Dissenting news media forge
ahead into uncertain future
Hong Kong Freedom of Expression Report 2022
Chapter 3
The enactment of the National Security Law in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020 was a watershed in media diversity in the territory. At least 12 dissenting news providers closed in the year following Apple Daily’s closure on June 24, 2021, and at least 10 publishers and executives were arrested.
At the same time, new media outlets of varied orientations emerged. Some are based outside Hong Kong, as an increasing number of journalists leave due to concerns about personal safety and the grim prospects for the territory. These new services are mostly digital operations that reach only those with internet access.
The phrase alternative media usually refers to providers that advocate specific sets of values and follow models of operation different from those of mainstream media. But dissenting media also includes certain rebellious elements in the mainstream media and uncompromising digital news media providers that do not shy away from sensitive topics in the way that politically compliant mainstream news media do.
“Dissenting media also includes certain rebellious elements in the mainstream media and uncompromising digital news media providers that do not shy away from sensitive topics in the way that politically compliant mainstream news media do.”
Key news providers closed
The closure of Apple Daily on June 24, 2021 was the most significant development in the decline of the dissenting media. Launched in 1995 – two years before Hong Kong was handed back to China – Apple Daily soon attracted the largest audited circulation in the territory. Sales reached more than 400,000 copies daily in 2000 before numbers started to decline. It then became the most popular digital news service, with its website recording an average of 40 million daily views and more than 2.4 million unique daily users since 2017, thanks partly to the popularity of its animated news product.
After the protests in 2019-20 against a controversial bill that would have allowed people charged in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China for trial, the numbers of digital subscribers increased to 700,000. In June 2021, Apple Daily’s Facebook page had 2.835 million followers.
In its 26 years of existence, Apple Daily’s outspoken criticism of the Chinese Communist Party helped cultivate a culture of defiance and won it the description of being Hong Kong’s “largest pro-democracy newspaper” among US and British publications.
Stand News, which shot to fame following its in-depth live coverage of the 2019-20 street protests and riots, was the second dissenting news provider forced to cease operation under the National Security Law. The closure came after police seized all newsroom computers on December 29, 2021. The predecessor of Stand News was House News, whose website recorded 300,000 unique daily visitors before its proprietor, Choi Tung-ho, closed its operation citing political fears on July 26, 2014. After a restructuring, Stand News was launched in December 2014. On July 1, 2020, its Facebook page had a following of 1.65 million, second only to Apple Daily.
Other dissenting news providers that have closed include Citizen News, a service focused on political news headed by a team of senior journalists, Next Magazine (published by Next Media, which owned Apple Daily), Post 852 and Mad Dog Daily.
A screenshot from InMedia from September 2022. InMedia was founded in 2005 and has stated aims of promoting media to enhance civil society, and foster the development of citizen journalists. Credit: InMedia Hong Kong
News media take up the challenge
Inmedia Hong Kong started as a web-based citizen news operation in 2005 through donations made by academics and activists. It continues to publish free-to-access activism-related news on multiple digital platforms. In December 2021, its 17-member operation relied mainly on subscription revenue to cover a monthly budget of HK$227,000 (approx. USD 28,917). With similarly positioned news providers disappearing, Inmedia grew into the most viewed pro-democracy news provider. Its Facebook following increased from 682,300 in July 2020 to 823,000 in July 2022, while its Instagram account had a following of 332,000.
Another prominent digital news outlet is Initium Media, which specialises in in-depth reporting targeting mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. When it was launched in 2015, the source of its capital – from overseas-educated Chinese professionals – drew concern about its editorial position. Over time, its bold and critical reporting won multiple journalism awards, including on topics related to democracy and human rights. Initium's subscribers increased from over 50,000 in April 2020 to 60,000 and its Facebook following increased from 335,000 in July 2020 to almost 380,000 in July 2022, when its Instagram account had 122,000 followers. It moved its headquarters to Singapore in August 2021.
The English-language Hong Kong Free Press, established in 2015, describes itself as an “impartial, non-profit,” and “100% independent” award-winning online newspaper. It seeks to “amplify the voices of the voiceless, not the powerful” and prides itself on producing balanced coverage. Relying on one-off and monthly reader contributions, Hong Kong Free Press content is accessible free of charge. In July 2022, its Facebook page had 370,000 followers and its Instagram account 159,000.
“Apple Daily’s outspoken criticism of the Chinese Communist Party helped cultivate a culture of defiance and won it the description of being Hong Kong’s “largest pro-democracy newspaper” among US and British publications.”
