The outcome of pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai's trial won't suddenly seal the decline of press freedom in Hong Kong, journalists say. The national security law has already done that.
It's been a slow decline marked by arrests and raids that resulted in media shutdowns and the loss of hundreds of jobs.
The Hong Kong anti-government protests of 2019 were followed by Beijing imposing a national security law on the city in 2020. A political crackdown ensued, which also saw press freedom in Hong Kong go into freefall.
In four years, at least 28 journalists and press freedom defenders have been arrested, with 10 still in jail, and more than a dozen media outlets closed, according to Reporters without Borders, also known as RSF.
Apple Daily and Stand News are two of Hong Kong's biggest casualties.
Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, has been imprisoned for more that 3-½ years and is currently on trial in one of Hong Kong's most high-profile national security cases, facing charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious publications.
The 76-year-old was first arrested at the end of 2020 on various charges and has been sentenced to prison on multiple occasions for offenses ranging from fraud to unauthorized assembly.
Stand News executives also are on trial for conspiring to publish seditious publications. Like Lai, the trials have been delayed more than once, with Lai's recently postponed until November 2024.
Many Western media observers and critics say the outcome of Lai's trial will measure the decline of Hong Kong's limited freedoms and democracy.
But Selina Cheng, the chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, or HKJA, says the trials of Lai and other media executives won't make much difference to what Hong Kong is today.
"Eventual convictions are not going to move the needle too much. The fact that these two media companies have already shut down, they've ceased the day their executives are arrested, even before they face trial. That's already set in stone and conviction or not, is not going to reverse that," she told VOA.
Ronson Chan, an independent journalist and former editor of Stand News, said it's clear that press freedom in Hong Kong has its limitations.
"Jimmy Lai's case makes Hong Kong journalists think what the red lines are. I think the fall of Apple Daily and Next Media, it represents the freedom of press has limitations," he told VOA.
Since the national security law came into effect, at least 900 journalists have lost their jobs, according to RSF.
The closure of Apple Daily and Stand News have contributed, but Cheng says other factors have played a part in this. TVB — Hong Kong's free-to-air broadcaster — laid off 300 staff last year for cost-saving purposes.
The job losses are "not necessarily directly because of the national security law or Hong Kong's political situation, but also because of general lack of confidence in the economy," she said.
Under pressure
Media unions like the HKJA have come under pressure in recent years. The press group has been criticized by authorities and Chinese-state media for alleged links to activist organizations.
Cheng said some of its members are worried about being affiliated with the group, which has contributed to its dwindling numbers. Since 2019, membership in the association dropped from "about 500 to 300," Cheng said.
"People are worried that if they get seen as members in public or if their employers find out that they're active in the union, then they could face retaliation and the company could be affected," she said. "I wouldn't say it's very widespread. But I can tell that because we have fewer members from sort of government-backed media or large mainstream organizations like the TV channels."
Cheng discovered firsthand the risks of being associated with the media union. She was dismissed from her staff role at The Wall Street Journal in July, having worked with the paper since 2022. She says she was fired from her job because she was recently elected as the chair at the HKJA.
"The editor said employees of The Journal should not be seen as advocating for press freedom in a place like Hong Kong," Cheng's statement read.
A spokesperson at Dow Jones, parent company of The Journal, confirmed to VOA they had made personnel changes but declined to comment on specific individuals.
Ronson Chan, who is the former chair of the HJKA, said the firing "gives a very bad example to whole media industry in Hong Kong. The mainstream media, news channel, radio, TV channels – they are not willing for their staff to be HKJA members, chair or vice members," he told VOA.
"It seems that if you work for foreign media that you cannot hold your position in [HKJA]. Who can be chair? Maybe only people like me, people who work for independent media," he said.
Eric Wishart, standards editor at Agency France-Presse in Hong Kong, said international media outlets have prevented their journalists from running as presidents of press clubs in recent years.
"I know of several good potential candidates who were told by their management that they could not run — that's why the election for president is often uncontested, due to a lack of candidates," he told the China Media Project.
The Foreign Correspondents Club — Hong Kong (FCCHK) has faced scrutiny in recent years, including concerns over whether its lease in a state-owned building would be renewed, due to criticism over its stance on press freedom. The club scrapped its annual Human Rights Press Awards in 2022, leading several board members, including Wishart, to resign in protest.
Wishart is a former president of FCCHK and recently wrote the book "Journalism Ethics: 21 Essentials from Wars to Artificial Intelligence." He told VOA the city's journalist clubs should stick together.
"Organizations such as the HKJA, the AAJA [Asian-American Journalist Association] and the FCC play an important role in speaking up for press freedom, and local and international journalists should work together to defend their rights," he said.
"At a time when press freedom is under unprecedented attack around the world ... journalists must be confident that they have the support of their news organizations and should not fear retribution or punishment for defending press freedom."
Hong Kong ranks 135 out of 180 on the RSF World Press Freedom Index where number 1 represents the best environment. In 2019, the year before the national security law took effect, Hong Kong ranked 73.
