Hong Kong media on the attack over newspaper raids

[dArKeR]

Hong Kong's justice secretary yesterday said raids by anti-graft agents on at least seven news-papers that named a protected witness were appropriate, while local media denounced the move as heavy-handed and a threat to press freedom.

Agents from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) were acting within the law and under the anti-graft agency's "professional judgment," Justice Secretary Elsie Leung (???) said in remarks aired on the government-owned radio station RTHK.

Officials have not said whether agents raided the newspapers to trace a leak in the agency or to investigate possible prosecution on charges of printing the name of a protected witness without proper cause or authorization -- a crime that carries a maximum 10 years in prison.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/07/27/2003180640

Chinese Communists at work in HK!