Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom rankings as authorities enforced a draconian new security law to silence critical media outlets and jail journalists, according to a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). ) released on Tuesday.
“It’s the biggest fall of the year, but it’s fully deserved due to the constant attacks on press freedom and the slow demise of the rule of law in Hong Kong,” he said. AFP Cedric Alviani, head of RSF’s East Asia desk, based in Taiwan.
In the past year alone, it has dropped 68 places to 148th, placing the international business center between the Philippines and Turkey.
For two decades, the media rights organization has ranked countries and territories around the world on the freedom of their press.
Hong Kong, a regional hub for international and local media, has steadily fallen in the rankings under Chinese rule.
China imposed increasingly authoritarian measures in Hong Kong following large-scale and at times violent pro-democracy protests three years ago. She implemented a sweeping national security law in 2020 that has since crushed dissent and seen dozens of pro-democracy activists and journalists jailed.
According to Mr. Alviani, after having initially targeted political opponents and pro-democracy activists, the authorities in 2021 deployed this law against local media.
Last year, Apple Daily and Booth Newstwo opposition outlets had to shut down after their chief editors were arrested and the company’s assets were frozen under the security law.
Alviani said RSF’s database currently lists 13 jailed Hong Kong media professionals, a number he called “enormous” and equates to almost ten percent of all known detentions in Hong Kong. journalists in China.
“Oasis of Freedom”
When RSF published its first report in 2002, Hong Kong had some of the freest media in Asia and ranked 18th in the world.
RSF has consistently ranked China as one of the most unfriendly countries in the world for journalists, and currently ranks it 175th out of 180.
But until recently, Hong Kong was an oasis of free speech thanks to the “one country, two systems” formula, under which Beijing promised the city could retain its basic freedoms and autonomy for 50 years after the handover. of 1997 by Great Britain.
For now, the security law targets local media, but there are concerns about the future of the territory-based international press.
Last week, the city’s foreign press club canceled its presentation of Asia’s most prestigious human rights awards, citing the threat of the security law.
Several major media outlets – including AFP, Bloomberg, CNN, The Economist and the FinancialTimes – have long had their Asian regional headquarters in the city.
“No media can do without correspondents in Hong Kong. But do the media need to have their regional headquarters in Hong Kong?” asked Mr. Alviani. “Is it safe to leave his computer archives, to leave his server, to leave his management team in Hong Kong? In the current situation, maybe not.