Kevin Lau Chun-to - a Hong Kong journalist at the centre of a storm

Watch: Hong Kong ex-editor in press freedom row critical after attack

After a quarter of a century writing news reports and commentaries about Hong Kong and China, veteran journalist Kevin Lau Chun-to - who was brutally chopped in a Sai Wan Ho street yesterday - had in recent weeks found himself in the headlines, held aloft as a victim in what some are calling Hong Kong's besieged media.

It started last month when Lau made a surprise announcement to colleagues: he was being removed from his post as chief editor of the Chinese-language daily Ming Pao - a post he had held for just two years. The 49-year-old said he would assume a new role in the newspaper group, developing electronic books and teaching materials.

Ming Pao staff, as well as critics of the city's government, were stunned. They protested, linking his ousting with political pressure from Beijing. They believed the newspaper management was unhappy with Lau's editorial decisions - which some say are sympathetic to Hong Kong's pan-democratic camp. Under Lau the paper investigated the city's chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, and the mysterious death of a mainland dissident, and participated in an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists into offshore bank accounts held by members of the Chinese elite.

Cheung Kin-bor, editorial director of Ming Pao, said the change had nothing to do with political pressure. He said the newspaper group's senior management had always allowed editors a free hand to pursue stories.