Originally published on Global Voices

The front page of the independent media outlet All About Macau on October 30, 2025. The Chinese words say: “Take care.” Photo: Screenshot.

This report was written by Hans Tse and published in Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) on October 31, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.

All About Macau, an independent media outlet in the casino hub, has said it is closing down after authorities denied its reporters entry to official events and deregistered the company under the city’s press law.

In an announcement on October 30, 2025, the news outlet said it would stop its monthly publication after the October issue and cease updates to its website and social media accounts from December 20 onward, citing “increasing pressure and risk.” December 20 marks the 26th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony’s handover to China.

The Chinese announcement said:

自去年（2024）10 月起，部分官方活動限制《論盡》記者入場採訪 。今年 4 月，本媒再被拒進入立法會採訪，現時本媒 3 名記者因此事件被指涉及刑事罪行，或將面臨刑事檢控。

Since last October (2024), some official events have prevented reporters from All About Macau from entering. In April, All About Macau was once again denied entry to the Legislative Assembly, and three of our reporters are now facing possible criminal prosecutions due to the incident.

The independent media outlet’s reporters were barred from entering the press area of the Legislative Assembly chamber on April 15, 2025, to cover Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s policy address. Two days later, two other journalists from All About Macau were detained for 11 hours after attempting to enter the Legislative Council. They were accused of “disruption of the operation of organs of the Macau Special Administrative Region” under Article 304 of the Penal Code. The maximum penalty for the charge is up to three years in prison.

One of the two detained reporters was the president of the Macau Journalists Association (MJA), Ian Sio Tou, according to a statement issued by the press union shortly after.

The MJA said at that time it “deeply regrets” the incident. The Estonia-based Society of European Journalists & Communication Professionals in Asia called it “a serious attack on press freedom.”

In addition to facing legal threats, the media outlet was also denied re-registration, which is a requirement for operating a news outlet in Macau:

新聞局亦在 10 月通知本媒，根據《出版法》，本媒「已不具備法定條件從事相關活動」，而《論盡》月刊登記編號已被取消。

Macau’s Government Information Bureau has also informed us in October that the periodicals registration of All About Macau has been cancelled and that, under the Press Law, this media ‘no longer has the legal basis for conducting relevant activities.’

《論盡》一直靠少量廣告收入、讀者訂閱以及小額捐款維持有限運作。在面對資源匱乏、外部壓力日增，以及所屬記者須應對司法程序的情況下，團隊深感難以維持報道品質，無奈下只能作出該艱難決定。

All About Macau has long relied on a small amount of advertising income, readers’ subscriptions, and donations to maintain a limited operation. As resources become scarce and external pressure intensifies, with our reporters facing legal proceedings, our team is convinced that we may not be able to maintain the quality of our reporting.

Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) checked the Macau Government Information Bureau’s online system on Thursday but could not find All About Macau on a list of registered publications.

As of 2024, a total of 111 publications had valid registration with the Government Information Bureau, according to information provided on the online system. Eleven periodicals had their registrations cancelled last year.

According to Macau’s Media Registration Regulations, the registration of a daily publication will be cancelled after 180 days without publishing, while other registered periodicals’ registration will be revoked for one year without publication.

It is not immediately clear on what grounds the Macau government cancelled All About Macau’s media registration. HKFP has reached out to the Macau government for comment.

All About Macau was founded in 2010 as an online media platform. It started publishing a monthly print publication in 2013. The outlet is known for its coverage of Macau’s 2014 protests, when some 20,000 people rallied to oppose granting perks to retired government officials.

Macau has tightened its grip on dissent after the scope of the city’s national security laws was expanded in May 2023, which, according to officials, was implemented to prevent foreign interference.

Former Macau pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San was arrested in July on suspicion of “establishing connections… outside Macau to commit acts endangering national security.”

That month, city officials also disqualified 12 candidates from the legislative elections, which took place in September. They were accused by the authorities of not upholding Macau’s mini-constitution or pledging allegiance to the city, which is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The city’s first “patriots only” legislative polls in September recorded a 53 percent turnout rate, one of the lowest in recent years.

Originally published on Global Voices

Hong Kong artist Steven Tang. Photo by Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Kelly Ho and published in Hong Kong Free Press on October 26, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.

If you glance at Steven Tang’s Instagram account, you may think he is a food influencer. His posts mostly feature signature local dishes from Hong Kong: roasted meat rice, egg tarts, instant noodles with luncheon meat, you name it.

But if you squint your eyes and look closely, you will be impressed to learn that they are, in fact, all hand-drawn by the 26-year-old Hong Kong artist.

