Hong Kong Authorities Deny Visa to Bloomberg Journalist

Bloomberg said on Saturday it was working to resolve the situation of a correspondent in Hong Kong whose visa renewal application was turned down by authorities in the Asian financial hub.

Hong Kong declined to extend the visa of Bloomberg journalist Rebecca Choong Wilkins without explanation, according to a post from the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC), which Wilkins confirmed as accurate to Reuters on Saturday.

While Bloomberg said in a statement it does not comment on individual cases, it said it fully supports Wilkins and will “continue to work through the appropriate avenues to try to resolve the matter.”

When asked to comment on Wilkins’ visa situation, a spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Immigration Department said in a statement that it does not comment on individual cases and that applicants have to “meet the eligibility criteria.”

Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said nine journalists have had visa issues with Hong Kong authorities since the enactment of a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020, leading to a fall in the city’s ranking in a global press freedom index to 140th out of 180 countries and territories.

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Wilkins, who had worked in Hong Kong for six years, was most recently a reporter on the Asia government and economy team at Bloomberg.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said numbers of denials of visa applications by major foreign media are more than have been publicly reported, according to a post from Selina Cheng, the association’s chairperson.

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