As for number of words, the average number of words of each news/analysis story on the two Taiwan newspapers is 1,203 compared to 1,232 for each story on the China newspaper. The average number of words of each editorial/commentary item on the two Taiwan newspapers is 1,326, compared to 1,424 for each editorial/commentary item on the China newspaper.
Number of photographs. The Taiwan newspapers carried 43 photographs compared to 31 by the China newspaper. In the Taiwan newspapers, the average number of photographs used per story is 24. In the China newspaper, the average number of photographs used per story is 25.
Of the news/analysis stories about the future of Hong Kong, the two Taiwan newspapers ran 67 (39.9 percent) stories optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, 60 (35.7 percent) pessimistic and 41 (24.4 percent) neutral. The China newspaper ran 115 (94.3 percent) optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, none (0 percent) pessimistic and 7 (5.7 percent) neutral.
Of the editorial/commentary items, the two Taiwan newspapers carried 14 (38.9 percent) optimistic about the future of Hong Kong, 12 (33.3 percent) pessimistic and 10 (27.8 percent) neutral. In the China newspaper, all their 14 editorial/commentary items were optimistic about the future of Hong Kong.
Of the news/analysis about the future of Hong Kong's press freedom, the two Taiwan newspapers ran 10 (32.3 percent) stories optimistic about the future of Hong Kong's press freedom, 13 (41.9 percent) pessimistic and 8 (25.8 percent) neutral. The China newspaper did not carry any story concerning the future of Hong Kong's press freedom .
Of the editorial/commentary items about the future of Hong Kong's press freedom, the two Taiwan newspapers only ran three (one pessimistic and two neutral) items. The China newspaper did not run any editorial/commentary item concerning the future of Hong Kong's press freedom.
It is obvious that Taiwan newspapers tend to be more pessimistic about the future of Hong Kong and its press freedom than the China newspaper. Hypothesis one (H1) was supported.
In the survey, the respondents were asked to indicate their perception about the future economic and political conditions of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the next 10 years on a 5-point scale ranging from "get a lot better" to "get a lot worse".
