With the Hong Kong Legislative Council (parliament) election approaching and critical coverage of the authorities continuing, the Chinese government moved to control the press, even deploying diplomatic rhetoric.
On the 7th (local time), according to Bloomberg and The New York Times (NYT), the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS), which the Chinese central government dispatched to Hong Kong, summoned executives of foreign media outlets based in Hong Kong to its headquarters on the 6th. The OSNS is a body directly under the Chinese central government that oversees the National Security Act in Hong Kong. Former officials from the Ministry of Public Security form its core, and it wields authority that exceeds that of the Hong Kong government.
At the meeting that day, the OSNS took issue with coverage related to the fire that broke out on the 26th of last month at the Wong Fuk Court apartments in Tai Po in northern Hong Kong and to the Legislative Council election to be held on the 7th. In a statement, the OSNS said, "Some foreign media ignored the facts and spread false information, distorting and slandering the government's disaster rescue work." It added that the reports "attacked and obstructed the Legislative Council election and fueled social division and confrontation," warning, "Do not cross the red line with false reports."
Media called in that day included major English-language wire services such as Bloomberg, Reuters, AP, and AFP, as well as influential outlets like The New York Times (NYT) and the Financial Times (FT).
The atmosphere at the meeting was reportedly coercive. According to outlets, an unnamed OSNS official read a prepared statement and threatened, saying, "We will not tolerate interference in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong issues under the shield of press freedom." In particular, the official used the phrase, "Don't say we didn't warn you," a wording that Chinese state media used in the past just before wars with India or Vietnam. Outlets reported that it amounts to the most hard-line ultimatum in diplomatic rhetoric.
Public opinion in Hong Kong toward the Chinese government is worsening by the day. In particular, after at least 159 people died in the Wong Fuk Court fire, criticism surged that the authorities' lax oversight and slow response worsened the damage. Ahead of the Legislative Council election to be held as scheduled on the 7th, Hong Kong residents' cynicism and apathy reached a peak.
The authorities labeled criticism of the fire disaster as agitation by anti-China forces. An OSNS Spokesperson said, "We will never tolerate attempts by anti-China rioters to exploit the disaster to throw Hong Kong into chaos." Hong Kong police arrested at least three people, including university students and activists who took actions holding the government accountable after the fire, on charges including incitement.
Thomas Kellogg, director of the Asia Law Center at Georgetown University, said in an interview with the NYT, "This summons is not a step a confident government would take," adding, "After local outlets were targeted following the implementation of the National Security Act in Hong Kong, this signals that authorities now intend to ramp up pressure on international media in Hong Kong from mainland China."
This is the first time since the National Security Act took effect in Hong Kong in 2020 that China has directly summoned and warned foreign media. In the "2025 World Press Freedom Index" released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Hong Kong ranked 140th out of 180 countries. That is a plunge of nearly 70 places from 73rd in 2019, when pro-democracy protests took place.
The OSNS said it will closely monitor related coverage going forward, saying, "Foreign media must report objectively and fairly and avoid actions that cross legal red lines."