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How Press Freedom Is Being Eroded in Hong Kong
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How Press Freedom Is Being Eroded in Hong Kong

Jennifer Jett
The New York Times, 2021
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With Hong Kong’s lively, pro-free speech newspaper Apple Daily forced to shut its doors, and its founder and other employees arrested, press freedoms are under attack in the Chinese territory, as Jennifer Jett reports in The New York Times. The crackdown springs from an ambiguous law enacted in June 2020 meant to suppress opposition to Chinese rule. Hong Kong’s public broadcaster RTHK is also under pressure, with staffing changes and canceled shows. The Chinese government is considering more laws to restrict press freedoms.

Summary

China is using a new national security law against Hong Kong newspapers and journalists.

The Chinese government imposed a strict, wide-ranging national security law on Hong Kong’s residents in June 2020. It implemented the law in response to protests in Hong Kong, which posed a challenge to Chinese rule.

Hong Kong’s police chief warned that news organizations like Apple Daily could violate the law if officials came to regard the media outlets’ work as a national security risk. Hong Kong’s officials have not provided much clarity on how they interpret the law. One official commented that journalists and news organizations are responsible for figuring that out.

Journalists have chosen self-censorship and have avoided potentially dangerous subjects in interviews and articles. The same self-censorship...

About the Author

Hong Kong-based Jennifer Jett is a senior staff editor at the international New York Times.

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