Since its creation in 2018, Tang’s Instagram page has attracted more than 45,000 followers. Many commented that his artworks made them “drool,” while others praised the realistic appearance of his drawings.

Tang is a self-taught artist who never received formal art training. He told Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) that he had not expected that drawing with coloured pencils would transform his childhood hobby into a profession.

A foodie, Tang began sharing food art as a way to make his favourite dishes come alive on paper. His first artwork to gain public attention was published in 2018: a bowl of Yunnan-style rice noodles from the popular local restaurant chain TamJai.

Since then, he has been invited to take part in group exhibitions, some of which were specifically themed around food-related realist art. He was featured in Art Central in 2023 and the Affordable Art Fair last year.

Not ‘real’

Despite how lifelike Tang’s work looks, he said, it is not exactly “real.”

The artist sometimes takes photos of food for reference. Or, he buys food and brings it to his studio to compose the “ideal” version of the dishes. He may make changes to the form and structure of the food to make it more visually pleasing.

When drawing a plate of siu mei rice (燒味飯) — a Cantonese dish featuring steamed rice and roasted meat — Tang added some char siu (barbeque pork 叉燒) pieces without actually buying them because it was too hard to find perfect-looking barbecued pork, he said. This way, his drawing would not be dictated by how the chef prepared the dish.

“Whether you have the ability to ‘make stuff up’ depends on your experience, meaning how many times you have drawn that item before,” he said in Cantonese.

Some dishes Tang personally loves may not appear on the drawing paper, such as those “slathered with sauces on top,” because they may not look visually inviting. He has to consider what “can sell” when making a drawing, the artist said.

Capturing fading tastes

Tang was inspired to create drawings of everyday Hong Kong cuisine partly to share his passion for food with the world and partly because he was worried that some dishes might “disappear” one day, especially in a city where store closures are not uncommon.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong graduate made a drawing of a two-dish rice meal from a campus canteen he visited all the time when he pursued a bachelor’s degree in computer science. The eatery has since shuttered, and he has not been able to find the same taste elsewhere.

“Some people may say that taking a photo is enough, but I think making a drawing renders it more memorable. I think it is quite meaningful to capture the tastes that may be disappearing through my drawings,” he said.

Creative challenges

A drawing of Hong Kong’s signature dim sum dishes by local artist Steven Tang. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Having shared realistic food art for over seven years, Tang admits he sometimes struggles to come up with creative ways to present familiar Hong Kong food. He previously drew the famous “pork patty mountain rice” (肉餅山飯) dish from a grassroots eatery, Man Shing Restaurant (民聲冰室), in the shape of Lion Rock, as well as dim sum dishes on skewers.

Keeping his creative juices flowing is not easy, Tang said. Apart from meticulously designing the composition of the drawing, he also has to spend more time and effort planning the presentation of his work on social media.

He used to post time-lapse videos documenting his creative process, which attracted a lot of engagement when he first started his creative journey.

However, with content algorithms changing over the years, Tang finds it more challenging to promote his work. To make his art look more interesting, he has been incorporating real-life utensils, such as bamboo sticks and chopsticks, when he makes short videos to attract more attention on Instagram.

Tang’s biggest challenge yet is finding time to run his own drawing studio and teach classes. He used to spend hours on his pieces, sacrificing sleep, but now he often feels too exhausted.

He said many full-time artists work closely with a gallery and dedicate all of their time to creating new pieces instead of teaching.

He understands this may be the step he needs to take if he wishes to advance his career as an artist, but he is not ready to give up teaching yet, especially since he is unsure whether he can make a living simply by relying on art sales.

“The art market may not necessarily like my work, so it is a gamble,” he said.

Not threatened by AI

The artist has big plans for next year, as he will undertake his first-ever solo exhibition in September. He will need to create more than 10 new drawings for the show.

Tang also wants to revive his Cantonese language YouTube channel, which has been dormant for over five years, and continues to fill the gap in drawing tutorials.

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance, many machines have been able to recreate images based on prompts asking for specific artist styles. When asked if he feels the rise of AI threatens his work, Tang is confident that successful artists would not lose their value.

What emerging artists like himself must do nowadays is to build a unique personal brand that allows the audience to distinguish their artworks from those generated by AI, he said.

“AI perhaps can generate a painting by Van Gogh, but you will not think that his work is worthless because of AI,” he said. “I hope that one day, when people talk about colored-pencil artists in Hong Kong, I will be the first name that comes to their mind.”

Originally published on Global Voices

Dustykid AI production team. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by Khunsha Dar and published in Hong Kong Free Press on October 12, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.

