Hong Kong press freedom index falls amid attacks on journalists, self-censorship
Journalists Association cites attacks on reporters for decline in annual index
Press freedom in Hong Kong continued to deteriorate last year in the face of self-censorship and high-profile cases of violence, a poll of journalists and members of the public showed.
While more than half of the members of the public surveyed for the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index felt that last year saw a step back for press freedom, journalists were even more gloomy. Some 90 per cent said press freedom had suffered, with 48 per cent pointing to a "substantial setback".
The Hong Kong Journalists Association, which runs the annual index, said the results reflected a growing number of physical attacks on journalists, including during the Occupy protests and a February knife attack on former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau Chun-to.
Overall, the Press Freedom Index stood at 48.8 points out of 100 for the general public, down 0.6 points year on year. For journalists, the decline was sharper, down 3.1 points on the 2013 figure to 38.9.
The index drew on two polls conducted in January. The University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme surveyed 1,035 members of the public, while the HKJA interviewed 537 journalists.
All were asked 10 questions about the working environment for journalists, and were asked to give answers on a scale of 0 to 10.