Whatever his motives for mounting this particular hobby horse, Patten was commendably thorough in exposing one of the great intellectual blind spots of the age. His assertion is that speaking up for a civil society in China matters more than cooing over its possible economic might in the next century. East and West will not mark the end of the discussion but it makes a forceful contribution: Never mind what the People's Republic might be, now or in the future; hold it to account for what it does to its people.
Colleague Lo in Taiwan noted that although the Chinese government has refrained itself from curbing the press in Hong Kong, it has added Article 23 to the Basic Law, "banning acts of treason, sedition and subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets." Aside from changes in the law, the Chinese leaders have reiterated that they will not allow the press in Hong Kong to advocate the independence of Taiwan or Hong Kong. Nor will they allow personal attacks on the Chinese national leaders. In addition, China has actively "co-opted" some media by patronizing them with abundance of economic benefits and information resources.
There is plenty of reason for being pessimistic about future of Hong Kong's news media, Lo said that some media watchers have observed the omission of columns critical of China, the adoption of more conciliatory editorial stand towards China, and even the avoidance of commenting on China affairs. In a recent study of Hong Kong press, Lee and Chu (1998) also reported several cases of overt and covert self-censorship concerning news coverage of China. "It is self-censorship rather than direct intimidation that will undermine freedom of expression in Hong Kong," said the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Frank Ching (1998) explained, "Media owners are frequently engaged in other kinds of businesses into China's growing market. They feel that they cannot risk the ire of the Chinese government. From that stems the desire to tone down criticisms of China, its officials, and its policies."
Therefore, concern about China's economic pressure seems to be the primary sources of self-censorship. China holds huge funds and resources which can be disbursed by its companies in Hong Kong through advertisements. "China's enterprises are not permitted to advertise in the blacklisted publications; in some cases, significant advertising was offered but later withdrawn", said Chin-Chuan Lee (1998), professor of journalism at the University of Minnesota.
Hong Kong journalists may also censor themselves for real or feared reactions from China. Ching said, "Many journalists believe that Chinese officials keep dossiers on them and fear that their writing may be used against them later." "Journalists are also vulnerable in that they need the cooperation of Chinese officials if they are going to write about China. If they are denied permission to travel to China and are cut off from sources of information, then they cannot function. Their careers as China reporters can easily be terminated," he added.
