Key Chinese participants failed to show up at a conference on press freedom in Hong Kong this week, sparking concerns that the territory's protected freedoms of expression and association are being eroded under Beijing's tightening controls ahead of the Olympic Games.
Most prominent among the no-shows was Beijing-based news researcher for The New York Times and cutting-edge Chinese investigative reporter Zhao Yan, who recently called for greater press freedom in China following his release from a three-year jail term.
Zhao, who was initially accused of “revealing state secrets” and then jailed for fraud after The New York Times correctly predicted the retirement of then president Jiang Zemin, was released from prison in September 2007.
He traveled to the United States last month, and was scheduled to appear as a keynote speaker at the conference, co-hosted by the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, International PEN and other media groups.
Detained in immigration
"Zhao Yan should have sat here but he was unable to attend," organizer Liao Tianqi told RFA's Mandarin service. "The only thing I can say is that the reasons for his non-attendance are unknown."
Another non-appearance was that of Sweden-based Zhang Yu, secretary-general of the writers' group Independent Chinese Pen Center, who was turned away by immigration officials after he arrived for the conference.
Zhang told the conference by telephone that he was left stranded in immigration at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport while conference organizers tried to persuade officials to admit him. Zhang has traveled to Hong Kong several times, but has never been denied entrance before.
Finally, Zhang was forced to take another flight out of Hong Kong after negotiations were unsuccessful, he said by conference call.
"Zhang Yu has a Chinese passport, and he recently just visited Hong Kong," Independent Chinese Pen Center member and Hong Kong-based magazine editor Cai Yongmei said.
"By refusing a Chinese citizen's entrance, Hong Kong authorities have shown that they are acting in a more and more mainland Chinese way, and this is an example of Hong Kong having been mainlandized," said Cai, who is executive editor of the territory's Kaifang magazine.
Nationalist fervor
And Hu Liyun, spokesperson for the International Journalists' Association, said the moves by Hong Kong authorities were out of keeping with the spirit of the event. "As one of the organizers of the symposium, I was shocked by and greatly regretted the incident," Hu said. "The symposium itself is aimed at advancing press freedom in China."
The moves come ahead of the sensitive arrival in Hong Kong of the Olympic torch, which has been dogged by anti-Chinese protests focussing on the recent military crackdown on unrest in Tibet.
The protests in London, Paris and San Francisco have in turn sparked a backlash of nationalistic sentiment among Chinese netizens, who are organizing pro-government protests to back the progress of the Olympic torch.
Beijing-based journalist Gao Yu blasted the recent wave of youthful nationalism to sweep the country, including threats, vandalism, and online insults aimed at Chinese Duke University student Grace Wang, branded a 'traitor' for her role in protests on her university campus.
"The so-called 'angry youth' are in fact no less than national guards, because they are supporting the government which deprives many citizens of the right to travel overseas," Gao told the conference.
But Web-based journalist Zan Aizong, whose work is popular in the Chinese blogging community, said the Internet was also revolutionizing media coverage in China.
Hong Kong's 'blacklist'
"Many journalists will not fear political pressure, seeking instead an opportunity to advance press freedom," he told the symposium.
"For example, after a sudden breaking event, journalists might publish the story on the Internet before the censors get around to banning it," he said.
In the same week, Hong Kong also denied entry to a Danish sculptor who planned to help with a monument commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
Jens Galschiot was turned away at the weekend on arrival in Hong Kong, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Association for Supporting Democracy in China.
He had been planning to rededicate his work "Pillar of the Demise of a Nation" on the campus of Hong Kong University on Wednesday by repainting it orange. But Galschiot was put on a plane back to London by immigration officials in spite of interventions by Hong Kong lawmaker Albert Ho.
"We don't believe that there is no blacklist in Hong Kong," Ho said. "We never expected Mr. Galschiot could be treated like this. He arrived in Hong Kong about 7 p.m. and was held for questioning. We learned this news at 9 o'clock and then I drove to the airport immediately. I requested a meeting with him."
Ho said that Hong Kong immigration refused entry to Galschiot but gave no reason. Around midnight, armed airport police put Galschiot and other two people onto a flight for London.
But Niels Madsen, a Danish photographer traveling with Galschiot, was allowed to enter.
"I was shocked, as we never expected we could be denied entrance to Hong Kong," Madsen said. "We thought of Hong Kong as a place where there is democracy and freedom. I was very disappointed by the incident on Saturday."
Original reporting in Mandarin by Xin Yu and Lin Di, and in Cantonese by Lee Kin-kwan. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Cantonese service director: Shiny Li. Translated by Chen Ping and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.
