Hong Kong Media Freedoms Meet a Crisis of Empty Promises

Ronson Chan Rong-sing is a well-known Hong Kong journalist. He won a name for himself by broadcasting live online from the frontlines of the 2019 anti-government demonstrations. None of the Hong Kong citizens who participated in the protests would be unfamiliar with his name. The public even took to calling him "Elder Brother Sing" to express their respect for him.

*Ronson Chan, former chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association. (©Sankei by Kinya Fujimoto)*

Chan has been chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) for three years. It came as a surprise to me when he announced in May of 2023 that he would be stepping down. Only last year, when I visited Hong Kong in 2023, he said to me, "If I don't do it, there is no one else to serve."

Defiance From the HKJA

The HKJA is a trade union with approximately 300 members, including reporters for major media outlets, online media, freelancers, and foreign media. Hong Kong's government considers the organization its sworn enemy. Even after the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law, this feisty group of journalists has continued to advocate for press freedom. They have also continued to criticize those in power who seek to suppress human rights.

*A banner promoting "national security" is displayed in a park in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, in April 2023, after China amended its counterespionage law. (©Kyodo)*

Consequently, the Hong Kong government is suspicious of whoever leads the journalists' association and targets them for surveillance and harassment. It takes someone with real guts to become chairperson of the union.

After Ronson Chan stepped down, he commented, "If my departure will help the association to survive, there is no reason for me to stay."

That prompted another Hong Kong journalist to say, "He was threatened by the authorities. No doubt about it."

A Promising Leader

On June 22, the HKJA held a general meeting to elect a new chairperson and directors. Given the government's enmity, there was concern whether any journalist in Hong Kong would desire the job. However, a female journalist named Selina Cheng, who worked for the Wall Street Journal, stepped forward. Since there were no other candidates running, on July 1, she became the association's new chairperson.

"I see," I said to myself with conviction. "Reporters with backing from major US media firms aren't afraid to cross swords with the authorities."

Fear and Pressure

But I was wrong. On July 17, Ms Cheng suddenly announced at a news conference that she had been "let go by the Wall Street Journal." The reaction within Hong Kong journalism circles was as if someone had stirred up a hornet's nest.

It seems that the day before the HKJA's general meeting, Cheng's bosses at the WSJ demanded that she withdraw her candidacy, but she refused. They reportedly warned her, "Unlike in Western countries, we can't be seen going about advocating freedom of the press in places like Hong Kong."

This is the same Wall Street Journal whose Moscow correspondent Evan Gershkovich was arrested by Russian authorities in March 2023. In that case, the media outlet vigorously championed "freedom of the press" and harshly criticized the Russian authorities. Yet, in Hong Kong, it has been reluctant to stand up for the very same freedom. Why should that be?

US journalist — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March while on a reporting trip and charged with espionage, stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants. April 18, 2023. (© REUTERS/Yulia Morozova)

A veteran WSJ journalist offered this simple explanation to a Hong Kong newspaper: "They (WSJ's senior management) are afraid that their journalists in Hong Kong will meet the same fate as in Russia."

A Grim Outlook

Cheng is still in her early 30s and would like to continue working as a reporter. Therefore, she intends to continue at the helm of the HKJA. But when she lost her job at the Wall Street Journal, she also lost her standing as a reporter.

She is not the only one who saw things change overnight. Of the ten new directors chosen at the general meeting, four, including a BBC reporter, have already thrown in the towel. According to an informed source, in at least one case, the director quit because of opposition within his family.

Ronson Chan liked to say that he pinned his hopes on future generations. "Even if we are tossed about by mammoth waves, we can still slowly make forward progress," he said.

However, the HKJA affair has shown that Hong Kong's press circles today face bleak prospects. In the latest World Press Freedom Index, Hong Kong ranked 135 out of 180 jurisdictions, down from 73 in 2019. It seems destined to further drop towards China's position at 172.