Committee to Protect Journalists asks Hong Kong to allow foreign correspondents to work freely

Hong Kong's refusal to renew a visa for an Australian journalist "shreds repeated claims" by the city's government that it upholds press freedom, said Committee to Protect Journalists, urging the authorities to reverse the decision immediately.

Hong Kong's refusal to renew a visa for an Australian journalist "shreds repeated claims" by the city's government that it upholds press freedom, said Committee to Protect Journalists, urging the authorities to reverse the decision immediately. Recently, Hong Kong authorities refused to renew the work visa for journalist Sue-Lin Wong without providing any explanation.

A graduate of the Australian National University and China's Tsinghua University, Wong was the China correspondent for the British magazine Economist, Hong Kong Free Press reported. Taking to Twitter, Sue-Lin Wong expressed her disappointment saying: "Very sad I won't be able to continue reporting from Hong Kong. I loved getting to know the city and its people"

"Hong Kong's refusal to renew a visa for The Economist's correspondent Sue-Lin Wong shreds repeated claims by the Hong Kong government that it upholds press freedom," said Steven Butler, CPJ's Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. "Hong Kong authorities should reverse this decision immediately and allow journalists--local and international--to work without interference." "We regret their decision, which was given without explanation," said Beddoes. "We urge the government of Hong Kong to maintain access for the foreign press, which is vital to the territory's standing as an international city."

The Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club also released a statement calling on the Hong Kong government to provide "assurances that applications for employment visas will be handled in a timely manner, and that the visa process for journalists will not be politicized or weaponized." (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)