Press freedom in Hong Kong at eleven-year low

Hong Kong's press freedom index continues to decline, reaching an 11-year low. Many reporters fear further restrictions under Article 23 of the national security law, according to a local press group.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association released its annual press freedom rankings on Tuesday. The index consists of two sets of figures based on two surveys – one conducted among media workers and the other among private citizens.

The index was conducted in collaboration with the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute and is based on around 1,000 telephone interviews with randomly selected members of the public and surveys of 251 working journalists between March and May 2024, asking them for their views on the state of press freedom and the impact of specific incidents over the past year.

The press freedom index, which reflects the views of journalists, stood at 25.0 this year, compared to 25.7 last year. It was the fifth consecutive year that the index had fallen. This was also a record low for the index since it was introduced in 2013.

Meanwhile, the association said that the press freedom ranking in the public assessment has remained at 42 since 2019 and has increased by 0.8 to 42.2 in the latest survey.

When asked about their opinion on the Article 23 national security law introduced in March 2024, 92 percent of journalists surveyed and 39 percent of the public said it would significantly affect press freedom in the city.

The association said the discrepancy may be explained by the fact that the debate surrounding Article 23 was relatively less heated compared to the 2020 National Security Law and that the press was already restricted by that previous legislation. Journalists, on the other hand, are more aware that their reporting could potentially violate the new criminal offenses created by Article 23, such as breaches of state secrets.