Critical news commentary perseveres
News reporting aside, many commentary services are continuing and have gained popularity since the closures of the key dissenting news outlets. News commentary products typically revolve around prominent individuals, often called ‘key opinion leaders’, and rely on YouTube public channels for fee-free distribution, although some also provide paid access on other digital platforms.
The most popular pro-democracy news commentary service, Meme Hong Kong, was started in 2013 by long-time media personality Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen, who was previously involved in a series of internet-based news commentary operations. In mid-June 2022 Meme Hong Kong, which specialises in China and world news commentary, had 835,000 subscribers and an accumulated 150 million views on its YouTube channel.
The news commentary program hosted by anti-Communist former lawmaker Raymond Wong Yuk-man on the alternative web radio station, My Radio Hong Kong, was rebroadcast as a YouTube channel with 300,000 subscribers. The YouTube news commentary channel Singjai has 300,000 subscribers. Sinjai was launched as a web radio station in 2014 by pro-democracy political analyst Simon Lau Sai-leung, who has since moved to Canada.
The YouTube channel of former D100 web radio host San Pu, who is now living in Taiwan, saw its subscription base rise from 3,330 in November 2020 to more than 80,000 in July 2022. The former host of RTHK's Headliner news satire program, Tsang Chi-ho, who also moved to Taiwan, has seen the subscription numbers for his news commentary Chi Ho Live Show on YouTube grow from over 50,000 in May 2019 to 220,000 in July 2022. His former Headliner co-host, Ng Chi-sum, who now lives in the UK, is reaching 300,000 subscribers with his YouTube offering, Ng Sam, up from more than 50,000 in 2019.
Other popular news-related commentary programs on YouTube are Gavin Chiu Sin-hin’s reviews of China affairs books, Chiu’s Reading (286,000 subscribers), Jeff Tsui Siu-wa’s Tsuis Talk (172,000 subscribers) and Elmer Yuen Gong-yi’s Papa Yuen: Yuen Gong-yi’s political and economic commentaries (200,000 subscribers).
A screenshot from the Meme Hong Kong Youtube channel displaying videos from September 2022. The channel currently has over 846K subscribers and over 1.668 million combined views. Credit: MemeHK
“News reporting aside, many commentary services are continuing and have gained popularity since the closures of the key dissenting news outlets.”
New services launched
Adding to existing news providers and commentary programs are so-called “self-media” services and small news ventures founded and operated mainly by journalists from recently closed dissenting media outlets. They cover a wide variety of news and cater to interests of specific audiences. As listed (see table), former Apple Daily employees from different sections of the newspaper have started at least 10 news services, mostly specialising in specific content.
Among them, Channel C is the only comprehensive news product that has openly positioned itself as a continuation of Apple Daily and branding itself with the slogan "speaking for the people, fighting against injustice". However, in a departure from Apple Daily practice, Channel C rarely reports on the trials of those arrested during the 2019-20 unrest or takes a critical approach towards the political authorities. One of the founders admitted to Stand News on July 13, 2021 that their content did not necessarily contain strong news elements.
By contrast, The Witness, which was launched by court reporters of shuttered dissenting news organisations, is helping to keep news about those arrested on the radar of news audiences.
Green Bean Media is the most recent of the new dissenting outlets. Established in June 2022 by former RTHK journalists involved with the Hong Kong Connection program, it is devoted to documenting stories of Hongkongers, both those who stay in Hong Kong and those who leave, in long-form video journalism. In less than a month, it has built a following of 56,600 on YouTube and 31,500 on Facebook.
Another service, Hong Kong Matters, was initiated by Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen. It was launched as part of the Hong Kong Metas project, which seeks to maintain Hong Kong culture. Hong Kong City Creation was founded by a former reporter of Citizen News. It has published an exclusive story investigating the multiple accidents that occurred at the July 2022 concerts of the boy group Mirror.
Other services were launched overseas. HongKonger Station was launched in Canada as a pro-Hong Kong information service by performer Joseph Tay, who supported the movement against the extradition bill when he was living in Hong Kong.
Commons was established in Taiwan as a comprehensive news outlet with the aim of connecting Hongkongers inside and outside Hong Kong. The Chaser is another news service set up by former Hong Kong journalists, in this case living in the UK. Its mix of news stories is similar to that of a traditional news organisation for Hongkongers. It openly states its goal is protecting press freedom and safeguarding democracy and human rights, and stresses that the guiding principle of its journalism is the pursuit of truth.
