Nearly four months after the implementation of the “Hong Kong version of the National Security Law”, a new public opinion survey shows that Hong Kong people’s satisfaction with the freedom of the press and the credibility of the media have both hit record lows since the handover of sovereignty. The two pay-TV news stations have recently experienced changes in top management, and some of the candidates are believed to have pro-China backgrounds. A new senior official at Now News Channel recently ordered the removal from the Internet of footage and online reports about a candidate for Vice President of the University of Hong Kong who is suspected of being a member of the Chinese Communist Party, which has drawn attention from all sectors.
Some scholars have analyzed that after the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, Beijing has tightened its control over the media in Hong Kong, and may further “muzzle” the media by replacing senior officials.
The Hong Kong Public Opinion Institute (HKPO), formerly known as the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong, held a press conference last Tuesday (October 20) to announce the results of its semi-annual “Public Opinion Survey on People’s Evaluation of Hong Kong Media”.
Poll: Freedom of the Press and Credibility of the Media at Record Low
The survey interviewed 1,006 Hong Kong citizens by random telephone sampling from late September to early October. The results show that, among various news media, the Internet and television continue to be Hong Kong people’s main sources of news, with 70% and 66% respectively, while the percentage of news received through newspapers is only 37%, the lowest since records began in 2000.
The survey also found that after the implementation of the “National Security Law” for almost 4 months, Hong Kong people’s satisfaction with the freedom of the press has dropped from minus 21 percentage points to minus 25 percentage points, while people’s satisfaction with the credibility of the news media in Hong Kong has only scored 5.14 marks, a significant drop of 0.34 marks compared to 6 months ago. Results show that Hong Kong people’s satisfaction with the freedom of the press and the credibility of the media have both dropped to record low since the handover of sovereignty in 1997.
Yang Jianxing said that press freedom coincides with the decline of the political climate.
He admitted that Hong Kong’s press freedom has been declining rapidly in recent years, including the Hong Kong government’s refusal to renew the working visa of Ma Kai, a journalist from the Financial Times and former Acting President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong, and the police’s continued restrictions on journalists at demonstrations over the past year. Interviews, especially on August 10 when the search of the Next Media building, showed that only some journalists can enter the interview area, and even proposed to license the media industry, the Hong Kong government’s attitude is to continue to restrict the freedom of the press, which he described as a rapid regression of press freedom.
Yang Jianxing said: “We also see that there is a trend, that is to say the restrictions are more than how to make the freedom of the press in Hong Kong that the foundation is more solid, the public’s right to information is more solid, the government’s openness, transparency and more responsive to the demands of society, this is a direction, it is possible to strengthen the freedom of the press, here is the past few years, the past year more than a lot of things are Rapidly going backwards politically, and what’s starting to be said is restrictions, where ground coverage goes to restrictions, institutional restrictions, some restrictions on documents (press cards), and even starting to talk about having a set of forensic evidence, or even will start to talk about having some legislation, (cracking down) on fake news, things like that.”
National Security Decree adds new red lines to Hong Kong’s press freedom
Yang Jianxing said, after the implementation of the National Security Law has a more direct impact on the freedom of the press in Hong Kong, although we have not yet seen “arrests and closures”, that is, the closure of the media, but we will see the police to enforce the National Security Law, has begun to touch the media, I have heard that some of the media for Hong Kong independence and other sensitive issues began to self-censorship, he believes that the National Security Law has added a new red line for the freedom of the press in Hong Kong.
Yang Jianxing said: “I have heard that some media, in fact, for example, to show some Hong Kong independence; ‘glorious Hong Kong, era of revolution’ banners, or slogans, many media it has to think about, when they do live broadcast, suddenly when these things come out, what do they do? After the National Security Law came out, the media not only said that it was very simple and the legal line was clear, but also added a political red line.
Two pay-TV news stations have seen personnel changes one after another
After the implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, two pay TV news stations, including Now News Channel and Cable News, have experienced successive changes in senior personnel, by the former and current executives of the Wireless News Department and ATV News Department, which are thought to have a possible pro-China background.
Now news and financial information director Zhang Zhigang retired in August this year, the successor is not promoted from within, but by the former senior executive of the Wireless News Department Chen Tiebiao “parachute” to take over, officially took office at the end of June.
According to Hong Kong “Apple Daily” reported that Chen Tiebiao went to Beijing in 1989 to cover the June 4 incident, at that time worked for ATV News Department, the last group of Hong Kong journalists to leave Beijing, he has been responsible for China news, and then joined the Wireless News Department. It is widely believed that Chen Tiebiao has close ties with the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, the Beijing-based organization, and it is feared that the Liaison Office may have interfered with his appointment so that TVB and Now News can be more on the same page in their future reporting.
