It is now easier than ever to support HKFP on a monthly basis – via direct credit/debit card (Stripe), PayPal, Patreon or bank transfer/standing order.

And, now, those who sign up to contribute HK$150 or more per month are entitled to a free heavy duty HKFP tote bag and pen – just sign up and we’ll be in touch.

Classic, exclusive “press freedom” design by local artist Sellwords. Size: 38 x 42 x 10cm. 10oz thick Canvas bag (with bottom). Includes free P&P. Cancel at any time. Already a monthly supporter? Just email us your latest receipt to claim.

HKFP needs your backing in 2023

HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy. 

Our newly-expanded team is dedicated to remaining on-the-ground, amongst Hongkongers, as the city’s only English-language independent news outlet. Powered by reader support, we are dedicated to safeguarding the remaining space for press freedom, monitoring the courts and legislature, and asking tough questions of officials.

Key to HKFP’s longevity has been our strict impartial stance, our commitment to accuracy, and our unprecedented level of financial transparency as a non-profit. But the newsroom now faces rising costs and declining revenue amid a population exodus, new PayPal requirements, and waning interest in local news.

Despite a years-long funding crisis in media, we have vowed never to install a paywall and we rely on our monthly Patrons to help keep HKFP free to read for those who can’t afford to chip in. The price of a weekly coffee will help us keep the lights on and return to sustainability.

We accept most payment methods – join us today and help safeguard press freedom.

Hong Kong Free Press has completed its expansion, with the newsroom more than doubling in size since its 2020 relaunch.

Our team of nine experienced journalists now includes a dedicated editor, photojournalist and social media/production manager, providing more capacity for original, award-winning reporting. The investments were made possible by HKFP’s monthly Patrons, who provide regular, sustained support to protect our independence and press freedom.

See also: 8 years of HKFP: Why we remain committed to on-the-ground reporting in Hong Kong

HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.

 Aside from receiving a 100 per cent credibility rating from Newsguard, HKFP is also undergoing assessments this year to gain two more credibility hallmarks, as we expand our ethical guidelines and standards.

The latest recruits to take their seats at our new Kennedy Town newsroom are: award-winning journalist Irene Chan; Hans Tse, who has an academic research background; and James Lee, who joined us from The Standard. Together, they form our new, frontline reporting team. And Social Media and Production Manager Shan Chan will be bringing both a journalistic and marketing background to the team.

How we make the news

What does a day in the life of an HKFP journalist look like? How do we select stories, deploy and assign staff? How are deeper features planned, sourced and developed? And how does HKFP continue to operate in an ever-changing city? Watch our new “behind the scenes” video to see how HKFP makes the news…

Meet the team:

Tom Grundy

Tom is the editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He has contributed to the BBC, Euronews, Al-Jazeera and others. More by Tom Grundy

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Mercedes Hutton

Mercedes is a Hong Kong-based British journalist with an interest in environmental and social issues. She has written for the Guardian and the BBC and previously worked at the South China Morning Post. More by Mercedes Hutton

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Kelly Ho

Kelly Ho has an interest in local politics, education and sports. She formerly worked at South China Morning Post Young Post, where she specialised in reporting on issues related to Hong Kong youth. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong, with a second major in Politics and Public Administration. More by Kelly Ho

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Irene Chan

Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. More by Irene Chan

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Hillary Leung

Hillary has an interest in social issues and politics. Previously, she reported on Asia broadly – including on Hong Kong’s 2019 protests – for TIME Magazine and covered local news at Coconuts Hong Kong. More by Hillary Leung

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James Lee

James is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He has a bachelor’s degree in English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with a minor in Journalism. He was previously a reporter at The Standard. More by James Lee

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Hans Tse

Hans Tse is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. He was previously a researcher at several universities and wrote about local politics and media transformations. He holds an M.Phil in communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. More by Hans Tse

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Kyle Lam

Kyle Lam is a Hong Kong Baptist University graduate who has worked as a photojournalist and reporter since 2013. His work has been published by HK01, the European Pressphoto Agency, Bloomberg and Ming Pao. Lam is the recipient of several prizes from the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association and Human Rights Press Awards. More by Kyle Lam

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Shan Chan

Shan is the social media and production manager at Hong Kong Free Press. She has worked as a reporter and social media editor since 2019 and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. More by Shan Chan

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We need your support

Our team is dedicated to remaining on-the-ground, amongst Hongkongers, as the city’s only English-language independent news outlet. Powered by reader support, we are dedicated to safeguarding the remaining space for press freedom, monitoring the courts and legislature, and asking tough questions of officials. Key to HKFP’s longevity has been our strict impartial stance, our commitment to accuracy, and our unprecedented level of financial transparency as a non-profit.

However, HKFP’s expansion was hindered for a year by a government visa refusal, and the newsroom now faces rising costs and declining revenue amid a population exodus, waning interest in local news and new PayPal requirements.

Despite a years-long funding crisis in media, we have vowed never to install a paywall and we rely on our monthly Patrons to help keep HKFP free to read for those who can’t afford to chip in. The price of a weekly coffee will help us keep the lights on and return to sustainability.

We accept most payment methods – join us as a HK$150+ per month contributor, and receive a free tote bag and pen.

The Hong Kong Free Press newsroom is powered by monthly contributors who help keep our content paywall-free for all readers. Now, there are over 15 ways to support our team, including Patreon.

Non-profit, impartial coverage governed by an Ethics Code – HKFP is run by journalists and 100% independent. Learn more about our achievements in our latest Annual Report – it includes a Transparency Report showing how carefully we spend every cent.

Your regular investment in original reporting ensures our editorial independence and helps safeguard press freedom.

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Hong Kong Free Press is urging its monthly donors who use PayPal to check their accounts, or switch to Stripe, as the payment platform rolls out new requirements for all of its Hong Kong users.

In recent weeks, PayPal has begun requiring Hong Kong-registered customers to upload identification documents to avoid account suspensions. The move resulted in users, and local businesses, seeing subscription payments unexpectedly paused or cancelled.

Independent media outlets such as HKFP and Chinese-language news site InMediaHK have been disproportionally affected, with most supporters being registered in the territory.

“We have a number of PayPal transfers [that have been] affected,” a spokesperson for InMediaHK.net told HKFP last week. “We understand the PayPal policy, but hope that PayPal could give more time for users to submit the information needed.”

With costs rising following an expansion, and income floundering, HKFP also urged its Patrons to log in and update their PayPal profiles: “Some donors are struggling to have their ID documents accepted, so we urge them to contact PayPal support in the hope they can continue their much-needed support of our news team,” an HKFP spokesperson said.

Two-thirds of donations frozen

HKFP has seen the majority of its PayPal contributions – over 200 – frozen. The figure represents two-thirds of PayPal donors.

HKFP donors who do not wish, or who are unable, to successfully submit their identification details, may easily switch to a direct, credit/debit card contribution via Stripe.

Readers are asked to simply cancel their PayPal donation and head to support.hongkongfp.com to continue backing the newsroom.

Hong Kong Free Press is launching a funding appeal, as we invite readers to help protect press freedom and safeguard the city’s only English-language independent newsroom.

See also: Why we remain committed to on-the-ground reporting in Hong Kong

Here are seven great reasons to become an HKFP Patron today:

1. 💪 Ensure our independence: Unlike other English-language titles, HKFP is not answerable to any tycoon, conglomerate parent company, government or shareholders. We are 100% independent and unique in the local media landscape as a non-profit, people-powered news outlet. We have never self-censored a local news story.
2. 📝 Invest in original, ethical reporting: HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy. Our award-winning, original reporting met 100 per cent of NewsGuard’s credibility criteria, following their independent audit.
3. 📢 Support press freedom: Since its founding, HKFP has used legal mechanisms to fight for press freedom. As media outlets disappear, our team are dedicated to occupying the remaining space for on-the-ground reporting in Hong Kong – monitoring the courts, legislature and government, and asking tough questions of officials.
4. 🔎 Financial transparency: We are Hong Kong’s most financially transparent outlet, publishing as much detail as possible from our annual, external audit each year. See where our income comes from, and how we spend it. Be assured that, when you back us, your money is directly supporting local journalists and freelancers during an industry upheaval.
5. 💵 No paywalls: HKFP will never put up a paywall, but we need more readers to help us keep the lights on. Currently, around 1,000 Patrons contribute an average of HK$200 per month to help keep our newspaper free-to-access for those who cannot afford to chip in.
6. ✅ It’s easy: Donate the equivalent of an hour’s work per month, or the price of a weekly coffee. Contribute in seconds via credit card, bank transfer or FPS, cheque, PayPal, Octopus, PayMe, Tap & Go, CoinDragon or Google and Apple Pay. Adjust, pause or cancel your payments immediately, at any time, without fuss.

For the first time, HKFP recruited a dedicated photographer last Autumn and, in September, will hire a social media and production manager. We need your support in 2023 to help HKFP balance the books and support our expanding newsroom.

Can’t afford to support us directly this year? Please help us spread the word…

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When Hong Kong Free Press launched eight years ago today, the city’s constitutional guarantees of press freedom – whilst delicate – were never thought to be fundamentally in peril. Today, press freedom remains “in our pockets,” according to Hong Kong’s leader, yet the idea of newsroom raids, journalists behind bars, news outlets disbanding and arrests over speech were unthinkable just a few years ago.

Certainly, many reporters who entered the industry before the security law era would not fathom, nor sign up to face, such risks. So why does HKFP choose to stick around? Is it worth it? And can we still report freely?

Over the years, our mission has evolved from seeking to fill the gap between Chinese and English-language reporting, to becoming a fully-fledged, professionalised newsroom fighting daily to occupy the remaining space for press freedom and journalism. None of us can ignore the increasingly-restrictive environment, but we are committed to keeping the journalistic tradition and our Ethics Code at the forefront of our minds and work.

Staying put…

We opt to remain alongside Hongkongers in the city because we believe that, for us, there is no local news story we cannot do. Our team is focused on navigating the red lines in order to continue delivering original features and on-the-ground reporting. Whilst we have diversified our coverage, sought legal advice, and are forced to be more selective with our opinion section, it is all aimed at safeguarding our bottom line: covering the local daily news.

We have never once self-censored such reporting and – for HKFP, at least – we have found the breathing room needed to ensure we can continue writing the first draft of history. As the territory’s only English-language independent news outlet – whilst fellow outlets and their archives vanish around us – that mission has never been more important.

…and pressing on

Key to HKFP’s longevity has been our strictly impartial stance, our commitment to accuracy, and our unique level of corporate and financial transparency as a non-profit. Despite everything, our reporters are still able to ask tough questions of top officials, monitor lawmakers at the “patriotic” legislature, investigate wrongdoing by the authorities (and get results), attend court cases every day, and use existing mechanisms to help safeguard what remains of the city’s press freedom. For journalists in China, most of these privileges – and much of this access – has been lost, meaning we are even more duty-bound to exercise them in Hong Kong, whilst we still can.

Future court rulings and new legislation may threaten our capacity to continue such work but – for now – the risks of being on-the-ground are outweighed by the benefits of trying to cover the city from elsewhere.

Nuance, accuracy, and the ability to speak directly to Hongkongers would suffer were our team not dedicated to staying put and pressing on.

Expanding in 2023…

With 25,000 articles under our belts, the HKFP team has seen it all during the past eight years: cyberattacks, threats, censorship in China, visa trouble, harassment, physical attacks, media bans, a columnist fleeing and more than our fair share of pepperspray and tear gas. But we have also won prestigious awards and grants, have been nominated for a Nobel, set regional standards for financial transparency and for freelancers, achieved top marks for credibility, successfully fought for digital media recognition and put on art, film, literary and music events over the years. We linked up with the Guardian, have been the subject of an Al-Jazeera documentary, raised millions of dollars to expand our newsroom, created a free, open source fundraising site for the industry, and launched the careers of 43 local journalists. (Plus, there is a whole football team on the other side of the world running around with our logo!)

Already this year, HKFP has moved to a larger office, joined SOPA, and hired several new staff. We are launching a podcast in 2023, and have begun the process of joining the Trust Project and Journalism Trust Initiative to further demonstrate – and bolster – our editorial standards and accountability. Along with our Newsguard rating, our work, ethics and transparency will be governed by a reassuring “triple lock.”

…but we need your help

For years, most local media outlets have self-censored out of fear or pressure from media bosses, their mainland umbrella companies or shareholders. HKFP is answerable only to readers, and is a truly people-powered platform – reliant on regular reader contributions averaging around HK$200 a month.

Despite a years-long funding crisis in media, we have vowed never to install a paywall and we rely on our monthly Patrons to help keep HKFP free to read for those who can’t afford to chip in. The price of a weekly coffee, the equivalent of an hour’s work per month, or whatever you can afford, will help us keep the lights on and return to sustainability.

Thanks to our dedicated team, Hongkongers can trust HKFP to continue to report on stories buried or ignored by others. But press freedom is not free, and our work is completely reliant on Patrons. If you believe in our mission, and want to help protect independent media in Hong Kong, please consider supporting our newsroom with a one-off or monthly contribution.

Thank you for reading, and thank you to all of our supporters!

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

A Hong Kong Free Press opinion piece won an honourable mention at the prestigious Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards on Thursday night.

Yuen Chan’s op-ed about media freedom in Hong Kong competed in the Excellence in Opinion Writing: Regional category.

Published on Press Freedom Day last year, Chan’s opinion piece argued that alarm over the “death” of press freedom in the city was premature.

“Despite the closures, the arrests, the smears, the sad and reluctant departure of their peers, there are journalists who simply continue to do their jobs,” Chan wrote. “When big gestures become foolhardy, dangerous or impossible, small acts of solidarity with those quietly toiling at the coalface become more important than ever.”

Established in 1999, the SOPA awards recognise editorial excellence in both new media and traditional journalism in the Asia-Pacific region. HKFP joined the media group earlier in 2023.

Last month, HKFP won an honourable mention at the Human Rights Press Awards for a photograph by Britt Clennett.

HKFP previously won SOPA honourable mentions in 2020 and 2021.

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Hongkongers can now “doot” a one-off donation to Hong Kong Free Press, as Octopus becomes the latest way to support the city’s only independent English-language newspaper. Octopus app users can simply scan the QR code below, or click here.

Non-profit, impartial coverage – run by journalists and 100% independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom. Learn more about our achievements in our latest Annual Report. Our Transparency Report shows how carefully we spend every cent. Help ensure our independence with a one-off or regular contribution.

With new staff, and a new office, HKFP appreciates your support, as costs rise and our non-profit seeks to move back into the black.

A Hong Kong Free Press opinion piece has been nominated for a prestigious press award by the The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA).

Yuen Chan’s op-ed about media freedom in Hong Kong is competing for a SOPA Award in the Excellence in Opinion Writing: Regional category.

Published on Press Freedom Day last year, Chan’s opinion piece argued that alarm over the “death” of press freedom in the city was premature. “Despite the closures, the arrests, the smears, the sad and reluctant departure of their peers, there are journalists who simply continue to do their jobs,” Chan wrote.

Established in 1999, the SOPA Awards recognise editorial excellence in both new media and traditional journalism in the Asia-Pacific region.

The winners of the SOPA 2023 Awards will be announced at an event on June 15.

On Wednesday, HKFP won an honourable mention at the Human Rights Press Awards for a photograph by Britt Clennett.

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Hong Kong Free Press has won an honourable mention for photography at Asia’s 2023 Human Rights Press Awards.

A shot by Britt Clennett, which shows a worker rolling up a “Hong Kong Asia’s World City” banner as police officers pass by, won a prize in the Single Image category.

A photograph of a family leaving Afghanistan featured in the New York Times won the category prize.

“These awards recognise the journalists who are shedding light on some of the most critical issues of our time in Asia,” said executive director of Human Rights Watch Tirana Hassan in a press release. “This kind of journalism, often undertaken in extraordinarily difficult conditions, is essential to exposing human rights abuses and we are thrilled to honour these courageous reporters.”

In all, there were 406 submissions across 33 countries for 16 categories of awards.

Other winners included Hong Kong’s Ming Pao for their reporting on the fifth wave of Covid-19, Reuters for their investigative reporting on the Myanmar military’s abuses against the Rohingya, and Taiwan’s The Reporter for its features on the human trafficking of African students by Taiwanese universities.

FCC axes awards

The 2023 prizes were administered by NGO Human Rights Watch and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in the US after Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) relinquished responsibility for the awards last year.

In a statement at the time, the club cited legal risks “red lines,” amid the national security law, but the move prompted members of the club’s press freedom committee to resign. After the club axed the 2022 awards presentation, Human Rights Watch published the list of last year’s winners in full on Wednesday, Press Freedom Day.

The FCC has not made a statement about local press freedom issues for almost half a year.

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

HKFP has updated its Android and Apple mobile apps, allowing for more convenient access to our news updates. The new version is faster, with more discrete ads, clickable links and several bug fixes. Visit your app store to download the new versions.

Thanks to the Greatfire Appmaker project, we are also offering a special downloadable app which will make HKFP viewable in China, where the site is censored.

Consider leaving an app store review, or supporting us directly.

Download our apps for Android, Apple iOS, and Windows – free to access wherever you are.

Please note, old versions of our app will eventually stop working.

Wherever HKFP is censored, you can also download the special GreatFire App APK installer file for Android devices. The file can be shared over email, instant messaging, portable drive, or file sharing sites to friends and family inside China’s “great firewall.” The app includes built-in circumvention and will work without a VPN. (Please note that some devices may initially raise a security alert or require settings to be adjusted in order to allow installations from “unknown sources.”)

