page_title: 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
section_title: Local media coverage
hierarchical_section_title: 2019–20 Hong Kong protests / Local media coverage
caption_attribution_description: DSCF0444
context_page_description: The ongoing 2019–20 Hong Kong protests were triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill by the Hong Kong government. The now aborted bill would have allowed extradition to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong did not have extradition agreements, including mainland China and Taiwan. This led to concerns that Hong Kong residents and visitors would be exposed to the legal system of mainland China, thereby undermining Hong Kong's autonomy and infringing civil liberties. It set off a chain of protest actions that began with a sit-in at the government headquarters on 15 March 2019, a demonstration attended by hundreds of thousands on 9 June 2019, followed by a gathering outside the Legislative Council Complex to stall the bill's second reading on 12 June which escalated into violence that caught the world's attention.
  On 16 June, just one day after the Hong Kong government suspended the bill, an even bigger protest took place to push for its complete withdrawal and in reaction to the perceived excessive use of force by the police on 12 June.
context_section_description: The protests received significant press attention. Nathan Ruser from ASPI identified the protests as the most live-streamed social unrest in history. According to a poll conducted by CUHK, live feeds have replaced traditional media, social media and Telegram as the main way for citizens of Hong Kong to access protest-related information. Ruser suggested that unlike other protests, the widespread use of livestreaming technology in the Hong Kong protests meant that there was "almost parity  when it comes to what [one] can learn remotely researching it to actually being there".
  Many of Hong Kong's media outlets are owned by local tycoons who have significant business ties in the mainland, so many of them adopt self-censorship at some level and have mostly maintained a conservative editorial line in their coverage of the protests. The management of some firms have forced journalists to change their headline to sound less sympathetic to the protest movement. A report by BBC suggested that the management of local terrestrial broadcaster Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) had forced employees to include more voices supporting the government and highlight the aggressive actions of the protesters, without including segments focusing on the responses from the protesters or the democrats. Journalists from South China Morning Post, which was acquired by the Chinese firm Alibaba Group in 2016, had their news pieces significantly altered by senior editors to include a pro-government viewpoint before they were published. TVB and local news outlet, HK01 were accused of pro-government bias, and protesters have physically assaulted their news crews and damaged their equipment and vehicles. Protesters also placed political pressure on various corporations, urging them to stop placing advertisements on TVB.
  On the other hand, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the public broadcasting service, faced criticisms of bias towards the protest movement. Its critics have surrounded the headquarters of RTHK and assaulted its reporters. RTHK also faced political pressure from the police directly: Commissioner Chris Tang filed complaints to RTHK against the satirical TV show Headliner and opinion program Pentaprism for "insulting the police" and "spreading hate speech" respectively. The police were criticised by journalists and democrats for interfering with press freedom. In addition, Tang's criticism of the Pentaprism episode was seen by democrats as interference with academic freedom. Police raided the headquarters of pro-democratic tabloid Apple Daily and searched its editorial and reporters' areas on 10 August 2020. During the operation, reporters from Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Inmedia, and Stand News were rejected from entering cordoned-off areas where a scheduled press briefing was held, which was condemned by the News Executives’ Association for infringing press freedom. Police cited the limited space in the location as one reason for the restriction, while it also stated that media who were "unprofessional", or had been reporting in the past in a manner considered by police as biased against the force, would be denied access to such briefings in the future.
  Journalists have alleged experiencing interference and obstruction from the police in their reporting activities. Police frequently used flashlights against reporters, shining light at cameras to avoid them being filmed or photographed; journalists also reported frequently being harassed, searched, and insulted. In some cases, despite identifying themselves, journalists were jostled, attacked, subdued, pepper-sprayed, or detained by the police. Some journalists were arrested for wearing a mask after the mask law was implemented, though the ban had clearly stated that members of the press were exempt from the regulation. A female reporter from NBC alleged that an officer had sexually assaulted her, and then another officer pepper-sprayed her when she enquired as to his identity. A Stand News reporter who was livestreaming was asked to show his ID card, which the offi
caption: Police near Lan Kwai Fong, Central on 31 October 2019. Police were accused of obstructing reporters from taking photographs by shining flashlights at them.[514]
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