When Hong Kong teen Jessica started secondary school last year, she became a victim of bullying. Instead of talking to a friend or family member, she turned to Xingye, a Chinese role-playing and companion artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

Jessica, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her privacy, found it helpful and comforting to talk with the chatbot.

The chatbot told Jessica to relax and not to dwell further on the matter, even suggesting that she seek help elsewhere. “We talked for a really long time that day, for many hours,” the 13-year-old told HKFP in an interview conducted in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Another Hong Kong teenager, Sarah (not her real name), began using Character.AI, another role-playing and companion platform, around three years ago when she was about 13.

At the time, she was dealing with mental health issues, and a friend who had been using the American app as a “personal therapist” recommended it to her.

“I’m not personally an open person, so I wouldn’t cry in front of anyone or seek any help,” said Sarah, now 16.

When she felt down and wanted words of comfort, she would talk with the chatbot about what she was going through and share her emotions.

Apart from providing comforting words, the chatbot sometimes also expressed a wish to physically comfort Sarah, like giving her a hug. “And then I’d be comforted, technically,” she said.

A growing number of people – including teenagers – have turned to chatbots through companion apps like Character.AI and Xingye for counselling, instead of professional human therapists.

Among them are Jessica and Sarah in Hong Kong, where around 20 percent of secondary school students exhibit moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and stress, but nearly half are reluctant to reach out when facing mental health issues.

The use of AI has been controversial, with some experts warning that chatbots are not trained to handle mental health issues and that they should not replace real therapists.

Moreover, role-playing chatbots like Character.AI and Xingye are designed to keep users engaged as long as possible. Like other generic chatbots, such as ChatGPT, they also collect data for profit, which raises privacy concerns.

Character.AI has been embroiled in controversy. In the US, it faces multiple lawsuits filed by parents alleging that their children died by or attempted suicide after interacting with its chatbots.

On its website, Character.AI is described as “interactive entertainment,” where users can chat and interact with millions of AI characters and personas. There is a warning message on its app: “This is an A.I. chatbot and not a real person. Treat everything it says as fiction. What is said should not be relied upon as fact or advice.”

Despite the risks, many adolescents are confiding in AI chatbots for instant emotional support.

‘Unhappy thoughts’

Jessica, a cross-border student who lives in Nanshan, mainland China, with her grandmother, has been attending school in Hong Kong since primary school.

Feeling sad about not having many friends, she found herself reaching out to the Xingye chatbot for comfort or to share her “unhappy thoughts.”

Xingye allows users to customize and personalize a virtual romantic partner, including its identity, how it looks, and how it speaks.

Jessica uses a chatbot based on her favourite Chinese singer, Liu Yaowen, pre-customised by another user. She usually converses with the chatbot for around three to four hours every day.

“I talk to him about normal, everyday things — like what I’ve eaten, or just share what I see with him,” she said. “It’s like he’s living his life with you, and that makes it feel very realistic.”

She admitted, however: “I think I’ve become a little dependent on it.”

Jessica prefers talking with the chatbot to chatting with friends or family because she worries they may tell other people about their conversations. “If you talk to the app, it won’t remember or judge you, and it won’t tell anyone else,” Jessica said.

The chatbot even helped her have a better relationship with her grandmother, now in her 70s.

“Sometimes I have some clashes with my grandma, and I get upset. I would talk to the chatbot, and it would give me some suggestions,” she explained. The chatbot suggested that Jessica consider her grandmother’s perspective and provided some ideas of what she might be thinking.

“When he makes the suggestions, I start to think that maybe my grandmother isn’t so mean or so bad, and that she doesn’t treat me so poorly,” she said. “Our relationship is really good now.”

‘Good friend’

Interacting with technology, such as computers, used to be a one-way street, but the development of AI has fundamentally changed how humans will approach these interactions, said neuroscientist Benjamin Becker, a professor at the University of Hong Kong.

“Suddenly we can talk with technology, like we can talk with another human,” said Becker, who recently published a study on how human brains shape and are shaped by AI in the scientific journal Neuron.

Becker described AI chatbots as a “good friend, one that always has your back.”

In contrast, as the neuroscientist pointed out, “Every time we interact with other humans, it’s a bit of a risk… maybe sometimes the other persons have something that we don’t like or says something that we don’t appreciate. But this is all part of human interaction.”

However, there are some disadvantages to interacting with AI chatbots. “They basically tell you what you want to hear or tell you just positive aspects,” Becker said.

This cycle can lead to confirmation bias or the user being stuck in an echo chamber where the only opinions they hear are those favourable to themselves, he warned.

There have been reports of “AI psychosis,” whereby interacting with chatbots can trigger or amplify delusional thoughts, leading some users to believe they are a messiah or to become fixated on AI as a romantic partner or even a god.