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HKFP is available, for free, wherever you are:

On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Mastodon, Pushbullet, Flipboard, News360, Psiphon, Apple News, MSN, Factiva, Nordot, LexisNexis, ProQuest, on Telegram (or add our bot: @hkfp_bot).

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy. 

Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.

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As Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet, HKFP is externally audited annually. We have no shareholders, and we do not answer to any business tycoon, mainland Chinese conglomerate or media mogul. HKFP is run by journalists and is a non-profit – we are answerable only to ourselves and our readers.

In 2022, our expansion led to rising costs, though our support base also shrank by around 10%, potentially related to the population exodus and waning interest in Hong Kong news. We invite our readers and supporters to examine our income and spending over the past year, as we aim to return to sustainability in 2023. Check out our full Annual Report here.

HKFP Patrons in 2022: HKFP relies on a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons help support our team, sustain our operations, and guarantee our newsroom’s independence and longevity. Our monthly income as of January 2023:

• The number of HKFP Patrons declined by about 10% in 2022 to 946, after rising by a fifth the year before. Income from Patrons also declined by around 10% to HK$183,350.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from offline donors who contribute via cheque, transfer/FPS or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report, and help keep the site free-to-access for those who cannot afford to contribute.

HKFP is predicted to make a loss of up to HK$500K in 2023. Though we are able to reinvest our previous surplus, we will need to work on a return to sustainability and halt the fall in HKFP Patrons.

Our finalised, audited income during 2021, and our predicted income for 2022:

Current revenue streams:

Reader contributions: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash, PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links.

Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, Google/YouTube ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partners LexisNexis, ProQuest, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.]

Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, any surplus is recycled back into the company for use in the following year. As of 2021, HKFP is also retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of new challenges to press freedom.

Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software/tools and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.

Finalised expenditure for our latest audited year, 2021, & our predicted 2022 spending:

Support HKFP into 2023

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.

Donate online via card, PayPal, direct transfer to our HSBC account or via FPS:

One-off or monthly contributions can be made with your Visa, Mastercard, or Apple Pay/Google Pay via Stripe on our website: support.hongkongfp.com.

Donate by cheque
Cheques of amounts up to HK$50,000 may be made payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and posted – along with your full name and address to: HKFP, The Hive Kennedy Town, 6/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. [Contributions are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records.]

Donate via HSBC PayMe

Scan our QR code to make an HSBC PayMe digital payment. Please include your full name and email address so we may accept your contribution.

Donate spare coins

Hoarding a jar of coins? Donate spare change at Coin Dragon machines around the city.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome contributions of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

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Letter from the Editor

Dear readers and supporters,

The HKFP newsroom pressed on in 2022, expanding to a team of eight and investing heavily in video and photography. We covered the Covid-19 pandemic, court wranglings, the ongoing security law crackdown and the inauguration of John Lee during the city’s 25th Handover anniversary.

The year also saw many sound the death knell for press freedom, with the demise of several more news outlets, journalists behind bars, and the city nosediving in global free expression rankings.

With 1,000 journalists out of work, the pessimism is understandable – though, at the same time, there remains some space for local news reporting. With our impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy, our dedicated team have sought to seize the remaining space and are continuing to weather the storm. And with the closure of Citizen News and Factwire last year, it has become all the more important to persist with our on-the-ground reporting, to ask tough questions, and to safeguard and maintain our archive as the first draft of history.

As Lee took the leadership reins in 2022, he claimed press freedom was already “in our pocket” as he urged the media to tell “good Hong Kong stories.” But as much as we love the city, it is not our job – nor is it within the journalistic tradition – to tell fluffy PR stories on behalf of the authorities. We will continue to do our duty and cover the good, bad and ugly sides of local life, whilst ensuring staff safety, protecting sources, and trying our best to navigate unclear legal realities.

In 2023, Hong Kong is reopening as the pandemic subsides. Our team will be monitoring the city’s recovery and seeing whether the government will allow the return of mass protests during key anniversaries. The trial of the 47 democrats will finally begin, and we will also be watching several events relating to press freedom: the Stand News and Apple Daily trials, as well as the legislation of the Article 23 security law, “fake news” law and crowdfunding regulation. Aside from further investing in video and photography, we will also be launching a podcast this year.

With another no doubt bumpy year ahead, I present our Annual Report, as we round-up our best coverage, achievements, and our accounts from the past 12 months. Our work is only possible thanks to regular contributions from our monthly Patrons. Hopefully, with your kind readership and support, there will be many Annual Reports to come!

This year’s Annual Report is dedicated to the late Suzanne Pepper – highly respected academic and HKFP columnist.

Our Mission & Impact

Founded in 2015, Hong Kong Free Press is an impartial, non-profit, award-winning English-language newspaper. Run by journalists, backed by readers and completely independent, HKFP is governed by a public code of ethics.

Best of HKFP 2022

Original features: The beginning of the year was dominated by surging Covid-19 infections as the Omicron variant escaped strict border controls and sent Hong Kong’s coronavirus death rate soaring to become the highest in the world. We documented the collapse of the health care system, as frontline doctors slammed the zero-Covid policy for putting politics before public health.

We also covered the many ways the outbreak exposed social injustice: from domestic workers who were left to sleep on the streets after contracting the virus, to those forced to isolate in substandard housing, where infections spread among family members, and refugees who had little to eat as panic buying cleared supermarket shelves.

Strict Covid rules contributed to a mass exodus from the city, exacerbated by shrinking freedoms since the implementation of the national security law. HKFP spoke to Hongkongers who had decided to leave the city for the second time, and to someone hoping to find new homes for once-cherished items that had been forsaken.

We also spent time with people who have opted to stay in the city. Some turned to New Age practices and therapies to make sense of an uncertain world, while others returned to the land to cultivate a sense of identity. Meanwhile, across the city, independent bookstores thrived – offering readers a welcome space for freedom of thought.

After being postponed because of the pandemic, former top police officer and security chief John Lee was selected by a small circle of proven “patriotic” elites to become the city’s next leader in May, after running uncontested. We examined the voting process, recently overhauled by Beijing, and Lee himself – in his own words. 

As Victoria Park remained empty on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, we looked into how Hongkongers were silenced after three decades of vigils, and how some remained committed to the commemoration amid a heavy police presence.  

Then, as the city marked 25 years since its Handover from Britain in July with a visit from China’s Xi Jinping,  we delved into what the milestone meant for Hong Kong. We tracked how protests on the July 1 anniversary – traditionally a day for Hongkongers to take their diverse demands to the streets – fell silent. We also used data to explore how the city had transformed, and spoke with migrant worker activists for whom little had changed – they continue to fight for the same rights today as before 1997.

Our reporting on workers’ rights issues included how migrant domestic workers arriving in the city fell victim to complex and continuously evolving Covid-19 rules, whilst advocates pushed for fair treatment from employers. Exploitation remains rife for domestic workers in Hong Kong – we investigated the hurdles many face, including an unforgiving screening process to grant legal recognition.

Through our reporting on underrepresented communities, we spent time with two passionate “voguers” as they prepared for a ball, and spoke to trans teenagers deemed too young to receive gender-affirming treatments at Hong Kong public hospitals. We examined the city’s conservative approach to beauty with model and singer Lezlie Chan, and heard the experiences of a trio of ethnic minority queer teenagers. We also caught up with the asexual community, who are seeking a voice in the LGBT+ community.

We also listened as ethnic minority groups shared their stories and struggles on an audio-guided tour of Hong Kong, and were there for the reopening of the recently renovated Khalsa Diwan temple, a focal point for the city’s Sikhs.

In a year that saw the July become Hong Kong’s hottest month ever, we looked at environmental issues such as how aggressive, government-backed development helped hasten the disappearance of the Chinese white dolphin population. City officials were absent from the UN climate conference COP27 in Egypt, but a delegation of young Hongkongers was present to sound the alarm.  

Government-backed development projects also led to the demise of some decades-old companies. We spoke to the owners of the city’s last sawmill, which was forced to close to make way for the Northern Metropolis, and an ice factory, whose site was earmarked for a public housing project. 

There were those trying to breathe new life into long-standing businesses, though. Administrators of social media accounts committed to conserving historical shops shared their journeys from online preservation to community activation. 

Three years on from the pro-democracy protests that wracked the city in 2019, a number of those who participated in the demonstrations remain in custody. We documented the groups that exist to offer them, and their families, material and practical support, and listened as former protesters reflected on their life behind bars, and after prison. 

In 2022 our newsroom made new investments in court reporting, data journalism and video. During the year, we produced 36 fully-fledged features, 17 interviews, 120 opinion pieces, as well as 45 special stories on the 25th anniversary of the Handover. In all, HKFP has published over 1,723 stories on the national security law, and over 1,905 on Covid-19.

When widespread protests erupted in mainland China over strict zero-Covid policies, with some crowds calling for greater freedoms, we delved into what had caused them and why blank sheets of A4 paper came to symbolise the short-lived movement. We were also out in full force covering the solidarity rallies in Hong Kong’s central business district and at university campuses across the city.

Our features this year also spanned the Taiwan Strait, with reporting on the plight of migrant workers on the island, how people in Taipei were prepping for the unthinkable amid threats of invasion by Beijing, and an exhibition exploring the afterlife of East and Southeast Asia that captured Taiwanese imaginations.  

Explanatory reporting: We continued our monthly explainers on the impact of the national security law on the city, and explored how official attitudes to Covid-19 evolved during the deadly fifth wave as part of our “shifting narratives” series.

Our timeline documenting the decline of press freedom in the city unfortunately saw regular updates. But all is not lost, as our explainer on the small Chinese-language outlets that persevere showed. 

We wrote explainers on political developments, including ill-fated bills that were resurrected in the absence of any opposition, how voter demographics changed since Beijing’s electoral overhaul, and John Lee’s first 100 days in office. And we also sought to clarify complex legal issues with an informative look at Hong Kong’s sedition law, a colonial relic revived after half a century, as well as the important features of court reporting such as the limits placed on what can be written or broadcast. 

Hong Kong’s byzantine Covid-19 rules gave us plenty of fodder for guides and explainers. We spelled out entry requirements, Vaccine Pass rules, and the restrictions that remain in place. 

We also fully embraced data reporting as part of our expansion, digging into the numbers to understand how to measure Hong Kong’s mass exodus, what happened to the 2019 protesters, and 1,000 days of Covid in the city. 

Interviews: In 2022, we spent time with the League of Social Democrats, one of the last remaining pro-democracy groups active in the city, who spoke about their commitment to speaking out against the government. We also interviewed American lawyer Samuel Bickett, who was deported from the city after spending time in jail for assaulting a police officer – a charge he believed was politically motivated. 

We spoke to the founder of an independent publisher, Raymond Yeung, in the days before he was jailed for nine-months over an illegal assembly. Yeung, formerly a teacher who was partially blinded by a police projectile during a protest in 2019, turned to publishing.  

At the other end of the political spectrum, we sat down with government advisor Ronny Tong, who asserted that the outlook for the city – and for a more democratic form of governance – looked promising. 

We met a number of artists learning to navigate curbs to creativity under the current political climate, including font designer Roy Chan, illustrator Maoshan Connie, and Teresa Chan, who works with the unusual medium of fallen leaves.  

And we joined ex-head of the Hong Kong Observatory Lam Chiu-ying – an advocate of living without air-conditioning – as he visited residents of subdivided flats during the summer. 

Scoops: Using satellite imagery, we exposed how construction of a temporary bridge connecting Hong Kong to mainland China began days before emergency laws were invoked to allow it to be built.

We also revealed that a rule requiring government employees to swear allegiance to Hong Kong had been expanded to foreigners teaching English at some local schools. Declining to do so would put their jobs at risk. 

And we investigated the introduction of a registration system to access titles in the University of Hong Kong’s Special Collections. Though the update to archival processes met international norms, what was included in the protected selection did not. 

2022 Achievements

HKFP secures Google grant: HKFP won backing from Google’s News Equity Fund in recognition of its original reporting on the city’s underrepresented communities. The sum of HK$105,615 was largely earmarked for new multimedia gear and marketing for a fundraising campaign. HKFP was among 450 newsrooms across 52 countries and territories that received backing to “further empower a diverse news ecosystem.”

Video: HKFP finally made a foray into video in 2022 as we hired our first multimedia journalist. We produced a video explainer on Hong Kong’s new era of film censorship and a data-based visual explainer on the security law. We launched the HKFP drone to assess the state of local beaches, and met some activists trying to clear up the trash. Among the local news events our videographer covered were the Tiananmen anniversary police crackdown, the “blank placard” demos against Covid rules, and local tributes to the late ex-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. Aside from video interviews with the ex-Observatory chief, government official Ronny Tong and the League of Social Democrats, we produced mini-documentaries on Hong Kong’s first queer graduation, on the ex-reporters launching a bookshop, childhood memories of a dairy farm, the city’s “voguing” scene and a plus-sized model.

The Guardian affiliation: 2022 saw HKFP partner with British broadsheet the Guardian, giving a global boost to our on-the-ground reporting. As part of the affiliation, we chronicled the worst moments of the Omicron outbreak, when the healthcare system was at breaking point, and how Hong Kong’s Covid crisis enabled Beijing to expand its influence. We also spoke to human rights lawyer Michael Vidler, who left the city in April after more than three decades citing concerns about the national security law.

2022 expansion: HKFP expanded to a team of eight in 2022, and hired our first photographer. We invested heavily in new gear and finally created a photo archive.

New income stream: HKFP signed up with ProQuest to resyndicate its news articles.

Football team: Fall River Marksmen Football Club in Massachusetts continued its ‘reverse sponsorship’ deal with HKFP, emblazoning our logo on their new kit and raising over HK$10,000 in jersey sales for our newsroom.

Placement & Impact

HKFP 2023 Team

Hong Kong Free Press is structured as a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, with no shareholders. HKFP does not answer to any business tycoon, mainland Chinese conglomerate or media mogul. We are run by journalists, and are answerable only to ourselves and our readers.

Tom Grundy

Tom is the editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He has contributed to the BBC, Euronews, Al-Jazeera and others.

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Mercedes Hutton

Mercedes is a Hong Kong-based British journalist with an interest in environmental and social issues. She has written for the Guardian and the BBC and previously worked at the South China Morning Post.

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Kelly Ho

Kelly Ho has an interest in local politics, education and sports. She formerly worked at South China Morning Post Young Post, where she specialised in reporting on issues related to Hong Kong youth. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong, with a second major in Politics and Public Administration.

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Candice Chau

Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics.

Hillary Leung

Hillary has an interest in social issues and politics. Previously, she reported on Asia broadly – including on Hong Kong’s 2019 protests – for TIME Magazine and covered local news at Coconuts Hong Kong.

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Peter Lee

Peter Lee is a reporter for HKFP. He was previously a freelance journalist at Initium, covering political and court news. He holds a Global Communication bachelor degree from CUHK.

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Lea Mok

Lea Mok is a multimedia reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously contributed to StandNews, The Initium, MingPao and others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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Kyle Lam

Kyle Lam is a Hong Kong Baptist University graduate who has worked as a photojournalist and reporter since 2013. His work has been published by HK01, the European Pressphoto Agency, Bloomberg and Ming Pao. Lam is the recipient of several prizes from the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association and Human Rights Press Awards.

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Hong Kong Free Press would be impossible without the support and assistance of our countless tech, editorial, accounting, freelance staff and volunteers, as well as Newspack and The Hive.

Citations & Distribution Channels

Transparency Report

As Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet, and as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited annually. Our 2022 expansion saw rising costs, though our support base shrank by around 10%, potentially related to the population exodus and waning interest in Hong Kong news.

HKFP Patrons in 2022: HKFP relies on a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons help support our team, sustain our operations, and guarantee our newsroom’s independence and longevity. Our monthly income as of January 2023:

• The number of HKFP Patrons declined by about 10% in 2022 to 946, after rising by a fifth the year before. Income from Patrons also declined by around 10% to HK$183,350.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from offline donors who contribute via cheque, transfer/FPS or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report, and help keep the site free-to-access for those who cannot afford to contribute.

HKFP is predicted to make a loss of up to HK$500K in 2023. Though we are able to reinvest our previous surplus, we will need to work on a return to sustainability and halt the fall in HKFP Patrons.

Our finalised, audited income during 2021, and our predicted income for 2022:

Current revenue streams:

Reader contributions: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash, PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links.

Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, Google/YouTube ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partners LexisNexis, ProQuest, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.]

Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, any surplus is recycled back into the company for use in the following year. As of 2021, HKFP is also retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of new challenges to press freedom.

Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software/tools and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.

Finalised expenditure for our latest audited year, 2021, & our predicted 2022 spending:

HKFP Press Freedom Update

January 2022

• Independent Hong Kong media outlet Citizen News announced that they decided to halt operations. They said the decision was to ensure staff safety and was prompted by the authorities’ crackdown on fellow independent newsroom Stand News.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the closure of Stand News and Citizen News in under a week were unrelated to the national security law and press freedom.
• Hong Kong’s Registry of Trade Unions asked the Hong Kong Journalists Association to provide answers how certain events they held were relevant to their objectives.
• Members of Jumbo, a student publication at Hong Kong Baptist University collectively resigned citing interference from the university after receiving complaints.

February 2022 

• Hong Kong’s Consumer Council decided to host the Consumer Rights Reporting Awards independently for the first time since the event launched in 2001, ditching two press groups it had partnered with for more than 20 years.
• A statement signed by 21 western nations condemned Hong Kong’s press freedom crackdown and the arrests of journalists at the now-defunct independent media outlet Stand News.
• US-funded news outlet Radio Free Asia announced the suspension of some Cantonese programmes and commentaries, citing concerns about press freedom in Hong Kong and the “red lines” of the national security law.
• The International Federation of Journalists wrote in its latest report that Hong Kong is turning into a “city of fear” where “open discussion is stifled” and the national security legislation “effectively acts as a tripwire for all journalists.”
• The transfer of the Stand News sedition case to Hong Kong’s District Court was adjourned to April. 

