(HKJA/IFEX) – The Special Autonomous Region (SAR) of Hong Kong government has issued a memo to all department heads in an attempt to “kill” a survey by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) concerning access to government information. The memo, dated 19 November 1997, was designated as RESTRICTED and written by principal assistant secretary John […]
(HKJA/IFEX) – The Special Autonomous Region (SAR) of Hong Kong
government has issued a memo to all department heads in an
attempt to “kill” a survey by the Hong Kong Journalists
Association (HKJA) concerning access to government information.
The memo, dated 19 November 1997, was designated as RESTRICTED
and written by principal assistant secretary John Dean on behalf
of Secretary for Home Affairs David Lan.
The HKJA survey involved requests for more than 50 documents from
almost every government department. It was conducted as part of
the HKJA’s normal campaigning and monitoring activities. All
requests apparently related to the survey were collected in a
computer database, and department heads were allegedly ordered to
report any such requests immediately. The Home Affairs Bureau is
said to have attempted to “kill” the survey in order to project a
false image of the government. The Bureau still refuses to
release the full text of the memo to the HKJA, claiming that it
would “inhibit the frankness and candour of discussions within
the Government”.
The HKJA believes that this attempt to undermine the survey
reflects the shortcomings of the government’s Code on Access to
Information. Since this code is administrative rather than legal,
requests for information do not have to be honoured by the
individual or organization in question. Further, the HKJA feels
that this failure to cooperate with the media demonstrates the
government’s lack of commitment to press freedom.
The HKJA member conducting the survey is a reporter for a Hong
Kong newspaper working in his spare time. Full details of the
survey are not yet available. They will be released before the
end of January.
