Hong Kong Watch stands in solidarity with Hong Kong journalists on World Press Freedom Day
On World Press Freedom Day, Hong Kong Watch stands in solidarity with the courageous journalists in Hong Kong facing systemic restrictions, attacks, and censorship under the repressive Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL).
The scale of Hong Kong’s press freedom collapse is starkly reflected in global rankings. In the 2026 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index Hong Kong continued to rank 140th out of 180 countries. In 2010, Hong Kong was placed at 34th in the Press Freedom Index, although this had declined to 80th place by 2020. Following the passage of the Hong Kong National Security Law, Hong Kong dropped severely, culminating in its current position at 140th.
The continued deterioration in freedom of press is marked by the imprisonment of journalists and targeting of media outlets by Hong Kong authorities. Most notably, British citizen Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was found guilty of national security law charges and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in February this year, after a gruelling two-year trial. At the time of his sentencing, Jimmy Lai had already been imprisoned for over 1,800 days in solitary confinement. He is diabetic and in deteriorating health, yet continues to be denied adequate medical care as well as consular support.
Jimmy Lai’s case is not an isolated one. In May 2025, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) revealed that the Hong Kong government was targeting at least eight independent media outlets, and at least 20 journalists and their family members, including HKJA Chairperson Selina Cheng and her parents, with tax inspections and backdated audit demands.
International media have not been spared. In August 2025, Reporters Without Borders condemned Hong Kong immigration authorities for denying a Bloomberg journalist a work visa without explanation.
More recently, French journalist Antoine Vedeilhe was detained for three hours upon arriving at Hong Kong International Airport on 2 November 2025, while travelling to shoot a documentary for French public broadcaster France Télévisions. He was questioned, subjected to a full-body search, and deported without being given any official explanation. RSF described Vedeilhe as the 13th foreign media worker to have been denied entry or a visa by Hong Kong authorities since the HKNSL came into effect in 2020.
Megan Khoo, Policy Director at Hong Kong Watch, commented:
“The cumulative effect of the deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong has been a hollowing out of the city’s once-vibrant media landscape. Independent outlets have been shuttered, journalists jailed, and those who remain face harassment, surveillance, and now weaponised tax audits.
The international community cannot look away. Governments must hold Beijing and Hong Kong accountable to their obligations under international law, and demand the immediate and unconditional release of British citizen Jimmy Lai and every journalist imprisoned simply for doing their job.”
世界新聞自由日 香港監察聲援香港新聞工作者 呼籲釋放黎智英及所有在囚記者
在世界新聞自由日這天，香港監察聲援在香港面對高壓《國家安全法》下系統式限制、攻擊和審查的勇敢新聞工作者。
香港新聞自由倒退的程度明顯反映在全球排名上。無國界記者組織（Reporters Without Borders）公布2026年世界新聞自由指數，香港持續在180個國家和地區中排第140位。2010年，香港新聞自由指數排名第34位，但到2020年已下跌至第80位。《國安法》通過後，香港排名嚴重下滑，最終跌至目前的第140位。
香港新聞自由持續惡化，從香港當局監禁記者和打壓傳媒中可見一斑。最矚目的事件要數現已停刊的親民主派報章《蘋果日報》創辦人、英國公民黎智英經過長達兩年的疲勞審訊後，被裁定國安法罪名成立，今年2月被判處監禁20年。黎智英被判刑時，已被單獨囚禁超過1,800日。他患有糖尿病，健康狀況每況愈下，卻一直無法獲得充足的醫療服務和領事援助。
黎智英的案件並非個別事件。2025年5月，香港記者協會透露，稅務局向至少八間獨立傳媒機構，以及至少20名新聞工作者及其家人，當中包括記協主席鄭嘉如及其父母，要求覆查稅項及追收稅款。
國際媒體亦未能倖免。2025年8月，無國界記者譴責香港入境事務處拒絕一名彭博社（Bloomberg）記者的工作簽證申請，且未提供任何解釋。
無國界記者最近揭露，法國記者Antoine Vedeilhe於2025年11月2日抵達香港國際機場時被拘留三小時，當時他正為法國電視台France Télévisions製作一齣有關香港的紀錄片。他被審問及全身搜查，最後在未獲得任何官方解釋下被遣返出境。無國界記者形容，Vedeilhe是自2020年《國安法》生效以來，第13位被香港當局拒絕入境或發放簽證的外媒記者。
香港監察政策總監Megan Khoo表示：
「香港曾經充滿活力的傳媒環境現已變得空洞無物，這是當地新聞自由惡化長年累月的後果。獨立傳媒機構被關閉，記者被監禁，而仍堅守崗位的人則被騷擾、監視，現在更被『武器化』查稅。
國際社會不能視而不見。各國政府必須要求北京和香港履行國際法義務，並要求立即無條件釋放英國公民黎智英及所有純粹因為履行職責而鋃鐺入獄的記者。」
Photo: Tong, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons