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HONG KONG — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Hong Kong authorities to uphold press freedoms following the denial of a work visa to Bloomberg reporter Rebecca Choong Wilkins, who had spent six years reporting from the city. The CPJ urged officials to renew her visa and ensure that journalists can operate without arbitrary restrictions.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) expressed concern over the lack of transparency surrounding Wilkins’ visa denial, warning that such actions may signal a broader erosion of media freedoms. According to CPJ, at least eight other journalists have faced similar visa denials since the enactment of Beijing’s national security law in June 2020.
CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi described the trend as the “weaponization of media visas,” a tactic used to suppress independent reporting. “Arbitrarily denying a journalist’s right to work infringes on press freedoms protected under Hong Kong’s Basic Law,” she stated.
Rights groups including Hong Kong Watch and Hong Kong Free Press report that at least 18 journalists have been arrested since 2020, with independent outlets accused of distributing “seditious” content. These developments have contributed to a marked decline in media pluralism and international reporting on Hong Kong’s financial and political landscape.
Excerpts sourced from reporting by Samara Baboolal for JURIST.
