Hong Kong’s “Prince of Journalism” Ryan Lau Chun-kong Commits Suicide

Ryan Lau Chun-kong, former TVB news anchor and a veteran media professional in Hong Kong, committed suicide by burning charcoal on Jan. 5. Known as the “prince of journalism,” he had for years exposed the destruction of Hong Kong’s press freedom and stood up for the underprivileged.

On Jan. 5, Mr. Lau was found lying down in a village house in Tai Po, and was confirmed dead at the age of 42. No suicide note was found at the scene.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) issued a tribute to Mr. Lau, praising his professionalism in work, which was highly appreciated by his peers.

“After leaving the journalism profession, Mr. Lau had taken up different jobs, but he still cared about issues of concern to his fellow journalists and volunteered to participate in HKJA’s activities on a number of occasions, including video performances and hosting duties,” reads the tribute. “HKJA is grateful for the dedication of this ‘friend of journalists’ and wishes him rest in peace.”

Mr. Lau worked as a reporter for TVB from 2002 to 2010, covering a number of breaking news and major events, known as an experienced Hong Kong and China news reporter.

Questioning Why CCP Delegation Rejected NTD Reporter

As early as 2004, Mr. Lau spoke out in defence of press freedom. On June 8, 2004, when the Chinese Olympic gold medalists visited Hong Kong, Sarah Liang, a reporter from New Tang Dynasty (NTD) TV, The Epoch Times’ sister media, asked a question at the press conference.

Upon hearing that it was NTD, He Huixian, the deputy head of the delegation, interrupted Ms. Liang’s question, saying that she was “reluctant to answer your question,” and that she came to Hong Kong to “share the joy of victory with our compatriots in Hong Kong,” and that the purpose of Ms. Liang’s participation in the press conference “may not be the same as ours and we understand the background of this TV station of yours.”

When Ms. Liang tried to explain further, someone in the venue took away the microphone from her hand.

Mr. Lau then asked Ms. He why she refused to answer the question from NTD but answered questions from other Taiwan and Chinese media, and whether it was related to NTD’s report on Falun Gong. However, Ms. He only repeated the above response and quickly ended the press conference. Ms. Liang then became the target of media interviews after the press conference.

Resigned Over Media Turning into Mouthpiece

After the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty, TVB began to develop its business in mainland China. In September 2004, TVB was granted the right to land in Guangdong Province, where TVB Jade and TVB Pearl were broadcast on ten cable TV networks in nine cities.

However, the price of “legal” broadcasting in Mainland China is the increasing self-censorship of TVB’s news.

In 2009, during the live broadcast of TVB’s nightly news, a member of the public put up a handwritten placard saying “TVB News, Whatever” in the background, satirising the media outlet’s loss of journalism ethics.

After leaving TVB News in 2010, Mr. Lau wrote an article entitled “I left the post I loved,” which mentioned that in recent years, journalists were asked to “follow orders,” which triggered the name of “CCTVB,” but expressed his hope that the news department can “get back on the right track and regain vitality.”

In September 2019, in an interview with the commercial radio programme, “Circles,” Mr. Lau said that he left his job in 2010 because he saw that the freedom of speech was narrowing, that some of the topics, such as his attempt to cover the campaign to defend Cantonese in Guangzhou City, which became a feature story in TVB, were not approved due to “political correctness,” and that it “wasn’t from a professional journalistic point of view.”

Veteran media professional Li Wei-ling recalled in her online programme that in 2008, Mr. Lau and his team were the first reporters from outside mainland China to enter Yingxiu Town, the epicentre of the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province, and their footage was used by the rest of the world’s media. Ms. Li believes that while Mr. Lau was appreciated at TVB, he left his job because he had his own professional requirements and principles.

After leaving journalism, Mr. Lau worked as a public relations officer, but still spoke out on social and journalistic issues.

In July 2015, he wrote an article in support of veteran journalist Ng Hiu-tung’s establishment of FactWire, a news agency with investigative reporting as its core business, saying that he was very much looking forward to FactWire when Hong Kong’s press had been relying on official news and pursued speed rather than truth.

Wrote Book to Record Violent Attack

During the anti-extradition bill movement in 2019, Mr. Lau and his wife joined marches organised by the Civil Human Rights Front.
During the Yuen Long attack, (also known as the 721 incident), Mr. Lau voluntarily drove to help evacuate the public. However, he was beaten by the white-coated men until his face was bleeding, and he got eight stitches.

In July 2020, on the first anniversary of the incident, he wrote and published a book of more than 60,000 words entitled “Yuen Long Night: My Memory and the Memory of Others.” The book, apart from his recollections, includes over 40 eyewitness testimonies of victims, reconstructing the events leading up to and immediately following the incident.

In the book, he said that on the first anniversary of the incident, he felt that those in power would distort history, so he conducted an in-depth investigation and wrote the book on his own in an attempt to leave a historical record.

“Forgetfulness is not necessarily a natural phenomenon. Because of time, memory fades. Because of trauma, we choose to forget. Because of lies, the focus is blurred. Because of interests, history is falsified,” reads the book.

In September 2019, when asked if he had any plans to pursue being attacked in the 721 incident, Mr. Lau responded that he worried he would be turned from a victim into a defendant.

“If there is a fair, just, and open channel for dealing with the matter, then we will see if [they] will do it, but [we] don’t have it now!” he said.

Criticising Police Despite National Security Law

On Sept. 6, 2020, netizens staged a march in Kowloon against the Hong Kong National Security Law, the health code, and the postponement of the Legislative Council election.

A 12-year-old girl was pushed down and subdued by a police officer with a knee press, who described the girl as “suspicious for running away.”

In a social media post, Mr. Lau slashed the police, saying, “After beating up a pregnant woman, they beat up a girl. Scum is not even an adequate description of the Hong Kong Police’s rascality.”

In June 2020, the authorities, for the first time, banned the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China from holding a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park on the night of June 4, citing COVID-19. Mr. Lau posted a candlelight photo and a photo of the “Tank Man” in Tiananmen Square in 1989, writing, “This day every year, there is only one thing to talk about, no matter after 31 years or 310 years.”

In June 2021, Mr. Lau continued to share stories related to the June 4 Massacre on his Facebook page, with Beijing and Hong Kong in 1989 as the backdrop.