Security chief slams press union’s ‘black-box’ leadership election, as chair cites ‘intense harassment’ for withheld candidate list

In a recent meeting on September 27, 2023, Hong Kong's Security Chief, Chris Tang, criticized the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) for its lack of transparency during its upcoming executive committee elections. Tang highlighted the absence of a public candidate list, stating that all candidates appeared to be from foreign media outlets or online sources, raising questions about the organization's credibility.

The HKJA chair, Selina Cheng, responded by asserting that the election was being conducted in accordance with the law and the union's constitution. She explained that the lack of a public candidate list was due to harassment campaigns against the board members, a claim echoed by Tang, who termed it a "black-box operation." The HKJA has faced such harassment in previous years, with elected members experiencing threats targeting their personal details and workplaces.

In 2024, members' personal information was published online, and some received threatening communications. This is the second consecutive year the HKJA has withheld the list of candidates, postponing elections in June due to a lack of nominees. The association, established in 1968, has been under scrutiny from the government since the 2019 protests, with accusations that it aligned with protesters and permitted "fake journalists" to receive press passes—a claim the press union denied.