Is Hong Kong's media under attack?
Media groups have voiced concern about the recent erosion of press freedom in Hong Kong
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A brutal knife attack on veteran Hong Kong editor Kevin Lau in February has prompted an immediate public outpouring of fear about the future of press independence in China's freest city.
The motive is unclear and police have so far made no arrests.
But many media workers believe the stabbing was linked to Mr Lau's record of pushing journalistic boundaries during his time as editor of major daily Ming Pao.
And journalists, academics and political analysts say the assault, while shocking, is only the latest in a string of events pointing to a noticeable trend.
In the past year, there have been half a dozen violent attacks on workers employed by media organisations critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.
Over the same period, the abrupt dismissals or resignations of several outspoken journalists have led to accusations of censorship.
"Freedom of press and speech in Hong Kong is increasingly under pressure," says Bruce Lui, a journalism lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University and a former television reporter.
"Especially since the second half of last year, it's happening more frequently and with increasing force. We believe these are not individual cases. It appears someone has a whole plan to censor the Hong Kong media."
Mr Lau is one of a number of Hong Kong journalists who have been attacked in the past year
Media groups - including the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Foreign Correspondents' Club, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists - as well as the US government have all expressed their concerns about perceived recent erosion of press freedom here.
'Economic weight'
Hong Kong is part of China, but enjoys many civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, expression and assembly, because of its status as a special administrative region.
A former British colony, it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. Worries that Hong Kong would immediately become just another Chinese city subject to similarly authoritarian rule never materialised.
Continue reading the main story Hong Kong media: Recent incidents February 2014: Outspoken radio host Li Wei-ling sacked January 2014: Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau replaced July 2013: AM730 publisher Shih Wing-ching attacked in car June 2013: Car rams into home of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai June 2013: iSun Affairs publisher Chen Ping beaten by two men August 2012: Masked men smash computers at Inmedia.com
It remains home to an outspoken and vibrant media - in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index 2013 it stood at 58th globally, only slightly below Japan and South Korea, and far above China at 173.
But after years of relative tolerance, the Chinese government is starting to tighten its grip on local media, according to Willy Lam, a China specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
"It's mainly to show people in Hong Kong that Beijing is the boss and they do not want Hong Kong people to have the illusion that they can force the hand of Beijing," he says.
Hong Kong has become a far more restive city in the past two years. Much of the anger against Beijing is due to the lack of political change there and in Hong Kong.
Some pro-democracy activists have called for a civil disobedience campaign, called Occupy Central, to demand progress towards genuine reforms in the city later this year.
And groups of angry residents are regularly taking to the streets to protest against what they say is the "invasion" of mainland Chinese tourists and shoppers. Some protesters even carry the former colonial flag, symbol of a fringe independence movement, unnerving many Chinese officials.
The mainland's financial might makes it easier to pull strings when needed.
Reporters Without Borders wrote in a recent report: "China's growing economic weight is allowing it to extend its influence over the media in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, which had been largely spared political censorship until recently."
Mainland Chinese companies now account for more than half of the value of Hong Kong's stock exchange, compared to a negligible amount before 1997, according to estimates from David Webb, an independent analyst.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than half of Hong Kong's media owners are now members of China's parliament or its advisory body.
Other media owners, such as the Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok of the South China Morning Post and fellow Malaysian Tiong Hiew-king of Ming Pao, have major business interests in China.
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Leung Tin-wai, a former publisher and head of the journalism department at Shue Yan University, believes overall media freedom has not changed much in the years since the handover.
"It's almost the same as before. In fact, at the moment, the government is afraid of the press. They allow us to have a say and to have our comment," he says.
But Mr Leung, who was attacked by suspected triad members in his office in 1996, does admit that the political and financial dynamics have changed.
In his heyday, the people who bought advertisements in his publications were almost entirely local tycoons. Now, many of the advertisers are mainland companies.
Shih Wing-ching, publisher of the free AM730 newspaper, wrote in a January column that a group of long-standing advertisers, all mainland companies, had suddenly pulled their ads, leading to worries they were trying to influence the daily's independent editorial stance.
Self-censorship, meanwhile, is also an issue. According to a 2012 survey by the Hong Kong Journalists Association of more than 600 members, 79% of respondents said self-censorship was more severe than in 2005.
Ming Pao muzzle?
Even before Kevin Lau was attacked, his colleagues harboured fears about the loss of editorial freedom.
His employer, Ming Pao newspaper, announced in January that Mr Lau would step down as chief editor and be replaced by a Malaysian journalist.
Ms Tsang says that journalists could freely pursue stories under Mr Lau
More than 90% of staff signed a petition demanding an explanation from management.
"We had two basic requests. We wanted to know what really happened. And we wanted to know whether Kevin's replacement meant any change in editorial policy," said Phyllis Tsang, spokeswoman for the Ming Pao Staff Concern Group.
They demonstrated against the move, demanding to know whether it was an attempt to rein in investigative journalism at the well-respected newspaper, something the management has denied.