Even compared to Inmedia Hong Kong and Channel C, most of these news services are small in scale (see table), relying mainly on part-time reporters and editors. The "self-media" news services, run by individual former journalists, are even smaller. Two of these outlets are run by former special topic reporters for Apple Daily: Alvin Chan seeks to adhere to the critical values he cherishes in his reporting, while Leung Ka-lai focuses on recording stories of those affected by recent changes in Hong Kong.
Former Stand News reporter Lam Yin-pong’s ReNews and former Cable News journalist Lam Miu-yan, (who became a freelancer after the broadcaster's entire News Lancet team resigned in late 2020) concentrate on analysis more than reportage. Former TVB news reader Chris Wong, now in the UK, offers mainly video newscasts based on second-hand news. However, Wong’s CWR NewsPost UK has prompted scepticism about his pro-democracy credentials given his previous role in the Beijing-leaning TVB.
A screenshot from Channel C HK on September 7 2022 reports on the arrest of HKJA Chair Ronson Chan. Channel C HK is one of Hong Kong’s largest independent media outlets and has presented itself as a successor to the shuttered Apple Daily. CreditL Channel C HK
“Commons was established in Taiwan as a comprehensive news outlet with the aim of connecting Hongkongers inside and outside Hong Kong. The Chaser is another news service set up by former Hong Kong journalists, in this case living in the UK.”
China-supporting services launched
Countering pro-Hong Kong platforms are multiple China-supporting news services created since the early 2000s. Kwun Media is a digital new provider, while the others are commentary services.
The most prominent China-supporting service is KOLHK, hosted by New People’s Party’s lawmaker Dominic Lee Tsz-king. Lee initiated the KOL100 project with pro-establishment politicians defeated in the 2019 District Council elections with the aim of gathering 100 pro-establishment Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to strengthen pro-government voices. Lee’s YouTube channel subscription numbers rose from over 20,000 to 330,000 and has accumulated more than 100 million views in two years.
Another lawmaker, Joephy Chan Wing-yan of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, set up a YouTube channel in December 2019. It has 300,000 subscribers and has accumulated more than 80 million views.
Among non-politician pro-establishment news commentators, Alex Yeung’s Channel reached 266,000 subscribers in mid-June 2022 and 140 million views since its launch in July 2019. Master Sin’s Talk by Checkley Sin Kwok-lam, a businessman who once announced he would run for the post of Hong Kong chief executive, has recorded almost 157,000 subscribers and 28 million views since October 2019.
A screenshot from showing search results under the #KOL100 hashtag on October 13, 2022. The KOL100 project was initiated by New People’s Party lawmaker Dominic Lee Tsz-king and aims to strengthen pro-government votes through promoting ‘key opinion leaders’ or influencers. Credit: YouTube
Table 3: News services launched since 2019-20
Total YouTube subscribers: 1,075,300*
Total Facebook followers: 970,200*
Total Instagram followers: 651,600*
Several news outlets have followers through Patreon, their own websites and other social media platforms.
