An earnest call to uphold IFJ's global ethics of journalism in Hong Kong

Mr. M'Jahed, Mdm Lainez, Honorable Members of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Journalists

I am just a normal and concerned Hong Kong citizen. I am sure you must be aware of the riots and violent rampages by the so-called "peaceful protestors" in Hong Kong that have been terrorising normal Hong Kong citizens almost daily for the past five months.

And today, we saw the rioters' brutality taken to a whole new level when they set a man on fire alive – just for voicing different opinions. The violence has undeniably escalated into terrorism. Please click here to witness this horror for yourself.

And yet, how have Western and local journalists been calling these actions? Some still call them peaceful protestors, some still delude themselves that the rioters are not armed with lethal weapons – when they are throwing molotov cocktails everywhere and corrosive liquids at the HK police.

Those who dare to call out the atrocities of these brutal rioters – no, terrorists – are few and far between and now must fear for retribution, thanks to such biased reporting.

Journalism has long been respected as a noble profession for helping to tell the truth, keeping politicians and leaders in check for their behaviours, telling both sides of the stories to keep readers well informed and to make informed judgments by themselves.

Journalism should be trusted and respected if and when members of your honoured association abide by your Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists.

Yet when one of your members, the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), encourages biased reporting, randomly issues press passes to any unqualified individuals to pretend to be members of the press, and more importantly, HKJA members play a major role in:

1 reporting one-sided stories by only aiming their cameras at the HK police but never recording and reporting the violent acts of the rioters;

2 inciting young people to join riotous and criminal acts and thereby jeopardising their futures;

3 helping to spread unfounded rumours and misleading the public with unfounded accusations against the HK police force – something that Apple Daily does on a daily basis;

4 blocking the way of a young Chinese executive so he was cornered and attacked by mobs just because he's from Chinese mainland, spoke Mandarin and said "We're all Chinese";

5 blocking the HK police in performing their duty of putting violence under control;

6 aiding and abetting violent acts through their behaviours at violent scenes;

7 joining the ranks of the rioters in attacking the HK police;

8 filming people being attacked, beaten unconscious and to a pulp without even attempting to help the victim or stop the violence;

9 hijacking Police press conference by shouting obscenities and insults at the police spokespersons;

10 insulting, harassing and attacking journalists from the Chinese mainland…… the list goes on and each point can easily be substantiated with evidence – you only have to google or search on YouTube!

When your member association – the Hong Kong Journalist Association – clearly violates all the terms in your Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists, do you stand by them and allow your long-held honour and reputation to be eroded and destroyed?

Or should you not condemn such behaviours and stop the HKJA from their decline into immorality? Their support of the protestors and of the violence is destroying our beloved home, our beloved country – CHINA.

They - not China - are robbing and depriving us of our freedoms – freedoms of speech, freedom of work, freedom of movement, freedom to live normal lives.

China has NEVER infringed on our freedoms in the 22 years since the handover, and as someone born well before the handover and have lived under the British colonial rule, I can personally vouch for that.

I earnestly beseech you to look into the conduct of the HKJA and to condemn and discipline the behaviours and actions of the HKJA . Please show the world what professional journalism really means and how professional journalists should behave and conduct themselves. PLEASE.

Yours faithfully

A concerned Hong Kong citizen