The Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong has reworked it’s visa renewal applications to certain people in the wake of the club’s hosting of a speech by an independence advocate that drew fierce criticism from Beijing.
Victor Mallet, the first vice president of the FCC and the news editor for the Financial Times in Asia, hosted a luncheon at the club at which Andy Chan, a founder of the now- defunct Hong Kong National Party, was invited to speak last August.
The British-based newspaper club said in a statement that it is the first time it has encountered such a situation in Hong Kong, saying that they have not been given a reason for the rejection of passports.
Chief Secretary, Matthew Cheung, said that the club’s providing a platform for an independence advocate disregards Hong Kong’s constitutional duty to uphold national sovereignty; implying the club insults Hong Kong’s sovereignty.
In September 2018, the Hong Kong National Party was banned by the Hong Kong government. It’s ban made it the first political party to be labelled an outcast since Hong Kong united with China in 1997.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association said denying independence advocate’s visa renewal is shocking and could be viewed as retaliation by the puppet government against the FCC for hosting advocates that question China’s rule over Hong Kong; one that seriously damages free speech and free press.
Hong Kong, after the handover, was promised a 50-year status quo with its way of life but China’s encroachment of rights and freedoms in the autonomous territory has helped in an anti-China fanbase and calls for self determination on Hong Kong’s future.
Reference: Hong Kong denies visa to journalist who hosted independence activist
