The relationship between the media, the government and law enforcement has become increasingly volatile and tense since last year’s social unrest, even more so since the enactment of the National Security Law. Among the Incidents that have caused concern are the August police raid on Apple Daily, and later the arrest of its owner Jimmy Lai, who is currently remanded pending trail in April. In this instance he is facing fraud charges, with even more serious charges in the pipeline.
There was also the September announcement that the police would stop recognising the press credentials of many journalists. They say they will only accept accreditation from government-registered outlets and “internationally known” foreign media. In November, RTHK producer Bao Choy was arrested on charges of making a false statement to obtain vehicle licence information from a public database while investigating the Yuen Long MTR attack. Then came more recent events at the broadcaster i-Cable. After a management reshuffle in August, followed by a request for staff to take unpaid leave and the firing of three senior engineers, the company then sacked a further 40 members of staff with immediate effect, including the entire investigative news team. In protest, the whole China news team resigned.

With us to talk about the current media situation are Francis Lee, Director of Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Journalism and Communication, and Tom Grundy, Editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Free Press.