Janet Wai Han Lo

One of the focuses of my research is press freedom and journalists’ struggles in Hong Kong under China’s rule. Hong Kong was a colony of the United Kingdom until 1997, when it was handed over to China to be governed under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. Despite China's initial pledge to regard Hong Kong as a special administrative region, Hong Kong has been undergoing rapid political changes since the 2019 anti-government protests. In June 2020, the central government bypassed the local legislature and directly implemented the national security law. Many key political activists in Hong Kong are now in jail or in exile. Between 2019 and 2023, Hong Kong’s press freedom index dropped from 70.35 to 44.86. It is now ranked 140 among 180 countries and regions on this index. In my study, I interviewed junior and senior journalists from Hong Kong’s leading news media representing different political standpoints were interviewed. The study documented a turning point in the deterioration of Hong Kong’s press freedom. The findings suggested that leading news media in Hong Kong have been facing unprecedented political pressure and that journalists have been struggling to maintain their standards under this existential threat.

Definition of journalists' safety

Journalists’ safety refers to the safety of journalists from hurt, harm, intimidation, and harassment. Ensuring journalists’ safety is crucial to maintaining press freedom and promoting fair and accurate news reporting. Various types of measures can be adopted to ensure journalists’ safety, including measures that address physical safety, psychological safety, digital safety, and legal safety. Physical safety: To protect themselves from physical harm, kidnapping and murder, journalists could wear protective gear or travel with security personnel. Psychological safety: As journalists are under tremendous stress and pressure when reporting difficult and dangerous stories, training on dealing with stress and trauma is important. Psychological support and counselling may also help in some cases. Digital safety: In the digital era, hacking, surveillance, and online harassment of journalists are becoming more common. To protect journalists from digital threats, media companies and associations could use strong passwords and educate reporters about potential online risks. Legal safety: Journalists may face legal risks when they report sensitive stories. They must be aware of their legal rights and the legal resources that are available to them if they are targeted for their reporting.

Future plans for research on journalists' safety

To continue our study, we are planning to do follow-up interviews with journalists from both Hong Kong’s leading news media and independent media representing different political standpoints. At the same time, we would like to do some quantitative content analysis of the newspapers to see the self-censorship situation in Hong Kong.