HK ranks 140th in world press freedom, lags behind SG and MY

Hong Kong continues to lag behind Singapore and Malaysia in terms of press freedom as it is positioned 140th among the 180 regions in the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom ranking.  

According to the report by Reporters Without Borders released on World Press Freedom Day (3 May), Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking rose eight place from last year's 148th, but it continues to remain near the bottom of the press freedom ranking. The ranking also saw the situation in Hong Kong labelled as “difficult" in terms of the environment for journalism, along with 41 other regions such as Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico and Cambodia.

The slight increase in the index this year is mostly attributed to the fact of adjustment in the index after a sharp drop of 68 places last year, Cédric Alviani, East Asia bureau director of RSF, told HKFP. "At the same time, Hong Kong has scored lower or the same as last year in three for five indicators… and the most notably the lowest in the legal factor.”

In terms of the global press freedom score, Hong Kong scores 44.86 out of 100 this year, under which most of the indicators also recorded a score below 50. This year's "legislative indicator" has dropped from 42.58 to 38.32, whereas "political indicator" and "social indicator" remained similar to last year's scores. Meanwhile, "security indicator" for Hong Kong has slightly surged from 31.78 to 43.15, whereas "economic indicator slightly increased from 35.9 to 45.89.

Reporters Without Borders commented that Hong Kong was once a bastion of press freedom and had a vibrant media environment, but had seen an unprecedented setback since 2020 when Beijing adopted a National Security Law aimed at silencing independent voices.

Furthermore, it cited that two major independent news outlets, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forcefully shut down in 2021. More than five other independent media outlets also chose to shut down, citing risk concerns, while diasporic media outlets were being established around the world. 

Singapore and Malaysia's rankings rose sharply

Meanwhile, Singapore's press freedom ranking rose 10 places from 139 to 129 this year, with a global score of 47.88. Similar to Hong Kong, Singapore's "legislative indicator" recorded a sharp drop from 34.21 to 27.36, whereas its "political indicator" remained similar to last year's score. However, its economic, social and security indicators all recorded an increase. 

Despite the “Switzerland of the East” label often used in government propaganda, the city-state does not fall far short of China when it comes to suppressing press freedom, according to the watchdog. A few independent news websites, such asThe Online Citizen, was forced to close at the end of 2021.

There are 55 countries or regions with their press freedom situations labelled as “problematic", including Malaysia, which sharply rose 40 places to 73rd among the 180 regions. Its global score also increased sharply from 51.55 to 62.83, of which all indicators recorded an increase, with the highest score for security indicator (85.46), followed by social (75.85), political (55.31), economic (52.94) and legislative (44.58) indicators.

Looking into the wider APAC region, changes of government loosened constraints on the media in Pakistan (150th) and the Philippines (132nd), even if these two countries continue to be among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, analysed by the watchdog. Renewals of government coalitions also explain the progress of countries as Sri Lanka (135th), Malaysia (73rd), and Australia (27th).

Meanwhile, the watchdog said that the last three places of the ranking were occupied by Asian countries, with Vietnam (178th) almost completed its hunt of independent reporters and commentators, followed by China (179th), the world’s biggest jailer of journalists and one of the biggest exporters of propaganda content. Meanwhile, North Korea came last in the ranking.

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The watchdog added that the 2023 Index spotlights the rapid effects of the digital ecosystem’s fake content industry on press freedom, including the emergence of artificial intelligence that is wreaking havoc on the media world, undermining those who embody quality journalism and weakening journalism itself. 

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