March 2022

• NowTV apologised after their reporter asked authorities how mainland Chinese medics treating local Covid-19 patients will be held accountable in the event of a medical mishap.

April 2022

• A poll by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute found that Hongkongers’ satisfaction with press freedom and media outlets in the city dropped to a record low.
• Hong Kong veteran journalist Allan Au was arrested by national security police for allegedly conspiring to publish seditious materials, and was released on bail after spending over 17 hours in police custody.
• The Stand News sedition case was moved to the District Court, as the parent company of the news outlet remains unrepresented in court.
• Hong Kong’s sole chief executive candidate John Lee said that press freedom exists in the city, so there is no need to ask him to “defend” it.
• Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club cancelled this year’s Human Rights Press Awards, citing “significant areas of uncertainty” under the law.
• The Foreign Correspondents’ Club decision to scrap the Human Rights Press Awards was related to local outlet Stand News winning a number of titles, HKFP was told. 
• Pro-democracy cartoonist Ah To has announced his departure from Hong Kong, saying he would face “great mental stress” if he were to continue producing political cartoons in the city.
• Hong Kong journalists collectively won the The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan’s Freedom of the Press Asia award.
• The Hong Kong Journalists Association postponed its annual Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award earlier in the year, HKFP was told.
• Keith Richburg, the president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, apologised to the judges of the annual Human Rights Press Awards after the club announced it was cancelling this year’s awards.

May 2022

• Reporters Without Borders said Hong Kong authorities wielded a draconian new security law to silence critical news outlets and jail journalists in its latest report as the city plummeted down an international press freedom chart.
• Hong Kong’s sole leadership candidate John Lee compared press freedom to identity cards, and said that “Hong Kong already has press freedom.”
• Arizona State University’s journalism school will host the Human Rights Press Awards from next year, after Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club axed the event citing legal “red lines.”
• The ex-acting chief editor of the now-defunct Stand News told a Hong Kong court that he intended to plead not guilty to sedition charges, as the case was adjourned until late June.
• Ronson Chan, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, said he would leave the city for six months to join the Reuters Institute’s fellowship programme at Oxford University starting in early October.
• Hong Kong national security police demanded that, Passion Times, an online news outlet which had ties with a defunct opposition group to remove “sensitive” content.
• The “sensitive” content which Passion Times was ordered to delete on national security grounds were pictures of a suggested new “national flag” for Hong Kong, according to local media.
• A Hong Kong citizen journalist was sentenced to one month in jail for behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place on National Security Education Day in 2021.
• The president of Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club said that the club still has a “role to play” following its decision to cancel this year’s Human Right Press Awards, citing legal risks.
• Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club overwhelmingly polled in favour of a motion relating to press freedom. More than half of the board members abstained from the vote.

June 2022

• Hong Kong investigative news wire Factwire announced it was disbanding with immediate effect.
• Photographer Steven Knipp withdrew a photo donated to Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club, saying the club had failed to stand up for press freedom.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam said during her final press briefing that the platform had allowed her to address public concerns and media enquiries in a timely manner.
• Fewer Hongkongers expressed trust in public broadcaster RTHK, a study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found.
• Hong Kong effectively barred several independent newspapers, international media outlets and news wires from attending the inauguration of incoming leader John Lee, as well as from covering other July 1 events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Handover.
• The court set the date for the sedition trial against defunct independent outlet Stand News, which will begin on October 31 and is scheduled to last for 20 days.
• Hong Kong Journalists Association held its annual general meeting in which members approved changes to the union’s constitution to make dissolution easier.
• Hong Kong’s last British governor Chris Patten accused Beijing of ‘vengefully’ targeting city’s freedoms.
• The largest press group in Hong Kong expressed “utmost regret” after journalists from at least seven local and international media organisations were denied access to cover events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.

 July 2022

• Disclosing the media invite list for the July 1 leadership inauguration ‘would harm Hong Kong’s security,’ the government claimed.
• Hong Kong democracy has taken a “quantum leap forward,” officials told a United Nations rights committee, during a grilling over the national security law, declining press freedom and other developments in the wake of the 2019 demos.
• Hong Kong’s leader John Lee said journalists are “in the same boat” as him and that he hopes the news sector will join him in promoting the success of One Country, Two Systems to the world.
• Veteran Hong Kong journalist Kevin Lau’s opinion column in Ming Pao was halted. Lau told HKFP that he was retiring.
• A United Nations rights monitor urged Hong Kong to repeal its national security law, citing the “overly broad interpretation” of its provisions and the subsequent violation of free expression in the city.

August 2022

• Reporting restrictions on proceedings regarding the transfer of criminal cases to the High Court must be lifted if the defendant makes such a request, a Hong Kong court ruled in a landmark judgement.
• Hong Kong’s government watchdog said they will launch a “full investigation” into the Information Services Department’s refusal to disclose the list of media outlets invited to cover July 1 Handover celebrations following a complaint made by HKFP.
• Hong Kong’s detained pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai filed an application for judicial review to try to stop police searching his phones, which he says contain protected journalistic material.
• A group of pro-Beijing Hongkongers urged authorities to launch a national security investigation into US-funded media outlet Radio Free Asia, accusing it of spreading one-sided and “poisonous” information to “imperceptibly influence” the public.
• The national security trial for Jimmy Lai, the founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, will proceed without a jury, local media reported.
• Media tycoon Jimmy Lai was set to plead not guilty and stand trial in a national security case, as Hong Kong’s security chief granted three companies linked to the defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily access to their frozen funds to hire legal representatives.
• Hong Kong courts should not blur the line between criminal and civil cases, the District Court heard as the prosecution and defence presented their closing statements during the fraud trial against media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
• Public trust in the credibility of Hong Kong’s media fell to its lowest level in two decades, according to a survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong’s High Court heard journalist Bao Choy’s appeal against her conviction over accessing public vehicle registration records when she researched and produced an investigative documentary about the Yuen Long mob attack in 2019.
• Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai lost his legal bid to block a national security search warrant of his phones, which he says contain protected journalistic materials.

September 2022

• Ronson Chan, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was arrested while reporting on a home owners’ committee meeting for online outlet Channel C.
• China lashed out at “slander” by Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club after the club expressed concern over the arrest of the head of the city’s largest journalist group.
• Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Andy Li and paralegal Chan Tsz-wah, who pleaded guilty more than a year ago to conspiring with media mogul Jimmy Lai, were set to be sentenced after the Apple Daily founder stands trial in December under the Beijing-enacted national security law.
• The Hong Kong police ruled that a complaint filed by a journalist who was allegedly hit by a non-lethal projectile during the 2019 protests was “unsubstantiated.”
• ·Ronson Chan, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was officially charged with obstructing police officers while reporting.
• Chief Executive John Lee told “patriotic” journalists to “deliver Hong Kong’s latest developments and correct message” to the world when he attended a media sector celebration ahead of China’s upcoming National Day.
• Ronson Chan, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was granted bail after pleading not guilty to obstructing police officers and an alternative charge of obstructing other person lawfully engaged in a public duty.
• Self-proclaimed non-pro-establishment party Path of Democracy appealed to the government to enact a fake news law as part of a broad list of suggestions for Chief Executive John Lee ahead of his policy address.
• Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai filed an appeal against the court’s decision to uphold a national security search warrant on his phones, which he says contain protected journalistic materials.
• Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s request to hire a lawyer from the UK was opposed by the justice minister and a barristers’ group.

October 2022

• Hong Kong police expressed “strong concerns” over a satirical cartoon published in Ming Pao that contained what they called “misleading content,” according to local media reports.
• An international journalists’ group urged the global community to continue its condemnation on the “media offensive” conducted by the Hong Kong government in a report about the city’s press freedom published earlier.
• Hong Kong police can search journalistic materials stored on phones belonging to media tycoon Jimmy Lai seized under a national security warrant, the High Court ruled.
• Hong Kong’s High Court allowed media tycoon Jimmy Lai to hire a barrister from the UK to handle his high-profile national security trial, saying that it was “clearly in the public interest.”
• Jimmy Lai, the founder of defunct Hong Kong pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was convicted of fraud after being found to have violated the terms of the lease for the newspaper’s headquarters.
• Two reporters quit the South China Morning Post last year after a senior editor axed their three-month investigation into human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region, according to an editor who resigned shortly after.
• The South China Morning Post sent a warning to a former editor who resigned along with two reporters after their three-part series on rights abuses in Xinjiang was axed by management last year.
• Hong Kong authorities hit back at the US following its statement on pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai’s fraud case, calling the remarks made “purely politically oriented” and far from the truth.

November 2022

• The Trust Project, an international consortium which promotes greater accountability and transparency in the news industry, froze its Hong Kong operations.
• Hong Kong’s Department of Justice appealed against a court’s decision to let a UK barrister represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in his upcoming high-profile national security trial.
• Hong Kong’s Security Bureau “expressed deep regret” over “a misleading and fact-twisting commentary” published by Ming Pao on the government’s decision to ban cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, from February next year.
• Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy lost an appeal against her conviction over assessing public data for a documentary about a mob attack in July 2019.
• Patrick Lam, a former top editor of defunct Hong Kong outlet Stand News was granted bail after his lawyer called on the court to terminate the Stand News sedition trial over improper handling of evidence.
• The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it was “disappointed and worried” by the court’s decision to reject an appeal filed by journalist Bao Choy convicted over accessing public data for a documentary about a mob attack in July 2019.
• Hong Kong’s Department of Justice lost an appeal against the High Court’s decision to let a UK barrister represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in his upcoming high-profile national security trial.
• A Hong Kong court’s decision to allow a senior British lawyer to represent jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai sparked a chorus of condemnation from powerful Beijing loyalist voices.
• Hong Kong’s taxpayer-funded broadcaster RTHK should “cooperate seamlessly” with other government departments including the police, said its chief Eddie Cheung in an interview with the city’s security chief.
• A Hong Kong citizen journalist who waved the British colonial-era flag while the Chinese national anthem was being played was jailed for three months for insulting the anthem following the first conviction under a new law.
• Hong Kong’s justice minister refused to remark on comments made by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who called a ruling from the city’s appeal court allowing a UK lawyer to represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in an upcoming national security trial “absurd.”
• Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was set to apply to halt his high-profile national security trial, which was scheduled to begin in just over two weeks’ time, Lai’s legal representative said.
• Hong Kong’s Department of Justice hoped to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal against allowing a UK barrister represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in his high-profile national security trial, scheduled to start in just two weeks’ time.
• ·Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy furthered her chance of appealing her conviction over accessing car licence information for an investigative documentary about a mob attack in Yuen Long in July 2019.
• Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal refused to grant the secretary for justice a final chance to appeal against a court decision to allow a UK barrister represent media mogul Jimmy Lai in his high-profile national security trial scheduled to start on December 1.
• Six former staff members of Hong Kong pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit collusion charge in a landmark national security case.
• Hong Kong’s Department of Justice filed an application to the city’s top court to appeal against a decision to allow a UK barrister to represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in a high-profile national security trial due to begin next week.
• State-controlled pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong fiercely criticised the decision to let a senior British barrister represent Jimmy Lai in his high-profile national security trial, quoting one pro-China figure as saying the hearing should be shifted to the mainland if necessary.
• Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai had no financial motive in breaching the terms of the lease for his Apple Daily newspaper headquarters by operating a consultancy from the same building, a court which convicted him of fraud was told.
• Hong Kong’s top court adjourned its decision on whether to allow the Department of Justice to appeal against an earlier ruling that let media tycoon Jimmy Lai hire a UK lawyer for his national security trial.
• Hong Kong’s top court will not allow the Department of Justice to appeal against an earlier court decision admitting a UK barrister to represent media tycoon Jimmy Lai in a high-profile national security trial.
• Beijing will be invited to determine whether overseas counsels are allowed to take part in national security trials in Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee said.
• Hong Kong’s secretary for justice will seek to adjourn a national security trial involving pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai – two days before it was slated to begin – while awaiting Beijing’s proposed interpretation of the city’s national security law.
• Beijing’s power to interpret the national security law “can be used sparingly,” the head of the Hong Kong Bar Association said.
• The lease of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club was renewed for three years, with a newly added “standard” clause regarding national security. 

December 2022

• The national security trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was adjourned on its scheduled starting date until December 13 as Hong Kong waits for Beijing to “clarify” whether overseas lawyers are allowed to appear in such cases.
• Defendants charged under the national security law could be sent to mainland China for trial if they cannot find a lawyer in Hong Kong, the city’s top delegate to Beijing’s advisory body said.
• US-based NGO Human Rights Watch announced it will co-host Hong Kong’s Human Rights Press Awards after the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) cancelled the event earlier this year.
• Jimmy Lai, the founder of defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail after being convicted of fraud.
• The jailing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai over fraud charges “has nothing to do with freedom of the press or freedom of speech,” the Hong Kong government said, following criticism from the US.
• Chung Pui-kuen, a former top editor of Hong Kong news outlet Stand News facing sedition charges was granted bail after spending almost a year in custody pending trial.
• The national security trial against Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was adjourned until September 25, 2023.
• Proceedings against former editors of independent outlet Stand News were “unfair” and “not transparent,” the defence argued, as the court sought to rule on whether the discovery of previously undisclosed evidence was grounds to terminate the trial.
• An additional six articles published by the shuttered independent media outlet Stand News were flagged by the prosecution for potentially violating Hong Kong’s colonial-era sedition law.

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HKFP has updated its Android and Apple mobile apps, allowing for more convenient access to our news updates. And thanks to the Greatfire Appmaker project, we are also offering a special downloadable app which will make HKFP viewable in China, where the site is censored.

We have also launched a new Mastodon social media feed, for those seeking an alternative to Twitter.

Download our apps for Android, Apple iOS, and Windows – free to access wherever you are.

You can also download a special APK installer file for Android devices to be used wherever HKFP is censored. The file can be shared over email, instant messaging, portable drive, or file sharing sites to friends and family inside China’s “great firewall.” The app includes built-in circumvention and will work without a VPN. (Please note that some devices may initially raise a security alert or require settings to be adjusted in order to allow installations from “unknown sources.”)

Our news is available, for free, wherever you are: On Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Mastodon, Pushbullet, Flipboard, News360, Psiphon, Apple News, MSN, Factiva, Nordot, LexisNexis, ProQuest, on Telegram (or add our bot: @hkfp_bot).

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Hong Kong Free Press has won backing from Google’s News Equity Fund in recognition of its original reporting on the city’s underrepresented communities.

The sum of HK$105,615 will be largely be spent on new multimedia gear and marketing for a fundraising campaign, as we expand the team and invest further in our local coverage.

HKFP is among 450 newsrooms across 52 countries and territories that received backing.

This year, HKFP expanded its team with two new recruits, and will add a third new staffer next week – our first, full-time in-house photojournalist. We also invested heavily in video and graphics in 2022, and revamped our newsletter and Instagram presence.

It is the second time HKFP has won support from the tech giant. It secured over HK$613,000 in 2019 to help build an open source fundraising tool, usable by all newsrooms and NGOs. NewsStream was launched last year and made available to the public.

Editor’s note: As with previous support, funding is only accepted by HKFP on the basis of a formal agreement which forbids any editorial interference. This policy is baked into our Ethics Code and applies to all contributors and advertisers.

HKFP’s original reporting relies on the backing of almost 1,000 monthly Patrons, who contribute to our running costs. Help sustain our newsroom and keep HKFP free of charge so that everyone can access our coverage. 12 ways to support us.

Learn more about our achievements in our latest Annual Report. Our Transparency Report shows how carefully we spend every cent.

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Suzanne Pepper, a highly respected American political scientist, author and HKFP columnist based in Hong Kong, died at her home on Wednesday, June 29, aged 83, following a short illness.

Suzanne studied the Chinese language in the 1960s in Hong Kong where she met Virupax Ganesh “VG” Kulkarni – an Indian army officer posted to his country’s consulate. They left for New York, where VG studied journalism, and married on June 19th, 1970.

The couple returned to Hong Kong in the early 1970s and Suzanne joined the US-run Universities Service Centre (USC) on Argyle Street, gaining a PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972.

VG began a long career in journalism, eventually becoming a regional editor for the Far Eastern Economic Review, whilst Suzanne joined the Committee for Concerned Asian Scholars and wrote several books on China. She was described as a “strong intellectual presence from the start” on the committee by Chinese history scholar Stephen R. MacKinnon.

Steven Butler, senior programme consultant at the Committee to Protect Journalists, recalled that “Suzanne had a sharp sense of humour and irony, and spoke her mind freely, no matter who might take offense.” She often joked about the presumed Chinese agents who would interact with her, he recalls.

Her 1978 book on the Chinese civil war became an indispensable source on the political collapse of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party and her work on the topic was initially inspired by the challenges it created for U.S. foreign policy. “Her gripping account of inflation, corruption, the student movement, and the appeal of the Communists’ land reform informed all of our lectures on this critical period of modern Chinese history,” Joseph W. Esherick, emeritus professor at the University of California, told HKFP.

“Hong Kong will be poorer for the lack of her voice, but her influence will live on through this book and her many important writings.”

She joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 1978, and went on to become an honorary research fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies.

After the 1997 Handover, Suzanne turned her attention to Hong Kong politics. She believed that, although the Cold War was over, the remnants of China’s communist revolution were still being played out in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as Beijing sought to bring its troublesome peripheries under control.

