Understanding how China tries to influence the media is a first step to preserve press freedom. Hong Kong and Taiwan are on the frontlines of this battle. In deeply polarized Hong Kong, journalists are under pressure as independent outlets struggle to counteract strong pro-Beijing influence. And Taiwan must navigate how to maintain its openness and press freedom while fending off Beijing’s vast resources and technological prowess. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
This report was written by CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler. CPJ’s China correspondent Iris Hsu contributed research and reporting. CPJ traveled to Hong Kong and Taiwan in May 2019 to speak with journalists, media freedom advocates, academics, and others.
Prior to joining CPJ in 2016, Butler served as executive director at the Institute of Current World Affairs, where he worked with institute fellows throughout the world, including in South and East Asia, and as senior editor and writer at the online magazine OZY. Butler lived and worked in Asia as a foreign correspondent for nearly 20 years, and was foreign editor at the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau.
Hsu, who is based in Taipei, joined CPJ in 2017. Prior to CPJ, she interned at Human Rights Watch, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, and the Atlantic Council. Hsu obtained her master’s degree in international affairs from American University.