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Chief Executive Carrie Lam takes questions from the media at a press conference on the policy address at the government headquarters in Tamar, Admiralty, on October 18, 2018. Photo: Felix Wong
OpinionLetters

Letters | Why Hong Kong can’t ignore decline in press freedom rankings

  • A high degree of press freedom avoids the possibility of officials abusing their power and communicates to the public that the government is transparent
Press freedom in Hong Kong
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP

The media is often called the “fourth estate” for its role in monitoring the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government. The media exercises its power through freedom of the press and of expression.

Hong Kong ranked 58th on the World Press Freedom Index in 2013 and has fallen steadily since then to 70th in 2018, a slight rise from its ranking of 73rd in 2017. Reporters Without Borders, which puts out the rankings, cited “Beijing’s baleful influence” in Hong Kong as a reason for the decline. However, the city government also bears some responsibility for the decline of the city’s core values, which include the freedom of expression.

As an agent of socialisation and as the fourth estate, the media should be responsible for sending out accurate messages to the public, honouring the people’s right to information. However, the government appears to be restricting the amount of information accessible to the media.

In 2013, the government began to issue written statements instead of holding press conferences. Written statements are unidirectional and do not allow journalists to raise questions and receive answers on the spot. These statements are often not comprehensive enough for journalists to report on all news angles. This approach limits people’s access to information.

The Carrie Lam administration also faced criticism from journalists recently for a press conference in which officials briefed the media at short notice on three different but major topics: problems on the Sha Tin-Central rail link, plans to amend extradition laws and shelved efforts to change tolls for cross-harbour tunnels.

To enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness, a higher degree of press freedom is desirable and would include measures such as making administrative procedures transparent and holding more press conferences. A high degree of press freedom avoids the possibility of officials abusing their power and communicates to the public that the government is transparent.

Greater press freedom means fewer public outcries or instances of social discontent, along with enhanced legitimacy and efficiency for the government.

Hong Kong’s decline in the global press freedom ranking should prompt a rethink on our methods of governance.

Matthew Lin, Tai Po

Well-wishers hold a banner with welcome messages for journalists returning to Hong Kong from Beijing after the Tiananmen Square crackdown, on June 6, 1989. Photo: Sam Chan

Historical amnesia is not the way forward

Your columnist Alex Lo recommends that we forget the June 4 crackdown (“June 4 has become an ideological prism”, April 5). You forgot something Mr Lo: the Holocaust is in the past too, as is the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Let’s forget them all and stop using the horrible word “democracy”. It must make both Mr Lo and President Xi Jinping afraid of a future that would not see our wonderful city totally integrated in a “one country, one dictatorship” system.

Sven Topp, Mui Wo

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