Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said a French journalist was denied entry to Hong Kong in November, accusing the city’s authorities of “weaponizing visas” against foreign media workers.
Antoine Vedeilhe, who was filming a documentary for French public broadcaster France Télévisions, was questioned upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on November 2 last year.
He was detained for three hours before being deported without being given a reason, RSF said in a STATEMENT on friday.
Vedeilhe was the 13th foreign media worker to be denied entry or a visa by city authorities after Beijing imposed the national security law in 2020, RSF said.
The watchdog said the figure is based on its own report, although it said there is reason to believe many cases have gone unreported due to fear of retaliation.
“On November 2, 2025, (Vedeilhe) was detained for three hours upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport… from France, during which he was questioned and subjected to a thorough search before being deported,” RSF said.
“In the journalist’s view, his detention was in retaliation for his work on a documentary examining Beijing’s control of Hong Kong.”
Vedeilhe was traveling to Hong Kong to film a documentary for France Télévisions to be broadcast next month, according to RSF.
Another cameraman for the documentary was able to enter the city, RSF said, but he was chased by “unidentified individuals who he suspects were Hong Kong’s national security police.”
“In the following days, there was a hacking attempt on Vedeilhe’s private email account and his sources in the documentary were harassed by the national security police,” RSF said.
HKFP has contacted the Department of Immigration and the Security Bureau for comment.
RSF also said that France Télévisions received an email from an unknown individual the day after Vedeilhe was deported from Hong Kong.
The email warned the French media network that Vedeilhe’s work “conflicts” with national security law and that the newspaper’s “editorial choices could be considered ‘incitement to hatred'” — an element of the Hong Kong rebellion offense — according to RSF.
France Télévisions announced the documentary ahead of Vedeilhe’s arrival in Hong Kong, RSF said.
‘Not isolated’
“His case illustrates how closely Hong Kong is aligned with China in suppressing independent media and how far the authorities are willing to go to target journalists,” RSF Asia Pacific advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said in a statement.
Vedeilhe was quoted as saying in the statement that he had been traveling to Hong Kong for the past 10 years.
“(I) have always sought to give a voice both to those who resist Beijing’s growing control and to those within the authorities and civil society who express their attachment to China,” Vedeilhe said.
“My detention and deportation are not isolated incidents and they illustrate how much more difficult it has become for journalists to work in Hong Kong,” he added.
Vedeilhe is one of the few to speak openly about being denied entry to Hong Kong.
In August last year, it was Bloomberg reporter Rebecca Choong Wilkins was refused work visa renewal by the Immigration Department. At the time, RSF said Wilkins was 10th reporter who had been refused a visa since the entry into force of the national security law.
The Immigration Department said at the time that it would not comment on individual cases.
Hong Kong has international press freedom has declined significantly indices since the beginning of 2020 and 2024 safety laws. The guards cite the arrest and the imprisonment of journalists, raid on the newsroom and the closure of about 10 media outlets, incl Apple Daily, Stand News AND Citizen News. on 1000 journalists have lost their jobs, while many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelinescleansed its archives and ax tidings AND satirical shows
See also: Explainer: Hong Kong press freedom under national security law
In 2022, said chief executive John Lee freedom of the press was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers, but “no one is above the law”. Although he told the press that “tell a good Hong Kong story“, were the government departments reluctant to respond to arguments.
