Hong Kong police to amend definition of 'media representatives' under Police General Orders

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong police said on Tuesday that to assist frontline police officers in performing their duties, the definition of "media representatives" under the Police General Orders will be amended.

After the amendment, "media representatives" will include reporters, photographers and television crews from media organizations that have subscribed for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government News and Media Information System; or internationally recognized, well-known non-local news agencies, newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, according to a letter to several journalists' groups from the police on Tuesday.

People who merely possess a membership card issued by the Hong Kong Journalists Association or the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association will no longer conform to the definition of "media representative" after the amendment.

Since June last year, a series of major public events took place in Hong Kong where the police found some people calling themselves "reporters" mingled with the crowds. These people were suspected of obstructing the police work and even attacking police officers, making it difficult for the police to carry out their duties, the letter said.

The police stressed that the definition of "media representatives" will be clearer after the amendment, allowing frontline officers to identify media representatives more effectively and quickly, so that they can facilitate media reporting as much as possible under the condition that the efficiency of police operation is not affected.

In Hong Kong, a person who holds a membership card of a journalists association can claim himself or herself as a journalist. The Hong Kong Journalists Association, established in 1968, not only issues membership cards to full-time reporters, but also accept membership applications from people whose main source of income is not from working as a journalist, including students.