Rights campaigners Friday denounced Hong Kong’s barring of a senior Financial Times journalist as another blow to press freedom in the city which has come under increasing pressure from an assertive China. The refusal by immigration officials to let in the FT’s Asia news editor Victor Mallet Thursday
Rights campaigners Friday denounced Hong Kong’s barring of a senior Financial Times journalist as another blow to press freedom in the city which has come under increasing pressure from an assertive China.
The refusal by immigration officials to let in the FT’s Asia news editor Victor Mallet Thursday came hours after an arts center hosting the city’s high-profile literary festival cancelled appearances by exiled Chinese writer Ma Jian.
Amnesty International said it was a “distressing signal” about the state of press freedom in Hong Kong and smacked of “retaliation” against Mallet.
The veteran journalist had already had his work visa renewal denied last month and had left Hong Kong, but was barred when he tried to come back in for a short stay as a visitor.
British citizens are usually allowed into Hong Kong without a visa and are permitted to stay for 180 days under immigration rules.
The government has given no explanation for the original refusal to extend his visa but it is widely believed the decision was linked to Mallet’s chairing of a talk by a Hong Kong independence activist at the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC), where he is first vice president.
China’s foreign ministry had asked for the event to be cancelled.
The FT has said it would appeal against the original visa denial.
