freedom of the press

January 06, 2022

Jimmy Lai ranked No. 1 on press freedom coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list

Every month, the One Free Press Coalition issues its “10 Most Urgent” list, ranking the most harrowing challenges to press freedom from around the world in order of urgency. Jimmy Lai, a 74-year-old Hong Kong entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist currently serving a 20-month prison sentence on national security charges, topped this month’s list, as the coalition focused on press freedom in China in light of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. Continue Reading...

December 14, 2021

Hong Kong drops 62 places in “press freedom” by country

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released this year’s World Press Freedom Index, ranking countries based on press freedom, from the most to the least press. In 2002, for example, Hong Kong was ranked 18th. Continue Reading...

December 07, 2021

Imprisoned human rights activist Jimmy Lai receives Golden Pen of Freedom award

Hong Kong media mogul and fierce human rights advocate Jimmy Lai and the staff of the now-liquidated pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily were awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom, the World Association of News Publishers’ annual press freedom award. Continue Reading...

July 16, 2021

Hong Kong public librarian suspended by Chinese Communist Party for promoting works by Jimmy Lai

What does absolute control look like in Communist China? It looks like an unnamed Hong Kong librarian at the Shek Tong Tsui Public Library being suspended from her job after placing 10 of Jimmy Lai’s works on the “Librarian’s Choice” shelf in late June. Continue Reading...

July 16, 2021

Hong Kong’s battle for freedom of the press

Freedom of expression is under attack in Hong Kong. In its annual report, “Freedom in Tatters,” the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) outlines key threats currently faced by the media. According to The Standard, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, the report emphasized that “the risks journalists face amid the NSL [National Security Law] and the imminent fake news legislation is growing.” Continue Reading...

June 23, 2021

Communist China forces shutdown of Apple Daily, stifling truth in pursuit of control

Apple Daily, the last prominent, pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, will shut down after midnight on June 23 and publish its final edition on June 24 after 26 years in operation. Continue Reading...

February 12, 2021

China’s BBC ban is a warning for those who could crack down on ‘fake news’

Shortly after the Capitol riot, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated, “We’re going to have to figure out how we rein in our media environment so that you can’t just spew disinformation and misinformation.” Continue Reading...

July 18, 2019

Minority views? Priceless

There’s something in our DNA to feel threatened by ideas that challenge our own. History is haunted by tragic examples of the suppression of minority views, whether it be Athens killing Socrates (399 BC), the Roman Inquisition’s placing Galileo under house arrest for advocating heliocentrism (1632), Nazi book burning (1933), or the persecution of many thousands of academics during the Cultural Revolution (1966). Continue Reading...