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Updated Monday, September 7, 2009 3:06 pm TWN, By MIN LEE, AP

H.K. journalists protest police violence in China

HONG KONG — About 40 Hong Kong journalists held a rare protest Monday after reports that Chinese police beat up and detained their colleagues who were covering ethnic unrest in western China.

They crowded up against the gates of the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong, chanting, "Violence against reporters is shameful."

Unlike mainland China, this former British colony is promised Western-style civil liberties and is home to a vibrant media industry known for its aggressive, uncensored coverage of the rest of China.

But the protesters accused the Chinese government of clamping down on Hong Kong journalists in recent days. Hong Kong broadcaster TVB says military police in the western city Urumqi on Friday shoved one of its reporters and cameramen to the ground, kicked and punched the reporter and tied up both of them.

Radio RTHK says Urumqi police detained two of its journalists and three other Hong Kong reporters Sunday for about half an hour before releasing them and telling them the incident was a "misunderstanding."

The journalists were covering the aftermath of a mass protest by Han Chinese in Urumqi after a string of needle attacks the Chinese government blames on Muslim separatists.

One of the journalists TVB says was attacked, Lam Tsz-ho, joined Monday's protest.

"We don't expect police to protect us. We can take care of ourselves. Just don't get in our way," Hong Kong Journalists Association chairwoman Mak Yin-ting said.

Hong Kong officials have expressed support for the journalists, who have complained of mistreatment in China before.

"Hong Kong is very concerned about freedom of press and the free flow of information. These are core values for us," Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee told reporters Sunday, adding the Hong Kong government has contacted Chinese officials about the alleged police abuse.

Calls Monday to the publicity departments at the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong and its Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing went unanswered.

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	About 40 Hong Kong journalists protest outside the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong Monday, Sept. 7, 2009, accusing Beijing of tightening restrictions on this rare pocket of press freedom on Chinese soil after recent reports that police beat up and detained their colleagues working on the mainland. (AP) Enlarge Photo


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