The Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) made news last Friday by issuing a forceful statement highlighting the escalating threats to media freedom within Hong Kong. The MFC, which features a cross-continental alliance of 50 countries and has been in operation since 2019, has picked up the gauntlet to promote media freedom and to safeguard the lives and rights of journalists the world over.
The coalition voiced its grave concerns over the prevailing landscape where Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities continue their assault on press freedom and stifle independent local media entities. The expressed concerns revolved around the steady rise of media worker prosecutions under the pretext of sedition since the controversial National Security Law was codified in 2020. Self-censorship among press fraternity has seen a spike, alleges the statement.
The statement further asserts that the use of sedition laws to thwart journalistic activities is detrimental to the autonomy of Hong Kong, and encroaches upon the rights entitled to the populace under the Basic Law.
This outcry comes as a reminder of the second anniversary of the cessation of the Stand News, a non-profit digital news agency. Seven members of their team were imprisoned following a national security police raid on charges of “conspiring to publish seditious materials”. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, upheld his condemnation of the arrests, urging the Hong Kong authorities to stop impeding the functioning of free and independent media.
Under the same purview, the year observed pro-democracy daily Apple Daily receiving similar treatment of raids and arrests, triggering criticism from US and EU higher-ups. In 2021, BBC World News was prohibited following accusations of severe breach of Chinese codes and regulations. CitizenNews declared in 2022 that it will cease its services due to escalating safety worries for its journalists.
The National Security Law has drawn international condemnation for its abridgement of autonomy and its penal actions against dissent. Widespread protests against the Law led to severe repression from the police. Hong Kong’s standing in the Hong Kong Journalist’s Association Press Freedom Index has declined consecutively four times in the four years following the introduction of the Law. The Hong Kong Watch remarked in 2022 that the media crackdown had almost extinguished press freedom in the region. Harassment of journalists by authorities was denounced in 2023 by the Hong Kong Journalist Association and Reporters Without Borders.
Post the release of their statement, the MFC is urging the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to honor their international human rights commitments and to sustain the high levels of autonomy that Hong Kong formerly enjoyed.