Some media blocked from covering Xi’s handover tour

Journalists from more than seven organisations, including Reuters, have been blocked from covering official ceremonies to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British to Chinese rule that President Xi Jinping is due to attend.

A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the government was “striking a balance as far as possible” between the need for media coverage and security requirements.

“We will not comment on the accreditation outcome of individual organisations and persons,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said late on Tuesday that at least 10 journalists from seven or more local and overseas media were barred from ceremonies tomorrow. The organisation named Hong Kong-based

South China Morning Post and Agence France-Presse as among those barred.

Six sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that journalists with Bloomberg, public broadcaster RTHK, and state-backed

Ta Kung Pao were also rejected. The

South China Morning Post reported that a photographer from the government’s Information Services Department (ISD) was among those rejected.

A Reuters spokeswoman confirmed that two of the news agency’s journalists had been barred from covering the handover ceremony and inauguration of John Lee, saying Reuters was seeking further information on the matter.

Initially, the ISD invited media organisations to submit up to 20 applications each.