HONG KONG - A Hong Kong journalists’ group has raised concerns about a planned new security law, saying a broad definition of offences could hurt journalists’ ability to report in the Asian financial hub.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said the proposed legislation will have “far-reaching” implications for the press and called on the government to protect journalists from being held liable for normal reporting under the law.

Any overly broad definition of offences concerning sedition, state secrets and foreign interference may “irreversibly jeopardise the freedom of expression and of the press”, the group said in a Feb 24 statement. 

The new local legislation, known as Article 23, seeks to create new offences such as insurrection and external interference, and include a China-like definition of state secrets.

A public consultation exercise for the law is set to conclude at the end of February.

Members of the finance community have privately expressed worries over a potential chilling effect on open discussion of economic and policy issues.

Previously, the European Union and UK Foreign Office raised concerns over the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms under the guise of national security, in response to queries concerning Article 23.

All 105 respondents to the Hong Kong Journalists Association’s poll in February said the proposed law would negatively affect press freedom in Hong Kong, with 90 per cent of them describing the impact as severe, the group said. BLOOMBERG