With staff from Beijing-controlled outlets following their every move, paparazzi-style, independence activists fear a chilling effect on democracy
Jan. 1, 2019: Mr. Chan, left, and former lawmaker Baggio Leung, middle, chant slogans during a New Year's Day pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong.His views have made him an object of interest for local authorities, and the Chinese government overseeing Hong Kong, which has sought to stamp out local expressions of sovereignty. Observers say aggressive reporting tactics employed against people such as Mr. Chan are one facet of the response.
Indeed, the use of such tactics in Taiwan prompted a warning from the President’s office in January that Ta Kung Pao has been “unlawful” in its surveillance of people, and had disseminated “fake news.”A pro-independence demonstrator at the New Year's Day march in Hong Kong carries an umbrella with British flags on it. Umbrellas became a symbol of peaceful resistance to the government during a wave of protests in 2014.
Those shifts form the backdrop to the intense coverage by the city’s Beijing-controlled newspapers, whose reports can be so detailed that Baggio Leung, who was among those booted from the legislature over oath-taking, refers to them as “just like a diary. They are more accurate than my Facebook account. If you have forgotten what day you met someone or where you went, you can check it in Ta Kung Pao.
Mr. Lee has trained several dozen people, but says the dangers are growing for activists as they become the object of more acute attention – including from the city’s newspapers.
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