China's Muffling of the Hong Kong Media

Abstract

Press freedom in Hong Kong is in an international spotlight because of the impending assumption of sovereignty by China, whose record of press freedom is deplorable. Hong Kong has two separate classes of news media: English and Chinese. China already is pressuring both classes but is especially concerned with publications in Chinese. Unfortunately, many Hong Kong journalists are bending under the pressure. Hong Kong itself maintains laws permitting press suppression, although this has almost never happened. Hong Kong journalists have no praise for British or Hong Kong officials' defense of press freedom, and some point to the United Kingdom itself as “the most secretive government among Western countries.” Hong Kong press freedom is steadily eroding, even before 1997. The bad news is that there is less news.

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References

1. This information was widely reported in the Hong Kong news media at the time; hereafter, when no source is credited, it is because of such widespread reporting.

2. My knowledge of this and other incidents reported in this article results from personal observation and from information gained from my work as a public-affairs reporter at the Hong Kong television station, Asia Television Ltd., from July 1994 to Apr. 1995.

3. Interview with Daisy Li. The information and anecdotes contained in this article came from interviews that I conducted with Hong Kong and expatriate journalists between Oct. 1993 and June 1994; footnotes follow for each interview only upon first mention.

4. Interview with Lorna Workman.

5. Interview with Ann Quon.

6. Interview with Emily Lau.

7. See Bernard Fong , Postscript (Burnaby, BC, Canada: Grapevine Press, 1992).

8. Interview with Christopher Yeung.

9. Interview with Law Yee-ping.

10.

10. Interview with Jonathan Mirsky.

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11. Interview with Mau Chi Wang.

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12. Interview with Sally Neighbour.

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13. Interview with Christine Loh.

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14. Interview with Steven Vines.