HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s government and Chinese officials criticized the city’s foreign press club for allowing an advocate of independence from China to address international media.
Giving a platform to the head of the Hong Kong National Party, a fringe group that opposes Beijing’s rule over the territory, was “inappropriate and unacceptable,” the government said in a statement. It expressed regret the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club hadn’t heeded calls to cancel the event.
China’s foreign ministry condemned the speech, noting Beijing has a red line that forbids discussion of secessionist ideas that undermine Chinese sovereignty. While Hong Kong’s mini-constitution guarantees free expression, the foreign ministry said “freedom of speech has a bottom line and a boundary,” and that talking about Hong Kong independence is unconstitutional and illegal.
The club’s acting president Victor Mallet said the talk by Andy Chan was a normal event in its public speaker program and that the club hosts advocates from all ends of the political spectrum.
The official responses worry pro-democracy campaigners in the Asian financial center, who fear that the line is being redrawn to outlaw public dissent and opposition to Beijing, 15 years after half a million people took to the streets to defeat proposed national security legislation that would have made sedition a crime. Beijing had unsuccessfully attempted to get the club to scrap the talk by sending a representative to meet club officials.
Inside the brick walls of the British colonial-era building Tuesday, Mr. Chan laid out his view that Hong Kong needs independence to preserve its people’s culture, language and identity. He criticized China as an imperial power and said he opposed the influx of more than one million migrants from mainland China to the city since Beijing resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997.
Mr. Chan was invited to talk after police recommended the Hong Kong National Party be disbanded, using a law introduced by British rulers to tackle organized crime gangs. The party has until Sept. 4 to respond to a dossier compiled by the police, after which the city’s security officials will decide whether it will order the group to cease operations. Police estimate the party has fewer than 100 members, though Mr. Chan declined to give a number when asked at the talk.
The statement from Hong Kong’s government said freedom of speech is guaranteed in the city but added such freedoms aren’t absolute and must be exercised in accordance with the law.
As Mr. Chan spoke, dozens of protesters chanted and waved placards outside. Some protested against Hong Kong independence and demanded the press club be evicted, while others called for the protection of freedom of expression.
Addressing the press Tuesday, Hong Kong’s acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung said he is sure the government’s cordial relationship with the press club would continue. “There’s no question of us ceasing [the] relationship at all. I don’t think this is a question we should consider at the moment—in fact, consider in the future either,” said Mr. Cheung, who is standing in while Chief Executive Carrie Lam is in Beijing on an official visit.
The furor boosted the profile of the event, which only sold out after the government and other critics voiced displeasure. A video of the speech had been watched 73,000 times on Facebook by Tuesday evening.
For now, Tuesday’s talk shows there is still space for free debate in the city, albeit under increasing pressure from officials in Hong Kong and Beijing.
“Just as Andy Chan has done inside the building, the demonstrators have exercised their right to free speech outside,” said the press club’s Mr. Mallet. “It shows we can hear both points of view within 50 yards of each other.”
A number of The Wall Street Journal’s employees are members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.
Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com
