The resumption of Chinese sovereignty in Hong Kong has enormous geopolitical significance, signaling an end to the last vestiges of the British Empire and the emergence of China as an economic and political superpower. The people of Hong Kong have been anticipating this transition for many years, and few seasoned observers predicted dramatic upheaval in the immediate aftermath of the British withdrawal. China's leaders and supporters steadfastly maintained prior to the transition that no major changes would take place. "One country, two systems," the phrase coined by the late Deng Xiaoping to describe the principle that would allow Hong Kong's quasidemocratic, free-market systems to coexist with the motherland's one-party communist rule, was supposed to work this way. The Special Administration Region, as Beijing calls Hong Kong's territory, is meant to be making money, not trouble.
Beneath the calm, however, much has changed. Hong Kong today is a different place than it was before the turnover and a much different place than it was before the reality of the return began to sink in during the last several years. The climate of free expression in Hong Kong has shifted in subtle but distinct ways: In the vibrant Hong Kong press, self-censorship has become a fact of life. Newspapers owned by powerful business leaders with wide-ranging economic interests in China have become less willing to criticize Beijing.
Given China's history of tolerating little, if any, critical reporting or commentary in its national press, Hong Kong journalists have been left to wonder what might really be in store for them. "We don't know the Chinese bottom line yet," said one veteran reporter as she discussed the handover with colleagues inside the cavernous Hong Kong Convention Center pressroom two days after the fact. "I think Hong Kong journalists will be learning the Chinese bottom line."
Reporter Mak Yin Ting, sitting at the same table, quickly shot back, "Sure, we have to search for a bottom line. But why should there be a bottom line? That is an infringement on freedom . Why is it you can advocate Chinese patriotism but you cannot advocate other ideas?"
"What about you a visitor asked the first journalist, will you challenge the Chinese government's press freedom bottom line once you find it.?"
"Unfortunately, there is a point beyond which I cannot go and I will not go. Because I do not want to be locked up", she replied.
Hong Kong is one of the few places in Asia where journalists operate with almost no government control. Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia require licenses and special visas for journalists. In Hong Kong, anyone can be a journalist. There are no government-issued press cards or journalists' visas. When press rights are threatened elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong is the place of refuge, where regional activists can meet journalists with little fear of apprehension or sanction from local authorities.
