Last May the Journalism Department of the Chinese University published findings of a survey on press freedom conducted in the summer of 1996. More than 550 journalists replied to 900 questionnaires sent to 22 news organisations.
More than half the respondents agreed the news media were wary of criticising the Chinese government. More than a third said the media were reluctant to criticise big business.
This is understandable. News organisations depend on mainland-based and big local corporations for advertising. A full page advertisement costs more than $100,000.
Every day newspapers are crammed with ads from property companies. Thus their influence cannot be under-estimated. Some newspapers have even introduced marketing executives into editorial departments to plan strategy.
In the 1980s, an appointed legislative councillor said the Hong Kong Government's land and housing policy had resulted in a dozen property developers accumulating enormous wealth at the expense of millions of Hong Kong people. This is still true today. Many families spend more than half their income on rents or mortgages.
The question of rents in commercial premises came to a head recently when the businesses of some retailers were hit by the fall in tourism and the Asian financial meltdown.
Some property developers, like New World, offered to reduce rents. Others, like Wharf, refused. Wharf managers said the company would stick to the contractual agreements with the tenants.