Tang Ping-keung attacks HKJA election as opaque
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Security Secretary Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that the Hong Kong Journalists Association’s executive committee election, scheduled for Saturday, was a “black-box operation” and questioned the body’s legitimacy and public credibility . He said reported candidates were all from foreign media, independent media and online media, with no representative from mainstream outlets, making it difficult in his view for the group to call itself the Hong Kong Journalists Association . Tang also linked his criticism to broader warnings about organizations allegedly misusing trade union status for activities unrelated to union work .
Key Points
- Reports said the HKJA had only recently gathered the minimum threshold of five candidates for its executive committee election planned for Saturday, 8 June .
- Speaking on 7 June, Tang said the association had “no legitimacy” and “no credibility,” directly challenging its standing in Hong Kong .
- Tang said all reported candidates came from foreign media, freelance or independent media, and online media, with no mainstream media participant .
- He accused the HKJA of failing to publish candidate names, while am730 said he also claimed the eventual list of elected members would not be disclosed .
- Tang further attacked the association over its conduct during the 2019 unrest and over what he called a biased stance in the Jimmy Lai case .
Why It Matters
The remarks escalate official pressure on a long-standing journalists’ body at a sensitive moment around its internal election and public standing . Tang’s separate warning that authorities would investigate any group allegedly using a union label to endanger national security signals the possibility of further scrutiny beyond this election dispute .