Why the HK press won’t fight for press freedom

Following the WSJ’s firing of Selina Cheng, China Media Project looks at how most international and local media in Hong Kong dissuade employees from campaigning for press freedom…

In other parts of the world, getting elected to lead one’s local press group is a cause of celebration — a sign that a journalist has become a pillar of the professional community, esteemed and trusted by their colleagues. But for Selina Cheng, it was a cause for concern. The day after she was chosen by members of the Hong Kong Journalists Association to be their next chairperson, she told the China Media Project she was surprised not to have been immediately fired by her employer, the Wall Street Journal. When senior editors learned about her plan to stand on the eve of the election, her supervisor at the WSJ’s international desk in London told her to withdraw and quit the HKJA’s executive committee, where she had already served for three years.

Put bluntly, if a commercial enterprise wants to operate in today’s Hong Kong, it can’t oppose or contradict the authorities. HSBC or Manulife refuse emigres access to their MPF funds. Corporations will put their names onto joint public statements welcoming national security laws. Chambers of Commerce tiptoe around sensitive subjects like rule of law. They have shareholders’ (and they would argue employees’ and customers’) interests to protect. It’s either that, or leave.

The Guardian, of course, moved its correspondent to Taipei – and has found plenty of things worthy of coverage there. Following yesterday’s Reg-vs-democracy thing, an article on how Taiwan’s government gained voters’ trust…

In 2014, the Taiwanese government’s approval rating was less than 10%. Anything it suggested was automatically distrusted. Then, an uprising prompted a chain of events that would transform it into one of the most trusted democratic governments in the world.

On 18 March 2014, a coalition of students and civil society groups occupied the parliament, protesting against a proposed trade deal with Beijing that was being fast-tracked without scrutiny. The protesters included civic hackers using technology to promote transparency in government and experiment in digital democracy. During the weeks of the occupation, they demonstrated a different way of operating – through listening and building consensus, rather than directing and opposing.

After the protest something extraordinary happened. The government invited the protesters in – some became mentors to ministers, others were appointed as participation officers championing involvement in government departments, and a new team – the Public Digital Innovation Space – was established. One of the hackers, Audrey Tang, went from occupier to digital minister.