Media freedom in Hong Kong, already showing signs of significant strain with the closure of independent news outlets and growing self-censorship among journalists and commentators, faces further challenges as a former editor is imprisoned for sedition. Meanwhile, media companies look towards the Chinese mainland to increase audiences and revenue.

The downstream effects of the National Security Law (2020), enacted to quell the 2019 social protests in Hong Kong, continue reverberating among the news media and journalists in Hong Kong as failure to navigate the uncertain red lines in their reporting can potentially lead to their arrest. Several news outlets ceased operations soon after the enactment of the law, a number of notable columnists have ceased writing op-eds, and newspapers such as Ming Pao added disclaimers to all their published commentaries. Some foreign correspondents have also left the city. The Wall Street Journal moved its Asia headquarters to Singapore, and the US-funded news service Radio Free Asia, which has been operating in Hong Kong since 1996, cited the uncertain climate for journalism for its decision to leave following the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (i.e. Article 23) in 2024. Once known to be a bastion of press freedom in the region and ranking 18th globally in the 2002 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong is now placed 140th in the 2025 rankings.

In the latest development, the former Editor-in-Chief of the now-defunct digital news outlet Stand News, Chung Pui-kuen, was sentenced to 21 months in prison having been found guilty of overseeing the publishing of 11 articles during 2020–21 that had ‘seditious intention’. Nine of the 11 articles were op-eds critical of the local and Chinese government. The court verdict was based on a colonial-era sedition law that had not been used for over 50 years and which the UK abolished in 2009. After the verdict, a joint statement of concern was released by the Media Freedom Coalition, signed by 25 countries, pointing out that for ‘media workers to safely fulfil their legitimate role in scrutinising government policy and actions, journalism should not be prosecuted under the guise of national security’.¹ The Hong Kong government made an immediate rebuttal to the statement, reiterating its adherence to freedom of the press under local laws and international treaties.²

In another significant court ruling, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the Communications Authority, Hong Kong’s broadcasting regulator, against a previous ruling ordering the Authority to revoke its warning in 2020 to the public broadcaster RTHK following the broadcast of a controversial episode in a satirical show that allegedly denigrated and insulted the police. The show Headliner was a popular TV programme that satirised public affairs and aired its first episode in 1989. Following the warning, RTHK ceased production of the show. A major point of contention was whether RTHK violated regulations by not checking the veracity of ‘factual contents’, as the Authority claimed. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the requirement of accuracy does not apply to satirical expression.³ Some observers noted that the ruling demonstrated Hong Kong’s judicial independence and provided ‘belated justice’ for the programme, while some sceptics opined that the court might rule against the government only in relatively minor cases.

News media organisations in Hong Kong are facing increasingly severe economic difficulties due to declining local advertising revenue. By way of response TVB, Hong Kong's largest local broadcaster, significantly reduced its annual losses by more than half by generating significant revenue from mainland China. While there are substantial restrictions on whether and how Hong Kong media can enter the mainland market, TVB was able to expand its presence in 2024 by signing formal partnerships with Tencent Video to co-produce TV dramas with Alibaba's online video platform, Youku, to distribute local content to the mainland. Whether ‘entering China’ is a feasible strategy to resolve Hong Kong media’s financial challenge more widely remains to be seen. Meanwhile, digital outlet HK01 is gaining revenue by branding itself as a lifestyle platform combining news reporting with e-commerce and event ticketing services. However, financial sustainability remains a significant issue for smaller-scale online outlets.

RTHK made headlines in 2023 with the introduction of its AI presenter, ‘Aida’, which delivered daily summaries of the Hong Kong weather report. In 2024, it established its ‘AI Lab’ to explore ways to leverage AI technologies in its programme production processes, such as using AI presenters for its sports and health-related podcasts. These initiatives indicate that RTHK is, at least publicly, at the forefront of AI development in the industry.

Michael Chan, Francis Lee, and Hsuan-Ting Chen
Chinese University of Hong Kong

Despite concerns over the chilling effect of national security laws, most news brands remain trusted by at least half of our respondents. Public broadcaster RTHK remains one of the most highly trusted brands, along with commercial NowTV News, while the small number of digital-only news brands have slightly lower scores, partly because they are less well known by the wider public.

Footnotes