South China Morning Post reporter Minnie Chan from Hong Kong has disappeared since her trip to Beijing to cover a security and defense program about a month ago. (Photo: Minnie Chan Facebook profile via RFA)
The head of Hong Kong's largest journalist union has expressed concern over the disappearance of a senior journalist from the city while covering an event in China.
Ronson Chan, head of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, said that he had received no further news about the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reporter Minnie Chan, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
"There is so much I want to know, but there is still no news, nothing specific," Ronson Chan said.
"We are very concerned about her situation, and hope everyone can lend a hand, so she can come back home and be reunited with her family as soon as possible,” he added.
The association issued a statement referring to a Nov. 30 report by Tokyo-based Kyodo News that reported Minnie was missing since her trip to Beijing to cover the Xiangshan Forum on Oct. 30-31.
The forum is an international dialogue platform on security and defense issues in Asia.
Reports say Minnie’s last posts on social media site Facebook were several selfies.
Defense expert Andrey Pinkov said he received no response from Minnie about her whereabouts and status when he messaged her.
"She is a very polite person. I often pass on Facebook content to her and other friends that I think is important and she always replies with a like,” Pinkov said in a Facebook post.
"She hasn't liked anything or read anything [I have sent] since the beginning of November," he said. "I'm starting to think that this is weird,” Pinkov added.
Pinkov said that Minnie frequently interviews military figures about Chinese military developments and emphasized that her coverage was “not political,” and she worked for a “Chinese[-owned] newspaper."
In response to the journalists’ association’s query on Dec. 1, the SCMP in a statement said that Minnie Chan is "on vacation" and that “she is currently safe.” It also asked to "respect her privacy," RFA reported.
"The safety of our journalists is of paramount importance, and we will continue to maintain contact and communication with Minnie Chan's family and provide them with all the support they need,” SCMP said.
RFA reported that multiple calls to Minnie Chan's family members and the SCMP’s Editor-in-Chief, Tammy Tam had gone unanswered on Dec. 1.
Minnie Chan is the first Hong Kong journalist to go missing in China since former Straits Times reporter Ching Cheong was handed a five-year jail term for "espionage" in 2005 after gathering material on late ousted Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang.
Ching told RFA there has been a growing emphasis on "national security" under President Xi Jinping.
"Under such circumstances, journalists can easily be investigated by the Ministry of National Security if they are not careful. [Some people are] specially tasked with keeping an eye on every overseas reporter,” Ching alleged.
"After you arrive in China, every move you make will be under surveillance. Reporters in China walk on thin ice – it's very dangerous,” Ching added.
Ching added that the Hong Kong authorities may not help in Minnie Chan’s case if she has “run afoul of the authorities.”
"The government no longer dares to step up, and civil society has been defeated – if the same thing happened to me now, I wouldn't get anything like the kind of support I had from Hong Kong back then," Ching lamented.
Ronson Chan alleged that Minnie Chan’s disappearance and Ching's sentencing highlighted the dangers of reporting in China where press freedom has taken a nosedive.
China was ranked 177th among 188 nations in the 2022 global press freedom index by Reporters Without Borders.
Allegedly, more than 100 journalists are currently behind bars in China.
At a regular news briefing in Beijing on Dec. 1, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied any knowledge of Minnie Chan’s situation.
