HK bloggers back local journalists beaten in Xinjiang (SCMP)

Hong Kong internet users are gathering support from all walks of life to counter the Xinjiang government’s accusations against three local journalists.

A Chinese-language website, HKConscience.org, was recently set up by a group of local bloggers who hope to draw mainlanders’ attention to the controversy.

It invites members of the public to voice their concerns by writing articles, making video clips or posting images.

We, a group of internet bloggers who express concerns on the city’s press freedom, want to tell Hong Kong internet surfers, the chief executive, Xinjiang authorities, Beijing and people all over the world that we have a conscience and dignity, the bloggers wrote in a message on the website.

Hundreds of journalists took to the streets on Sunday to condemn the Xinjiang government’s handling of the case in which TVB reporter Lam Tsz-ho, his cameraman Lau Wing-chuen and a Now TV cameraman were tied up, handcuffed and beaten by police while covering protests in Urumqi over reports of syringe attacks.

Internet Society Hong Kong chairman Charles Mok, one of the activists behind the website, said yesterday that they did not mean to mobilise people to protest against the Xinjiang or Beijing governments.

We aim to get people’s participation on the issue, encouraging internet users to express themselves and continue internet discussion on the controversy, he said.

The internet was a good tool to share Hongkongers’ views on the row with mainlanders, Mok said, because many internet users on the mainland were concerned about the incident.

Last week, Xinjiang propaganda unit chief Hou Hanmin said the journalists had incited unrest by making hand gestures.

Some media then irresponsibly hyped up the incident and some people made irresponsible comments without knowing what really happened, Hou said, adding that journalists should not do anything that they are not authorised to do.

Hou also accused the reporters of working without proper credentials.

Of the three journalists, only one had a temporary press card that allowed him to conduct interviews in the city, but the other two didn’t. They violated our regulations.