The Evolution and Decline of Press Freedom in Hong Kong

May 16, 2025

Written by Oliver Nok Lam CHAN

1)  The Rise of Journalism in Hong Kong: A Different Path of Development compared to China

The rise of journalism in Hong Kong is linked to the British colony since 1842. Hong Kong journalism was dominated by English-language newspapers since English-language newspapers had flourished and further furthered the germination of Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong (Sinn, 2002).  Sinn argues that the first Chinese magazine was not produced in Hong Kong, however, it was Hong Kong that evolved into a major center of journalism in China due to its special commercial and political environment,

The commercial nature of Hong Kong played a vital role in stimulating the growth of journalism. Nature itself not only creates a demand for quick and accurate commercial information for Chinese businessmen but also the need for newspapers (Sinn, 2002). Chinese entrepreneurs need to promote the interests, aspirations, and values of merchants through the media. In the meantime, the Chinese businessmen started to invest in journalism since they started recognizing the importance of media, they did not only invest in Chinese newspapers but later also invested in English papers as well, for instance, the South China Morning Post. The commercial nature of Hong Kong fertilized the germination of Hong Kong journalism in the future.

The unique political environment during the colonial era contributed to the development of journalism in Hong Kong. Unlike mainland China, journalism in Hong Kong was free from the social and political constrain under the Chinese jurisdiction during the colonization era, since the Qing government had banned all forms of political discussion, even communication among official scholars was not allowed to do it freely (Sinn, 2002). For that Chinese-language newspapers have more room to grow than other localities in China (Sinn, 2002). Unlike the role of English-language newspapers in Hong Kong, which took it upon themselves as a function of watchdog over the government, the Chinese newspaper’s role is more eager to speak out the public affairs and give a voice to the commoners (Sinn, 2002). This unique political environment during the colonial era allows political parties to make Hong Kong a base for action, as well as polemics and propaganda, leading to further outbursts of journalistic energy (Sinn, 2002).

The divergence of the political system further stimulates a different path of journalism development during the decolonization period. The journalism in China and Hong Kong are as different as their political configuration (Lo, Chan, & Pan, 2005). Mainland China has been ruled by Communist authoritarian rule since 1949. Since 1979, there have an ongoing unprecedented economic reforms and social change under the rule of the Chinese communist party (Lo, Chan, & Pan, 2005). Mainland China is trying to modernize itself via economic reforms under the continued control of the Chinese Communist Party, the nature of control is also reflected in journalism, the media in China does not enjoy press freedom, in other terms, all content needs to align with party’s stance and be censored before publication (Chan, 1993; Lee, 1994)

On the other hand, Hong Kong was transited from British colony to a Special Administrative Region of China under the scheme of ‘one country, two systems. This scheme was established and agreed upon by both parties, the British and Chinese governments. The agreement mentions that Hong Kong is part of China, but it retains its systems and guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy in various aspects, promises the Chinese socialist system and policies would not be practiced in this special administrative region, and that Hong Kong’s previous system and way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years. For this reason, the media retained their autonomy in Hong Kong despite the increased pressure to self-censor by the Beijing government (Lo, Chan, & Pan, 2005). Moreover, it is also because the degree of press freedom was being closely watched by the outside world as a barometer of Hong Kong’s continued autonomy, therefore, the direct interference in media content from the Beijing government has been minimized (Chan & Lee, 1991; So, Chan, & Lee, 2000). With the autonomy granted by the ‘’one country, two systems’’ framework, the media in Hong Kong can operate freely in an affluent environment where the rule of law is honored, and corruption in journalism is rarer since journalism is mainly market-driven (Lo, Chan, & Pan, 2005).

However, the journalism development in Hong Kong resembles a roller-coaster as mentioned earlier, especially after the social movement happened in 2019 with a list of interference carried out by the Beijing government.

2) The Present Situation of Journalism in Hong Kong: A New Type of Journalism

Before 2019, Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of press freedom. According to Statista, Hong Kong scored 72.24 points out of 100 points among 180 countries and regions in 2015, however, in 2024, Hong Kong's press freedom index was further down to 43.06 points, in other words, it is classified as a difficult situation and marked with a major decline of the freedom level of journalists in the city.

The journalism landscape changed significantly after the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) movement (movement for democratization), which later triggered Beijing to impose the National Security Law (NSL)[1]  and the Basic Law Article 23 legislation[2] in response. Since then, journalism in Hong Kong has faced immense political pressure from Beijing which seriously undermined the autonomy granted by the ‘’one country, two systems’’ framework (Lee & Chan, 2023; Lo, 2021). For instance, the pro-democracy media including Apple Daily and Stand News were forced to close, and their leaders were arrested and prosecuted (Fang et al., 2024). Moreover, many journalists, civil leaders, and pro-democracy politicians have faced imprisonment. The interference by Beijing also changed the mainstream media behavior, they became more constrained, unwillingly more self-censor, and avoided crossing the ‘’redlines’’ of Beijing (Fang et al., 2024).

