The British Hong Kong government implemented the "Official Press Card" system for 25 years. In 1971, it was cancelled due to two major considerations.

Political situation

Written by: Sha Banshan

2020-09-23 21:30

Last update date: 2020-09-23 21:33

The police today (23) revised the definition of "media representative" in the General Police Regulations to cover only media registered with the Information Services Department’s Press Release System (GNMIS), or internationally recognized and well-known non-local media, such as Hong Kong The membership cards of the Press Association and the Hong Kong Photojournalist Association no longer meet the definition of "media representative" by the police.

The Journalist Association stated that this revision officially defines what a journalist is, which seriously affects the freedom of interviews and the freedom of the press. It also points out that all documents are issued in accordance with the rules of the association, and the approval process is rigorous, and there is no abuse.

In fact, the British Hong Kong government once issued the "Official Press Card" for a long time, but it was cancelled in 1971.

Examine content before the war and put pressure after the war to disseminate "inappropriate content"

The official management of the status of "journalists" and the media can be traced back to the colonial rule nearly a century ago.

Since 1928, the British Hong Kong Government has censored the contents of newspapers by the Chinese Newspapers Censorship Office. After the war, they used accountability and pressure to stop newspapers from distributing official "not approved speech", and at the same time restricted media freedom with official press cards.

For example, before and after the June 7 riots, the Government Information Service would not issue press cards to leftist newspapers, and reporters from leftist newspapers were required to bear the risk of "unlicensed interviews."

At that time, three left newspapers were banned for publishing remarks criticizing the government. "New Midday News" was accused of violating Article 62 of the Police Ordinance, "Hong Kong Night News" was violating the publication control regulations, and "Tian Feng Daily" was violating sedition. Regulations.

The official press card came out in 1946 and was issued uniformly by the Press Service in 1948

A veteran media person, Cheng Mingren, once wrote in a newspaper column that the British Hong Kong government had implemented the "official press card" system for a long time, and it was cancelled in 1971.

After the British Hong Kong government took back Hong Kong from Japan in 1945, it appointed a press officer in Hong Kong to contact reporters and distribute news. In 1946, press cards were issued to individual reporters.

In 1948, there was a fire in the warehouse of Yongan Company in West Loop. Some foreign police officers refused to interview reporters from Chinese-language media, which caused dissatisfaction with the press. Therefore, the press department issued press cards to reporters to allow frontline police officers to identify reporters.

A total of 252 press cards were issued in 1950

At that time, the number of press cards issued by the Government Information Service was not large. Taking data from June 1950 as an example, a total of 252 press cards were issued, covering major newspapers, correspondents, weekly newspapers and other media.

The Director of the Information Service at the time suggested that the number of press cards should be limited to 250.

The

press card system in the

However, in the 1960s and 1970s, the newspaper industry in Hong Kong began to flourish. In its heyday, there were over a hundred newspapers, and the number of applicants for a press card increased greatly. If only some media were issued a press card, they would be criticized for favoring one another and giving some media special rights. Therefore, the Information Service tends to accept applications without restriction.

Under this circumstance, there is not much difference between an "official press card" and no press card. Therefore, the British Hong Kong government decided to stop issuing press cards in 1970 and implemented it in 1971.

Ward: The suspension of the press card is in line with the UK to fully express the freedom of the press

In 1970, the then Director of the Information Service, Hua De, pointed out in a letter to newspaper editors that the system of issuing press cards by the Hong Kong government caused misunderstandings and failed to achieve good results, so he decided to abandon the system.

At the same time, he said: "The government's decision to stop issuing press cards will be in line with British policy. The UK does not need the government to issue press cards to cover news. This fully demonstrates the freedom of the press in the UK."

Huade suggested in the letter that each media organization should issue supporting documents for its journalists. "Even in the form of an ordinary card is all right," that is, the current press card issued by each media organization.

The Chairman of the Press Association, Yan Ting Mai, added to "Hong Kong 01" that in the mid-1970s, the government and the police recognized the press card issued by the Association, but there was no explicit stipulation, which can be said to be a convention.

Since then, the British Hong Kong government will only issue specific press cards on specific occasions, such as the Queen of England’s visit to Hong Kong, the 1997 Return Ceremony, and other venues, allowing agencies to send designated reporters into the venue. There are no restrictions on other general occasions.

Since then, the relevant traditions have been in use today.