Veteran BBC journalist Fergal Keane opened his speech on press freedom at a recent forum at the Foreign Correspondents' Club by saying how happy he was to be back in Hong Kong - 'the very heart of human rights in Asia'.
Following him on the podium was The Frontier lawmaker Emily Lau Wai-hing, who raised serious questions about self-censorship dictated by news bosses in the city. Basil Fernando, executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission followed.
A plethora of regional and international rights groups have established offices in Hong Kong.
Amnesty International, the Asian Human Rights Commission, Green- peace and other non-governmental organisations have their regional or China offices in the city, monitoring everything from labour rights on the mainland to police torture in India.
Every year the University of Hong Kong hosts students from around the world in its post graduate degree in human rights law, the only one of its kind in the region.
The presence of international NGOs causes them to sound alarm bells when there is the slightest risk of government encroachment on people's rights.
Solicitor-General Robert Allcock welcomed the existence of such groups, saying it reinforced 'the fundamental right to express views' that was guaranteed by the Basic Law.