Journalists protest against abuse of reporters in China

Hundreds of Hong Kong journalists, lawmakers and residents marched today to protest against the alleged police beatings of three reporters covering recent unrest in western China, and demanded a government investigation.

Demonstrators wearing black rallied outside a police station before marching to local offices of China's central government. Organisers and police estimated the crowd at 650 to 700 people.

"This time the authorities are over the line," Mak Yin-ting, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalist Association, told the gathering. "They did not only beat reporters, but blamed them for inciting the public disorder."

The TV journalists were covering the aftermath of a mass protest by the majority Han Chinese in the troubled city of Urumqi earlier this month after a series of needle attacks that China's government blames on Muslim separatists.

The three journalists, who worked for TVB and Now TV news outlets in Hong Kong, said they were kicked, punched and shoved to the ground by police before being detained for about three hours.

However, Xinjiang authorities who investigated the matter faulted the reporters for "instigating" the unrest - allegations the reporters' companies say are false.

"We condemn the cruel treatment in no uncertain terms," said Tom Mitchell, president of The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong.

Unlike mainland China, the former British colony is promised Western-style civil liberties and is home to a vibrant press known for its aggressive, uncensored coverage of the rest of China.

Hong Kong lawmakers, including members of the territory's pro-Beijing party, have also criticised Xinjiang authorities and made public pleas for Beijing's intervention.