HONG KONG: Hong Kongâs press freedoms are âin tattersâ as China remoulds the once outspoken business hub in its own authoritarian image, the cityâs main journalist union said Thursday, adding it feared âfake newsâ laws were on their way.
âThe past year is definitely the worst year so far for press freedom,â Ronson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), said as the union published its annual report.
The report referenced a cascade of events impacting the press since China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong last summer to stamp out dissent after huge and often violent democracy protests the year before.
Authors pointed to the jailing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and the freezing of his Apple Daily newspaperâs assets â a move which led to the Beijing-critical tabloidâs closure.
More than 700 journalists lost their jobs while Lai and multiple Apple Daily executives are currently behind bars, charged with trying to undermine Chinaâs national security with the contents of the paperâs reporting.
HKJAâs report also accused authorities of turning the cityâs public broadcaster RTHK into âa government propaganda apparatusâ by sacking critical staff and cancelling current affairs shows.
Accessing public databases was also becoming harder, the report warned, highlighting how one RTHK journalist was convicted for using vehicle license plates for an investigation into a violent attack on pro-democracy supporters by government loyalists.
The government has also sought to restrict journalists from accessing the identities of company owners on the cityâs registry, a move criticised by financial transparency groups.
âSuppression from the authorities is felt across different forms of media,â the report warned. âFreedoms have seriously deteriorated under a repressive government.â
Chan said he feared further legislation was now in the works to restrict the media.
Top officials and pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong have called for âfake newsâ laws, something activists fear will be used against coverage authorities dislike.
âThere are already many knives hanging over journalistsâ heads like laws against sedition and incitement so we do not need one more named a fake news law,â Chan said.
Hong Kong has plunged down an annual press freedom ranking by Reporters Without Borders, from 18th place in 2002 to 80th this year.
Mainland China languishes at 177th out of 180, above only Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.
Multiple international media companies have regional headquarters in Hong Kong, attracted to the business-friendly regulations and free speech provisions written into the cityâs mini-constitution.
But many local and international outlets are questioning whether they have a future there. â AFP
