Pull the other one!
HKFP
Hong Kong’s new, homegrown security law does not undermine press freedom, the city’s justice secretary has stated, amid concern that legislation against external interference and theft of state secrets may affect reporting.
In an opinion piece published in Ming Pao on Monday, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said Article 23 would not have any “unreasonable restrictions” on the work of the media. Criticism against the government was allowed “no matter how sharp or severe,” he added.
“As long as the media industry adheres to the professional principles of truth-seeking, fairness, objectivity, impartiality and being comprehensive… there is no need to be especially worried about breaching the law,” Lam wrote in Chinese.
The justice secretary’s comments came about a month after authorities fast-tracked a new locally-legislated security law through the Legislative Council, which lost its effective opposition after sweeping electoral changes in 2021 allowing only those deemed “patriots” to be elected.
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