From 18th place to 140th. That's how much Hong Kong's ranking plunged in a global press freedom index over some 20 years.
Behind the decline are the shutdown of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, more red lines for journalists and increasing self-censorship across the territory. The erosion of press freedom parallels a broader curtailment of the city's Western-style civil liberties since 2020, when Beijing imposed a national security law to eradicate challenges to its rule.
