Overview
Hong Kong Freedom of Expression Report 2022
ONE SYSTEM OVERRULES
It was under the cloak of a global pandemic that the Chinese Communist Party unsurprisingly refocused its attention on Hong Kong. From 2020, what unfolded was an almost complete destruction of political and civil liberties and a clear and flagrant violation of the CCP’s commitments to Hong Kong and its people.
As well as aggressively curbing ordinary citizens’ right to protest, to exercise political choices, and to move around at will, China set its sights squarely on the media. In just two years, Hong Kong’s media diversity was gutted, with the Beijing controlled government using draconian laws to crush dissenting news outlets and jail their leading figures, freeze bank accounts and, in an extreme case, force a media company into liquidation.
This environment of fear forced publishers to toe the government line or soften their criticisms to survive. Others either shut down entirely or relocated outside Hong Kong so they could continue publishing. In this same period, the public service broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), was efficiently transformed into a government propaganda arm.
The main catalyst for these changes was the National Security Law, which was legislated in Beijing and imposed on the territory with effect from June 30, 2020. The law created four major criminal offences: secession, or breaking away from the country; subversion, or undermining the power or authority of the central government; terrorism, or using violence or intimidation; and collusion with foreign or external forces. Not only are the offences wide-ranging, but their definitions remain open to interpretation by the security enforcement bodies. Punishments are harsh, ranging up to life imprisonment.
The second catalyst was the revival of the 1938 sedition law that forms part of the Crimes Ordinance. The sedition clause, a relic of the British colonial government law that had lain dormant for half a century, was resurrected in March 2020 and used repeatedly after that, often in conjunction with charges under the National Security Law. In such cases, the onus of proof is reversed so that the accused must prove their innocence. People charged under either law are tried by specially selected panels of judges and routinely denied bail.
Riot Police deploy pepper spray towards journalists during a demonstration against the 2020 National Security Law. Since the introduction of the law Hong Kong has seen a crackdown on press freedom, independent media and pro-democracy activists. Credit Dale De La Rey / AFP
The most pivotal closure in the Hong Kong media space was that of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily on June 24, 2021. Its parent company, Next Digital, was forced into liquidation, while Apple News founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, and several senior members of its journalistic staff, were arrested on national security charges, making them the first high profile targets of the Covid-era clear-out.
Today, Lai continues to plead not guilty, a response that increases the chances that he will be sentenced to life in prison. According to available records, 10 journalists and four companies have been prosecuted under the National Security Law or charged with sedition offences under the Crimes Ordinance. Another eight were either arrested or placed on wanted lists for sedition because of their media work.
At least 12 dissenting publications shut down in the months after Apple Daily closed. Stand News closed after all its computers were seized in a police raid on December 29, 2021. Other news outlets also shuttered their operations to avoid what they saw as inevitable police action, with some reconstituting their operations online in Taiwan, Singapore, Canada or the UK. While the overseas option increases these outlets’ freedom to publish, they lack to some degree the responsiveness of on-the-ground reporting and immediacy due to time differences. Undaunted, they persevere.
Small media operations offering comment and analysis also sprang up in an attempt to fill the gap, many of them established by former staff of shuttered outlets. Some are one-person operations known as “self-media” that publish on free platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Their viability remains open to question, however. Audience numbers are hard to measure and reliance on social media platforms leaves them vulnerable to the platforms’ algorithms and policies. Their difficulties in coordinating their news agendas makes it harder to have the same impact that major outlets such as Apple News once did.
Police escort deputy chief editor Chan Pui Man from the offices of Apple Daily on June 17, 2021. The arrest of five senior executives and editors, and the freezing of Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital's Assets were responsible for the newspaper’s closure. Credit Anthony Wallace / AFP
RTHK, the territory’s once respected public service broadcaster, was transformed into a government propaganda agency in a little over a year after Patrick Li Pak-chuen, a career public servant with no media background, took up the post of Director of Broadcasting on March 1, 2021. Long-standing programs that provided balanced reporting on current affairs or offered a forum for discussion were axed. At least 18 staff quit or were fired within three months of Li’s appointment. Censorship was exercised through the imposition of new “guidelines”, pre-approval for program ideas and the vetting of guests for interview, even on music programs.
This crackdown on independent media was accompanied by egregious treatment of ordinary people. Hong Kong citizens have been convicted of crimes related to national security for non-violent protests such as handing out flyers, chanting slogans, displaying placards, making social media posts, and giving interviews to media at rallies. The judgements show that simply expressing an opinion can be treated as a criminal act.
The assault on media freedom and individual freedom of expression has crushed Hong Kong’s once vibrant culture of civic debate. The territory government and its political masters in Beijing have corrupted the law to make it an instrument of repression. They have redefined national security to mean the supremacy of the ruling party. And they have subordinated crucial human rights to the single goal of retaining power.