Journalists protest rough treatment in China
Last Updated: Sunday, September 13, 2009 | 4:44 PM ET
CBC News
Hundreds of protesters march to China's liaison office in Hong Kong Sunday, alleging that police beat three reporters covering recent unrest in western China. (Kin Cheung/Associated Press)Hundreds of demonstrators in Hong Kong protested alleged police brutality against journalists who were covering ethnic unrest in China's Xinjiang province. The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) organized Sunday's event, saying Chinese officials had crossed the line.
"They did not only beat reporters, but blamed them for inciting the public disorder," said HKJA chair Mak Yin-ting.
In early September, thousands of Han Chinese took to the streets in the city of Urumqi in the western province to protests a series of syringe attacks blamed on the province's Uighur Muslims. The Uighurs had also staged their own set of protests back in July in which 200 people died.
In the September incident, riot police used tear gas to break up the crowd, and cameras caught them roughing up TVB reporter Lam Tsz-ho, his cameraman Lau Wing-chuen and Now TV cameraman Lam Chun-wai.
Xinjiang official Hou Hanmin blamed the three for fomenting the unrest and also of working without permits. The three say they were punched and kicked and then tied up and detained for three hours.
Sunday's demonstrators, who marched on local offices of the Chinese government, held signs reading "reporting news is not a crime" and "respect press freedom."
With files from The Associated Press
