ABSTRACT
The Chinese regime’s media policy aimed to place restrictions on, and streamline, its media to serve its purpose. However, the Hong Kong media were far from cooperative, though some have compromised even if they have not entirely complied with the new rules. The introduction to the annual report on freedom of expression in Hong Kong, compiled by the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Article 19, described the five years since the political regime change as ‘hav[ing] proved worrisome ones for freedom of expression – not worrisome in the sense that there has been a definitive and unambiguous erosion of this important right, but worrisome nonetheless. The coming five years may yet prove more challenging.’624 The report then went on to describe how ‘the environment for vibrant and healthy free expression, and a free press, in Hong Kong has become hazy, and more ambiguous, since 1997.’ What caused the press freedom watchdogs to condemn the erosion of freedom of expression was a growing awareness that the media were being manipulated in a number of ways including political control, economic corruption and suppression.
