Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has passed a land registry reform bill that will restrict public access to property records in the territory. Under the new rules, only “designated persons” — lawyers, accountants, surveyors, and former property owners — will be able to access the registry, while journalists will be explicitly excluded. In an op-ed published yesterday by HK01, lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen (狄志遠) warned the restrictions would “severely undermine press freedom and the public’s right to oversight.” Past investigative reports exposing land scandals and official misconduct relied heavily on land registry searches. Tik called on the government to include media workers among designated persons and establish exceptions for public interest inquiries.