In 2008, she published Keeping Democracy at Bay: Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform and began her “Hong Kong Focus” blog a year later to monitor the democracy movement’s struggle. She wrote that “Questions about dictatorship and democracy that Chinese intellectuals debated so eloquently in the late 1940s are now drawing new generations to the same debate, while the Communist Party’s past military drive for pre-eminence continues by other means.”

VG died in 2014 at the FCC aged 77 – a room at the club was named after him.

With the launch of HKFP in 2015, Suzanne joined as a contributing writer, continuing her blog-style analysis on local affairs. Friend and journalist Francis Moriarty remembered her as “clearly brilliant, strong-willed and highly organised,” whilst friend Dan C. Tsang said she developed a routine around her HKFP column, devoting all of her time to background research.

“To her, printed newspapers were her source material, especially the Ta Kung Pao which she would regularly collect for free from a woman handing it out. Any news item I sent her, she preferred it to be in PDF, which she would print out to read later,” Tsang recalled.

University of Hong Kong academic John Burns said she was “always the master of documentary sources, both newspaper, memoirs, and official documents, and with excellent Chinese-language skills… Her capacity to integrate Hong Kong’s story with political developments on the mainland is legendary.”

Suzanne shunned cellphones and social media, hated being photographed, and refused to have a computer at home. She was often at war with the ever-changing Wordpress interface and would sometimes drop by the HKFP office when her patience ran out and additional tech support from editors was needed.

As well as picking up state-backed newspapers, Suzanne would grab hard copies of other dailies from the FCC and hand-write her columns before typing them up on a CUHK desktop computer. When HKFP found the funds to pay more columnists after 2019, Suzanne agreed to be compensated – albeit after much protesting.

It was not known to HKFP staff how much the column meant to her, and how she dedicated all of her time to researching it during her latter years. In recent months, she began to express concern about publishing analysis amid the national security and press freedom clampdown, but she persisted nevertheless.

Suzanne had no family in Hong Kong but met friends and kept in touch with activists and academics over email. Her primary concern during her final days was finishing her latest column, which HKFP is hoping to retrieve.

Suzanne remained utterly articulate, sharp and meticulous until the end, and will be greatly missed by her readers, HKFP staff, and her sisters Patricia and Kathleen in the US.

Last year, HKFP pulled together all of Suzanne’s Hong Kong analysis under a new blog.

Tributes:

I am really missing reading Suzanne’s nightly (given the time zone differences between Hong Kong and California) “blasts” (her word) from computers at the Foreign Correspondence Club, Hong Kong and the University Service Center for China Studies. They were usually about politics, here, there or somewhere and whatever articles, etc…, she was writing. She had righteous indignation and commitment to her work pretty much right up to the end. She was also really bummed when her cable provider stopped providing the Turner Classic Movie channel.

Patricia Pepper, Suzanne’s sister.

Suzanne’s passing leaves a big gap in my life.  Since 2017, whenever I was in town, we would meet up regularly, sometimes even going to yum cha on CUHK campus, or on weekends at my favourite Chiuchow dim sum restaurant in North Point. When I was away, we chatted by email. Her last email to me was dated June 7, a month ago. Her recent life revolved exclusively around her column, with all her “work” hours devoted to background research and writing. Yet, when I would call her a journalist, she retorted “no, I’m not a journalist.  I was married to one. I know what a journalist is!” She saw herself as a blogger, even though she never owned a cell phone, and remained blissfully unaware of social media. To her, printed newspapers were her source material, especially the Ta Kung Pao, which she would regularly collect for free from a woman handing it out. Any news item I sent her, she preferred it to be in PDF, which she would print out to read later. She always kidded me for being an optimist in these dark times, but it would be more accurate to call her a realist, rather than a pessimist. She stuck to realpolitik.

Friend and scholar Daniel C. Tsang.

Suzanne would undoubtedly have had a prominent academic career in the U.S. based on the quality of her research had she chosen that path. She chose instead to remain in Hong Kong with her husband, VG Kulkarni, a successful and established journalist, and relentlessly pursued her career as an independent scholar. Suzanne had a sharp sense of humour and irony, and spoke her mind freely, no matter who might take offense. Toward the end of her life, she had an unbending regime of retrieving week-old newspapers from the FCCHK in the morning before they were tossed, and then heading to CUHK for a day of research and writing. I took her to dinner a few years ago, and she told me it was the first time in years that she’d been to a nice restaurant. She lived in a tiny flat and prepared all her own meals, living frugally. She didn’t complain about her poverty late in life so much as joke about it.

Senior Programme Consultant at the Committee to Protect Journalists Steven Butler.

Suzanne was clearly brilliant, strong-willed and highly organised. Her regular analyses of Hong Kong and China developments were then appearing on a single website in the US (in addition to her own mailing list) and we spoke about ways that she might increase her exposure to a wider audience. One suggestion was that she approach HKFP. We subsequently kept in touch mainly by email.

Journalist Francis Moriarty.

Suzanne was a private person who may have seemed aloof to those who didn’t know her. But she was in fact not difficult to know and never turned away anyone who approached her. She did not socialise a great deal, devoting herself to her research and her writing, which she took extremely seriously.

Friend Frank Ching.

My recollection of Suzanne goes back to Cultural Revolution Hong Kong and the Committee for Concerned Asian Scholars at the Universities Service Centre on Argyle St. Suzanne was a strong intellectual presence from the start, busy finishing a PhD with Chalmers Johnson (UC Berkeley). As a political scientist with a strong historical voice, this put us together intellectually on many subjects. She became very close to the Centre staff, and followed with regret the move in the 80s to CUHK. I knew Veejay as well, a veteran of the 1960s Far Eastern Economic Review in its heyday with John Gittings, Nayan Chanda, and others. They were a remarkable couple, quite devoted to each other. Meals with them ranged over Indian and Chinese politics. After the Review’s troubles, Veejay understood that Suzanne could never live in India – or Maharashtra to be precise. Suzanne wrote classic works on the Civil War period and PRC higher education, then turned to Hong Kong political commentary…

Stephen R. MacKinnon, Chinese history scholar.

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Hong Kong Free Press celebrates seven years online on Wednesday, publishing almost 22,000 news and commentary pieces since our launch, and raising over HK$25 million to fund non-profit, impartial, independent journalism.

As the city’s most transparent news outlet, guided by an Ethics Code, we are externally audited each year and publish details of our finances every January. Today, we are publishing an early update of our 2022 income and spending…

Our yet-to-be-confirmed report, detailing our income and spending, shows that we made a loss of just over HK$46,000 in the first five months of 2022, as costs rose and income dipped.

Our number of monthly supporters dipped by 1.2 per cent in 2022, with 1,037 Patrons contributing HK$204,063 per month.

HKFP is powered by the kind support of our monthly Patrons. When you contribute to our newsroom, every cent is put to careful use and goes directly towards frontline journalism and original reporting. Download a copy of our latest Annual Report.

We have rapidly expanded since December, hiring four new staff members, including an editor and multimedia reporter. This has allowed us to invest in video, photography, court reporting and data journalism. Our 2022 expansion represents our largest full-time team yet.

In turn, our payroll, insurance and office rent costs rose, whilst web hosting costs are set to rise by 60 per cent this year. HKFP is predicted to make a loss of up to HK$250,000 in 2022, but is able to reinvest its previous surplus.

Current revenue streams:

• Reader contributions: includes one-off and monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, PayPal and card, as well as merch sales profit and shopping referral links.
• Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, Google/YouTube ads, directly purchased rate card ads and content sales [from media outlets such as The Guardian, institutions and syndication partners LexisNexis, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot].

Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company for use in 2021. As of 2021, HKFP is retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of new threats to press freedom.

Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.

Staffing: During 2020, we employed 5-6 full-time staff members and expanded our pool of freelancers. We spent 72% of our income on paying our hard-working staff and freelancers.

HKFP Patrons: HKFP relies on a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantee our independence.

Reader growth:

HKFP has seen audience growth across all platforms since January.

Our Instagram following rose 14 per cent as we rebranded this year, whilst we also redesigned our free, weekly newsletter last month.

Top marks for credibility:

HKFP was reassessed against the NewsGuard initiative’s credibility and transparency criteria in February, scoring top marks. NewsGuard lists green or red credibility scores for over 4,000 news websites, representing 95 per cent of all online news engagement. The initiative is run by journalists and is part of a global fightback against misinformation, unreliable content and fake news. 

HKFP received a green rating and a trust score of 100 out of 100.

100 per cent independent, governed by an ethics code and not-for-profit, HKFP is #PressingOn with its impartial, award-winning coverage, achieving top marks for credibility. Founded in 2015, we are backed by readers and run by journalists – there is no tycoon, no shareholders and no Chinese conglomerate behind us – no-one edits our editors.

Press freedom

On World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, Hong Kong plummeted 68 places to 148th in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 Press Freedom Index – the largest fall of any territory. In 2002, the city was ranked 18th.

Since the onset of the security law in 2020, newsrooms have been raided, editors arrested, and outlets have disbanded in fear, all whilst the authorities said press freedom was intact.

At least six news outlets have disappeared since June 2020. Read our full timeline here.

With our impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy, we believe we have staying power, for as long as readers continue to support our work.

The 2022 HKFP Team

Tom Grundy

Tom is the editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press. He has a BA in Communications and New Media from Leeds University and an MA in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong. He has contributed to the BBC, Euronews, Al-Jazeera and others.

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Mercedes Hutton

Mercedes is a Hong Kong-based British journalist with an interest in environmental and social issues. She has written for the Guardian and the BBC and previously worked at the South China Morning Post.

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Kelly Ho

Kelly Ho has an interest in local politics, education and sports. She formerly worked at South China Morning Post Young Post, where she specialised in reporting on issues related to Hong Kong youth. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Hong Kong, with a second major in Politics and Public Administration.

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Candice Chau

Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics.

Hillary Leung

Hillary has an interest in social issues and politics. Previously, she reported on Asia broadly – including on Hong Kong’s 2019 protests – for TIME Magazine and covered local news at Coconuts Hong Kong.

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Almond Li

Almond Li is a Hong Kong-based journalist who previously worked for Reuters and Happs TV as a freelancer, and as a reporter at Hong Kong International Business Channel, Citizen News and Commercial Radio Hong Kong. She earned her Masters in Journalism at the University of Southern California. She has an interest in LGBT+, mental health and environmental issues.

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Peter Lee

Peter Lee is a reporter for HKFP. He was previously a freelance journalist at Initium, covering political and court news. He holds a Global Communication bachelor degree from CUHK.

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Lea Mok

Lea Mok is a multimedia reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously contributed to StandNews, The Initium, MingPao and others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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The Fall River Marksmen Football Club are promoting Hong Kong Free Press with their new 2022 kit design. Available now for US$65 via their website, with profits benefiting the HKFP newsroom.

Based in Fall River, Massachusetts and founded almost a century ago, the Fall River Marksmen Football Club (FRMFC) was one of the most successful teams in the US during the 1920s and 30s. They won the American Soccer League six times and the National Challenge Cup four times, toured Europe and became known as “The American Menace” for their success. Following their golden era in the early 20th century, the team was revived in 2018.

The updated 2022 designs include a “Stop Asian Hate” promotion and a 1922 “SM” logo dedicated to Sam Mark, the original founder of the team.

The Marksmen are now playing in a regional Boston & Providence league with an aim to climb back into the professional divisions ultimately reach the National Independent Soccer League (NISA) or the Championship Division of the United Soccer Leagues (USL). 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding.

FRMFC President Andre’ P. Ruette told HKFP they were delighted to renew the partnership: “This past year has been a beneficial one for the club, thanks in part to the numerous bonds we’ve forged with people throughout the globe due to our association with the Hong Kong Free Press. Although we can’t predict the future, we step forward into the unknown with enthusiasm knowing that through our newly formed bonds we will & can make a positive difference. We’re honoured to represent Hongkongers along with being an advocate for unity & diversity, including proudly adorning #EndAsianHate badge on our jersey. We hope our performances in 2022/23 makes our fans proud and we look forward to bringing the HKFP name and its followers with us wherever we go.”

FRMFC completed a shortened 2022 spring season, finishing in fifth position in their new league: the Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL). The top flight amateur league is linked to the U.S. professional 3rd Division. At the end of July, they will be playing in London, England in the Egri Erbstein Tournament and in August they will kick off the 2022/23 season in the EPSL, which is slated to run until May of 2023.

Ruette said he was “delighted and honoured” to now have HKFP across the new jerseys – “a true sign of the power of football and how it can bridge even the most unlikely of partners.”

The link up with Hong Kong Free Press was conceived in 2021 under the banner “Divided by oceans, united by football, bound through culture.”

FRMFC x HKFP shirts are available to pre-order directly from the Marksmen FC website. Manufacturing may take up to five weeks, and international shipping up to two weeks.

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On World Press Freedom Day, HKFP shares updates as we expand our newsroom, and make new investments in video and data journalism.

HKFP expansion:

HKFP added two experienced reporters to our team last month – Almond Li and Lea Mok. This means we have the largest team of full-time staff since our launch seven years ago.

Almond Li

Almond Li is a Hong Kong-based journalist who previously worked for Reuters and Happs TV as a freelancer, and as a reporter at Hong Kong International Business Channel, Citizen News and Commercial Radio Hong Kong. She earned her Masters in Journalism at the University of Southern California. She has an interest in LGBT+, mental health and environmental issues. More by Almond Li

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Lea Mok

Lea Mok is a multimedia reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously contributed to StandNews, The Initium, MingPao and others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. More by Lea Mok

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They join our recent recruits – editor Mercedes Hutton and reporters Peter Lee and Hillary Leung.

Mercedes Hutton

Mercedes is a Hong Kong-based British journalist with an interest in environmental and social issues. She has written for the Guardian and the BBC and previously worked at the South China Morning Post. More by Mercedes Hutton

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Peter Lee

Peter Lee is a reporter for HKFP. He was previously a freelance journalist at Initium, covering political and court news. He holds a Global Communication bachelor degree from CUHK. More by Peter Lee

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Hillary Leung

Hillary has an interest in social issues and politics. Previously, she reported on Asia broadly – including on Hong Kong’s 2019 protests – for TIME Magazine and covered local news at Coconuts Hong Kong. More by Hillary Leung

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With our investment in Sony photography gear, we will be handling all multimedia in-house and producing more video this year.

As for data journalism, we have been reporting on Covid-19, the exodus from Hong Kong and last year’s election using charts, graphs and other new storytelling and number-crunching tools.

Finances:

In 2022, HKFP is spending more each month than it receives in income. However, as a non-profit, we are able to make use of previous years’ surplus to continue our expansion whilst we work to return to sustainability.

• In total, 1,065 readers contribute HK$206,680 per month. We saw a fall of 1.3 per cent in the number of monthly Patrons since January 1, from 1,080 to 1,065.
• In February 2022 – the latest month for which figures are available – HKFP saw a total income of HK$321,658.91 – including income from reader contributions, content sales and advertising. We spent HK$357,818.79 in February – mostly on full-time staff (HK$270,400) and freelance fees (HK$15,500) – though our office rent and web hosting costs are rising dramatically this year.

• We expect to see an income of around HK$3.8 million in 2022, and will spend HK$4.3 million – a “loss” of HK$500,000, which will be covered by our reserves.
• Our 2021 accounts have been submitted to our independent auditors. As a non-profit limited by guarantee entity, HKFP is externally audited each year. We expect to report an income last year of HK$4.4 million and spending of HK$3.7 million, leaving us HK$677,273 to be reinvested into HKFP for 2022.

Please consider supporting our team with one-off or monthly support – HKFP is paywall-free and relies on reader contributions to continue.

Reader growth:

HKFP has seen a growth in audience across all platforms since January.

Our Instagram following rose 14 per cent as we rebranded this year, whilst we also redesigned our free, weekly newsletter last month.

Top marks for credibility:

HKFP was reassessed against the NewsGuard initiative’s credibility and transparency criteria in February, scoring top marks. NewsGuard lists green or red credibility scores for over 4,000 news websites, representing 95 per cent of all online news engagement. The initiative is run by journalists and is part of a global fightback against misinformation, unreliable content and fake news. 

HKFP received a green rating and a trust score of 100 out of 100.

Press freedom:

On World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, Hong Kong plummeted 68 places to 148th in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 Press Freedom Index – the largest fall of any territory. In 2002, the city was ranked 18th.

Since the onset of the security law in 2020 – newsrooms have been raided, editors arrested, outlets have disbanded in fear, all whilst the authorities said press freedom was intact. Read our full timeline here.

With our impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy, we believe we have staying power, for as long as readers continue to support our work.

HKFP has made common-sense preparations to protect staff and sources, but is nonetheless committed to continuing our on-the-ground award-winning reporting. HKFP will hold the line and press on.

100 per cent independent, governed by an ethics code and not-for-profit, HKFP is #PressingOn with its impartial, award-winning coverage, achieving top marks for credibility. Founded in 2015, we are backed by readers and run by journalists – there is no tycoon, no shareholders and no Chinese conglomerate behind us – no-one edits our editors.

The official HKFP tote features our classic, exclusive “press freedom” design by local artist Sellwords.

• Pay HK$188 – HK$1000. 100% of profits support HKFP’s reporting.
• Free P&P. Hong Kong addresses only. Sorry, no int’l delivery yet owing to pandemic disruptions. 
• Size: 38 x 42 x 10cm. 10oz thick Canvas bag (with bottom). 
• Shipping day: April 5 for local delivery. T&Cs.
• 500 available only.

