'We cannot give up': Hong Kong journalists navigate fear, surveillance, and shrinking space
Key takeaways
- Press freedom in the city has sharply declined since a 2020 National Security Law clamped down on dissent.
- Issued on: 03/05/2026 - 08:56Modified: 03/05/2026 - 08:57
- By: Natasha LI An Apple Daily employee works in the printing room after the last edition of the newspaper is printed in Hong Kong early on June 24, 2021.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Hong Kong’s government on Friday slammed foreign media and press freedom groups, rejecting claims of a crackdown on press freedom as “slander” after jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai was awarded a free speech prize in Germany. Press freedom in the city has sharply declined since a 2020 National Security Law clamped down on dissent. Journalists face visa denials, surveillance, self-censorship and legal threats, while independent outlets struggle to survive.
Issued on: 03/05/2026 - 08:56Modified: 03/05/2026 - 08:57
By: Natasha LI An Apple Daily employee works in the printing room after the last edition of the newspaper is printed in Hong Kong early on June 24, 2021. © Anthony Wallace, AFP In a defiant statement slamming foreign media on Friday, Hong Kong accused an “anti-China organisation” of attempts to “sugarcoat” the “criminal acts” of imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was awarded Thursday a Freedom of Speech Prize by Germany’s Deutsche Welle.