In Hong Kong, after the Hong Kong National Security Law, which cracks down on anti-government movements, has been enforced, media officials who are critical of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments have been charged with charges, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association investigates each year. The index of "freedom of the press" felt by the press is the worst in the last eight years.
In Hong Kong, after the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Law in June last year, many pro-democracy activists and politicians were arrested and prosecuted, and the founders of newspapers and news program directors who were critical of the government were convicted. The tightening on the media is rapidly increasing, such as receiving it.
Under these circumstances, the Hong Kong Press Association, in collaboration with a private think tank from February to March, surveyed the press in 2020 on "freedom of the press" and received responses from 3,67 people. It was.
As a result, the index with the highest degree of freedom of the press as 100 was 32.1, which is more than 4 points lower than the previous year, the worst since 2013 when the survey was started.
Eighty-five percent of reporters said that the Hong Kong government was responsible for the impaired freedom of the press.
“The situation is becoming more and more pessimistic. The downtrend is clear, and this is not the bottom, and may worsen,” said Yang Kenxing, president of the Press Association.
The basic law, which is the constitution of Hong Kong, stipulates that "citizens have freedom to speak, report, and publish," but Hong Kong's chief executive, Carrie Lam, said, "The media does not treat it specially." We emphasize that we will take strict measures against the media if we consider it to be a violation of the Safety Maintenance Law.
Especially strict attitude to apple daily report
The Hong Kong government has taken a particularly strict stance on the "Ringo Daily," which is known for its critical tone to China, and is rapidly tightening its tightening.
Founder Jimmy Lai was sentenced to one year and two months in prison in April for attending an unauthorized rally over two protests in August.
This is the first time Rei has been sentenced to prison in connection with a series of protests.
Mr. Rei has also been charged with violating the Hong Kong National Security Law and fraud, which has colluded with foreign powers and harmed national security, and may be convicted further in the future. ..
Other executives of "Ringo Daily" have also been arrested and prosecuted on suspicion of fraud in connection with Mr. Rei's case, and although they are currently on bail, trials are ongoing.
Pressure on the speech of the "Apple Daily" is also increasing, and the Chinese government-oriented newspaper "Ta Kung Pao" published a commentary in April stating that "The Apple Daily should be cracked down."
Hong Kong police chief Tang Ping-keong has repeatedly accused him of "inciting false reports and arousing social hatred."
On the other hand, "Ringo Daily" reports in detail the movements of democratic politicians and activists, and continues to be critical of the governments of China and Hong Kong, but some citizens are worried about their survival. It's up.
Among them, a 48-year-old man said, "I continue to report boldly in Hong Kong now. I read it every day, so I don't want it to disappear under the crackdown."
In addition, a 19-year-old man said, "If the'Apple Daily' disappears, the information that citizens want to know will not be available. However, the freedom of speech in Hong Kong is steadily disappearing, so I myself should not be involved in sensitive topics. It has become. "
* Toe = "Noboru" and "Ozato".
Tightening to the media is also for public broadcasting
The Hong Kong government's squeeze on the media extends to the public broadcaster RTHK.
In March, a high-ranking government official who had no experience in reporting was appointed to the top, and programs featuring pro-democracy supporters were canceled just before the broadcast.
Police also arrested the director of the news program last November, citing the coverage of a program that criticized the police response related to the protests broadcast by RTHK last July.
Mr. Jaclyn Tsai, who was arrested, was charged with violating the Road Traffic Ordinance for acquiring car registration information for purposes other than the original purpose during the interview, and the court was charged with 80,000 yen in Japanese yen on April 22. Convicted of too much fine.
In Hong Kong, obtaining registration information for coverage is considered a common practice in many media, and it seems to be the first time that the press has been convicted of this as a problem. I will.
After the decision, Mr. Cai said in front of many supporters, "I think this decision is not for me personally, but for all reporters in Hong Kong. I do not know how it will affect future reports. But I would like to continue to protect our value in various ways. "
After being arrested, Mr. Cai was terminated from his contract with RTHK, and as a freelance reporter, he continues to cover the trials of citizens arrested and prosecuted in connection with protests.
Mr. Cai told NHK last week that "The method of obtaining personal information from car registration has been used frequently for the past 20 years, but I think that there is a background to the sudden indictment this time. I think looking up public information is a legitimate tool used by the media industry, "he criticized the ruling again.
On top of that, he said about his future activities, "There are many restrictions, crackdowns, and injustices in interviews in Hong Kong. The challenge is how to do a good job as a reporter in this environment." It was.
Government pressure is growing rapidly
In an interview with NHK, Hong Kong Journalists Association representative Yang Kenxing said, "Because Hong Kong was a British colony, the government's attitude toward the media has been close to that of Western societies, and the media has played a role in monitoring the government." I explained.
He added, "Even reporters with decades of experience feel that there has never been a change or pressure in the last year or two. There are more and more dangers and many unpredictable parts," said the government's pressure. He showed the recognition that it was growing rapidly.
“Hong Kong was a window to learn about changes in China's society and economy,” said Yang, noting that the Hong Kong media was responsible for communicating to the world the reality of China, where coverage is severely restricted. ..
"It will have a significant impact on these roles in the future. It's not good for China, Hong Kong, or the world," he said, expressing strong concern over the recession of Hong Kong's press freedom. I did.