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Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Be assured that, when you contribute to HKFP, every cent is put to careful use and goes directly towards frontline journalism and original reporting.

As the city’s most transparent news outlet, we present as much detail as legally possible about our income and spending. Download a copy of our latest Annual Report.

Income:

As Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet, and as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited annually. Our finalised, audited income during 2020, and our predicted income for 2021:

Income: HKFP is predicted to make a monthly loss of up to HK$100K in 2022, but is able to reinvest its previous surplus.

Our current revenue streams:

• Reader contributions: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash, PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links.
• Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, Google/YouTube ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partners LexisNexis, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.]

Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company for use in 2021. As of 2021, HKFP is retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of new threats to press freedom.

Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.

Staffing: During 2020, we employed 5-6 full-time staff members and expanded our pool of freelancers. We spent 72% of our income on paying our hard-working staff and freelancers.

Spending:

HKFP Patrons in 2021: HKFP relies on a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantee our independence. Our monthly income as of January 2022:

• The number of HKFP Patrons rose by 20.4% in 2021, whilst income from Patrons rose almost 16% to HK$204,063. Most Patrons are from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from offline donors who contribute via cheque, transfer/FPS or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report.

Finalised expenditure for our latest audited year, 2020, & our predicted 2021 spending:

Support HKFP into 2022

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.

Letter from the Editor

Dear readers and supporters,

Over the past year, the HKFP newsroom underwent a transformation – we expanded, professionalised, and moved to a new, larger, private office. We doubled our freelance budget, hired three new staff, won a SOPA award, and produced almost 150 fully-fledged original features. Our team covered the first “patriots only” election, Covid-19, the national security law, and we exceeded our Funding Drive target, bringing 1,000 monthly Patrons online.

But 2021 was also a brutal year for the media industry in Hong Kong, with newsrooms raided, editors arrested and outlets disbanding in fear. In all, over 60 civil society groups disappeared last year, all whilst the authorities said press freedom was intact, deeming foreign criticism of journalist arrests a violation of international law.

Yet we are continuing our work. HKFP was founded seven years ago as a response to press freedom concerns, but – aside from our 2020 work visa denial – our newsroom has never been directly troubled by the authorities. This is likely owing to our impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy. Press freedom is guaranteed by the Basic Law, Bill of Rights and security law – it is in our name, and it is on this basis that we operate.

For these reasons, HKFP staff are united in our commitment to continue our on-the-ground award-winning reporting. Nonetheless, we cannot be naïve when it comes to ensuring staff safety and security, protecting sources, and trying our best to navigate unclear legal realities whilst test cases go through court. We are a Hong Kong news outlet, we love this city, and we have not entertained the idea of reporting on it from elsewhere. Besides, it is only by being on-the-ground that we can maintain nuance and accuracy though attending events, press conferences, court cases and speaking directly with Hongkongers.

But because of the current uncertainties facing journalists, we may make some precautionary changes this year upon legal advice. Above all though, we will always be guided by the journalistic tradition, our ethics code, and the day-to-day mission of ensuring accuracy and fairness. And despite recent events, we do not believe there are any Hong Kong stories we would have to avoid reporting.

I am happy to present our Annual Report, as we round-up our best coverage, achievements, and our accounts from the past 12 months. During this coming year, we look forward to covering the city’s leadership race, the 25th anniversary of the Handover, the pandemic and court cases. And with your support and readership, the HKFP team will continue to hold the line and press on!

Our Mission & Impact

Founded in 2015, Hong Kong Free Press is an impartial, non-profit, award-winning English-language newspaper. Run by journalists, backed by readers and completely independent, HKFP is governed by a public code of ethics.

Best of 2021

Original features: Our features in 2021 documented Hong Kong’s transformation under the shadow of the Beijing-enacted security law. We delved into how counsellors and psychologists grappled with the fear of creeping self-censorship in their practice, how booksellers were reported to the national security police during the Hong Kong Book Fair for selling politically sensitive titles, and how one of the city’s last remaining independent bookstores shuttered, citing the political environment. 

We also looked at how the city’s filmmakers, publishers and street artists navigated the shifting red lines, and how some Hongkongers are inking messages resistance onto their own skin. 

The city’s media landscape forever changed last year with the closure of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. HKFP was at its newsrooms and printing presses on its last day of operations. We also explored how the city’s Beijing-backed press are gaining more influence. 

The year also saw the mass resignations of pro-democracy district councillors after new oath requirements were introduced. We documented the final days of one local councillor in office and explored how the exodus of district representatives also left community newspapers struggling.

As protest-related and national security cases piled up in the city’s courts, we spoke with lawyers compiling a protest case database to preserve the city’s rule of law, the activists writing letters to detained protesters, and the international lawyers who launched an advice website to inform Hongkongers of their legal rights. We also spoke with a refugee from Vietnam who was stuck behind bars for almost three decades after being convicted of murder as a teenager, and eventually decided to abandon his fight against deportation.

Amid the changes of 2021, a wave of Hongkongers left for the UK. HKFP was at the airport when long queues formed as people bid farewell to loved ones. In the UK, we reported on the people helping newly-arrived Hongkongers settle in, as well the pro-China groups pressuring them. 

Hong Kong also saw the implementation of a sweeping overhaul of the city’s electoral system. HKFP gave extensive coverage on the day of the city’s first “patriots-only” legislative election – candidates made urgent appeal to voters while Hong Kong saw the lowest turnout rate ever.

Following a 48-hour purge of Tiananmen Massacre monuments from university campuses over Christmas, we also spoke with students, academics, as well as artists behind the statues about what the removals meant for Hong Kong’s efforts to commemorate those who died in the military crackdown of student-led demonstrations over 32 years ago. 

Our team visited local businesses at risk of forced closure after government-led redevelopments in Fo Tan and Kwun Tong. Elsewhere, we spoke with the owners of Hong Kong’s remaining iconic Dai Pai Dongs facing eviction from their community, and the elderly villager fighting to save his home from developers in the New Territories. We also reported on the opening of the newly-revamped historic Central Market and the long-awaited M+ museum.

Covid-19 restrictions continued to disrupt Hongkongers’ daily lives last year. We examined government statistics to question whether the city’s severe quarantine measures were really necessary, how even vaccinated people were forced into quarantine centres, how foreign domestic workers faced more challenging working conditions during the pandemic, and the rise in discrimination against South-East Asians. We also delved into the trend of “vaccine selfies,” how pandemic-related pressure on airlines led some pilots to accuse companies of age discrimination, and the plight of those left stranded in the UK during Hong Kong’s months-long flight suspensions. 

Our pandemic coverage also tackled how the coronavirus made life even more difficult in the city’s sub-divided flats, the refugees excluded from the city’s vaccination programme, how local mask manufacturers survived in an inundated market, and how local businesses responded to the government-mandated tracing app. 

Beyond politics, we delved into the world of polyamory to explore how some Hongkongers navigate romantic ties beyond traditional partnerships, explored the little-known history of siu mai, met the bus fanatics turning Hong Kong bus seats into office chairs, and published a probe into one of the city’s oldest sporting associations. We also looked at how a Muslim headscarf sparked a discrimination row at a school and how volunteers helped to restore Hong Kong’s Hindu cemetery. 

2021 was also a big year for Hong Kong sports. We spoke to local athletes during the Tokyo games to learn about daily life at the Olympic village, as well as to the city’s Paralympians about their dreams of sporting glory. 

We continued to cover environmental and animal stories last year, including the threat to rare porpoises posed by a development off Lantau, and the task force fighting against dog poisonings. 

We expanded our coverage from across the Taiwan Strait, profiling the people fighting for dual citizenship, Hong Kong artists in self-exile, the Hongkongers seeking to contribute to Taiwanese society, the launch of an ambitious new English-language news platform, and the Hongkongers who have joined the local movement to revive the use of Taiwanese in daily life. We also spoke with the Taiwanese maths teacher posting educational videos on Pornhub, cautiously asking: why?

Over the border in mainland China, we reported on a Hongkonger with a history of mental illness who was executed for drug trafficking despite pleas from family and rights groups. And further afield, we reported on the Hongkongers fighting for democracy in Myanmar after the military coup. 

Explanatory Reporting: HKFP continued its monthly explainer series on how the city has changed under the Beijing-enacted security law, and we continued our “shifting narratives” series on how the city’s leaders’ attitude towards the Tiananmen Massacre and the traditional mass pro-democracy marches on July 1 evolved over recent years.

We wrote explainers on major political developments, including how Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral system, how authorities moved to erase the memory of Tiananmen, and how the largest teachers’ union was forced to dissolve. We also explained how Hongkongers still found ways to resist despite the national security clampdown. 

HKFP also examined trends in leader Carrie Lam’s past policy addresses after she delivered the last one of her current term, analysing what it all meant for the city’s future. 

We broke down how Beijing’s overhaul of the city’s electoral process ensured that almost every candidate for the new Election Committee was guaranteed a seat. We looked at where Beijing’s national security crackdown has left the city’s pro-democracy camp, and who the approved candidates were in the city’s first legislative poll following the sweeping overhaul.

Our team also wrote practical guides informing our readers how to sign up for the government’s electronic stimulus vouchers, how to enter lucky draws for the fully vaccinated, how to get vaccinated against Covid-19, and how to write letters to prisoners. 

Interviews: Last year, we touched in again with Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei about what he saw as the future of art in the city. We also spoke with Democratic Party leader Lo Kin-hei about the party’s future in the shifting political climate, and political scientist Ma Ngok on what Beijing’s electoral overhaul means for democracy in Hong Kong. 

At the other end of the political spectrum, we spoke to the founder of the new pro-Beijing Bauhinia Party Charles Wong, and pro-establishment lawmaker Michael Tien on the future of Hong Kong politics. We also sat down with pro-Beijing figure Adrian Ho about running one of the city’s largest pro-establishment online communities. 

We spoke with a number of activists before they were put behind bars, including democrat and labour activist Raphael Wong ahead of his sentencing for an unauthorised assembly, and student activist Wong Yat-chin before he was arrested and denied bail under the security law.

We also spoke to other dissidents, including former student leader Owen Au about what he saw as the future of protest in the city and investigative journalist Bao Choy after her conviction over accessing public records for a documentary on alleged police collusion with triads.

We interviewed dissidents elsewhere in the region, including Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham about his arrest after a one-man protest. And during the Tokyo Olympics, we were the first newspaper to catch up with Hong Kong’s only gold medal winner, fencer Edgar Cheung, about how he kept calm under pressure. 

Arts: We also sat down with the city’s creatives, including the director of the protest documentary “Revolution of our Times” Kiwi Chow about why he is staying put in the city, musician Cehryl on the impact of Covid on live music, artist Sampson Wong on finding beauty in Hong Kong, and Yim Chiu-tong, the Plumber King, whose advertisements became part of a street art exhibition. 

In Taiwan, our reporter interviewed the island’s only weed lawyer, a politician defending democracy on Matsu island 17 km from mainland China, and dissident Wu’er Kaixi ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. And we also spoke with Taipei-based singer Kimberley Chen about shrugging off China’s censors. 

Authors: We spoke with journalist and author Joanna Chiu about her new book detailing China’s web of influence abroad and Western complicity in China’s rise, and veteran journalist Stephen Vines about his last book on Hong Kong before he fled back to the UK. 

‘Patriots poll: Ahead of the city’s first “patriots-only” legislative race, we spoke to three candidates from across the political spectrum including self-proclaimed non-pro-establishment Adrian Lau, Vincent Diu, an electrician who declared as independent, and Nixie Lam, who was seen by her pro-establishment supporters as their international spokesperson. After the race, we also sat down with Tik Chi-yuen, the only lawmaker-elect who claimed to be non-pro-establishment.  

Scoops: We broke the story of how mainland Chinese and Hong Kong Wikipedia users were fighting over the narrative of the Hong Kong protests on the site, and the ensuing safety concerns for Hong Kong users. As a result of our report on the Wikipedia wars, the site banned seven mainland Chinese users for “infiltration and exploitation.”  

We found Hong Kong public libraries had removed almost a fifth of titles relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre from their shelves since 2009, and that the Bar Association had launched probes into legal icons Martin Lee and Margaret Ng after their convictions for unauthorised assembly.

We also broke the story of how city authorities spent millions of taxpayer dollars to lobby Washington against the passing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. 

2020 Achievements

NewsStream project complete: In 2019, HKFP won a US$78,400 (HK$615,440) Google News Initiative grant to create an open-source funding platform for small newsrooms focussed on nurturing reader membership. The funds went to third-party developers to help create NewsStream – a fundraising micro-site to reduce barriers and costs for independent news start-ups. Our new support.hongkongfp.com site finally launched in 2021, allowing readers to begin, pause and cancel memberships.

Redesign & promotion: The launch also included a design refresh across social media and new HKFP Patron promotions by szs.io.

2021 Funding Drive: With an accompanying video, HKFP beat its target of 1,000 monthly Patrons during our #PressingOn Funding Drive.

TapNGo: As part of our drive to make it as easy as possible to contribute, we brought TapNGo online, as a new payment method.

2021 expansion: HKFP hired three new staff at the end of 2021 and moved to a larger, private office at The Hive K-Town.

Prizes: HKFP won an honourable mention in the 2021 prestigious SOPA awards for Excellence in Opinion Writing: “Hong Kong’s protest movement in perspective” by Steve Vines bagged the prize. Meanwhile, our newsroom was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Fundraising: We raised over HK$100,000 selling books by columnist Steve Vines and ethical, organic #PressFreedom t-shirts.

Placement & Impact

Distribution Channels

HKFP 2022 Team

Transparency Report

Income:

As Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet, and as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited annually. Our finalised, audited income during 2020, and our predicted income for 2021:

Income: HKFP is predicted to make a monthly loss of up to HK$100K in 2022, but is able to reinvest its previous surplus.

Our current revenue streams:

• Reader contributions: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash, PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links.
• Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, Google/YouTube ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partners LexisNexis, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.]

Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company for use in 2021. As of 2021, HKFP is retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of new threats to press freedom.

Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.

Staffing: During 2020, we employed 5-6 full-time staff members and expanded our pool of freelancers. We spent 72% of our income on paying our hard-working staff and freelancers.

Spending:

HKFP Patrons in 2021: HKFP relies on a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantee our independence. Our monthly income as of January 2022:

• The number of HKFP Patrons rose by 20.4% in 2021, whilst income from Patrons rose almost 16% to HK$204,063. Most Patrons are from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from offline donors who contribute via cheque, transfer/FPS or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report.

Finalised expenditure for our latest audited year, 2020, & our predicted 2021 spending:

HKFP Press Freedom Update

January 2021

• The Hong Kong government announced a decision to move Covid-19 press briefings online. It backtracked following criticism from a Hong Kong journalism watchdog.
• Police demanded Apple Daily hand over the information on journalists who searched for public vehicle licence plate records.
• Police visited the newsrooms of Apple Daily, InMedia and StandNews with search warrants demanding documents relating to the primary election for LegCo in July 2020.
• The head of RTHK, Leung Ka-wing, advised staff not to interview the 55 democrats arrested under the national security law over their alleged involvement in the primary.
• Three people convicted of rioting and assaulting a mainland journalist at the airport during anti-government protests in 2019 were jailed for up to 5 1/2 years.
• Bao Choy pleaded not guilty to making false statements after she obtained vehicle registration information for a film about the 2019 Yuen Long mob attacks.
• The head of Hong Kong’s largest police union slammed public broadcaster RTHK for allegedly biased reporting of a weekend lockdown to combat Covid-19.

• The staff union at RTHK staged a silent protest to support fellow journalist Nabela Qoser, after she was told to accept a new short-term contract or face dismissal.
• The Communications Authority ruled that three episodes of RTHK’s satirical programme Headliner insulted and denigrated the police force, and “strongly advised” the station to follow broadcasting regulations more closely.
• Three parliamentarians from the Norwegian Liberal Party nominated Hong Kong Free Press for a Nobel Peace Prize.

February 2021

• RTHK suspended BBC World News after a ban in China over its Xinjiang reporting. 
• Security officers at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts barred at least two reporters from attending a trial hearing, to protect the identity of a police officer who had provided a witness statement anonymously.
• Hong Kong’s High Court refused to grant bail to media mogul Jimmy Lai again over national security law charges.
• Director of Broadcasting Leung Ka-wing resigned from his post at RTHK six months before the end of his term.
• A Hong Kong government report found “deficiencies” in the editorial management of RTHK.
• Funding for RTHK was cut by 4.6 per cent in the 2021-22 budget.
• Baptist University cancelled the World Press Photo exhibition, which included images of the Hong Kong protests, two days before its expected launch.

March 2021

• A top Beijing official said the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” extends to the judiciary, the education sector and the media, in addition to public officials.
• A leading civil servant with no broadcasting experience took over as head of RTHK, where three senior employees quit in the space of two weeks.
• Hong Kong’s national security police arrested a former top executive of Next Digital, the publisher of Apple Daily, over alleged fraud.
• RTHK made a last-minute decision to cancel a programme featuring a panel discussion of Beijing’s plans for a drastic election overhaul.
• The cinema screening of a documentary about a violent campus clash between student protesters and police in 2019 was cancelled at short notice after a pro-Beijing newspaper claimed the film may violate the national security law.
• Hong Kong’s Ombudsman said that it would investigate the Immigration Department for refusing a work visa to Hong Kong Free Press for its incoming editor in 2020.
• Bao Choy went on trial for allegedly violating the Road Traffic Ordinance in seeking to obtain vehicle licence plate information for a documentary.
• RTHK axed another episode of a current affairs programme at short notice, the ninth such cancellation since the new Director of Broadcasting Patrick Li took office.
• The Hong Kong government announced plans to restrict public and media access to currently available information on company directors listed in the Companies’ Registry.
• RTHK sought to withdraw its entries from journalism awards.

