Vines said although what is generally described as self-censorship really means the creation of an atmosphere, in which news reporting is biased towards Chinese interests, it is still possible to cite specific instances where news reporting was twisted or views were suppressed. The wholesale sacking of commentators critical of China from the Ming Pao newspaper was one example; another is the scrapping by the South China Morning Post of the caustic and supposedly 'anti-China' cartoon strip, ' The World of Lily Wong.'
Most blatant, as we have seen, was the way most of the media reported the so-called election of Tung Chee-Hwa as Chief Executive. Everyone knew that only 400 people were involved in this process, yet public opinion polls were trotted out as if to reflect a genuine process, and reports of the so-called 'campaign' were treated as though they were reports of a real election.
There are a host of other specific examples, but the real proof of what is happening is to sit down with local journalists and ask a simple question: do you feel able to report freely on matters which would upset the Chinese government? Vines has done this countless times and on only one occasion, when interviewing the South China Morning Post's Jonathan Fenby, was I categorically given an affirmative answer.
It's hard for Vines to be optimistic about the future of the media in Hong Kong. As matters stand, he says, the situation is not dire. The SAR continues to have a lively media which provides real information. Standards are slipping, elements of propaganda are entering into the equation but, by and large, Hong Kong is not a bad information center.
The question is how long will this continue. The problem is not one for journalists alone but for the future of a territory which aspires to be an international business center, heavily reliant on the free flow of information. Business surveys often highlight the good availability of information in Hong Kong as one of the reasons why multinational companies like operating in the territory.
"Some may argue that a few media controls will do no harm, but the inevitable tendency of media control is to start with a few limitations and see them build into a formidable body of obstacles. If Hong Kong is heading in that direction it will surely mean that other rights and freedoms are being eroded. There is no need for special pleading on behalf of journalists. The fate of the media is intrinsically bound up with the fact of Hong Kong. If the media ceases to be free, even in the qualified way that it is free at present, it is more than likely that Hong Kong itself will be far from free.
