Tsang Wai Hung
Commissioner of Police
26 October 2014

Dear Mr Tsang,

We are writing to express our concern and request your action on the repeated attacks on journalists over the past one month.

A total of 24 journalists have been attacked on various occasions since the beginning of the Occupy Movement in late September. Assaults have not only been carried out by protestors but also by individual police officers. 

The most serious instance occurred only yesterday evening when four journalists were kicked and punched while reporting on a rally organized by the Blue Ribbon Movement. All these happened in your officers’ presence. There was, however, no arrest and the attackers walked away freely.

Violence against journalists undermines press and information freedom which is one of the core pillars of Hong Kong’s success. The Police should take swift action and beef up manpower to protecting journalists from attackers.

There is a dire need to thoroughly investigate these attacks and to bring the culprits to justice. An updated report on the investigations should be provided to the public.

As stated in our earlier letter of 15 October 2014, we look forward to meeting you to discuss our concern. However, we have received no reply so far. We sincerely hope that a meeting can be finalized within a week.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,
Hong Kong Journalists Association
Hong Kong Press Photographers Association
Independent Commentators Association
Next Media Trade Union
Ming Pao Staff Association
Journalism Educators for Press Freedom

CC:TK Lai, Secretary for Security.