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Hong Kong falls to the lowest category in the press freedom rankings

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According to RSF, Hong Kong journalists were safe before 2014, but have been arrested and exposed to police violence in recent years.

The annual index of press freedom has been placed for the first time in line with mainland China, placing Hong Kong in the worst “very serious” category.

Hong Kong won 39.86 out of 100. This is the reporter not crossing the border (RSF) 2025 World Press Freedom Index, the lowest score for previous British colonies on record.

The index, published on May 2, shows Hong Kong’s score is 140th out of 180 countries and regions, ranked fifth since last year, and returned to the rankings in 2023.
The RSF noted that Hong Kong’s freedom of the press has experienced an unprecedented setback at the judicial level since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was forced to implement the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) in 2020 to curb the voice of independence. The CCP-backed NSL suppresses independent voices by invoking accusations of “terrorism,” “leave,” “overthrowing state power,” and “conspiracy with foreigners or foreign forces.”

However, the ambiguous definition of crime means that NSL can be applied to journalists on Hong Kong, whether they live in a city or not. The crime of “secration” is also widely used to prosecute journalists. The addition of “external interference” through the 2024 “spying,” “stealing national secrets,” and “protecting national security ordinances,” further expanded the legal threats faced by journalists.

The RSF also said that while most of Hong Kong’s main media are currently owned by providers’ camps, independent media owners face political pressure. Two major independent media in Hong Kong, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forced to suspend operations in 2021, and assets were frozen by the SAR government.

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“Stand News” is a well-known online media in Hong Kong. It was once ranked first for reliability in a poll conducted by China University in Hong Kong. In September 2024, former Stand News editor Chung Pui-Kuen and later deputy editor-in-chief Lam Siu-Tong were each sentenced to 21-11 months in a “conspiracy to publish incitement material.”
Apple Daily was one of Hong Kong’s best-selling newspapers. Founder Jimmy Lye and other senior executives have been charged with crimes such as “conspiracy to conspiracy with foreign forces,” and the case still awaits court ruling.

As for security, RSF said it was extremely safe to work as a journalist in Hong Kong before 2014. However, in recent years, there have been cases of journalists being arrested and exposed to violence at the hands of some police force. In 2024, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said dozens of members were exposed to systematic harassment.

RSF has been publishing the Press Freedom Index since 2002. Hong Kong’s rankings gradually fell from 18th in the world in 2002, reaching 148th in 2022, but the score was considered “difficult” with 41.64 points. Despite the slightly higher ranking of the Hong Kong press, it was only 2025 that it was the first time in the city’s history that it was downgraded to the “very serious” situation category.

Mainland China ranked 178th this year, third to third among 180 countries and regions, with 113 journalists in jail. It won 14.8 out of 100. China is under the control of the Communist Party and is known as the “world’s largest journalist prison.”
Meanwhile, Taiwan, a liberal democracy, ranks 24th in the RSF Press Freedom Index with a score of 77.04.



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