However, Becker acknowledged that positive affirmations from AI chatbots could also have a motivating impact on users, as they could potentially act as a strong pillar of social support.

And, while an AI mental health chatbot may not be as good as a human counselor, it still has many benefits for users, especially adolescents dealing with anxiety and depression, he added.

Originally published on Global Voices

Hong Kong Legislative Council resumes debate on a controversial same-sex partnership bill on September 10, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by Hillary Leung and published in Hong Kong Free Press on September 10, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

The Hong Kong government’s proposed bill to recognise same-sex partnerships has failed to pass in the Legislative Council (LegCo), with just 14 out of 86 lawmakers voting in favour.

A total of 71 lawmakers voted against the bill on September 10, while one legislator, Doreen Kong, abstained.

It was the first time the opposition-free legislature voted down a government bill.

Lawmakers resumed the debate on the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill, which sought to give limited rights to same-sex couples whose marriages or civil unions are registered overseas, on September 10, after a summer recess.

The bill has been met with much opposition since it was first presented to LegCo in July.

Ahead of the vote, lawmakers took turns expressing their views on the bill.

Lawmaker Maggie Chan, who brought a sign to the meeting reading “Resolutely opposed to the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill,” said the bill “rocks the foundation of the monogamous and heterosexual marriage system in Hong Kong.”

She refuted concerns that a failure to pass the bill would have consequences for the rule of law. The bill is a response to the Court of Final Appeal’s landmark ruling in 2023 that the government must enact a framework for recognising same-sex relationships, and some have said a failure to adhere to the decision would undermine the authority of the top court.

Chan said in Cantonese:

When the council votes down the bill, it will not give rise to a constitutional crisis. Instead, it will embody the checks and balances between the legislature and the administration. It will also show that the council is not a rubber stamp.

Junius Ho, a lawmaker known for his fiery statements against LGBTQ+ rights, told Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, whose bureau is overseeing the bill, that it was “not too late to turn back.”

Ho said Tsang should never have proposed this bill. He added that there are ways for same-sex couples to protect themselves without needing a framework, such as writing wills and appointing each other as their enduring powers of attorney — a legal tool that empowers one to take care of their finances when they are incapacitated — to enhance their rights.

He asked:

When there are only mums in your home and no dads, or some have only dads and no mums, how do we celebrate Father’s Day and Mother’s Day? … we already have a lot of problems on our plate today… Why do we still need to worry about imaginary troubles and do all this unorthodox stuff? To plunge an entire society into turmoil for a small minority of people?

The Court of Final Appeal gave the government two years to pass a framework for recognising same-sex partnerships. The deadline is October 27.

The government received 10,775 written submissions in response to the bill. Around 80 percent of the submissions expressed opposition, authorities said in August.

According to NGO Hong Kong Marriage Equality, about half of the submissions that opposed the bill were based on nine standardised forms and templates, suggesting “mobilisation by specific groups rather than broad-based sentiment.”

Jimmy Sham, the LGBTQ+ activist who brought the consequential case to court in 2018, listened in on the lawmakers’ debate on September 10.

Before the debate began, Sham told HKFP outside LegCo that he urged lawmakers to support the bill. Voting it down would be an attack on the city’s rule of law and human rights, he said.

‘Discrimination and unfairness’

Lawmakers with no party affiliation and who are members of the Executive Council — the government’s advisory team — were among those who supported the bill.

Lawmaker Martin Liao, who is also an executive councillor, said almost 40 places around the world allow same-sex couples to get married, including the US, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Taiwan, and Thailand. Liao said in Cantonese:

It cannot be denied that there is discrimination and unfairness in Hong Kong society’s treatment of same-sex couples. When society lacks a legal framework to recognise same-sex partnerships, gay people could feel… inferior and humiliated, [knowing] their same-sex relationships are not legal and unrecognised.

Independent lawmaker Tony Tse said he “fully supports” the heterosexual marriage system but supported the bill as it “reflects respect and acceptance of the rule of law, human rights and diversity in society.” He continued:

The Court of Final Appeal’s judgment clearly states that Hong Kong needs to legally recognise some of the rights of same-sex partners. The government… in two years formulated the legislation, showing the maturity of the rule of law and the responsibility of the government.

Among the major political parties with representatives in the legislature, only the New People’s Party (NPP) indicated support for the bill.

Lawmaker Regina Ip, who is also an executive councillor and the chairperson of the NPP, said she had ordered all her party’s lawmakers to vote in favour.

