Freedom of speech in Hong Kong.

Essay by zagapoUniversity, Bachelor'sA, September 2003

download word file, 10 pages 2.2

Downloaded 77 times

Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for just simply speaking one mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one own idea can be expressed freely and the follower belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would bee a very different place. Without the right to speak freely one would not be able to debt, nor would one be able to receive full coverage on world issues. There would be no interesting newspapers, no free religion and no free thoughts.

Hence, freedom of speech is an essential thing in modern world. Hong Kong is no exceptional. People in Hong Kong are kept informed by a vigorous information media (Fraser 2001, p.28).

They have a vast appetite for news and this demand has given rise to a healthy and outward-looking press, radio and television industry, which enjoys freedom from pre-censorship and minimal regulation (Fraser 2001, p.33). In this essay I will critically discuss on the freedom of speech of Hong Kong, mainly focusing on journalism and also discuss about Article 23, which restricts the freedoms of the people in Hong Kong.

First of all, journalists in Hong Kong are actually exercising self-control on the topic about China in these years (Mikado 2002). Journalism in Hong Kong cannot be said to be free. It used to carry severe criticism of Great Britain (Fraser 2001, p.19), but now the pressure of the media from the Chinese government is rather strong, especially after the returning of Hong Kong to China in 1997 (Goyder 1998, p.19).

An example that shows China was giving pressure to...