TOP NEWS
Kwok Ka-ki, Gary Fan Kwok-wai, Claudia Mo, and Jeremy Tam became the first of the “Hong Kong 45” group of democrats unjustly imprisoned for their participation in a 2020 election primary to be released from prison, having served sentences of four years and two months for ‘subversion.’
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation President Mark Clifford said:
“The release of this group of high-profile detainees imprisoned for more than four years under the National Security Law is welcome news. But they should not have spent a single night in jail.
“Authorities incarcerated these peaceful pro-democracy politicians simply for exercising their rights under Hong Kong’s Basic Law and must now allow them to live without interference, monitoring, or special conditions.”
Hong Kong declined to 140th position in Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index, losing five places versus 2024 and entering the red, or “very serious,” zone for the first time. Over the last 20 years, press freedom in Hong Kong has collapsed more quickly than any other territory since the Index was initiated in 2002.
RSF’s World Press Freedom Index is based on five contextual indicators, where 100 is the best score and 0 the worst.
Hong Kong’s score declined across all five indicators in 2024/25.
North America – Hong Kong
Following Monday’s win for the Liberal Party in Canada’s general election, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation congratulated over a dozen Conservative and Liberal MPs with a track record of defending Hong Kong freedoms on their re-election victories.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joe Tay lost the race to win a parliamentary seat in Toronto’s Don Valley North district after running a campaign beset by transnational repression from Beijing.
In a CTV News interview, former Canadian diplomat and CCP political prisoner Michael Kovrig urged Canada’s government to stand up for Jimmy Lai and fight for the freedom of all political prisoners in its dealings with Beijing.
The One Free Press Coalition ranked Jimmy Lai as number one in its “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists imprisoned for telling the truth.
The CFHK Foundation participated in the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s 18th Annual Roll Call of Nations Wreath Laying Ceremony to honour the memory of the more than 100 million victims of authoritarian regimes globally and commit to pursuing freedom for those still living under the yoke.
In Foreign Policy, Benedict Rogers called for the Vatican to review its soft stance on China’s human rights abuses and persecution of Hong Kongers in the wake of the death of Pope Francis.
Hong Kong
Article 23 claimed another victim as a 22-year-old man who works as a waiter was arrested and charged with publishing online social media posts with “seditious intentions.”
Independent media outlet Channel C, founded by former Apple Daily staff, halted operations after police arrested a director at its parent company for alleged government loan fraud.
Brian Kern documented Chow Hang-tung’s return to social media posting, with the unjustly imprisoned human rights lawyer posting to show the absurdity of the power granted to officials by national security certificates: “To put it bluntly, if the Chief Executive declared that the sun rises in the West, the court would have to accept that as a fact,” she wrote.
In June 2021, Chow Hang-tung prepares to sleep in her office ahead of her expected arrest by Hong Kong police the next day.
She did not wish to scare her grandmother by having the police arrive at her home. (Chan Kit-san / Stand News)
UK – Hong Kong
Writing in The Guardian, Tom Burgis and Maeve McClenaghan revealed an online CCP influence campaign that attempted to incite right-wing hatred against UK-based Hong Kongers during last summer’s anti-immigrant unrest.
The article was part of China Targets, a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, based on interviews with 105 people in 23 countries who have been targeted by Chinese authorities for criticising the CCP’s policies in public and in private. China Digital Times has a good overview of the series.
In an editorial, The Times recognised the “indignity” of the release of the first of the Hong Kong 45 political prisoners, noting that their prison exit in blacked-out private cars “would be unnecessary if the authorities did not retain a vestigial fear of the tradition of free speech in Hong Kong they wish to erode.”
On May 6, CFHK Foundation President Mark Clifford will join host Neil Coyle MP, Chair of the Labour Friends of Hong Kong, for “Political Prisoners: the UK’s response,” a panel discussion highlighting the need for stronger action from the British government on political prisoners and enhanced consular support for its own citizens. Register here to join us.
Jimmy Lai Biography, ‘Troublemaker’ Updates
Radio Taiwan International published the second part of Iris Hsu’s interview with CFHK Foundation President Mark Clifford, covering what the jailing of Jimmy Lai and the closure of Apple Daily meant to Hong Kongers and why the CCP has never faced a threat quite like Jimmy Lai.
🔥Flame of Freedom Blog
Hong Kong Falls to Record Low in RSF Press Freedom Index
This blog post was authored by Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Manager at Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Asia-Pacific Bureau.
“The results of this year’s RSF Press Freedom Index leave no doubt that the situation in Hong Kong has become “very serious” and the territory, for the first time in history, appears red on RSF’s press freedom map.
In five short years since the enactment of the infamous National Security Law (NSL), Hong Kong lost its position as one of Asia-Pacific’s beacons of press freedom. Today, Hong Kong increasingly resembles neighbouring China, the world’s largest prison for journalists.
At RSF, we have never seen such a sharp and rapid deterioration in the press freedom record of any country or territory. Within just two decades, Hong Kong has plummeted in the Index from 18th place to 140th. This year, Hong Kong has seen a sharp drop across all five indicators: political, legal, economic, socio-cultural and legal, which showcases how difficult the situation has become for journalists who decide to keep reporting from the ground…”
Read more here.