New York, November 7, 2005 —The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a bomb attack today on the offices of the Hong Kong daily Ming Pao, which injured two people. A gift box, which was hand delivered to the office of Chief Editor Cheung Kin-bao, exploded when Cheung's secretary opened it, The Standard reported. She was hospitalized with facial injuries and was reported to be in a stable condition. A second employee was taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, and was later released.

An unsigned letter with the package referred to an unnamed article in the newspaper from October and demanded a 30 million HK dollar (US$3.8 million) donation to a local charity. Cheung told reporters that he did not know the reason for the bombing. Ming Pao, a respected independent Chinese-language daily, had not been threatened before the attack, Cheung said. Hong Kong's security chief Ambrose Lee said that the authorities would do everything they could to protect the free press and prevent such attacks, which are rare in Hong Kong.

"We condemn this attack on the press in Hong Kong, and call on authorities to safeguard working journalists by tracking down those responsible," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper.