Hong Kong: CFWIJ condemns the violent attack against Leung Zhen

May 11, 2021- A Hong Kong reporter, Leung associated with The Epoch Times was beaten by two unidentified men on Tuesday. The journalist was hit mainly on her legs by a baseball bat. The attackers were successful in fleeing from the scene a minute after assaulting Leung. The 49-year-old journalist was targeted as she came out of her residential area on Good Shepherd street in Ho man Tin, Kowloon. Leung was taken to Queen Elizabeth hospital for medical treatment. She stated in her testimony that attackers were in a black Mercedes Benz and one of them attacked her on legs. She thinks that the assault is a warning for her and she has to be more careful about her safety now. Just almost a month before this incident, on April 12, the printing press of The Epoch Times was raided by gangsters. The thugs used hammers to smash computer screens and poured concrete materials on printing machines. The Newspaper is critical of the Chinese government’s policies and governance and it is banned in China. Cfwij is horrified by the violent attack against Leung and demands that law enforcement authorities in Hong Kong immediately apprehend the assailants behind it. 

According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Leung is also chairperson of the local Gong Organization, which is linked with The Epoch Times. Leung stated in her testimony that she was beaten on her legs almost ten times and the attacker only targeted her legs. She believes that this assault was executed to warn her and not to take her life.

Leung shared that the assault lasted for one minute and the attackers fled from the scene in the same car, in which they arrived. Police reached the scene after she reported the incident. She hopes that police will soon catch the perpetrators. This would be good to reassure the international community that Hong Kong is a safe place. The security officials looked around in the area but no arrests were made. Reportedly the detectives from the Kowloon City criminal branch are handling the investigation of this case. 

The unfortunate incident was strongly condemned by The Hong Kong Journalists Association. They urged police to vigorously investigate the assault against a media professional. “The woman was recently followed by unknown people. Press freedom is the core value behind the success of this city and violent attacks against the media and journalists are absolutely intolerable”, said the statement. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Leung and demands law enforcement authorities of Hong Kong to catch the culprits and hold them accountable in the court of law. The violent attacks on journalists deem a great threat to press freedom and so such incidents must be investigated on an emergency basis. We hope Leung shall be provided with the necessary security to avoid any risk to her life.