*Statistics at September 2022
Total new media services - 23
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Location: Canada - launched January 2021
Founder: Former performer Joseph Tay and Fiona Yellow
Content: Original content - Cantonese current affairs and information offerings that connect Hongkongers with Canadian society
Reach: YouTube 121,000 subscribers; Facebook 22k followers; Instagram 3.6k followers, website, mobile app
Business model: No information available
-
Location: United Kingdom - Apple Daily section; continued after closure of Apple Daily in June 2021
Founder: A former financial editor and commentator of Apple Daily
Content: Original - Stock market news
Reach: Mainly on Patreon; Facebook 80k followers
Business model: Patreon membership – restricted content
-
Location: Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Canada - Apple Daily section; continued after closure of Apple Daily in June 2021
Founder: A former property news reporter of Apple Daily
Content: Original content – Property news and migration information
Reach: Facebook 11k followers; YouTube 3k subscribers; Instagram 800
Business model: Patreon membership, seminars, courses, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched June 2021
Founder/s: The special supplement section of former reporters of Apple Daily
Content: Original content - Reviews and test reports of cars and car components
Reach: YouTube 82k subscribers; Facbook 15.9k followers; Instagram 31.7k followers
Business model: Advertisements, readers' financial contribution via Pay Me, paid content, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched July 2021
Founder/s: Five former journalists of Apple Daily
Content: Original content - City, crime, and culture news
Reach: YouTube 200k subscribers (over 60 million views); Facebook 100k followers; Instagram 200k followers, Website
Business model: Paid membership started in May 2022, advertising, paid content, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched July 2021
Founder/s: Former journalists of Apple Daily and Next Magazine
Content: Original content – Entertainment news
Reach: Facebook 297k followers; Instagram 198k followers; YouTube 10.7k subscribers
Business model: Patreon membership, advertising, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched July 2021
Founder: A former sports reporter of Apple Daily
Content: Original content – Sport news
Reach: Facebook 80k followers, Instagram 25.9k followers; YouTube 7k subscribers
Business model: Patreon membership, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched July 2021
Founder/s: Former reporters of the financial news section of Apple Daily
Content: Original– Business news
Reach: Facebook 37k likes; YouTube 23k subscribers; Instagram 6.3k followers
Business model: Advertising, paid content, free access, YouTube advertising revenue split
-
Founder: Former TVB news reader Chris Wong
Content: Some original content, Self-Media - Cantonese newscasts of aggregated Hong Kong and world news, vlogs of snippets of UK life, occasional news reports about Hongkongers in UK
Reach: YouTube, under 100K subscribers; Instagram, 16k followers; Facebook, 14k followers; Patreon
Business model: Patreon subscription revenue
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched August 2021
Founder/s: Former reporters of Apple Daily
Content: Original - News and reviews of technology products
Reach: YouTube 62k subscribers; Facebook 14k followers; Instagram 10k followers; Line 380 followers, website
Business model: Advertising, Patreon membership, paid content, free access
-
Location: Hong Kong – launched September 1 as hard copy. Moved online after October 9.
Founder: Former sports, entertainment, and horseracing reporters at Apple Daily
Content: Original - Horseracing news; Sports and Entertainment news suspended on December 31
Reach: Facebook, 8k followers, Patreon
Business model: Patreon membership, restricted content
-
Location: Taiwan – launched End of October 2021
Founder: Simon Shen, International Relations scholar.
Content: Original - Stories about Hongkongers overseas, After closure of Stand News and Citizen News more stories about Hong Kong. Run by part-time journalists in Hong Kong and overseas correspondents.
Reach: Facebook over 30k followers, Instagram over 10k followers, website
Business model: Supporter Donations
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded November 2021
Founder: Former reporters of the supplement section of Apple Daily
Content: Original - Lifestyle, culture
Reach: YouTube 400k Subscribers with over 70 million views, Facebook 30k followers, Instagram 95k followers, website
Business model: YouTube advertising revenue split, advertisement, free access.
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded in February 2021
Founder: Former assistant executive editor of News Lancet, Cable News
Content: No original reporting, Self-Media - News Commentary
Reach: Facebook, 21k followers
Business model: Not-for-profit ‘self media’.
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded in July 2021
Founder: Former special topic chief reporter of Apple Daily
Content: Original, Self-Media - Initially mainly court and political news, also special topics, and memories about Apple Daily news operations
Reach: Facebook, 30k followers; Liker.land
Business model: Unknown other than Liker.Land subscription revenue
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded in July 2021
Founder: Former special topic reporter of Apple Daily, Leung Ka-lai
Content: Original, Self-Media - Profile interviews, features
Reach: Facebook, 34k followers; Instagram, under 4k followers; Patreon
Business model: Unknown other than Patreon subscription revenue
2021
2022
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Location: UK – founded in March 2022
Founder: reporters from several news organisations
Content: Original daily news in HK, China and Taiwan, plus international news; information about living overseas; news commentary
Reach: Facebook; under 50k followers, Instagram over 9k followers, YouTube under 15k subscribers, Patreon
Business model: Supporter donations, free access content.
-
Location: Hong Kong – Founded in April 2022
Founder: Former Stand News reporter Lam Yin-Pong
Content: Original reporting, self-media, mainly political news analysis and profile interviews
Reach: Facebook, 40k followers; Instagram 28k followers; Patreon subscriptions, over 280
Business model: Patreon subscription revenue
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded May 26 2022
Founder: Anecdotally - a senior journalist in a pro-democracy news organisation
Content: Original - Lifestyle information and consumption guide, especially in the Greater Bay Area
Reach: Biweekly hard copy. Facebook and Instagram, 300 followers. YouTube, 180 followers. Presence on Weixin, Weibo, Douyin, Bilibili and own website.
