June 2013
The Media in Hong Kong Imposing “Self-restrictions” on China Coverage
Ken-ichi Yamada
Following the previous number, this article features issues of media reports on China in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which are becoming more and more “pro-China,” focusing on the media in Hong Kong in this number. The author discusses the following two cases: (1) the suspension of broadcasting at DBC, a digital radio station, and (2) the “about-face” by South China Morning Post, a high-grade English newspaper. Both cases indicate the reality that media owners’ “consideration” for China business is becoming more influential on the media coverage on China. This problem is identical with that in Taiwan, but Hong Kong’s media are faced with a harsher environment due to the fact that Hong Kong is already under the rule of the People's Republic of China and that the media outlets are not only affected by the economic interest of the owners but also under the pressure of the Chinese government, through its Hong Kong office and the Hong Kong government.
In Hong Kong, while the Internet is an important element that can be an antidote for the protection of media freedom, the “fighting spirit of journalists” is the one and only defense that the conventional media, such as broadcasters and newspapers. However, in order for the fighting spirit to function, it is essential to have strong support from the public. In RTHK, Hong Kong’s public service broadcaster, the corporate manager proposed to discontinue a popular show to introduce a program that would serve for “government publicity,” but employees strongly objected and won the withdrawal of the plan. Behind the triumph lies the strong support from the Hong Kong citizen for RTHK that is operated on the basis of editorial independence. With commercial media becoming more “weakened,” the people in Hong Kong develop a strong desire to make RTHK the “stronghold for press freedom.”
Conventional media’s turning “pro-China” is advancing both in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but there have been obvious “warnings” from the public through the market, represented by the declining circulations of newspapers that are becoming more and more “pro-China,” which, along with the Internet and other new media, will put a certain brake on the “pro-China” trend of media reports in Taiwan and Hong Kong.