Press freedom
January 24, 2012
A report on press freedom in China recently published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) shows Hong Kong's press freedoms have plummeted to new lows, whilst the situation on the mainland was also increasingly complicated.
"The plight of journalists in China last year worsened," Serenade Woo, Asia-Pacific project manager for the IFJ, told Deutsche Welle.
Woo believed there were two reasons for the worsening clampdown on media in China, one external and the other internal.
In the case of the former, Chinese authorities have been concerned about any possible flow-on effects following the Arab Spring revolutions in North Africa. The government has stepped up restrictions on media and social activities in an effort to fend off any possible "Jasmine Revolution".
The internal factor noted by Woo has been an increased government wariness of the potential for social instability ahead of a power transition to take place later this year.
At least 16 mainland journalists were forced to quit their jobs under pressure from the authorities last year.
"One country" or "two systems"?
There was a growing danger that press freedom in Hong Kong was also suffering as the mainland wielded increasingly greater influence on the island, said Woo.
In 2011, five Hong Kong journalists were arrested and detained by police "without concrete evidence. For example, on July 1 last year (the anniversary of Chinese control of Hong Kong), two journalists were doing their duty of taking photos of protests and how police took away protesters. However, police claimed that they were protesters," said Woo.
Woo pointed out that Hong Kong police have become increasingly alerted to protests related to "sensitive" issues such as the Jasmine Revolution. "The latest report released by the police authority indicates the number of detainees from protests is much higher than previous years," added Woo.
"There had been no journalists arrested or detained by such malicious accusations before last year. The government’s attitude towards media is getting hostile."
A "One country, Two systems" principle has been implemented in Hong Kong since the handover of sovereignty from Great Britain to China in 1997. However, Woo fretted that the original meaning of this phrase can no longer be applied to the island.
"Our autonomy can hardly be defended," said Woo. "A number of legislative councilors in Hong Kong have been criticizing our government for putting more emphasis on 'one country' and forgetting 'two systems'."
"Just doing their jobs"
Emily Lau, Hong Kong legislative councilor and former journalist, has recently brought a motion before the council "defending press freedom in Hong Kong" but was denied. "Afterwards, some students of journalism came to me and we went to protest in front of the government building together," Lau told Deutsche Welle, adding that journalists weren’t the only ones concerned about this issue, but also students and a majority of the public.
Lau said she thought limitations on the Hong Kong press were not always related to pressure from the mainland government, although "sometimes our government does want to please Beijing," said Lau. The reason the government has set up more barriers for reporters when covering government activities is because "it has lost faith in the media and has become less tolerant of them."
It is also commonly said that media in Hong Kong is reliably anti-government.
"Actually it’s not surprising that a lot of governments aren’t friendly with the media," said Lau. "But for better or worse, that’s the responsibility of the media: reporting everything out there, whether it’s bright or dark."
Author: Miriam Wong
Editor: Darren Mara