Hong Kong journalists want to flee, according to a press freedom survey

According to the Associated Press, nearly half of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) members expressed a desire to leave Hong Kong. A decline in press freedoms was the primary reason for members' desire to leave. In the 99 interviews, 83 journalists said that things have deteriorated.

As a result of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019, Beijing enacted sweeping legislation. This law banned what the government calls subversion, secession, foreign collusion, and terrorism, and over 120 people were arrested under it.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's Commissioner's Office has responded to the survey, claiming the FCC has intruded into city affairs through "black hands." Critics of the law say it has rolled back freedoms in the region, resulting in the jailing of many anti-government activists. The surveys come at a time when authorities are cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong.

National security laws have been used against journalists in the city. Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper, was forced to close in June after millions of dollars in assets were frozen and several top editors and executives arrested.

* This article contained information that was sourced from Newsweek.