Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom rankings as authorities enforced a draconian new security law to silence critical media outlets and jail journalists, according to a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). ) released on Tuesday.

A tightening of “security laws”

“This is the biggest fall of the year, but it is fully deserved due to the constant attacks on press freedom and the slow disappearance of the rule of law in Hong Kong,” said Cédric Alviani, Head of RSF's East Asia desk, based in Taiwan.

In the past year alone, it has dropped 68 places to 148th, placing the international business center between the Philippines and Turkey.

For two decades, the media rights organization has ranked countries and territories around the world on the freedom of their press.

Many journalists imprisoned

Hong Kong, a regional hub for international and local media, has steadily fallen in the rankings under Chinese rule.

China imposed increasingly authoritarian measures in Hong Kong following large-scale and at times violent pro-democracy protests three years ago.

She implemented a sweeping national security law in 2020 that has since crushed dissent and seen dozens of pro-democracy activists and journalists jailed.

According to Alviani, after initially targeting political opponents and pro-democracy activists, the authorities in 2021 deployed this law against local media.

Last year, Apple Daily and Stand News, two opposition media outlets, had to shut down after chief editors were arrested and the company's assets were frozen under the security law.

Alviani said RSF's database currently lists 13 jailed Hong Kong media professionals, a number he called "enormous" and equivalent to almost ten percent of all known detentions of journalists in Hong Kong. China.

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