Hong Kong has traditionally served as a keyhole to China and helped uncover news that the mainland media -- controlled by state propaganda authorities -- did not have access to.
Although the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong still enjoys civil liberties and press freedoms that mainlanders can only dream about. Newspapers often criticize Chinese leaders in hard-hitting editorials, and journalists are frequently the first to report on important stories such as disease outbreaks.
"Our opportunities for covering news in the mainland have clearly increased as the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland becomes closer. But we haven't seen any government effort to help us if we get in trouble there," said Cheung Ping-ling (張炳玲), head of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association.
Hong Kong journalists must report all aspects of their work to Chinese authorities, or face detention that usually lasts from several hours to overnight, Cheung said. They get no protection from the Hong Kong government once they step on mainland soil, she said.
"We have to take risks in almost everything we do. We get barred from conducting investigative reports on issues like independence and democracy, but often the Chinese standards for `sensitive' news is baffling," Cheung said. "We're not spies, so it's not fair to leave it to us to guess what constitutes `state secrets.'"
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