Cheng Yizhong, CEO of iSunTV: powered by a passion for the truth

Seeing Cheng Yizhong's face brighten as he talks passionately about his news media ideals, it is hard to imagine that he was once locked up for publishing an outspoken newspaper.

Despite his ordeal, Cheng, who joined the iSunTV group as chief executive this year, is adamant that editorial independence is the most valuable asset any media outlet can have.

Cheng, the founder and former chief editor of the outspoken Guangzhou-based , was detained for five months in 2004 on trumped-up charges of corruption, after the paper published daring reports exposing government flaws, among them the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic and the violent death in detention of the migrant Sun Zhigang in 2003. Cheng, 47, was only released after the intervention of retired liberal leaders. He now says the harrowing experience only strengthened his belief in editorial independence.

"My ideals in news have become even stronger, I have a stronger sense of mission, I have abandoned any illusion about the authorities," Cheng said. "On the contrary, I've deepened my understanding of the value of being independent as a journalist on the mainland. My awareness of the media's role as the fourth estate has never been clearer."

He laments the lack of serious, high-quality publications in Hong Kong and the mainland's lack of free speech. Against this background, is only filling a gap, he says.

Cheng said the vicious competition in Hong Kong media was largely due to the overly commercial attitude of investors and operators, who overlooked the fact that a media outlet's best selling point was its credibility.