Macau, China, April 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The newspaper All About Macau (AAM) said that two journalists from the publication were taken away by the police on Thursday when they tried to enter the hall of the Legislative Assembly (LA) to attend the presentation of the government's political programme for 2025. At a press conference, the Public Security Police confirmed that two journalists were taken away by the authorities and are still at the police station. "The case is still under investigation," said Macau deputy commissioner Wong Wai Chon at around 16:00 local time (09:00 in Lisbon), without answering why the AAM professionals were taken away from AL, who filed a complaint and what the next steps are. However, the PSP said it would issue a statement on the case. In a video published this morning by the online newspaper on social media, three PSP officers can be seen trying to remove one of the AAM journalists from the entrance to the assembly, where the Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong, was presenting the government's lines of action for this year. On social media, the newspaper wrote that the journalists" request to enter the plenary session was refused, and the police were called to remove the two professionals, “claiming that they were suspected of ”disturbing the functioning of the authorities" in Macau and of "illegal video recording"". The newspaper pointed out that the two journalists were still inside the assembly and given a "blue card", which obliged them to watch the session in another room via television transmission, an order they refused to fulfil. The online newspaper wrote, "Apparently, there were still empty seats"for the media in the main hall. The reporters, continued AAM, "defended their right to enter the chamber and asked the officials present for explanations, but to no avail. The police then took them away to help with the investigation". The police transported the journalists for "identity checks" and accused one of them of "illegal video recording", the note added. Contacted by Lusa, the Macau Journalists Association (AJM) said it would be holding a board meeting to decide what measures to take, so it would not be making a statement today. Last Sunday, this association of Chinese journalists expressed concern about the increase in official events without media coverage and "discriminatory practices" towards the sector. Since Macau's new government took office last December, AJM "has come to realise the increasing number of official events held behind closed doors, resulting in significantly reduced opportunities for journalists to directly interview the chief executive, executive secretaries and other senior officials," AJM wrote in a statement. "More than 90% of government-related information is now disseminated through press releases or statements after the event," AJM further warned, expressing concern that “this passive and retrograde communication approach” will become the “new normal”. For this reason, the association reaffirmed the need for the government to "honour its commitment to respect press freedom". The AJM's note, published on social media, mentions official events not covered by the press, namely "several of the government's main visits". At various events "attended by secretaries, no invitation was issued" to the media. "Such a scenario is unprecedented in more than two decades since the Macau SAR [Special Administrative Region] was created," the publication's note said. In its statement, AJM questioned the "unjustified exclusion" of "local monthly magazines and online media" - such as All About Macau - from covering official events that "frequently involve" members of the authorities. The association added that the Media Office has justified these "discriminatory practices" with "unconvincing justifications" such as limited space, and that the government department has "suggested that journalists “watch the live broadcast” of events instead of attending in person. At a meeting with the Portuguese and English-speaking media in January, the head of the government, Sam Hou Fai, emphasised that Macau's press law guarantees freedom of the press and that the government supports journalists "in the correct fulfilment of their duties, in news coverage and access to news, actively collaborating in the efficient exchange of information between the various public services and the sector". CAD/ADB // ADB. Lusa