non-CCP-controlled/leaning media outlets now in Hong Kong :(
It's only Tuesday but it's been a terrible week already as far as those who care for freedom in Hong Kong are concerned. In the wee hours of Monday morning, I learnt via a Tweet that the deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI), Hong Kong's leading independent pollster, had left Hong Kong.
In a Hong Kong Free Press piece that came out later in the day, Chung Kim-wah was reported as having done so because he had decided that the city where he had been born and raised was "a place where one may “no longer live normally and without intimidation.”" Interestingly, HKPORI CEO Robert Chung remains in Hong Kong, for now. But I wouldn't be surprised if he too were to join the growing exodus before too long.
The latest individual to have announced that he, too, has left Hong Kong, is political cartoonist Ah-To (whose works -- including this, this and this -- have touched many hearts). Excerpts from a social media post he put out today have been translated into English and shared by Niao Collective. They include the following heartrending message: "I’m sorry. I’ve left [Hong Kong] because I want to continue to make art for [Hong Kong].
This may sound like a contradiction, but my heart is full of conflict. If my spirit remains here, my flesh is already in exile…; … and to tear myself apart in such a way when I create, I worry my art would become soulless and detached. But if I stayed to draw political cartoons, the mental toll would be just too great. I am forced to make this choice."
Also: "Please forgive me for being so weak. I can only create art from afar to support HK. Because I left in a hurry and quietly, I regret not being able to say goodbye to friends. Thinking about all those HK friends and family I may not see for a long time, thinking about...; … our fellow fighters who are in jail, my loyal readers, my wife who has been forced to leave with me.. my heart hurts. I’ve never made a post that made me so exhausted, every word is pain. But I will remember this pain, and give voice to those without a voice…".
In between the news of Chung Kim-wah and Ah-To's departures has been that of human rights lawyer Michael Vidier. Chased around Hong Kong Airport last night by pro-Beijing news outlets (as with another prominent Hong Kong lawyer, Paul Harris, who left for Britain back in early March), I'm sure that he, too, was prompted to leave after being contacted/warned by National Security Police. The writing was on the wall after news came last week that his law firm, Vidier & Co, would cease practice on June 3rd after 19 years of operation. But it seems that June date wasn't soon enough for the authorities.
If all this wasn't upsetting enough, consider also that yesterday saw the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) announce that it would be suspending the 26th edition of its human rights reporting awards. In a letter to its members, the organization stated that: ""Over the last two years, journalists in Hong Kong have been operating
under new 'red lines' on what is and is not permissible, but there
remain significant areas of uncertainty and we do not wish
unintentionally to violate the law. This is the context in which we
decided to suspend the awards". Specifically, it was feared that the awarding of a number of awards to the now defunct Stand News would violate the national security law as the reportage that would be recognized covered topics such as police accountability in the Hong Kong protests in 2019.
That it was a contentious decision can be seen in seven of its press freedom committee members, including the Washington Post's Hong Kong and Southeast Asia bureau chief, Shibani Mahtani, the Financial Times' Jennifer Creery, Quartz's Mary Hui and freelance writer Timothy McLaughlin, announcing their resignation from the committee in protest. In addition, the Wall Street Journal's Dan Strumpf, has announced his resignation from the FCC's board.
In what can seem as a retort and rebuke to the Hong Kong FCC's refusal as an organization to stand with local, very much embattled Hong Kong journalists, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) announced today that its Freedom of the Press Asia award had gone to "Hong Kong journalists". As Japan-based Nikkei Asia journalist, Andy Sharp, noted: "While Japan is not perfect, there is freedom of speech and expression here, unlike in many countries."
In contrast, while incoming Hong Kong chief executive John Lee may asssert that press freedom exists in the Hong Kong (so there is no need to ask him to “defend” it), I think most of us know it's otherwise. No need to take my word for it. Instead, consider this piece in The Guardian today about advocacy group Hong Kong Watch reporting on the almost complete dismantling of the free press in this city.
More than by the way, Hong Kong Watch's website is no longer accessible from Hong Kong without a VPN (after the group refused to obey the Hong Kong government's demand that it shut down its website). So, in view of the Hong Kong government clearly not wanting what Hong Kong Watch says to be read and heard, I reckon people would (and should?) be even more curious to find out what it has to say about Hong Kong!
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