IFEX
Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ/IFEX) - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Friday's
attack in Beijing on two Hong Kong journalists outside the home of Liu
Xia, the wife of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo.
On 8 March 2013, a group of unidentified men beat TVB cameraman Tam
Wing-man and Now TV cameraman Wong Kim-fai as they were filming an
activist's attempt to visit Liu Xia, who is under house arrest at her apartment building, according to local reports.
The attackers, who did not identify themselves, suddenly appeared from
around a corner, shouted at the group of journalists outside the
building, and demanded that they stop filming, local reports said.
One of the Hong Kong cameramen was punched in the face and pushed to
the ground, while the attackers attempted to confiscate the other's
camera and hit him in the head, reports said.
"China's new leadership must send a message that they will not
tolerate this criminal behavior," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program
coordinator. "Prosecuting thugs who use violence to suppress the free
flow of information would demonstrate the government's commitment to the
rule of law."
A spokesman for the Hong Kong government expressed serious concern
over the incident, and said the right to report on the mainland must be
respected, media reports said.
Liu Xia has been under house arrest since her husband, Liu Xiaobo -
who is serving an 11-year prison sentence on subversion charges after
calling for reforms - won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2010. China
reacted to Liu Xiaobo's award by placing a media blackout on domestic and foreign media coverage of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's announcement, as well as censoring coverage of the award ceremony.