Media changes top management to oversee news reporting editorial and content
In response to a question from the Voice of America about the impact of personnel changes in the top two paid news stations, Yang said that Hong Kong’s economy has been affected by political factors, especially in mainland China, some companies or funds, the media in Hong Kong as a commercial institution are increasingly influential, he believes that by replacing some of the editorial staff to “see” (monitor) the editorial and content of the news reports, in fact, has always existed in the past, not just the last two or three months.
Yang Jianxing said, Hong Kong’s electronic media is not much, this time the two television news stations to replace the top of the timing is quite coincidental, people are concerned about whether Beijing and the Hong Kong government are beginning to tighten media regulation.
Yang said: “That is the climate to see, is (Beijing) central government and even the Hong Kong government, go down some departments actually want to control the media control a little tighter, by the interview on the ground to your organization, that is to say that attitude, for some government news, for some (China) national security issues, for some government think good important, good important Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, China’s national security issues, for some government think good important, good important. It is only natural that they (the government) would want to deepen these issues, that is to say, some of the commercial media can cooperate with its policies, and those perceived threats to its governance can help it manage, govern and develop.
Journalists should uphold their role as “watchdogs”.
This trend may cause some media bosses to look for “gatekeepers” to keep tabs on what the government is thinking, or even to cooperate with the government’s development, Yang said. “The role. Yang Jianxing said: “We would very much like to say that some journalists, all can do the basic is to say, we are the ‘monitor’, that is, the government, whether you want to say the Greater Bay Area, or Hong Kong-Shenzhen cooperation or whatever, you media have to talk about some of the issues out, raise some questions, monitor what the problems, so that is the most It’s basic, and it’s what we look at in our industry or as a union. “
Yang also said that viewers and readers are in fact the watchdogs of the media, and they will find that the media has become a propaganda tool.
Ken Chung said that some of his friends have unsubscribed from pay TV.
HKPOP’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ken Chung, said that many of his friends quit their subscribers immediately after the change of media management, reflecting the public’s dissatisfaction with the credibility of the media.
Jianhua Zhong said: “Recently, when those media organizations changed management, in fact, there were quite a lot of friends around him who had always subscribed to Now, Cable (cable TV), that is, the next day to go without subscribing, the real incident, so it is very simple, that is, in fact, to replace those people, what is their reputation in the industry? That is to say, the whole approach is hurting the media, that is, doing something that hurts the media. You see our survey this time, radio as the main source of news that ratio, from half a year ago, 40%, down to only 27%, a drop of more than 12 points (percentage points), this half year, the main thing that happened is it?
Questioning the Hong Kong government to turn the media into a “government messenger” role
In his opinion, this is harmful to the media, especially to the credibility of the media.
He believes that this will hurt the media, especially the credibility of the media,” said Mr. Chung. Anything, I believe a few things are clear: an open society, a transparent government, an accountable government, and that’s a trend that’s coming that can’t be reversed.”
Now News removes coverage of HKU vice-chancellor candidates to raise concerns
The recent appointment of two vice-chancellors of the University of Hong Kong has drawn great attention from all walks of life, especially one of the vice-chancellor candidates, a scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Shen Zuojun, is suspected of being a member of the Chinese Communist Party. A number of Hong Kong media reported that Now news and financial information director Chen Tiebiao, allegedly bypassed the interview director, twice ordered the education legislator Ye Jianyuan commented on Shen Zuojun suspected of being a member of the Chinese Communist Party and online reports off the shelves.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Mr. Zhong Jianhua said that the practice of editing sensitive news content by media executives has happened on other TV news stations in the past and is not a “new thing”, but most of them happened before the broadcast of the news report, and this time, after the broadcast of the report, they suddenly asked to remove it from the shelves, which is a more revealing practice and has attracted considerable public attention.
The scholars criticized the media for being “mouthpiece” after the change of top management.
After the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law, Beijing tightened its control over the Hong Kong media, possibly by replacing the top brass to further “mouth-breathing” the media.
The result is that the reaction of public opinion is so great that even Now TV’s own news department personnel have opinions, so I think this is just a change that we all expected. The fact that he has retired reflects Beijing’s desire to strengthen its control over the media, which will be accelerated and will further lead to the further ‘mouth-breathing’ of the Hong Kong media.”
Now News Channel issued a statement in response to the report’s removal
In a statement issued by Now News on October 26, 2012, entitled “Statement in response to a comment by a news station on the proposed appointment of two Tsinghua professors by the University of Hong Kong”, Now News stated that after the news broadcast on October 24, 2012, the station “learned that some of the content needs to be further verified, and therefore made some edits based on prudent principles”. Change.”
According to the statement, HKU had pointed out in its response statement on the same day that some media reports were incorrect, “The News Desk continued to update and report the story on the 25th, which included a phone interview with Ip Kin-yuen. The news station will continue to listen to all opinions and provide fair and truthful news to the public.”
Recent Comments