Unlike the mainstream media adopted a self-censored approach, some journalists in Hong Kong adopted a new strategy under the NSL and Article 23. There is an emergence of community newspapers which are run by volunteers and often non-professionals (Fang et al., 2024). In contrast with the adaptation of self-censored and avoid addressing politically sensitive subjects, the community newspaper leans heavily on ‘’Soft News’’ content, for instance, the report on local culture, personal stories, and history that is related to their audiences, fostering discussions on everyday life issues, bridging personal experiences with political engagement (Fang et al., 2024). Despite the community newspaper operates separately within each community and neighborhood (Fang et al., 2024)., in other terms, operationally the community newspaper is decentralized, yet, Fang argues that the community newspaper cultivated a strong sense of community and created a unique resilience under the political pressure, since community newspaper mainly focuses on hyperlocal issues, such as cultural traditions, historical stories, and the everyday lives of community members which create a deeper connection with the sense of community.

In summary, the present situation of journalism in Hong Kong is facing an immense challenge under the interference of Beijing with the enforcement of NSL and article 23. It triggers the mainstream media to adopt a restrain and self-censor strategy. Despite the challenge, Hong Kong’s community newspaper managed to cultivate a strong sense of community under the pressure by focusing on soft news content. Yet, it is undeniable that the freedom of the press dropped significantly and impacted the Hong Kong journalism ecologies.

Conclusion

The trajectory of journalism in Hong Kong can be considered as a roller-coaster that goes up and down. The rise of the print culture in ancient China, with the invention of paper, ink, and printing technology enables the later development of journalism. However, this great invention in China did not further fertilize the development of journalism in China but in Hong Kong. The colonial period enabled and shaped the primitive development of journalism in Hong Kong despite the journalism is not allowed under the Chinese jurisdiction (Qing and Communist governments).  The journalists in Hong Kong are allowed to enjoy the freedom of press under the British rule.

During the post-colonial period, the ‘’one country, two systems’’ framework guaranteed the autonomy of Hong Kong, in other terms, the freedom of the press.  Nevertheless, the framework was not respected by Beijing, particularly after the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill in 2019. The interference of Beijing by implementing the National Security Law and Article 23 legislation has put the freedom of the press to an end, for instance, Apple Daily and Stand News were forced to close, and their leader was arrested and prosecuted. In addition, the mainstream media begin to adopt self-censors and avoid reporting sensitive political topics in order to prevent crossing Beijing’s redline.

In spite of these challenges, the community newspapers have emerged as a form of resilience under the political pressure from Beijing. They have created a strong sense of community by focusing on ‘’Soft News’’ content. To sum up, although community newspapers demonstrate a type of resilience under political pressure, journalism development has declined sharply in the present day, especially press freedom.

There is further research to be conducted on how the 2047 deadline which marks the end of Hong Kong’s ‘’One country, two systems’’ may impact Hong Kong’s journalism, and whether Hong Kong journalism, such as community newspapers will continue to be consolidated or reshaped by Beijing's integrative policies. If the Hong Kong journalism continues to exist, what form will it take? My prediction is that Beijing will impose integrative policies after the expiry of autonomy, and eventually, Hong Kong journalism will resemble a journalism that resembles Singapore journalism.

[1] The Hong Kong National Security Law is a Hong Kong-specific law passed and implemented by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on 30 June 2020, aiming to prevent, stop and punish acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign or extraterritorial forces that endanger national security.

[2] Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China provides that the HKSAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit seven types of acts endangering national security, including treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, theft of state secrets, political activities carried out in the HKSAR by foreign political organizations or bodies, and establishment of contacts between political organizations or bodies in the HKSAR and those in foreign countries. Establishment of links between political organizations or bodies in the HKSAR and foreign political organizations or bodies

Reference:

-Chan, J. (1993). Commercialization without independence: Media development in China. In J. Cheng & M. Brosseau (Eds.), China Review 1993 (pp. 25:1/9). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.

-Chan, J., & Lee, C. C. (1991). Mass media and political transition: The Hong Kong press in China’s orbit. New York: Guilford Press.

-Fang, K., Feng, M., & Tse, C. H. (2024). Hyperlocal citizen journalism in Hong Kong: Resilience through community newspapers. Journalism, 0(0), 1-19.

-Lee, C. C. (1994). Ambiguities and contradiction: Issues in China’s changing political communication. Gazette, 53, 7–21.

-Sinn, E. (2002). Emerging media: Hong Kong and the early evolution of the Chinese press. Modern Asian Studies, 36(2), 421-465.

-Lo, V. H., Chan, J. M., & Pan, Z. (2005). Ethical attitudes and perceived practice: A comparative study of journalists in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Asian Journal of Communication, 15(2), 154–172.