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		Director of Public Information
		212-854-5573, fhk1@columbia.edu		FOR IMMEDIATE USE






Columbia Journalism Review Cites Self-censorship As Main Danger to Press Freedom in Hong Kong

Advises on What to Look for after July 1 in Measuring 
New Government's Effect on Journalistic Performance


	Self-censorship is the greatest enemy of Hong Kong's lively local press and 
long tradition of press freedom as China prepares to take over the territory July 1, 
says the Columbia Journalism Review in its May/June issue just published.  	
	Signs are already apparent, writes Elliott Cohen, an editor for Bloomberg 
Business News in Hong Kong:
When Deng Xiaoping died, readers of the extensive obituaries in local 
newspapers needed "a fine net to catch mention of his leading role in the 
June 4, 1989, killings of protesters at Tiananmen Square."
Coverage of political leaders in the Legislative Council who will be 
replaced by Bejing appointees has declined. 
A popular local cartoonist's strip was dropped immediately after it 
suggested that a citizen who agreed that "Li Peng is a fascist murderous 
dog" became an instant organ donor. 
	"Since the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 sealed the colony's return 
to China, the greatest enemy of press freedom in Hong Kong has been self-
censorship," Cohen writes.  Foreign journalists there predict no profound change 
in their freedom to report after July 1, but local press will be under pressure.
Supporting independence for Taiwan, Tibet, China's ethnic minorities or Hong 
Kong will be off limits.  And "vague statements and ambiguous rumblings feeding 
a climate of fear may prove far more effective in curbing the press than specific 
directives."
	Watch for these early warning signs of waning press freedom, Cohen says:
Discontinuation of BBC World Service broadcasts on Radio 6, part of 
RTHK, Hong Kong's editorially independent, government-owned public 
broadcaster.
Media invisibility of ousted legislators.
Any attempt to require foreign journalists to register with the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs.
Smaller size and coverage of Hong Kong's annual candlelight vigil to 
mark the Tiananmen Square protest.  "The size of this year's 
demonstration, three and a half weeks before the handover, will indicate 
Hong Kong people's courage," writes Cohen.  "Coverage of it and 
editorial comment will be a leading indicator of the media's."

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