April 2021

• RTHK said that the Hong Kong government has the power to surcharge its employees for the cost of axed programmes.
• Amnesty International Hong Kong said the state of human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong had deteriorated under the national security law in 2020.
• The public perception of the independence and credibility of Hong Kong’s news media dropped to a record low, according to an opinion poll.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the Hong Kong government is the “biggest victim of fake news,” after pledging to submit a bill to tackle “doxxing” within the current legislative term.
• RTHK dropped veteran journalist Steve Vines as a regular current affairs commentator on its Morning Brew programme after more than ten years.
• The Epoch Times’s printing presses were ransacked by a gang of men wielding sledgehammers.
• Hong Kong journalist Yvonne Tong, who famously challenged a WHO official, resigned from RTHK.
• Reporters Without Borders East Asia warned that silence from the Hong Kong authorities over an attack on the Epoch Times is fostering a “climate of suspicion” against journalists and “encouraging” violent attacks on the media.
• Police chief Chris Tang said media outlets that endanger the security of Hong Kong by publishing “fake news” will be investigated.
• State-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao in a full-page cover story accused Apple Daily and other pro-democracy “yellow media” of “constantly creating fake news.”
• Reporters without Borders warned that the national security law posed a “grave threat” to the city’s journalists as Hong Kong remained 80th out of 180 regions in the 2021 world press freedom index.

• RTHK rejected a media award for a TV documentary about the police handling of the Yuen Long mob attack in 2019.
• The Hong Kong government criticised a Reporters Without Borders report which warned that the national security law poses a “grave threat” to journalists in the city.
• Hong Kong documentary producer Bao Choy was found guilty and fined HK$6,000 for knowingly making false statements to obtain vehicle ownership records for the RTHK programme on the Yuen Long mob attacks of 2019.
• Police confirmed that a journalist from Ta Kung Pao was arrested in February for making false statements to obtain public vehicle records.
• The Foreign Correspondents’ Club urged Hong Kong’s police chief to clarify his recent comments about “foreign forces” attempting to stir hatred and conflict in the city using disinformation.
• Beijing accused the FCC of being an external force interfering with China’s internal affairs and undermining the city’s rule of law.
• A fifth senior staffer resigned from RTHK.
• RTHK signed up Chief Executive Carrie Lam to host her own daily show on Beijing’s electoral overhaul for the city.
• RTHK axed another episode of a TV documentary series about online media financed by public donations after a month-long vetting.

May 2021

• RTHK began removing shows from its YouTube channel and Facebook page a year after they air. It deleted its archive of content over a year old.

• The Hong Kong Press Freedom Index hit a record low where close to 99 per cent of respondents said the Beijing-enacted national security law harmed the city’s free press.
• RTHK refused to extend an employment contract for journalist Nabela Qoser following an extended probation period. Qoser was known for her vigorous questioning of officials.
• Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy filed an appeal against a magistrate’s decision to convict her after she accessed public records to investigate police behaviour during the “7.21” mob attack at Yuen Long MTR station in 2019.
• An executive producer who led Hong Kong’s longest running TV documentary programme Hong Kong Connection resigned from RTHK.
• Epoch Times reporter Leung Zhen was attacked by a man wielding a baseball bat from a passing vehicle.
• Assets belonging to pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai were frozen by the Hong Kong authorities.
• Trading in shares of Next Digital, the parent company of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, were suspended at the company’s request.
• Hong Kong’s Security Secretary John Lee denied that the freezing of the assets of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai represented a crackdown on press freedom.
• RTHK denied replacing an episode of Hong Kong Connection about the proposed shake-up of the city’s electoral system following local media reports that it had been axed.
• RTHK axed a story about the annual Tiananmen Massacre anniversary long-distance run from its news show “LegCo review”.

• WhatsApp chats which democrat Claudia Mo had sent to media organisations like the BBC and the New York Times outlining her fears for freedom of speech in the city were deemed by a High Court judge to be sufficient grounds to deny her bail.

June 2021

• RTHK axed another current affairs programme, “Letter to Hong Kong”.
• It is announced that pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is to stand trial on national security charges in Hong Kong’s High Court, where the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
• A Hong Kong court ruled that a local female reporter was guilty of resisting a police officer in the execution of their duties while covering a protest in Mong Kok in May 2020.
• Hong Kong’s Department of Justice dropped a charge of improperly accessing public records against a reporter for Beijing-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao.
• Hundreds of Hong Kong police officers raided the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and arrested five senior executives on suspicion of violating the national security law.
• Hong Kong’s security chief John Lee accused pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily of using journalism as a tool to endanger national security.
• Two senior executives from the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily were charged under the national security law for allegedly conspiring to collude with foreign powers.

• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK fired outspoken pro-democracy radio host Tsang Chi-ho.
• Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung and Apple Daily Editor-in-Chief Ryan Law facing national security charges were denied bail at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts.
• Pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper warned it was unable to pay staff and was at imminent risk of closure after the government froze company assets citing the national security law.
• Apple Daily’s finance section, its English edition, Twitter account and video department ceased operations following an exodus of staff.
• Police arrested an Apple Daily editorial writer under the national security law for allegedly conspiring to collude with foreign forces.
• Hong Kong pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily decided to halt all operations in the city and published its last edition of the newspaper on June 24.
• Two Apple Daily executives arrested on suspicion of endangering national security sought a court order for Hong Kong police to return journalistic and privileged legal material seized during their arrest and in a raid on the newspaper.
• Hong Kong national security police arrested a former editorial writer for Apple Daily at the airport as he was about to fly to Britain.
• Independent digital outlet Stand News announced it will remove opinion articles and columns it published before May and stop accepting donations in order to reduce risks under the national security law.
• Human Rights Watch released a report saying that basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong were being “erased” under the security law.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK sacked veteran journalist Allan Au from hosting a phone-in radio programme.
• Veteran Hong Kong journalist and commentator Steve Vines announced his departure from public broadcaster RTHK.

July 2021

• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK axed the current affairs programme The Pulse, hosted by veteran journalist Steve Vines.

• NGO Reporters Without Borders released a report accusing Chief Executive Carrie Lam of trampling on the city’s press freedom, and listed her as a “predator.”
• Hong Kong Journalists Association published its annual report saying that the city’s press freedom was “in tatters.”
• Local media reported that a senior executive at Now News resigned citing “turbulent times” for Hong Kong’s media.
• Staff at public broadcaster RTHK were ordered to refer to Taiwan as part of China.
• A sexual assault complaint against a Hong Kong police officer who allegedly touched the breast of a female journalist was dropped after the force failed to identify the officer. 
• Three former Apple Daily journalists had their bail revoked by national security police. 
• Hong Kong Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui told lawmakers that the government was mulling plans to implement a “fake news” law.
• Four former Apple Daily journalists charged under the national security law were denied bail in court. 
• Hong Kong national security police confiscated the travel documents of a reporter who filmed a knife attack against an officer. 
• Two former editors of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily charged under the national security law withdrew their bail review applications.

• The Hong Kong government appointed a special fraud investigator to scrutinise pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily’s parent company Next Digital. 

August 2021

• Digital Hong Kong news outlet Initium became the first media organisation to quit the city following the implementation of the national security law, as the outlet moved to Singapore.
• HKFP columnist and ex-RTHK broadcaster Steve Vines left Hong Kong for the UK citing the security law crackdown.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK deleted all of its English-language Twitter archive and prevented readers from “replying” to its tweets citing resource constraints.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that public broadcaster RTHK will partner with China Media Group – the holding group for CCTV and China National Radio –  to air more programmes.
• Beijing-controlled Wen Wei Po called for the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) to be regulated.

September 2021

• All remaining directors of Next Digital, parent company of Apple Daily, resigned and called for the company’s liquidation, citing a “climate of fear” created by the national security law.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK said it is committed to promoting public debate following reports that it axed another current affairs programme, the 41-year-old City Forum.
• The Hong Kong Journalists Association hit back at criticism from the Secretary for Security, who accused it of infiltrating campuses to “rope in” student journalists as members.
• The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association said that the security chief’s suggestion that the group could make public its members’ information may be in violation of the Privacy Ordinance.

• A Hong Kong cartoonist apologised to police for a satirical comic strip which linked the Junior Police Call organisation to a controversy over the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK refused to comment on the whereabouts of its English-language radio presenter Hugh Chiverton after he disappeared from the airwaves without explanation.
• Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary asked a court to wind up Next Digital Limited, the parent company of Apple Daily, in the “public interest.” 
• Public broadcaster RTHK told its staff to avoid contact with foreign governments or political organisations under new editorial guidelines, as it vowed to prevent acts that endanger national security.

October 2021

• Two Hong Kong news organisations were barred from attending a reception organised by the local media sector in celebration of the upcoming Chinese National Day.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK refused to say why it deleted a story from its website about proposals for a new law criminalising insults against public officers.
• The Hong Kong Journalists Association apologised for the alleged theft of its members’ personal information, after a Beijing-backed newspaper published shredded documents taken from the office trash.
• Police rejected 26 out of 27 complaints submitted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association as “not pursuable.”
• The Independent Police Complaints Council accused the Hong Kong Journalists Association of airing misinformation over misconduct investigations.

• Two registries announced new rules tightening public access to government records to step up the protection of personal data privacy.
• Hong Kong democrat Alan Leong was dropped by Ming Pao as a writer for the newspaper’s legal column, ending an 18-year term.

November 2021

• The Consumer Council cancelled an annual consumer reporting awards contest co-organised with the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
• An anonymous survey conducted by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club found that close to half of the respondents considered leaving Hong Kong.
• The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed “strong disapproval” of the member survey conducted by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club. 
• Digital media outlet DB Channel announced plans to shut down operations in Hong Kong after the channel’s co-founder Frankie Fung was denied bail pending trial under the national security law.
• Hong Kong police closed an investigation into a baseball bat attack on an Epoch Times reporter, with no one facing charges.
• Hong Kong digital news outlet Stand News was nominated for the Reporters Without Borders 2021 Press Freedom Prize for Independence.
• The Economist said that the Hong Kong authorities refused to renew a work visa for their correspondent Sue-Lin Wong, without providing an explanation.

• Chief Executive Carrie Lam refused to explain why a journalist from the Economist was denied a work visa renewal, saying any government has discretion on the issuing of visas. 
• The Hong Kong government is conducting a legal study on the problem of “fake news,” Chief Secretary John Lee said.
• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK removed from its website a news report about Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who accused a former top Chinese official of sexual assault.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam vowed to “proactively plug loopholes” in the city’s internet regulation to ensure “fake news” circulating online does not “harm society.”
• Hong Kong’s High Court partially upheld a decision made by the Communication Authority against public broadcaster RTHK, which stated that it presented factual inaccuracies and denigrated the police force in a now-axed satirical show.

December 2021

• Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK “paused” the social media pages of a dozen programmes, including the axed political satire show Headliner and the popular Hong Kong Connection which was still in production.
• Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and the staff of Apple Daily won the Golden Pen of Freedom award.
• The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang threatened the Wall Street Journal over an editorial it published about the city’s first “patriots-only” legislative race. 
• Reporters Without Borders said press freedom in Hong Kong was in “free fall” in its latest report on China.
• Hong Kong’s High Court ordered that Next Digital Limited – the parent company of the now-defunct Apple Daily – must be wound up.
• RTHK broadcasters outside of the news department were ordered not to discuss the University of Hong Kong’s removal of a Tiananmen Massacre statue.

• Over 200 national security police officers were deployed to raid the offices of non-profit online news outlet Stand News, seven people linked to the outlet were arrested.
• Hong Kong independent media outlet Stand News announced its decision to shut following a newsroom raid and seven arrests. Its website and social media pages were deleted.
• Two former chief editors of digital media outlet Stand News were denied bail by a court after they were accused of publishing seditious materials.
• Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng said that criticism from foreign politicians and organisations over the arrest of figures connected to Stand News were “baseless” and “in blatant violation of international law.”

January 2022

• Independent Hong Kong media outlet Citizen News announced that they decided to halt operations. They said the decision was to ensure staff safety and was prompted by the authorities’ crackdown on fellow independent newsroom Stand News.
• Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the closure of Stand News and Citizen News in under a week were unrelated to the national security law and press freedom.

Support HKFP into 2022

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.

Donate by cheque
Cheques of amounts up to HK$50,000 may be made payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and posted – along with your full name and address to: HKFP, The Hive Kennedy Town, 6/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. [Contributions are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records.]

Donate online via card, PayPal, direct transfer to our HSBC account or via FPS:

One-off or monthly contributions can be made with your Visa, Mastercard, or Apple Pay/Google Pay via Stripe on our website: support.hongkongfp.com.

Donate via HSBC PayMe

Scan our QR code to make an HSBC PayMe digital payment. Please include your full name and email address so we may accept your contribution.

Donate spare coins

Hoarding a jar of coins? Donate spare change at Coin Dragon machines around the city.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome contributions of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

‘Tip’ us with a micro-donation

‘Tip’ HKFP with a micro-donation via Flattr.

Advertise with us

Support us and promote your business or cause at the same time. Request our rate card and consider our affordable range of digital marketing solutions.

Shop at Book Depository

HKFP receives a 5% commission if you shop at the Book Depository via bit.ly/hkfpbooks.

The Hong Kong Free Press team would like to thank readers for supporting our #PressingOn 2021 Funding Drive.

We have exceeded our 1,000-Patron target and now have 1,050 monthly Patrons contributing HK$204,063/month (before fees) to our operations. The average Patron contributes HK$194/month.

Financial shortfall: Audited each year, we are the most transparent news outlet in Hong Kong and the city’s only truly independent English-language outlet. Read our Transparency Report to see how we spend every cent, and where our income comes from. Later this month, we will publish our latest figures.

Although HKFP is set to make a shortfall of up to HK$100,000/month, our company – as a non-profit – is able to reinvest our earlier surplus and remain online for many years thanks to the renewed support of our monthly Patrons. We will nevertheless need to continue to bring new Patrons online as 2022 unfolds.

We are enormously grateful to our readers for recognising the need to safeguard independent journalism and appreciate your kind words and contributions over the past three months.

#HoldTheLine: 2021 was a brutal year for the media industry in Hong Kong, with newsrooms raided, editors arrested, outlets disbanding in fear, all whilst the authorities said press freedom was intact, deeming foreign criticism a violation of international law.

HKFP was founded seven years ago as a response to press freedom concerns, but – aside from our 2020 work visa denial – our newsroom has never been contacted or troubled by the authorities. This is likely owing to our impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy. Press freedom is guaranteed by the Basic Law, Bill of Rights and security law – it is in our name, and it is on this basis that we operate.

For these reasons, HKFP staff are united in our commitment to continue our on-the-ground award-winning reporting. Nonetheless, we cannot be naïve when it comes to ensuring staff safety and security, protecting sources, and trying our best to navigate unclear legal realities whilst test cases go through court. We are a Hong Kong news outlet, we love this city, and we have not entertained the idea of reporting on it from elsewhere. Besides, it is only by being on-the-ground that we can maintain nuance and accuracy though attending events, press conferences, court cases and speaking directly with Hongkongers.

But because of the current uncertainties facing journalists, we may make some precautionary changes this year upon legal advice that readers will spot. Above all though, we will always be guided by the journalistic tradition, our ethics code, and the day-to-day mission of ensuring accuracy and fairness. And despite recent events, we do not believe there are any Hong Kong stories we would have to avoid reporting on and – thanks to your support – the HKFP team will continue to hold the line and press on.

New staff: As part of our long-planned 2022 expansion, HKFP moved to a larger office at The Hive Kennedy Town late last year. We hired two new Hong Kong reporters: Hillary Leung and Peter Lee, who were previously with Coconuts and Initium, as well as a new editor, Mercedes Hutton, previously with the SCMP.

Thanks to the kind support of readers, we are thrilled to welcome new talent to the newsroom in 2022 as we cover events at the city’s courts, Hong Kong’s leadership contest, the new “patriots” legislature, the security law, and the 25th anniversary of the Handover.

Non-profit, impartial coverage – run by journalists and 100% independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom. Learn more about our achievements in our latest Annual Report. Our Transparency Report shows how carefully we spend every cent. Help ensure our independence with a one-off or regular contribution.

Make a speedy contribution with your PayMe phone app to Hong Kong Free Press.

Hong Kong Free Press is launching its first fundraiser in two years. We aim to surpass 1,000 monthly contributors, as HKFP expands its operations and makes a commitment to on-the-ground reporting. Sign up for a HK$150 monthly contribution and receive a gift pack.

100 per cent independent, governed by an ethics code and not-for-profit, HKFP is #PressingOn with impartial, award-winning coverage, achieving top marks for credibility. Founded in 2015, we are backed by readers, run by journalists and structured to resist censorship – there is no tycoon, no shareholders and no Chinese conglomerate behind us. Audited each year, we are the most transparent news outlet in the city – read our Transparency Report to see how we spend every cent, and where our income comes from.

Regular, monthly support is the best way to help safeguard HKFP’s independence and press freedom – by end of 2021, we hope to increase our base of HKFP Patrons from 818 to over 1,000.

