Hong Kong (China)

The Hong Kong press industry faced increasing threats in the past 12 months. Suppression from the authorities is felt across different forms of media; freedoms have seriously deteriorated under a repressive government.

Understanding how China tries to influence the media is a first step to preserve press freedom. Hong Kong and Taiwan are on the frontlines of this battle.

The annual report of the Hong Kong Journalists Association documents events in the past 12 months related to freedom of expression and the press in the city.

The five Hong Kong booksellers who disappeared in late 2015 resurfaced early in the year, confirming that they had been in police custody on the mainland and issuing statements that raised suspicions of coercion.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

Chinese authorities’ enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing’s decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory’s autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Five Hong Kong residents associated with a local publisher known for producing books that are critical of China’s leaders disappeared in late 2015 and were thought to be in the custody of mainland authorities, raising fears that Beijing had disregarded the territory’s laws and autonomy.

Ranked 83rd in annual global media freedom report

The year under review has been the darkest for press freedom for several decades, with the media coming under relentless assault from several directions. There have been attacks on journalists, sackings and personnel changes affecting critical personalities and the withdrawal of advertising, which places pressure on the editorial integrity of publications.

Ranked 74th in annual global media freedom report

Ranked 61st in annual press freedom index

IFJ’s report documents the continued deterioration of press freedoms in Mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It takes its title in direct response to Chinese authorities adopting more repressive measures in 2013 reminiscent of the Mao era four decades ago, including direct censorship, Internet surveillance, abuse of legal process, harassment and intimidation, and televised confessions of journalists and bloggers without trial.

Ranked 71st in annual global media freedom report

Poll of journalists reveals self-censorship as greatest threat to free expression

“Arrests, assaults and harassment worsened working conditions for journalists to an extent not seen previously”