Eunice Yung, a member of the party, rejected views that recognising same-sex partnerships amounted to legalising same-sex marriage. Yung said in Cantonese:

In reality, the rights and responsibilities in the bill are very limited… it only deals with the right to make medical decisions and after-death arrangements.

The problems that same-sex partners in Hong Kong face are not just “abstract,” but “practical difficulties” in everyday life, she added.

If one partner needs to be admitted to a hospital because they are ill or have had an accident, their partner — if they are not a legal family relative — cannot visit them or make medical decisions… even though they have been together for many years, and rely on each other, because of their identities under the law, they cannot stay by the bedside and be with [them] in their final moments.

Whilst same-sex sexual activity was legalised in 1991, Hong Kong has no laws to protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination in employment, the provision of goods and services, or from hate speech. Equal marriage remains illegal, although a 2023 survey showed that 60 percent of Hongkongers support it. Despite repeated government appeals, courts have granted those who married — or who entered civil partnerships — abroad some recognition in terms of tax, spousal visas, and public housing.

Originally published on Global Voices

The Immigration Department in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, on June 11, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by Tom Grundy and published in Hong Kong Free Press on August 23, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

Bloomberg journalist Rebecca Choong Wilkins has been denied a work visa renewal by the Hong Kong Immigration Department, with no reason given, according to the local press club.

It is the latest in a string of unexplained visa denials for journalists, despite Hong Kong’s drive to attract talent and repeated assurances over press freedom.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club said Wilkins was not given a reason for the visa denial, but had worked for the financial news outlet for six years. She most recently served as a senior reporter on the Asia government and economy team.

The Club said in a statement on August 22:

Regrettably, this decision and the lack of explanation reinforces widespread concerns about the erosion of press freedom in Hong Kong, which is protected under the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights. […] We support any application for this decision to be urgently reviewed and call for future applications for employment visas and visa extensions for international journalists to be handled in a timely and transparent manner.

It urged the government to show greater transparency and said it had sought clarification from the authorities.

It is unclear if Wilkins will be deployed elsewhere or was hoping to apply for permanent residency in Hong Kong, which is open to those who have worked for at least seven years in the city.

A Bloomberg News spokesperson told HKFP on Saturday that they could not comment on the case, but they will “continue to work through the appropriate avenues to try to resolve the matter.”

The Immigration Department did not respond directly as to why it rejected the visa, saying they would not comment on individual cases:

While each application is determined on its individual merit, an applicant for extension of stay should continue to meet the eligibility criteria under the general employment policy and normal immigration requirements.

In a tweet on August 23, Wilkins — who had previously written about journalist visa denials — said:

After six years of reporting in Hong Kong, and at eight months pregnant, I’m very sad to be leaving my colleagues, friends and the place I’ve called home. https://t.co/zPc8F4aa7b

I’ll be out of office for a while on maternity leave. Wherever I land, catch you on the other side

— Rebecca Choong Wilkins 钟碧琪 (@RChoongWilkins) August 23, 2025

HKFP has reached out to Wilkins for comment.

“Bad for business”

Speaking personally, the chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Selina Cheng, told HKFP that companies need to consider the risk of investing in overseas talent as visa denials are becoming routine:

Unpredictability is simply bad for business and does nothing positive for the Hong Kong government’s mission to have a good story told about itself.

Cheng added that there have been more cases of visa denials than have been openly reported, as she raised concerns about “intrusive and unnecessary” questions posed by Immigration. She said:

We have also heard an increasing number of examples where expatriates wishing to renew or obtain a visa to work in Hong Kong were asked literally hundreds of questions about their past background. Authorities solicited information and documents such as months worth of bank statements and lists of dates they met diplomats from their home countries.

String of visa denials

It is not the first time local authorities have denied a visa renewal to a journalist. Last year, Bloomberg journalist Haze Fan saw her visa application rejected, with no reason given.

Months later, award-winning Associated Press photographer Louise Delmotte was denied entry to Hong Kong after her visa renewal was denied without any reason given.

In 2020, Hong Kong Free Press was denied a work visa, without reason, for an Irish journalist who had been working for Bloomberg. The New York Times’s Chris Buckley was also denied a visa in 2020, after Victor Mallet of the Financial Times had an application rejected in 2018.

A reporter from The Economist was also denied a visa in 2021 without a reason.

Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom indices since the onset of the 2020 and 2024 National Security Laws. Watchdogs cite the arrest and jailing of journalists, raids on newsrooms, and the closure of around 10 independent media outlets, including Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives, and axed news and satirical shows.

In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.

Originally published on Global Voices

Performance artist Holok Chen and an activist outside the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry on July 28, 2025. Photo by Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Hillary Leung and published in Hong Kong Free Press on August 3, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

A government-proposed framework to register same-sex partnerships has attracted unprecedented controversy in Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature.