• 2022 expansion: HKFP will hire at least two new staff members before the end of the year. We will also move to a larger, private office at The Hive Kennedy Town next month.
• Why now: Despite rising costs, we are keen to increase our daily coverage, as the only truly independent English newspaper in the city. With just four reporters, there are too many stories we are missing, stories which are sometimes never even covered in English. Further, our number of monthly HKFP Patrons has declined this year, following a boost in 2019 – so we are keen to grow our member base and secure our future.
• Pressing on, staying put: Our team is fully committed to Hong Kong, and we believe it is only through on-the-ground, first-hand reporting that we can give an accurate picture of daily developments. Despite the declining press freedom situation, it is still guaranteed in the security law, Hong Kong’s Basic Law, bill of rights, and the Chinese constitution. We are therefore pressing on, having sought legal, business and security advice and taken measures to ensure HKFP’s longevity.
• Top marks for credibility: We are dedicated to responsible, impartial reporting, launching a public Ethics Code and Corrections Policy in 2020. You can be assured that every fact, figure and quote you see in an HKFP report is clearly attributed and placed in context. Ads and opinion pieces are properly labelled, and we carry views from across the political spectrum. We do not take a stance, share clickbait or carry editorials, rather, we present the facts and let readers decide. We scored full marks in NewsGuard’s credibility assessment, meeting all 9 criteria.

At a time when other outlets have been compromised, have disappeared, or are in retreat, the HKFP team has collectively chosen to press on, expand and launch a fundraiser. With your support, HKFP is here to stay.

Our new support website:

• You control monthly contributions: HKFP will never put up a paywall – those who can afford to support us help keep us online for those who can’t. With our new support website, you can make a one-off contribution, or create/pause a regular donation any time in seconds. We accept most payment methods. And, unlike with other subscriptions, you can cancel easily, at any time, simply by logging in.

• Token of thanks: New and existing HKFP monthly Patrons committing to HK$150 per month or more are entitled to a free HKFP sticker pack, pen and keyring as a small gesture of thanks. Simply fill out this form after activating your contribution – free postage, worldwide.
• Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet: HKFP is audited annually, and our Transparency Report shows where our funds come from, and how carefully we spend every cent. As a non-profit, any surplus is recycled back into the company.

Hong Kong Free Press Annual… by HKFP

Hong Kong Free Press celebrates six years online today, thanks to the backing of almost 900 monthly Patrons and countless one-off contributors. Throughout that time, we have published nearly 20,000 articles, raised millions of dollars to safeguard our independence, trained over 20 journalists and – last year – we adopted an Ethics Code and quadrupled our original reporting.

Despite operating on a shoestring with half a dozen staff, the city’s first crowdfunded media outlet has grown into an award-winning, internationally-recognised platform showcasing a mix of features, impartial reporting, exclusive interviews, opinion and multimedia stories.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to raise a toast following what has been a brutal year for the media industry in Hong Kong. The public broadcaster RTHK is under fire every week, commentators have been arrested for speech, StandNews has reined in its coverage and last week saw the unwelcome demise of the city’s largest-circulation print paper – Apple Daily – following a raid. Its closure represented a significant blow to Hong Kong’s media landscape and resulted in hundreds of job losses.

HKFP has long been raising the alarm over press freedom – in fact, we were founded in 2015 as a response to the declining situation. However, we disagree with reports and analysts claiming press freedom is now “dead.” My staff and I are among several independent outlets that are still around. We are getting on with work, and we are staying put.

Press freedom is enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – it is on this basis that we operate. Press freedom is also guaranteed by the Chinese constitution and the security law, which will be a year old tomorrow. These things, however, may not be of much reassurance when the security legislation involves “red lines” which – whatever the authorities may say – remain very unclear. But as much as it is difficult to ignore the existence of such legislation, we have never censored our news reporting.

There is a giant red digital clock in our office counting down the seconds, minutes, hours and days to 2047, when Hong Kong’s autonomy is set to expire. There have often been jokes about resetting it to count up from June 30 last year when the security law was enacted and many wrote eulogies for the city. But we have never interfered with the countdown because we come to work each day with faith that there remains enough of a Free Press in Hong Kong to operate a newsroom bearing that very name.

No-one could have predicted that – a year on from the security law’s enactment – Hong Kong would have no more July 1 democracy march, Tiananmen Massacre vigil or Apple Daily. And, on the eve of the law’s second anniversary a year from now, we cannot predict as to whether there will be enough breathing room to continue normal journalistic work. But – for the foreseeable future – our team are completely committed and on the same page when it comes to carrying on, remaining professional and getting the news out.

This does not mean we are naïve when it comes to staff safety, protecting sources and ensuring security. But the things that guide our work are our governing Ethics Code and the journalistic tradition in which we’ve been trained. Our main concerns day-to-day are ensuring impartiality and precision in our writing, and accuracy in our sourcing. For our team, the facts are all that matter – this is our bottom line – no matter which side of the political spectrum finds the truth uncomfortable.

As we enter our seventh year, we wish to thank everyone for their readership and contributions. We love Hong Kong and – with your support – we will persist in reporting from the ground.

And though the future looks uncertain, they say that the way to safeguard the free press is to publish. The HKFP team will continue to publish.

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact Us  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

A Hong Kong Free Press opinion article has won honourable mention at the annual Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards for excellence in opinion writing.

HKFP regular contributor and veteran journalist Stephen Vines was pronounced winner on Thursday for a series of three opinion articles he penned for our outlet last year. The author of Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World’s Largest Dictatorship tracked the fallout Hong Kong faced in the wake of the the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests, as the government tightened its grip on the city’s political system. His fortnightly column contextualised the first waves of emigration, and looked at the city’s relationship with Beijing from a wider historical perspective.

“Vines rises to the challenge of writing about such a momentous moment in Hong Kong with historic sweep, courage and a sense he knows what makes his community tick,” SOPA’s panel of judges commented.

Acknowledging the award, Vines said: “I am very honoured to receive this recognition from SOPA, especially at a time when conditions for the Hong Kong media are deteriorating. It is also my honour to be writing this for HKFP, which has the courage to persevere despite formidable obstacles.”

Established in 1999, the SOPA awards recognise editorial excellence in both new media and traditional journalism in the Asia-Pacific region. Last year, HKFP won an honourable mention for explainers on the protest movement.

RTHK, Apple Daily among winners

Separately, the documentary 7.21 Who owns the truth by the embattled public broadcaster RTHK won the grand award for public service journalism. The documentary revisited the July 2019 Yuen Long mob attacks — a turning point in the 2019 protests — and investigated suspected perpetrators involved in the event one year after it occurred. The documentary became the subject of a court case when its producer Bao Choy was convicted of making false statements when obtaining public vehicle records.

The public broadcaster’s management sought to withdraw from the SOPA awards in March, saying it had decided not to nominate any of its programmes to press awards while it reviewed the mechanism of nomination of programmes. Its request was, however, rejected by the Awards’ office as the entries had by then undergone adjudication.

The now-defunct Apple Daily’s investigation on the role of the Hong Kong Government Flying Service as 12 Hongkongers fled on a speed boat to Taiwan won the Scoop Award. The pro-democracy newspaper ended operations after 26 years in a dramatic shutdown on Wednesday, after the government froze company funds and charged its top executives with violating the national security law.

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact Us  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

The Fall River Marksmen Football Club are promoting Hong Kong Free Press with their new kit design. Available now for US$50 via their website.

Based in Fall River, Massachusetts and founded almost a century ago, the Fall River Marksmen Football Club (FRMFC) was one of the most successful teams in the US during the 1920s and 30s. They won the American Soccer League six times and the National Challenge Cup four times, toured Europe and became known as “The American Menace” for their success. Following their golden era in the early 20th century, the team was revived in 2018.

The Marksmen will now be playing a regional Boston & Providence league with an aim to climb back into the professional divisions ultimately reach the National Independent Soccer League (NISA) or the Championship Division of the United Soccer Leagues (USL). Next year, the team will tour Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the club’s founding – HKFP’s branding will be on their shirts, as they play in London, Tenerife and Porto.

The link up with Hong Kong Free Press was conceived in 2021 under the banner “Divided by oceans, united by football, bound through culture.”

“I’ve always had an affinity for Hong Kong and it’s respective culture that when the time came for the club to seek out potential international partners, Hong Kong was one of the first places I looked into,” FRMFC President Andre’ P. Ruette told HKFP. In October 2019, he travelled to the city to discuss partnerships with Hong Kong Premier League teams, but the meetings were cancelled amid the city-wide pro-democracy protests and unrest.

Upon returning to the US, the team sought to bridge the gap between the two cultures. They linked up with two Hong Kong restaurants to serve the “Fall River Sandwich” – a version of Chow Mein created by Asian immigrants that remains popular in the town. They also were keen to support press freedom and link up with HKFP – Ruette said the news outlet had been “an invaluable source to myself in keeping me attune to the news of Hong Kong and given the recent changes to the landscape of life…”

He said he was “delighted and honoured” to now have HKFP across the new jerseys – “a true sign of the power of football and how it can bridge even the most unlikely of partners.”

FRMFC x HKFP shirts are available to pre-order directly from the Marksmen FC website. Manufacturing may take up to five weeks, and international shipping up to two weeks.

We are proud to be Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet and, as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited every year. Be assured that, when you donate to HKFP, every cent is put to careful use and goes directly towards frontline journalism and original reporting and any surplus goes back into the company. Download a copy of our latest Annual Report.

HKFP Income

Our income during 2019 – our latest audited year – was as follows:

Our current revenue streams:

• All donations: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links. HKFP also retains 2.51 Bitcoin, as of 2020.
• Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partner LexisNexis, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.

Surplus carried forward:

• Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company for use in 2020. As of 2021, HKFP is retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of the national security law and new threats to press freedom.
• Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.
• Staffing: During 2019, we employed 4-5 full-time staff members and expanded our pool of freelancers to cover the city-wide protests and unrest. Before tax, we spent 82% of donations on paying our hard-working staff and freelancers.

HKFP Patrons in 2020: HKFP has shifted towards a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantee our independence. Our monthly income as of January 2021:

• The number of HKFP Patrons rose by 10% in 2020, whilst income from Patrons rose 16% to HK$172,966. Most Patrons are from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China. Growth has slowed since the 539% increase in Patrons we saw in 2019, but income is steady.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from donors who contribute via cheque, transfer or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report.

HKFP Spending

Our expenditure for our latest audited year – 1/1/2019 to 31/12/2019 – was as follows:

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.

Donate by cheque
Our preferred donation method is by cheque or transfer as this saves us on fees. Cheques may be made payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and posted – along with your name and address to: HKFP, The Hive Kennedy Town, 6/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. [Donations are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records. US$ cheques over US$100 are accepted, though involve higher fees for HKFP.]

Donate online via card or PayPal

One-off or monthly donations can be made with your Visa, Mastercard, or Apple Pay/Google Pay via Stripe on our website: support.hongkongfp.com.

Make a transfer to our HSBC account, directly or via FPS

Faster Payment Service: business@hongkongfp.com or Tel: 9447-3443.

Our HSBC account details: •Account name: Hong Kong Free Press Limited. Account number: 817887532-838. •Bank name: HSBC Hong Kong. Bank address: 1 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong. •Bank code: 004. Branch number: 817. SWIFT address: HSBCHKHHHKH

For setting up one-off, or regular, bank transfers, please email a screenshot or phone photo of the receipt/form to donations@hongkongfp.com after you have made arrangements so we may show a paper-trail for our internal accountancy records.

Donate via HSBC PayMe

Scan our QR code to make an HSBC PayMe digital payment.

Donate spare coins

Hoarding a jar of coins? Donate spare change at Coin Dragon machines around the city.

Donate cryptocurrency

Help us eliminate processing fees or make a fully anonymous contribution by donating Bitcoin. Or use the Brave browser to donate Basic Attention Token crypto for free when you visit HKFP. Try the privacy-conscious software: bit.ly/hkfpbrave.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome donations of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome donations of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

‘Tip’ us with a micro-donation

‘Tip’ HKFP with a micro-donation via Flattr.

Advertise with us

Support us and promote your business or cause at the same time. Request our rate card and consider our affordable range of digital marketing solutions: business@hongkongfp.com

Shop at Book Depository

HKFP receives a 5% commission if you shop at the Book Depository via bit.ly/hkfpbooks.

Last December, our team decided to forgo the usual “year in review” coverage knowing that few would wish to relive one of the most tumultuous years in memory. It was a roller-coaster 12 months for our news team too as the protests gave way to the pandemic, leaving us to quickly swap our gas masks for medical masks. The upheaval continued with the onset of the national security law in June as we scrambled to adjust to the new reality and threats to free expression in what was once a press freedom hub.

On the upside, 2020 also saw us redesign and relaunch our website, publish a Freelance Charter and Code of Ethics and quadruple our amount of original reporting. We also won a SOPA award, were recognised as the equivalent of a charity, launched an anti-censorship app and Covid-19 story book, and were award top marks by NewsGuard for credibility and transparency. And although we are unlikely to see a funding boost like we saw during the 2019 protests, hundreds of monthly backers continued supporting us, giving us a sustainable income to help invest, expand and secure our future.

In 2021, there are new threats on the horizon. When HKFP was launched in 2015, our mission to uphold press freedom and fight censorship were based on the constitutional guarantees in the Basic Law. But since the vaguely-worded and broadly-applied security law was imposed by Beijing, we saw Apple Daily’s newsroom raided and its proprietor detained, RTHK undergo a government crackdown, a freelance reporter arrested, and self-censorship sweep across all sectors. Meanwhile, democrats were rounded-up, a slogan was made illegal and democracy books were pulled from libraries.

We were not immune to the turmoil at HKFP. We found that sources were less willing to speak, op-ed writers withdrew, and our incoming editor became the city’s third Western journalist to be inexplicably denied a visa and ousted from Hong Kong. We nevertheless acted quickly to future-proof our operations – seeking legal and business advice, encrypting and securing our work devices, setting up back-up entitles, training staff, and even locking our PCs to our desks.

My team is extremely grateful for, and motivated by, the sustained support from our Patrons and backers in Hong Kong and across the world. In this new climate, it is more important than ever that we continue to bear witness and hold the powerful to account, so your backing has never been more critical.

As we invite you to review our work over the past year, let me extend a big thank you to all of our supporters and readers. And as we enter the new year, let us all hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and stand firm in safeguarding press freedom.

Our mission: We aim to be the most independent and credible English-language news source in Greater China. We seek to amplify the voices of the voiceless, not the powerful and will monitor the status of Hong Kong’s core values and freedoms. The HKFP team is fully committed to reporting the facts, without fear, favour or interference.

As part of our 2020 relaunch, we committed to doubling the amount of original reporting on HKFP. Our dedicated team beat the target – quadrupling our output from four to 16 original features per month.

Exclusive Features: In 2020, HKFP explored how booksellers were preparing for potential censorship under the security law, how dissident artists continued to shine a light, and how some Hongkongers founded a new community abroad in the UK. We also wrote about the medical professionals looking to leave the city over political pressure, the future of Hong Kong hip hop and how the opening of the national security bureau affected a neighbourhood.

We also produced original features on the plight of student reporters after police stopped recognising them as legitimate journalists and examined how ethnic minorities were being treated unequally by the police. We looked at why Hong Kong activists fell out of love with NBA basketball star LeBron James, profiled the city’s wheelchair-bound reporters, the Hongkongers who backed President Donald Trump for a second term, the Liberal Studies students resisting increasing government pressure on education, and an activist group combatting censorship in textbooks.

Our features also delved into gender issues, including sexual harassment suffered by female politicians, the pro-democracy female activists challenging sexual taboos on social media, the city’s female gamers and male sex workers, the historical evolution of the fable of Mulan after activists vowed to boycott the Disney film, and we also had a sit-down with a local dominatrix.

Our team continued to cover the aftermath of the 2019 pro-democracy protests, speaking to the protesters who suffered from mental health issues one year on and the lingering impact of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University police siege. Earlier in the year, we explored the stores peddling protest figurines and memorabilia, how student protesters were facing their exams, a pro-democracy sign language interpretation group, social workers on the protest frontlines, and local demonstrators who have chosen not to have children.

HKFP also published stories on the composer of the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” and a pro-democracy tailor providing free suits to arrested protesters for their court hearings. And we spoke with the mother of one of the 12 Hong Kong fugitives arrested by mainland authorities

Further afield, we caught up with the Hong Kong diaspora about their fears of Beijing’s encroachment and returning to their home city. We also covered the plight of protesters who fled to Canada and a US teen activist advocating against police brutality online.

Other features included news of persistent worker rights abuses at Apple’s biggest suppliers in China, the plight of Chinese dissidents seeking asylum in Taiwan and political resistance in Macau.

As the city fought to contain Covid-19, our features explored the struggles of new mothers and the visually-impaired during the pandemic. We also published features relating to the doctor strikes at the start of the outbreak, a facemask shortage among the city’s street cleaners, and how shipping firms came under fire after a mask delivery backlog. As the pandemic progressed, we highlighted the 1,000 HK residents stranded in India, the local asylum seekers who joined the fight against the virus, and looked at how some Hong Kong fresh grad nurses felt underprepared for the pandemic. We also examined how ex-Cathay Pacific staffers coped with severe cutbacks.

We also considered political, environmental, and economic angles to the pandemic, with features on why protesters insisted on calling Covid-19 the “Chinese coronavirus“, how protesters cheered a wave of infections in the Hong Kong Police Force, how a drop in recycling practices during the pandemic sets a dangerous new norm, and the struggles of the underground music scene and pole dancing studios.

Other features we published covered the political motivations behind the planned development of China’s Greater Bay Area, a new “greening master plan” for the city’s streets, a Kenyan domestic worker who suffered forced labour, how Hong Kong’s fight against climate change fell short and Hong Kong’s first freshwater wildlife identification app.

Explanatory Reporting: With the passing of the national security law in mid-2020, HKFP launched a monthly series documenting the main developments under the broad-ranging new law.

Other explanatory reporting covered the potential impact of US sanctions against officials abroad and how targeted officials’ reacted to the sanctions. We also profiled the first political figure to be charged under the security law.

We also wrote pieces breaking down the city’s major political developments, including the outcome of the unofficial democrat primary polls, the government’s barring of 12 candidates from the now-delayed legislative race, how the government asked Beijing to solve the legislative lacuna after the postponement, and the developments that led to the democrats quitting the legislature en masse.

HKFP wrote explainers detailing how authorities cracked down on public broadcaster RTHK, the debate over separation of powers in Hong Kong, Apple Daily scandal involving the Hunter Biden dossier and the national anthem law.

Our Covid-19 coverage included why Hongkongers were angry about government response to Covid-19, how the police were selectively enforcing Covid-19 laws, how authorities accelerated its crackdown on dissent during the initial outbreak, and how different countries carried out elections during the pandemic

Our explainers also focused on property scandals among police officers, hidden differences between police rifles, and the pepper spray deployed by the force. And we considered the evolution of Hong Kong protests slogans, how the official account of the Yuen Long attacks and how Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s response to the 2019 protests changed over a year.

Exclusive Interviews: We conducted interviews with key figures, including the last British governor Lord Chris Patten, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai before he was remanded in custody, Hong Kong’s “Grandfather of Democracy” Martin Lee, China diplomacy expert Jerome Cohen, and activist-scholar Benny Tai on the sixth anniversary of the Occupy Central movement. We also spoke with former opposition lawmakers Kenneth Leung and Ted Hui following his move to “self-exile” in Europe.

HKFP sat down with moderate ex-lawmaker James Tien about the city’s polarized politics, veteran pollster Robert Chung after a police raid on his polling institute, policing expert Clifford Stott about the role of the force in the 2019 protests and outgoing EU diplomat Carmen Cano on how the security law changed the city.

We spoke with local dissident artists Kacey Wong, Giraffe Leung and Lau KwongShing, as well as exiled political artist Badiucao. Our team also discussed fears for the future of education with president of the city’s largest teachers’ union Fung Wai-wah and the University of Hong Kong’s student union chief EdyJeh. Modern China historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Hong Kong constitutional law expert Michael C. Davis and media law expert Doreen Weisenhaus also shared their views on the new security law era

The team did not shy away from conducting interviews with opposition figures and pro-democracy activists both locally and abroad, including Wayne Chan, Simon Cheng and Nathan Law after they fled to the UK, Baggio Leung before his four-week prison sentence, and Finn Lau. We also spoke with a several female district councilors, including Chan Kim-kam, Kwong Po-yin, and Leticia Wong.

Scoops: In 2020, we commissioned an exclusive poll with the Public Opinion Research Institute which found that only 17 per cent of Hongkongers agreed with a government proposal to allow Hong Kong residents on the mainland to vote remotely. We also published exclusive scoops on how the government spent HKD$7 million of taxpayer money on promoting the national security law, showed how Facebook admitted an error in marking Hong Kong police videos as “false,” and how Telegram temporarily refused data requests from Hong Kong courts.

Our other exclusive stories included features on how Hongkongers were coping on a quarantined cruise ship, Colgate’s decision to rebrand Darlie toothpaste during the Black Lives Matter movement, the slow and confusing quarantine centre admissions arrangements in Hong Kong, and Ken Tsang’s reaction to the Court of Final Appeal’s rejection of an appeal on his assault case against the Hong Kong police.

Opinion & Analysis: HKFP carried over 380 opinion, analysis and commentary pieces in 2020 from a host of renowned writers, academics, activists and NGOs.

Website relaunch: HKFP won a position on the Newspack project – an advanced open-source publishing platform designed by Wordpress for small newsrooms. 50 winners were chosen from around 500 applicants. In April, HKFP migrated to a new, cutting-edge website through the project, which is supported by Google and other grant-making bodies. It is designed to relieve newsrooms like ours of tech troubles, bugs and security concerns, empowering us to focus on journalism. The cost to HKFP is US$1,000/month and includes access to a community of over 100 other independent news sites.

Code of ethics: HKFP faced multiple ethical dilemmas during the recent protests, highlighting the need for clear ethical guidelines. HKFP’s Code of Ethics was adopted by the team on March 11, 2020, to govern all future reporting practices. Our code was shared publicly in the interests of transparency.

Corrections and fact-checking policy: To promote greater transparency, we publicly disclosed policies on when and how we make corrections and how we ensure the accuracy of our reporting.

Top marks in credibility and transparency: HKFPmet all nine of the NewsGuard initiative’s credibility and transparency criteria, a week after we launched our Code of Ethics and just ahead of our website relaunch. NewsGuard lists green or red credibility scores for over 4,000 news websites, representing 95 per cent of all online news engagement.

Charity equivalency: Following a legal examination, NGO Source certified HKFP as the equivalent of a US charity. Hong Kong law does not allow media outlets to register as tax-exempt charities, thus HKFP is a limited by guarantee company – a non-profit, answerable to readers not shareholders. Donors can now be assured we meet the same standards as a US public charity in terms of our structure, accountability and governance.

Unique fundraisers: Activist clothing brand Obey Giant and Ed Nachtrieb raised HK$72,685 (US$9,378) in a “Long Live the People” poster sale for HKFP. Meanwhile, author Kong Tsung-gan donated all of his book proceeds, raising HK$27,640 for HKFP, whilst Mekong Review raised HK$21,000 for us after donating 100 copies. Reader Pishun Tantivangphaisal raised over HK$1,000 by shaving his head. Oliver Ma – a well-known busker – donated HK$21,000 on his 21st birthday to HKFP, Minute Studio ceramicists raised HK$5,300 at a New Year event and Patisserie Anoki raised funds throughout the year for our news team.

NewsStream project progress: In 2019, HKFP won a US$78,400 (HK$615,440) Google News Initiative grant to create an open-source funding platform for small newsrooms focussed on nurturing reader membership. The funds went to third-party developers to help create NewsStream – a fundraising micro-site to reduce barriers and costs for independent news start-ups. Progress was hampered by the 2019 protests and Covid-19, but the project is set to launch in 2021.

Anti-censorship app launched: Thanks to the Greatfire Appmaker project, HKFP launched a special downloadable app which made HKFP viewable in China, where the site is censored. It is available alongside our Android and Apple mobile apps, which relaunched in 2020.

Freelance Charter: With freelance journalists increasingly in the crosshairs, HKFP launched a new Freelance Charter in September to attract, protect and support journalists as well as to help enrich and diversify our coverage. Though we remain a small company on a tight budget, the charter represents a step forward in setting new standards.

HKFP links with HKU JMSC on data project: HKFP provided support to the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong to update and expand its protest research data archive. The archive tracks statistics, arrests, artwork and terminology related to the 2019-2020 anti-extradition law demonstrations.

HKFP appearances: The HKFP story and fight for press freedom appeared in several international newspapers and news shows including in Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tatler, and Neiman Lab, and on Al-Jazeera and the ABC. We also spoke at the Splice digital media conference and staff appeared live on BBC World, ABC, Radio New Zealand, LBC, CTV and DW-TV. Last July, The Guardian printed an op-ed by the founder.

New income streams: HKFP is receiving new income streams through content sales via MSN News and Lexis Nexis.

HKFP History Museum archive project: Days before the Tsim Sha Tsui History Museum closed, HKFP documented all of the display panels and shared the images under a free license amid fears of future censorship.

Live coverage abroad: In 2020, for the first time, HKFP sent a reporter overseas to cover the Taiwanese election.

HKFP Covid-19 children’s book: As part of our public service mission, HKFP commissioned a bilingual, copyright-friendly children’s book to help youngsters understand the Covid-19 outbreak.

Hong Kong Free Press is structured as a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, not shares. HKFP does not answer to any business tycoon, mainland Chinese conglomerate or media mogul. We are run by journalists, and are answerable only to ourselves and our readers.

Hong Kong Free Press would be impossible without the support and assistance of our countless tech, editorial, accounting, freelance staff and volunteers, and The Hive.

We seek to ensure our news remains accessible and free of charge. Find us on:

HKFP Income

As Hong Kong’s most transparent news outlet, and as a non-profit company, HKFP is externally audited annually. Our income during 2019 – our latest audited year – was as follows:

Our current revenue streams:

• All donations: includes one-off & monthly Patron contributions by cheque/transfer, cash PayPal & card, as well as merch sales profit & shopping referral links. HKFP also retains 2.51 Bitcoin, as of 2020.
• Ads & content sales: includes ad income from display ads; Apple News & Facebook ads, directly purchased rate card ads & content sales [from media outlets, institutions and syndication partner LexisNexis, Dow Jones Factiva & Nordot.

Surplus carried forward:

• Surplus recycled: As a non-profit, with no shareholders or investors, HKFP’s surplus was recycled back into the company for use in 2020. As of 2021, HKFP is retaining a HK$1.5m legal defence fund in light of the national security law and new threats to press freedom.
• Efficiency: HKFP is run as efficiently and prudently as possible, in order to maximise the impact of our donors’ generosity. We make savings by partnering with other media outlets, using free software and making full use of teamwork and automation to save on costs.
• Staffing: During 2019, we employed 4-5 full-time staff members and expanded our pool of freelancers to cover the city-wide protests and unrest. Before tax, we spent 82% of donations on paying our hard-working staff and freelancers.

HKFP Patrons in 2020: HKFP has shifted towards a membership model. Small amounts of income from a large pool of Patrons helps support our team, sustain our operations with more security, and guarantee our independence. Our monthly income as of January 2021:

• The number of HKFP Patrons rose by 10% in 2020, whilst income from Patrons rose 16% to HK$172,966. Most Patrons are from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China. Growth has slowed since the 539% increase in Patrons we saw in 2019, but income is steady.
• In addition to the above, we receive at least HK$10,000 per month from donors who contribute via cheque, transfer or by coin donation via CoinDragon.
• Patrons are given priority and/or free entry to HKFP events, merch and our Annual Report.

HKFP Spending

Our expenditure for our latest audited year – 1/1/2019 to 31/12/2019 – was as follows:

• Fundraising: By the end of 2021, we will launch our open-source funding platform for small newsrooms, backed by Google’s Asia-Pacific Innovation Challenge. We will launch a 2021 Funding Drive before opening up the platform to all newsrooms to adopt.
• Platforms: HKFP will relaunch its Instagram strategy in 2021 to better engage young readers. We also plan to invest more in video.
• Expansion: We will seek to expand our team in 2021 with a sixth full-time staff member and a correspondent in Taiwan. We will also expand our circle of freelancers.

• In August, Hong Kong Free Press was denied a work visa for a journalist following an almost six-month wait without any explanation. Aaron Mc Nicholas, previously a Bloomberg staffer, was forced to leave the territory, becoming the third Western journalist to be ousted. The move received international attention and was widely condemned by local and international press freedom groups.

• In December, bookstore Bookazine declined to distribute a book by HKFP political columnist Kent Ewing, citing fears over the national security law.
• During 2020, HKFP had difficulties printing merch and business cards.

A summary of major press freedom incidents in Hong Kong:

January

• A police officer displayed the identity card and press card of a Stand News journalist during a livestreamed protest.
• A live stream of the world’s biggest debating contest was halted and later deleted during a discussion on Hong Kong democracy.

February

• Photos of Hong Kong protests were taken down from the website of an international photography contest.

March

• Hong Kong police chief Chris Tang blamed public distrust of the force on “fake news and fake information.”
• The Communications Authority said free-to-air television broadcasters are no longer required to air programmes from public broadcaster RTHK.
• Police apologised after an officer pushed a reporter to the ground during a protest in Tseung Kwan O.
• China banned US staff from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time and Voice of America from working as journalists in Hong Kong.

April

• Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended government criticism of public broadcaster RTHK after a World Health Organisation official was asked during an interview about Taiwan’s membership status.
• A Hong Kong court ruled against attempts by a police union to restrict public access to the electoral register.
• Hong Kong dropped seven places in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking to 80out of 180.

May

• The government warned young people against reporting on protests after riot police took away two underaged volunteer reporters.
• Police ordered journalists at a protest in Mongkok to kneel and stop filming. They fired pepper spray at close range, and told them to read out personal details in front of a police camera.
• The government set up a team to review the governance and management of public broadcaster RTHK.

June

• A government-appointed board of advisers told RTHK to “embrace” the national security law and help Hong Kong people nurture their national identity.
• RTHK satirical news show “Headliner” ended its 31-year run following police and public complaints.
• A Stand News reporter was pushed over by plainclothes police at a protest in Yuen Long.

July

• The Foreign Correspondents’ Club issued an open letter to Chief Executive Carrie Lam demanding the government give assurances of press freedom under the national security law.
• Lam said she would guarantee press freedom if the media guaranteed that it would not violate the security law.
• The Hong Kong Journalists Association warned of the “chilling effect” of the law.
• The New York Times moved a third of its Hong Kong staff to Seoul, citing the national security law and the difficulty in securing work visas.
• Police fined journalists at a protest in Yuen Long for allegedly breaching anti-coronavirus social distancing rules.

August

• Police ordered reporters from five Hong Kong digital media platforms to leave a press conference.
• Apple Daily newspaper claimed that personal data of staffers had been published on a doxxing website.
• The Foreign Correspondents’ Club said reporters were facing “highly unusual” problems obtaining visas, including months-long delays.
• Beijing’s foreign affairs office told the FCC in response to “distinguish right from wrong.”
• Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai was arrested under the national security law.
• More than 100 police raided the newsroom Lais’ Apple Daily newspaper in Tseung Kwan O.
• Journalist Wilson Li was arrested in connection with a pro-democracy NGO under the national security law.
• Hong Kong police said they would select which media outlets should have close access to their operations after excluding several local and international news organisation from the Apple Daily raid.
• Dozens of people gathered at shopping malls to protest for press freedom after the arrest of Lai and the newsroom raid.
• RTHK removed a website interview with activist-in-exile Nathan Law, citing the national security law.
• The government appointed new members to RTHK’s advisory board.
• The Hong Kong Journalist Association filed a legal challenge against the Communications Authority’s warning concerning RTHK’s “Headliner” show.
• Over 300 iCable News staff signed a petition against the dismissal of three senior engineers.
• A survey showed some journalists who covered the 2019 protests reported a range of health issues due to crowd control weapons.

September

• The University of Hong Kong was asked a long list of “unusual” questions by the Immigration Department when applying for a work visa for a Pulitzer-winning journalist.
• The government reportedly told an independent film distributor to include an official warning in two documentaries about the anti-extradition bill protests.
• Media groups criticised the police decision to stop recognising accreditations issued by journalist associations.
• RTHK journalist Nabela Qoser had her probation extended and was investigated again after she grilled Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

October

• National security police raided the private office of Jimmy Lai.
• A district councillor was given a suspended prison sentence for publicly identifying the policeman who allegedly shot an Indonesian journalist in the eye.

November

• Freelance producer Choy Yuk-ling was arrested for searching car licence plate records while researching a TV documentary about the 2019 Yuen Long mob attacks.
• A student journalist was charged with obstructing police and resisting arrest in a protest in May.
• Police arrested a journalist for obstruction after she refused to stop filming the arrest of two women in a mass protest in Mong Kok in May.
• Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung banned a planned journalists’ protest against the arrest of Choy Yuk-ling citing Covid-19 restrictions, despite earlier approval.

December

• iCable News’ China desk resigned en masse after the broadcaster fired 40 people in the newsroom, citing the impact of Covid-19.
• Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui said the government would examine “loopholes” in the laws against fake news and misinformation.
• The Court of First Instance rejected the Hong Kong Journalist Association’s legal challenge against police “ill-treatment” of the media at protests.
• Prosecutors filed an appeal against the granting of bail to Jimmy Lai after Chinese state media criticised the decision.
• Lai resigned from Apple Daily parent company Next Media to “spend more time dealing with his personal affairs.”

Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom.

Donate by cheque
Our preferred donation method is by cheque or transfer as this saves us on fees. Cheques may be made payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and posted – along with your name and address to: HKFP, The Hive Kennedy Town, 6/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. [Donations are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records. US$ cheques over US$100 are accepted, though involve higher fees for HKFP.]

Donate online via card or PayPal

One-off or monthly donations can be made with your Visa, Mastercard, or Apple Pay/Google Pay via Stripe on our website: support.hongkongfp.com.

Make a transfer to our HSBC account, directly or via FPS

Faster Payment Service: business@hongkongfp.com or Tel: 9447-3443.

Our HSBC account details: •Account name: Hong Kong Free Press Limited. Account number: 817887532-838. •Bank name: HSBC Hong Kong. Bank address: 1 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong. •Bank code: 004. Branch number: 817. SWIFT address: HSBCHKHHHKH

For setting up one-off, or regular, bank transfers, please email a screenshot or phone photo of the receipt/form to donations@hongkongfp.com after you have made arrangements so we may show a paper-trail for our internal accountancy records.

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Scan our QR code to make an HSBC PayMe digital payment.

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Hoarding a jar of coins? Donate spare change at Coin Dragon machines around the city.

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Help us eliminate processing fees or make a fully anonymous contribution by donating Bitcoin. Or use the Brave browser to donate Basic Attention Token crypto for free when you visit HKFP. Try the privacy-conscious software: bit.ly/hkfpbrave.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome donations of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

Buy HKFP merchandise

Show your support for press freedom with our range of HKFP merchandise. Made in Hong Kong, designed by artist Badiucao.

Donate gear or sponsor our operations

We welcome donations of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.

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Support us and promote your business or cause at the same time. Request our rate card and consider our affordable range of digital marketing solutions: business@hongkongfp.com

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