Hong Kong’s press freedom index has dipped further, largely due to journalists being hesitant to criticise the central government, a local press group has said.
The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA) released its annual press freedom rankings on Friday. The index comprised two sets of figures based on two surveys – one given to those working in the media industry, and the other to members of the public.
The press freedom ranking representing journalists’ views stood at 25.7 this year, down from 26.2 last year. It marked the fourth consecutive year the index had fallen.
Meanwhile, the press freedom ranking as rated by the public was 41.4, down from 42 the previous year.
According to the HKJA, this year’s dip in rankings were largely due to self-censorship and hesitation related to criticism of Beijing.
On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the best possible scenario, journalists rated hesitation to criticise of the central government as 1.5.
Media workers ranked the prevalence of self-censorship and management pressure on employees as 1.8 and 2.5, respectively.
The HKJA’s survey results followed a questionnaire by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) released earlier this week, which found that 83 per cent of respondents said they believed the working environment for journalists in the city had “changed for the worse.” Fourteen per cent said there had been “no change,” while 3 per cent said it had “changed for the better.”
Journalists arrested, a comic strip axed
Press freedom in Hong Kong has come under the spotlight since Beijing passed a national security law in June 2020 in response to protests and unrest that began the year before.
The government, however, has said that press freedom is “respected and protected.”
In its statement, the HKJA said the news industry’s “winter” continued last year, citing the arrest of veteran journalist Allan Au in April; the closure of investigative news outlet Factwire in June; and the arrest of HKJA chairperson Ronson Chan while reporting in September.
This April, Ming Pao suspended a long-running political comic strip after it was criticised by authorities multiple times.
“The HKJA believes that the… government, which possesses vast resources and public power, has repeatedly targeted media workers,” the statement read.
It added that if information flow and press freedom were hampered, Hong Kong’s business environment would be affected.
The HKJA distributed questionnaires to 678 people in the media industry in March and April and received 249 responses, making for a response rate of 36.7 per cent.
Press freedom has worsened, most say
The HKJA also asked respondents to what extent they believed major media-related developments affected press freedom in the city.
Ninety per cent of respondents said the prosecution of two ex-editors from defunct outlet Stand News had “severely damaged” press freedom. The two editors’ sedition trial drew to a close last week after almost more than 60 days in court.
According to the survey, 77 per cent of respondents said the prosecution of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai had “severely damaged” press freedom. Lai’s national security trial, which has seen a scandal related to whether a foreign lawyer not qualified to practice locally could represent him, has been adjourned until September.
The questionnaire also found that 91 per cent of media workers, and 46 per cent of the general public, thought the press freedom situation in the city had worsened.
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