Security Law A Grave Threat To Journalism: Watchdog

The national security law poses a “grave threat” to journalism in Hong Kong, the international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday, as it also warned that Radio Television Hong Kong is being subjected to a government-led intimidation campaign.

The group's latest World Press Freedom Index ranks the SAR at 80th out of the 180 countries and territories that it evaluates annually – the same position as last year, but down from 18th place in 2002 when the index was established.

China is ranked 177th, also the same as in 2020. Taiwan is ranked 43rd, while Macau is not included.

In an analysis of the situation in Hong Kong, Reporters Without Borders said the national security law that was imposed in June 2020 is “especially dangerous for journalists”, as it allows Beijing to intervene directly to punish what it regards as “crimes against the state”.

Its regional analysis of Asia also made reference to the “grave threat” posed by the national security law.

It singled out the case of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, a Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize laureate, who has been charged under the national security law and is facing a potential life sentence.

The watchdog said there is resistance, however, from a small number of independent online media outlets that exist through participative funding.

It also said RTHK is “being subjected to a full-blown intimidation campaign by the government with the aim of restricting its editorial autonomy.”

In response, RTHK management said it disagrees with this assessment. It said the station’s public purposes and mission are clearly stipulated in and safeguarded by the RTHK Charter.

It said the broadcaster would continue to abide by its charter, producers’ guidelines, and the laws of Hong Kong.

RTHK has also asked the government for a response to the group's wider assessment of the press freedom situation in the city.

The group's annual report accused regimes in Asia of using the Covid-19 pandemic to tighten their control of information, or as a pretext to impose laws “combining propaganda and suppression of dissent.”

“The behaviour of the region’s few real democracies have meanwhile shown that journalistic freedom is the best antidote to disinformation,” it said.

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