HK reporter upsets Hu visit

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 1 July 2012

A Hong Kong reporter disrupted President Hu Jintao’s visit by asking about overturning Beijing’s verdict on the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The reporter said he was detained for about 15 minutes, while other journalists who shouted questions were not held. The incident highlighted tensions between Hong Kong and mainland authorities ahead of the handover anniversary.

Summary

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong reporter briefly threw Chinese President Hu Jintao's tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course Saturday by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square.

The reporter for the Apple Daily newspaper said he was detained for about 15 minutes after the incident by three to four security officers, who told him he was too noisy and had broken rules. Other reporters also shouted questions to Hu, but they weren't detained. Hu was touring a new cruise ship terminal when the reporter shouted out a question to him from behind a security cordon.

"President Hu, have you heard that Hong Kong people hope to reverse the verdict of June 4?" the reporter, Hon Yiu-ting, asked. "Have you heard?" Many in Hong Kong have long called for Beijing to overturn its condemnation of the weekslong 1989 pro-democracy protests that the military crushed on the night of June 3-4, killing hundreds, possibly thousands.

On mainland China, dissidents, intellectuals, relatives of the victims and even ordinary citizens also have called for a reassessment of the incident, though their voices are usually muffed because of government censorship. Hu did not respond to the reporter's question and it's not clear whether he even heard it. The encounter was shown on local television.

Saturday's incident was one small flaw in a carefully orchestrated visit by Hu that underscores the widening tensions between Hong Kong and its mainland rulers 15 years after the end of British rule. Hu is on a three-day visit to the southern Chinese financial hub to mark the handover's anniversary on Sunday.- AP

KEY POINTS:

• Reporter Hon Yiu-ting asked Hu Jintao about reversing the June 4 verdict during a cruise terminal tour.
• Hon said three to four security officers detained him for about 15 minutes for being “too noisy.”
• Hu did not respond and it was unclear if he heard the question; the exchange aired on local TV.
• Hong Kong residents have long urged Beijing to reassess the 1989 crackdown, a topic censored on the mainland.
• The incident occurred during Hu’s three-day visit marking the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover.