Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog received two complaints last year about journalists who were harassed, with one case transferred to the police for follow up.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. File photo: Peter Lee/HKFP.
Ada Chung, the head of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), said in Cantonese at a press conference on Tuesday: “We referred one case to the police for follow up.”
“The other case, when we tried to contact the complainant, they did not give us any more information, so we had no way to follow up,” she added.
She was responding to a question from a reporter about an alleged wave of harassment targeting the media sector last year. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said last September that dozens of journalists had received emails and letters with defamatory content to their home addresses, workplaces and other venues.
The HKJA said at the time it was not aware of how those behind the campaign had obtained journalists’ personal information, adding it was concerned about apparent and potentially unlawful leaks from government or private databases.
The journalists targeted included those from Hong Kong Free Press, InMedia, HK Feature, and members of the HKJA’s executive committee.
Selina Cheng, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, on September 13, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Fifteen journalists saw complaints sent to family members, landlords, employers and organisations they were associated with, chair of the HKJA Selina Cheng said. Some of the complaints threatened recipients that if they continued to associate with the journalists, they could be breaching national security laws.
It was the most widespread alleged harassment of journalists in Hong Kong that the HKJA had heard of, Cheng added.
HKFP has reached out to the police to ask if their investigation into the case that was referred to them by the PCPD is ongoing.
Separately, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu said last September that the force had received two reports of harassment and intimidation involving Hong Kong journalists and their family members. He said Hong Kong was a society with the rule of law, and called on people to come forward and file a police report if they were being intimidated or harassed.
When asked last September about the issue, Chief Executive John Lee told reporters in Cantonese: “In Hong Kong, anyone who needs assistance from law enforcement agencies can file a report to the police, or other law enforcement departments involved, such as the Immigration Department, Custom and Excise Department. Our law enforcement agencies will handle the cases impartially.”
Later asked whether he condemned the intimidation of journalists, Lee’s office referred HKFP back to his earlier comments.
