Hong Kong plummets towards bottom of press freedom ranking
The Hindu
In the last year it has plunged 68 places to 148th, sandwiching the business hub between the Philippines and Turkey
Hong Kong has plummeted down an international press freedom chart as authorities have wielded a draconian new security law to silence critical news outlets and jail journalists, a new report said on May 3.
For two decades, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked countries and territories around the world by how free their press is. Hong Kong, a regional hub for both international and local media, has been steadily slipping down the table under Chinese rule.
In the last year it has plunged 68 places to 148th, sandwiching the business hub between the Philippines and Turkey. "It is the biggest downfall of the year, but it is fully deserved due to the consistent attacks on freedom of the press and the slow disappearance of the rule of law in Hong Kong," Cedric Alviani, head of RSF's Taiwan-based East Asia bureau, told AFP.
"In the past year we have seen a drastic, drastic move against journalists," he added. China has imposed increasingly authoritarian strictures on Hong Kong following large-scale and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests three years ago.
It implemented a sweeping national security law in 2020 that has crushed dissent and seen dozens of democracy activists jailed as well as journalists. Mr. Alviani said authorities initially used the law to pursue political opponents, but throughout 2021 it began to increasingly be deployed against local media.
Last year, Apple Daily and Stand News, two popular outlets critical of the government, collapsed after newsroom leaders were arrested and company assets were frozen by the security law. Mr. Alviani said RSF's database lists 13 Hong Kong media workers in jail, a number he said was "enormous" and equivalent to almost ten percent of all known journalist detentions in China.
China has consistently been ranked by RSF as one of the world's most hostile countries for journalists and currently sits at 175th out of 180.
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