Third Hong Kong media outlet receives suspicious letter with unknown powder from UK

A third Hong Kong media outlet has received a suspicious letter containing unknown powder sent from the UK, marking the second consecutive day of such incidents.

Online media outlet Orange News said in a Facebook post on Thursday that its office received the letter, which purported to be a tip-off from “overseas readers,” but contained suspicious powder.

Orange News said its staff reported the incident to police and that the work of its editorial team was not affected.

A photo uploaded by the news outlet showed the letter was stamped with a Royal Mail postmark, the primary postal service provider in the UK.

The outlet said it “strongly condemns any behaviour that interferes with journalistic work through abnormal means.”

The incident came after two media outlets – HK01 and Dot Dot News – received similar letters from the UK on Wednesday.

Both outlets reported the incidents to police and said their operations were not affected.

HK01 said it “strongly condemns any despicable act that creates panic, intimidates journalists or interferes with editorial autonomy by sending dangerous materials or threatening letters.” Dot Dot News also condemned the letters.

A police bomb disposal team was dispatched in response to each of the incidents, according to the news outlets.

Orange News is operated by a subsidiary of the state-owned Sino United Publishing group, while Dot Dot News falls under the state-affiliated Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group. Both are considered pro-establishment media.

HK01 was founded in 2016 by pro-Beijing entrepreneur Yu Pun-hoi.

Last month, local outlet Sing Tao also received a threatening letter containing unidentified white powder. Police swiftly arrested a 24-year-old suspect.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) condemned the incident at that time, saying it threatened press freedom in the city.

Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom indices since the onset of the 2020 and 2024 security laws. Watchdogs cite the arrest and jailing of journalists, raids on newsrooms and the closure of around 10 media outlets including Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives and axed news and satirical shows.

See also: Explainer: Hong Kong’s press freedom under the national security law

In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.

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Hans Tse is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in local politics, academia, and media transformation. He was previously a social science researcher, with writing published in the Social Movement Studies and Social Transformation of Chinese Societies journals. He holds an M.Phil in communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Before joining HKFP, he also worked as a freelance reporter for Initium between 2019 and 2021, where he covered the height - and aftermath - of the 2019 protests, as well as the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.