presidential elections or the Fukushima wastewater release, but these were all topics that were “proper,” she said in Cantonese.

It’s not aimed at specific reports or specific news outlets… but the harassment is targeted at the journalism industry as a whole.

Cheng also said this was the most widespread example of alleged harassment of journalists in Hong Kong that the HKJA had heard of. In previous years, attacks had been “quite sporadic,” she said.

Clearly, some of these parties and perpetrators feel it might have worked sometimes to continue to widen their area of attack even though most of the time it’s hit or miss. As long as they target enough people… [there will be] cases where they’re able to bend people to their will. I don’t believe that is right. That is why we’re making a loud call today saying we don’t accept such behaviour.

The HKJA chair also called on news organisations to condemn the harassment in public, and for law enforcement and the privacy watchdog to investigate.

Last week, the HKFP director’s landlord and local property agencies were sent anonymous letters containing defamatory claims, falsities and threats of “unimaginable consequences” and “collateral damage” unless he was evicted from the property and district. Whilst the agencies and landlord ignored the threats, HKFP Director Tom Grundy reported the incident to the police on Saturday.

When HKFP asked the police for comment, a spokesperson on Friday said: “Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law. If members of the public suspect that they are being intimidated or harassed, they should report the case to the police. Police will handle each case in accordance with the law and actual circumstances.”

According to RTHK, Michael Cheuk, undersecretary for security, said: “Hong Kong is a place of the rule of law. We condemn all sorts of actions that should be outlawed. Any individual should be free from threats, free from fear, and free from harassment… Irrespective of who you are, if you are receiving such threat or harassment, please come out and report it.”

He added: “Anyone’s freedom, not just about freedom of the press, free from fear, freedom of expressions, whatsoever, those rights should be respected and should not be compromised.”

‘Serious interference with press freedom’

The intimidation campaign comes as Hong Kong continues to perform poorly in global press freedom rankings under the effect of the national security law.

Since Beijing imposed national security legislation in 2020, the city has seen the closure of news outlets, including Apple Daily and Stand News, which shut after police raids and the arrest of top editors.

Authorities, however, have maintained that press freedom is “respected and protected” in Hong Kong.

Selina Cheng stressed during the press conference that the attacks a “serious interference with press freedom,” adding that it condemned these attempts to use “illegal means such as threats and harassment to hinder and scare journalists from performing their constitutionally-protected work.”

The group encouraged journalists who were experiencing harassment to notify their employers and file reports to the police and the city’s privacy watchdog.