Strategic Interaction, Cultural Co-orientation, and Press Freedom in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article discusses press freedom in Hong Kong since the handover. It argues that in the immediate years after reunification, the strategic interaction between the media and the power holders within a commonly accepted framework has contributed to an ‘equilibrium condition’ in which there was no huge and apparent loss of press freedom. The equilibrium was maintained by a clear distinction between national and local issues. At the same time, the handover has led to processes of cultural co-orientation which further ‘de-problematized’ news coverage of certain sensitive national issues. Nevertheless, political developments in recent years have led to the breakdown of the national–local boundary. The original equilibrium was destabilized, which led to renewed concerns of press freedom in the city.