Business model: no information available
-
Location: Hong Kong – Founded May 2022
Founder: Former court news reporters from several news organizations
Content: 100% original; court news about political cases
Reach: Facebook 52K followers; Instagram 33.2K followers; Twitter 9K followers; Telegram 5.8K subscribers; YouTube 5.1K subscribers
Business model: Patreon membership, free access.
-
Location: Hong Kong – Founded May 2022
Founder: Stephen Shiu Yeuk-Yuen
Content: Not Original - Comprehensive news oriented towards maintaining Hong Kong Culture
Reach: Facebook 25 followers, website
Business model: no information available.
-
Location: Hong Kong – founded June 11 2022
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Founder: Former video producers and reporters of RTHK programme Hong Kong Connection,
Content: Original - Documentaries on stories of overseas Hongkongers
Reach: YouTube, 56k subscribers; Facebook, 31k followers; Instagram 13k followers; Web presence.
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Location: Hong Kong – Founded January 2022
Founder: A former reporter of Citizen News
Content: Original content; mainly personality profiles especially those related to cultural affairs; investigative news
Reach: Facebook 11k followers, website
Business model: Subscription; book club membership
“The geographical distribution of the new dissenting services gives hope that the resistance underlying the Hong Kong identity can survive the ongoing large-scale outward migration from the territory.”
Prospects for dissenting outlets uncertain
The geographical distribution of the new dissenting services gives hope that the resistance underlying the Hong Kong identity can survive the ongoing large-scale outward migration from the territory. However, news media based outside Hong Kong, while enjoying greater freedom in reporting and publishing, inevitably lack the “on the ground” nature of domestically based news media. Different news cycles due to time differences also make it difficult for media outside Hong Kong—especially those in the UK and Canada—to ride on the public opinion cycle of developing news to exert a strong impact on the domestic audience.
Production-wise, small-scale dissenting media organisations have limited resources and may not be able to afford in-depth or investigative reporting, hindering their watchdog role. Such groups also lack the access to news sources enjoyed by mainstream news organisations.
Chinese University of Hong Kong journalism and communications professor Francis Lee Lap-fung said in an interview with Radio Free Asia that the closure of successful news organisations like Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News will undermine the role of the media in monitoring the power holders. Moreover, the lack of access to government events of the dissenting media deprives their journalists of the opportunity of asking critical questions and inhibits news media from playing the role of monitoring the political authorities.
On March 16, 2022, for example, a NOW News reporter asked at a government press conference who would bear responsibility if the medics sent by the government in Beijing to help Hong Kong fight Covid-19 – who were not licensed to practise in Hong Kong – made a medical error. One of China’s official newspapers in Hong Kong, Ta Kung Pao, claimed that the reporter’s question triggered public anger. The following day, NOW News issued a statement and apologised over the case. In several other similar cases, which involved Cable News and TVB News, the reporter in question received a warning from their supervisor after asking government officials a critical question or putting the authorities in a negative light in their news reports.
It is unclear how the various combinations of donations and paid subscriptions can be a viable business model for the multiple dissenting news providers. Individuals running "self-media" services acknowledge that their operations do not have long-term prospects. Reporter Alvin Chan, for example, told Radio Free Asia that his operation does not bring in enough income, but carries risks. Lam Yin-pong of ReNews agrees that no one can tell what is not acceptable under the National Security Law and he regards "self-media" as an arrangement to confine risk to a single individual.
Despite the disappearance of major dissenting news providers and increasing self-censorship in mainstream news organisations, newly emerging news services ensure that people in Hong Kong continue to have access to alternative news and analysis. If the subscribers and followers of these new outlets are counted individually, it may seem that they come to a total of several million, in a city of close to 7.5 million people. Yet, it is quite likely that these news providers’ audiences overlap, meaning the total audience is much smaller.
Beyond the aggregate size of the audience, the fact that these news services are not coordinated in their news agendas means that they cannot replicate the ability of large providers such as Apple Daily or Stand News to set the agenda for the audience and other dissenting news providers. Their reliance on commercial social media platforms for distribution further subjects their reach to the opaque logic of the platforms’ algorithms. To reproduce the social and cultural impact on a scale once exerted by the crushed dissenting media outlets may require a new model of operation that can integrate and coordinate the various small news ventures and "self-media". This would give them the advantage of having on-the-ground connections to Hongkongers overseas in multiple countries.