The chairman of Hong Kong’s main journalist group was found guilty of obstructing a police officer on Monday in a court case that raised concerns about the decline of press freedom in the city.
Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association and a journalist at online news outlet Channel C, was arrested last September while on his way to a reporting assignment. He was accused of refusing to show his identity card to the plainclothes officer upon request.
Chan’s arrest heightened concerns about the diminishing media freedom in Hong Kong after the imposition of a national security law by Beijing, aimed at suppressing dissent following the massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. Hong Kong, formerly a British colony, was promised 50 years of Western-style civil liberties upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
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Magistrate Leung Ka-kie ruled on Monday that Chan intentionally obstructed the officer from performing her duty and failed to show his identity card in a timely manner. She stated that he persistently asked the officer reckless questions.
Chan will be sentenced later and could face a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Hong Kong Journalists Association’s Chairman Ronson Chan, right, speaks to reporters outside a court building in Hong Kong on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Alice Fung)
Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Chan expressed his calmness.
“No matter what the outcome is, it’s not the end of the day,” he said.
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In the crackdown that followed the 2019 protests, two outspoken media outlets, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forced to close, and some of their top executives were prosecuted. Two former senior editors at Stand News, where Chan used to work, are currently on trial for sedition, with a verdict scheduled for November.
Pro-Beijing media outlets have attacked the association and Chan, accusing the professional group of being an anti-China political tool in their reports.
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Hong Kong, once considered a stronghold of media freedom in Asia, ranked 140th out of 180 countries and territories in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. The organization noted that the city has experienced an “unprecedented setback” since 2020 due to the implementation of the security law.
However, Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have argued that the law has helped restore stability to the city following the 2019 anti-government protests.