Ms Tsang says the paper broke many stories under Mr Lau's two-year tenure, including the discovery of an illegal basement belonging to the heavily-favoured candidate for the 2012 chief executive election, which resulted in his losing the race.
Earlier this year, Ming Pao worked with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to write stories about the finances of Chinese officials and business people.
After Mr Lau's dismissal, several columnists left their pages blank in protest.
In the days following the attack on Mr Lau, media groups organised a weekend protest attended by more than 8,000 people demanding police apprehend the perpetrators.
The journalists have vowed not to be cowed by the violence and to continue publishing more investigative reports, despite the apparent growing risks.
Blick über Hongkong
 Am 12. März 2014 konnte die Polizei neun Männer festnehmen, die für den Angriff auf den Journalisten Kevin Lau verantwortlich sein sollen. Kevin Lau arbeitete für die chinesischsprachige Zeitung Ming Pao in Hongkong, die für ihren investigativen Journalismus bekannt ist. Ende Februar 2014 wurde Lau auf der Straße vor seinem Haus von zwei Männern mit einem Fleischerbeil angegriffen und dabei schwer verletzt. Nun wurden zwei leitende Journalisten der im Aufbau befindlichen Hongkong Morning Post von vier Männern mit Metallrohren in einem Touristenviertel angegriffen und schwer verletzt. Die Angriffe nähren die Befürchtungen des Journalistenverbandes in Hongkong, dass die Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit, die in Hongkong gesetzlich garantiert ist, mit Gewalt beschränkt werden soll.

Verwaltungschef Leung Chun-ying
Hongkong ist zwar ein Teil der Volksrepublik China, doch gelten hier seit der Rückgabe durch Großbritannien noch immer andere Gesetze als im Rest des Landes, so wie dies bei der Rückgabe für 50 Jahre festgelegt worden war. Die Einwohner Hongkongs beklagen jetzt aber immer wieder den Einfluss der Regierung in Peking, den sie als Beschneidung ihrer Rechte ansehen, und sie sehen sich auch von einer ständig wachsenden Zahl von Einkaufstouristen aus der Volksrepublik unter Druck gesetzt, die die Wirtschaft dazu anhält sich nach den Bedürfnissen dieser Menschen und nicht nach denen der Einheimischen zu richten, was das Gebiet insgesamt anfälliger für den Druck aus China macht. Die durch Werbung finanzierte Zeitung am730 verlor z.B. Werbeaufträge im Wert von über 1 Million US-Dollar von Firmen aus der Volksrepublik, weil sie, wie ihr Besitzer vermutet, zu stark für die Demokratiebewegung Hongkongs eintritt und die Zentralregierung in Peking dies als Strafe dafür anordnete, ohne sich jedoch öffentlich dazu zubekennen. Im Februar 2014 verlor die prominente Journalistin Li Wei-ling ihre Arbeitsstelle bei dem kommerziellen Radiosender Commercial Radio. Li, die für ihre offene Kritik an Peking wie auch der Verwaltung Hongkongs bekannt ist, machte dafür den Verwaltungschef Hongkongs Leung Chun-ying verantwortlich, der von vielen Menschen in Hongkong als Marionette Pekings gesehen wird.

Zwei Männer, die jetzt im Fall von Kevin Lau verhaftet wurden, wurden in der Volksrepublik China festgenommen und nach Hongkong überstellt, die übrigen wurden in Hongkong verhaftet. Die Männer werden dem organisierten Verbrechen zugerechnet; dies wirft die Frage auf, ob der Angriff etwas mit der Arbeit von Lau zu tun hat oder in seinem persönlichen Umfeld begründet ist. Aber nachdem er im Januar 2014 als Chefredakteur von Ming Pao abgesetzt und zu einem unbedeutenden Ableger der Zeitung versetzt worden war, weil er als der Verantwortliche für die Verteidigung der Pressefreiheit durch die Zeitung gilt und durch einen neuen Chefredakteur ersetzt wurde, der extra aus Malaysia vom dortigen Besitzer der Zeitung eingesetzt wurde, gibt es gute Gründe dies in Frage zu stellen. Der neue Chefredakteur Chong Tien Siong hat wenig Ahnung von den örtlichen Verhältnissen in Hongkong und gilt deswegen als leichter lenkbar. Es mag sich alles um eine Verkettung von Zufällen handeln, doch die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen stellte in ihrer Rangliste der Pressefreiheit für 2014 fest, dass Hongkong drei Plätze nach unten gerutscht ist. Das Gebiet war 2002 noch auf Platz 18 der Rangliste geführt worden und damit ähnlich wie Deutschland bewertet worden, doch ging es seitdem stark nach unten auf der Skala, wo Hongkong nun auf Platz 61 liegt. Die Volksrepublik China selbst liegt auf Platz 175 von 180 bewerteten Gebieten. 2013 gab es insgesamt sechs gewalttätige Angriffe auf Vertreter von unabhängigen Medien in Hongkong.