Christian NGO rebukes criticism of Hong Kong press union
HKFP · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A conservative Christian NGO, the Society for Truth and Light, has publicly defended the Hong Kong Journalists Association after Secretary for Security Chris Tang criticised the union’s internal election arrangements . In a Facebook post on Thursday, the group’s general secretary Choi Chi-sum said the HKJA was “struggling to survive” and asked whether the city’s media environment had been steadily worsening . His comments marked the second rare public rebuke by the NGO against the government within a month . The exchange came after Tang accused the HKJA of running a “black-box” leadership election because it did not publish its candidate list before last Saturday’s annual general meeting .
Key Points
- Choi Chi-sum, general secretary of the Society for Truth and Light, posted on Facebook on Thursday defending the HKJA amid official criticism .
- Choi said the press union was “struggling to survive” and questioned whether Hong Kong’s media ecosystem had continued to deteriorate .
- He also asked whether mainstream journalists were unwilling to defend their profession, or whether media bosses feared offending those in power .
- Chris Tang said last week that the HKJA’s decision not to publicise election candidates before Saturday’s AGM amounted to a “black-box operation” .
- HKJA chair Selina Cheng said names were withheld because of years of harassment, and union law bars excluding freelance or temporary workers .
Why It Matters
The intervention is notable because it came from a conservative Christian NGO that rarely criticises the Hong Kong government in public . It also adds to debate over whether pressure surrounding the press union is tied to broader changes in the city’s media environment and journalists’ room to organise .