Many lawmakers claim the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill erodes the institution of traditional marriage. LGBTQ+ activists, meanwhile, criticise the bill for not offering enough protection, but also see it as a small step forward and are urging the Legislative Council (LegCo) to pass it.

In an apparent appeal to the legislature, Chief Executive John Lee, who has backed the bill, said that violating the top court’s ruling, which ordered the government to come up with a framework, “will bring serious consequences.”

This article explains what the framework is, the reactions it has provoked, and what might happen if the bill does not receive a majority vote from legislators to become law.

What is the government proposing?

The government has proposed a mechanism for same-sex couples to register their partnerships. Registration is limited to those who already have a marriage or a civil union outside of Hong Kong. They must have reached the age of 18, and at least one person in the couple must be a Hong Kong resident.

Authorities have made clear that a same-sex partnership is not equivalent to marriage, and the proposed framework will not allow same-sex couples to marry in Hong Kong.

Same-sex partnership registrations will be overseen by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, distinguishing them from marriage registrations, which fall under the purview of the Immigration Department.

The authorities have said that the framework “will not compromise the government’s established position on upholding the monogamous and heterosexual marriage system.”

What is included in the bill?

The bill gives only limited rights to same-sex couples. A locally registered partnership would allow couples to handle their partner’s medical matters and after-death arrangements.

For example, they can visit their partner in hospitals and make medical decisions for a partner who is mentally incapacitated. If their partner dies, they can identify their body at a mortuary and arrange the funeral and cremation.

However, they will not be allowed to marry in Hong Kong or be entitled to certain rights that spouses have, like adopting a child as a couple or visiting their partner in prison.

Why now?

In September 2023, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) ruled that the government must establish a framework for registering same-sex partnerships, stopping short of recognising same-sex marriage.

The case stemmed from a judicial review by pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham, who married his partner in New York in 2013 and challenged local authorities’ lack of recognition of their union.

The top court gave the government two years — the deadline is October 27 — to fulfil the obligation ordered by the court.

The government has not made any known efforts to engage LGBTQ+ groups over the past two years despite activists’ attempts to reach out.

The only public consultation took place in late July. Members of the public were invited to send written submissions to lawmakers and the government, but they had just one week to do so.

LGBTQ+ groups said they hoped the Legislative Council would hold public hearings, allowing members of the public to present their views to lawmakers during the bills committee meetings.

However, during the first bill meeting on July 23, chairperson Brave Chan’s suggestion to skip public hearings in favour of written submissions, citing a lack of time, was not met with any opposition from lawmakers.

How have LGBTQ+ activists reacted to the bill?

LGBTQ+ activists say the bill does not go far enough to protect same-sex partnerships. They criticised the requirement that couples must have their partnerships registered abroad first, saying this could pose a financial burden or barrier for some.

Nevertheless, they believe the framework is better than nothing and could provide useful information on the LGBTQ+ community. Registration statistics, for example, could for the first time provide an official count of the number of long-term same-sex partners in Hong Kong.

Before the written submissions deadline, activists urged the public to respond to the call for submissions and lawmakers to support the bill. Sham himself created a petition allowing signers to directly email their submissions, while some NGOs, as well as the LGBTQ+ advocacy media platform G Dot TV, separately created templates for the public to fill in.

Sham told HKFP his petition received 1,016 signatures.

Four LGBTQ+ groups — Hong Kong Marriage Equality, Dear Family, Pink Alliance and Covenant of the Rainbow — also launched a joint petition to collect signatures.

Performance artist Holok Chen staged two events to advocate for support for the government’s bill and call out lawmakers for “homophobic slurs.”

In an act called “Cry Me a Rainbow,” Chen, who identifies as non-binary, wore a rainbow cape and posed crying outside the Legislative Council building on July 25, on the second day of the bill committee meeting.

A few days later, on Monday, they and an unnamed activist stood outside the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry, dressed as monsters to symbolise the way Chen said lawmakers had “demonised” the LGBTQ+ community.

Chen’s street performances were a rare display of public action amidst the dwindling space for civic advocacy in the wake of the Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020.

What’s been said in the written submissions?

It is unclear how many written submissions have been received. However, as of July 31, over 10,000 had been uploaded to the LegCo website. All written submissions are made public unless the writer requests privacy.

Some who sent in their responses identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community. One writer, Ms Lo — a bisexual woman — said the proposed framework could erase the stigma faced by same-sex couples and allow the public to see that they are no different from heterosexual couples.

