要求特區政府和內地當局保障香港記者的合法權利 (「大專新聞教育工作者聯席」，12/09/2012)

敬啟者：
聲明

《明報》記者最近因為採訪突然死亡的民運人士李旺陽的家人，而遭湖南邵陽當局扣查、禁錮44小時，我們提出以下抗議：
Reporters from Hong Kong’s Ming Pao daily were recently detained by authorities in Shaoyang, Hunan Province for 44 hours after interviewing family members of deceased pro-democracy activist Li Wangyang.

Journalism Educators for Press Freedom believe:
1. 湖南當局扣查、禁錮《明報》記者近兩天，期間並沒向被扣的記者清楚講出此次行動的法理依據和當事人應享有的合法權益，有違「文明執法」的精神。而在禁錮期間，當局對記者所採取的半夜「頻密騷擾」及「人身安全也無法保障」的言語恐嚇，已超出一個執法人員應有的行為準則，進一步打擊內地執法者的形象。
Hunan authorities violated the spirit of “civilized law-enforcement” by detaining the reporters for nearly two days without any reasonable explanation of the legal basis of their detention or explanation of their lawful rights. During the detention, the reporters were subject to “frequent disturbances” throughout the night and threatened with statements such as “your personal safety cannot be guaranteed”. These actions seriously undermine the image of mainland law enforcement officers.

2. 湖南當局一方面認為《明報》記者的採訪「非法」，但另一方面又在這個「非法採訪」的基礎上，安排一次「合法採訪」，讓李旺陽的妹夫和朋友接受訪問「洗底」，這種做法明顯前後自相矛盾。
On the one hand the Hunan authorities insisted the reporters were carrying out illegal reporting, but on the other they arranged for a “legal interview” in which Li Wangyang’s sister, brother-in-law and friends were interviewed again so that they could retract what they said earlier. This is highly irregular and contradictory.

3. 李旺陽的親友這次「被安排採訪」是由政府人員帶領下到場。他們在「被採訪」期間，地方宣傳人員同室監視，其他官方單位又全程拍攝訪問情況，氣氛高壓、不自然。如此安排，有理由令人懷疑，被訪者是否被官方「騎劫」而說出違心的說話，否則將可能面對不利的後果。
Li Wangyang’s friends and family were “arranged for interview” accompanied by local propaganda officials who monitored the interview. Officials recorded the entire process on video, creating a tense, unnatural atmosphere. These conditions lead us to suspect the interviewees were coerced into making statements contrary to their beliefs.

4. 假若此等「被採訪」的風氣持續，被訪者將不敢再說真話，到時民眾和官方高層，想掌握真實國情和真相的知情權將大受影響。
If these kind of “arranged interviews” become a trend, it will have an adverse impact on the ability of the public and high ranking officials to have a grasp of the national situation because interviewees will not dare to tell the truth.

為此我們提出三點要求：
Therefore, we call for the following:

1. 我們敦促行政長官梁振英向中央反映，內地當局應切實保障香港記者在內地採訪的合法權益，特別是涉及敏感的新聞題材之時。
We urge the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to reflect to the central government, the need for local authorities to safeguard the legal rights of Hong Kong journalists reporting in the mainland, especially when they are reporting of sensitive news stories.

2. 我們要求中央徹查湖南禁錮香港記者的事件，並採取有力措施，防止同類事件再次發生。
We call on the central government to investigate the detention of Hong Kong journalists by the Hunan authorities and take effective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

3. 停止這種「被採訪」、有違新聞學的畸形現象。
For an end to such “arranged for interview” practices/

大專新聞教育工作者聯席
Journalism Educators for Press Freedom

大專新聞教育工作者聯席是一個關注新聞自由和新聞學術的組織，由大專院校的新聞系老師組成，成員包括：

中大新聞與傳播學院講師 陳婉雯
中大新聞與傳播學院講師 譚慧芸
中大新聞與傳播學院高級講師 陳惜姿

浸大新聞系助理教授 杜耀明
浸大新聞系講師 黃天賜
浸大新聞系客席高級講師 呂秉權

城大媒體與傳播系講師 楊嘉欣

珠海學院新聞與傳播學系講師 林靜潔