Off the Record

From constitutional reforms to the three-minute exemption from the idling engine ban, it is the media that informs the public about government decisions to adopt or refuse policies. In the past, the media were able to closely monitor the behavior of the government by attending press conferences about new policies or rejected legislation. Journalists were able to film speeches, record interviews and quote the government official who was making the announcement. They could print or broadcast the official’s name and title, and if the policy proved controversial, they could publicly take that person to task.

But in the last couple of years, when you’ve been reading newspapers or watching the news on television, you will increasingly come across information released by “government sources” or “a government spokesperson.” Likewise there is less film footage, voice recordings or official quotes from government speeches because many announcements are being made in secretive “off-record briefings” and not open press conferences.

Unlike a press conference, where journalists can report with few restrictions, an off-record briefing only allows the media to take notes which they can only attribute to a nameless government spokesperson. So rather than holding press conferences and allowing journalists to quote them and use their names, government officials are choosing to hide behind anonymous titles. This means they can’t be held responsible for what they say and the public doesn’t know which government official has made which statement. In a nutshell, it means government officials don’t have to be accountable for their words and actions. Among the 34 press meetings held by the government from March to May, 12 of them were off-record briefings.

Academics and professionals regard the use of off-record briefings as a way for the government to evade its political responsibilities. Assistant Professor To Yiu-ming from the Department of Journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University says: “On the one hand, the government thinks that it is important for the media to promote its policies. Therefore, it regards the media as a tool of propaganda which can help citizens understand its policies. But they are also afraid to bear political responsibilities. So, government officials often release information anonymously.” The chief information officer of the government's Information Services Department defends the government's methods of dealing with the press, explaining that they believe press conferences and off-record briefings are merely “two different types of media activities held for different purposes,” he says. “They complement each other.”

The trend of switching from press conferences (now also being broadcasted live on TV and on government websites) to off-record press briefings also leads some to doubt if that defies the very purpose of the government's accountability system. Political appointees, named by the Chief Executive, are supposed to bear the political responsibilities of the adminstration, one of which is to face the public and strengthen the adminstration's relations with the public. In 2007, a report filed by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau gave the rationale to justify the extra $55 million a year in the government budget to hire a total of 48 undersecretaries and political assistants. The rationale is to “take the lead in handling political issues, in attending public meetings... and in dealing with media.” However, the lack of press conferences being held means that these new political appointees are hardly facing the public. In fact, the latest public poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong in January has shown that 90 percent of the respondents cannot name any one of the 18 political appointees hired under the expanded system. “[The lack of press conferences] makes the government fail to fulfill the promises ingrained in the design of the system,” political commentator Ivan Choy says.

The use of off-record briefings is also detrimental to press freedom in Hong Kong. “Not all reporters are invited to these off-record briefings,” says Choy. “Through the selective off-record briefings, the government can reward the pro-government media while penalizing other media which they consider to be disobedient.” In 2008, Chief Executive Donald Tsang suddenly dropped the idea of introducing a means test for elderly allowances, also known as “fruit money.” However, when Tsang held a briefing he only invited media that were less critical of the government while Next Media and other outspoken media organizations were not invited. Some fear that reporters might start censoring their work to ensure they continue to be invited to the government briefings which are a good source of stories.