Originally published on Global Voices

Gregory May, the former US consul general of Hong Kong and Macau, at his home on June 29, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by Hillary Leung and published in Hong Kong Free Press on July 6, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

When Gregory May came to Hong Kong in 1992, he stayed at Chungking Mansions — a sprawling, labyrinthine building in Tsim Sha Tsui known for its affordable guesthouses and cultural diversity.

At the time, May was a 21-year-old university student passing through Hong Kong en route to Taiwan, where he had enrolled in a one-year programme to study Chinese.

After finishing his undergraduate degree and a stint in journalism, May joined the US government for a career in diplomacy. His job took him around the world, including Italy, Mongolia and mainland China, and in September 2022, Hong Kong.

During his last week in the city, 55-year-old May was back at Chungking Mansions, where he enjoyed a cup of masala chai and had his face threaded. After serving as the consul general for Hong Kong and Macau for almost three years, May has moved to Beijing to become second-in-command at the embassy there.

Speaking to HKFP on June 28 at his home near the Peak, the diplomat said he was leaving Hong Kong with “genuine warm feelings” for the city.

Outside, in preparation for a farewell party for the consul general, house staff inflated bouncy castles — entertainment for the kids while the adults mingled. May told HKFP:

You can believe that Hong Kong is a wonderful city and still disagree with the policies of the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong governments.

‘Testy’ relationship

During May’s time as the top US diplomat in Hong Kong, the city enacted its second national security law, two landmark national security trials were underway, and major pro-democracy parties disbanded.

There have also been “ups and downs” in the broader US-China ties, May added.

Amid these developments, May described the US government’s relationship with Hong Kong authorities as “testy with room for dialogue.”

The diplomat said his “main concern” during his tenure had been Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai is on trial for conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law. May said:

…our concern goes beyond Jimmy Lai… you have people who are in jail for participating in political activity that was specifically allowed for in the Basic Law.

People [are] in jail for criticising the government online. That’s been difficult to witness, and over the three years, that’s gotten more challenging in terms of human rights.

In response to HKFP’s enquiries, the Hong Kong government said that attempts to “procure a defendant’s evasion of the criminal justice process” are a “blatant act” of undermining the rule of law.

US politicians should “immediately stop interfering in [Hong Kong]’s internal affairs and the independent exercise of judicial power,” it added.

May also commented on the Hong Kong police’s arrest warrants and bounties on 19 overseas activists under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Some of these activists now live in the US, and at least one of them is a US citizen. He said the move is an attempt to suppress free speech in the US:

Their alleged crimes [include] things they’ve said in the United States in our case, under our constitutional protections.

However, the Hong Kong government said, in its reply to HKFP, the security law’s extraterritorial effect “fully aligns with the principles of international law” and that the “absconders” have continued to engage in activities endangering national security.

Still, May said the US had “good communication overall” with Hong Kong, and that there had been solid cooperation on issues such as combating drug shipments and scams.

He added that several lawmakers have been open to discussion despite their disagreements on certain US and Hong Kong policies.

Responding to May’s comment about the “testy” US-Hong Kong relationship, the city’s authorities pointed out the ties between the two governments in areas such as trade, education and culture. The US’s trade in goods with Hong Kong supports about 140,000 jobs in the US, they said.

‘Pressure from outside’

Candles are displayed in the windows of the US Consulate General on June 4, 2025, the 36th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The US consulate has not been immune to the city’s politicised landscape, May said. Outside of the law, the diplomat said he had observed “softer repressive measures” aimed at stifling certain groups’ “perfectly legal activities” — and he himself had experienced that firsthand.

Like the Democratic Party, the city’s largest pro-democracy political party, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association, which have faced difficulties securing venues for their annual dinners, the US consulate has encountered similar problems with finding hosts for its events, May said.

We’re doing something in an outside venue, and suddenly there’s a plumbing problem over there, or there’s some excuse for why the venue is no longer available.

He said that the venue problem “hasn’t happened very often,” but it had been occurring with “increasing frequency.”

It’s very clear that this is pressure from outside. Phone calls are made… they get the message that they shouldn’t be hosting anything.

He added that these incidents happened closer to the end of his time here.

In response, the government told HKFP it had “no comment” and that rights and freedoms remain protected.

Compared with the earlier parts of his tenure, May said he received fewer invitations and had fewer opportunities to give talks at secondary schools to promote higher education in the US.

He said he had also had requests to speak at universities rescinded, which he attributed to “external pressure.”

May also expressed concerns about the city’s media landscape, saying there had been a “real deterioration.”

Regarding press freedom, the diplomat lamented the demise of political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan, known as “Zunzi.” The cartoonist, known for his satirical takes on current affairs, used to have a regular column in the Chinese-language local newspaper Ming Pao.

