Chinese state-run outlets in Hong Kong have launched a coordinated response against Reporters Without Borders after it ranked Hong Kong at 140 on its 2025 World Press Freedom Index — downgrading the city to its “very serious” category for the first time. The Ta Kung Pao (大公報) criticized RSF for “distorting facts” and “misrepresenting the truth,” while the Wen Wei Po (文匯報) claimed RSF views Hong Kong through an “ideological lens” that deliberately magnifies isolated cases. Meanwhile, pro-establishment lawmaker Elizabeth Quat (葛珮帆) accused RSF of “double standards,” citing a survey by the Bauhinia Institute (紫荊研究院) claiming 62.5 percent of Hong Kong residents believe the Basic Law (基本法) effectively protects press freedom.
Citing this source may actually support RSF’s basic concerns, however. The Bauhinia Institute, founded in 2016, is closely associated with the central government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong. The company’s director and 100 percent shareholder is Zhang Chunsheng (張春生), a former Xinhua News Agency journalist who later joined Wen Wei Po and for many years was a top executive at the central government-run Bauhinia magazine.
RSF defended its methodology, noting that at least 28 journalists have been prosecuted and 10 remain detained since the implementation of national security legislation in 2020.