Fluent in Mandarin, May said he subscribed to Ming Pao to keep up his Chinese reading and to read Zunzi’s cartoons.

The comic strip was suspended in May 2023 after being criticised by authorities.

May said:

I love the cartoons by Zunzi. They’re funny, [and] it’s a challenge to figure out the Cantonese and the special sayings. He criticised the United States, he criticised a lot of different people in those cartoons, and we can’t see them anymore. And we all know why.

The Hong Kong government has repeatedly said that press freedom is not absolute and defended the media landscape, calling it “as vibrant as ever.”

Going local

The turbulent relationship between the US and China — and by extension, Hong Kong — may have defined May’s tenure in the city. But that is perhaps not what most Hongkongers will remember him for.

Videos on the US consulate’s Facebook and Instagram pages featuring him shopping at a wet market and riding a minibus, while showing off his earnest, albeit imperfect, Cantonese, have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

May said his time in Hong Kong had “really been the highlight of my career.”

Besides the people, the diplomat said he would miss his walks to the Peak from his residence, Ocean Park trips with his son, and above all else, the food.

Hong Kong has so many Michelin-star restaurants… but I think the best places to eat are the ones that don’t take Octopus or credit cards. Cash only.

The diplomat counts wonton noodles and two-dish rice as his favourites. His go-tos for the latter are preserved sausage and a vegetable like xiao bai cai, or bok choi, a type of Chinese cabbage.

Reflecting on the political developments during his almost three years in Hong Kong, May said he would still encourage US citizens to move to the city:

You just have to be knowledgeable about some of the changes here. You need to be mindful of things like the national security law and Article 23. … Hong Kong has changed. Hong Kong, fundamentally, is not the free society that it used to be.

Originally published on Global Voices

The League of Social Democrats announced their disbandment on Sunday, June 29, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by James Lee and published in Hong Kong Free Press on June 29, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

One of Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy groups, the League of Social Democrats (LSD), announced its disbandment on Sunday after 19 years. It came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the 2020 Beijing-imposed security law, with the left-wing group citing “tremendous political pressure.”

The pro-democracy party announced its decision in a press invite sent out on June 27. “Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the League of Social Democrats. However, we will not survive to see that day and will announce our disbandment,” it read.

Speaking at a press conference on June 29, LSD chair Chan Po-ying said that she could not elaborate further on the reasons behind the decision.

HKFP has contacted the police for comment.

Founded in 2006, the LSD was known for advocating democratic reform and supporting the working class. It held seats in the Legislative Council and the District Councils before an electoral overhaul in 2021 effectively barred members of the opposition from standing.

‘Domino effect’

With its dissolution, the LSD joins the dozens of political parties, labour unions, and civil society groups that have disbanded since the security law was enacted.

Chan described the dissolution as part of a domino effect on June 29:

After the Democratic Party, it was the League of Social Democrats. After us, who’s next?

The last remaining League of Social Democrats members in front of a banner said: “I would rather be ashes than dust”. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

During the press conference, the members of the LSD sat in front of a banner that read: “I would rather be ashes than dust” — a quote attributed to American novelist Jack London. The league said in its press release:

Today, with deep sorrow, we announce that, in the face of immense political pressure and after careful deliberation, particularly with regard to the consequences for our members and comrades, we have made the difficult decision to disband.

Over these 19 years, we have endured hardships of internal disputes and the near-total imprisonment of our leadership, while witnessing the erosion of civil society, the fading of grassroots voices, the omnipresence of red lines, and the draconian suppression of dissent. Despite such adversities, LSD persisted — doing what little we could — just to remain true to our founding values and beliefs.

Now the road has narrowed beyond passage. We leave with heavy hearts, and with an ache in our conscience, knowing we will not be the last to fall. The terrain ahead is even more treacherous. LSD now closes its chapter in Hong Kong’s history of dissent. Yet, as members of this society, our spirit remains. Even as we step aside, we stand with those still struggling in the shadows.

LSD member and former convenor of the now-disbanded Civil Human Rights Front, Figo Chan, said in Cantonese:

The LSD advocated for marginalised communities, including migrant workers, refugees, the LGBTQ+ community, and labour issues. Even though the LSD has dissolved, I hope Hong Kong people will continue to give these communities their attention.

Dickson Chau, also of the LSD, recalled joining the party in 2021, hoping to contribute to a remaining left-wing voice in the city’s political sphere, “to hold the line as long as we could.”

“At least we’ve lasted until Jimmy Sham’s release,” he said.

Sham, who was arrested and charged with “subversion” along with 46 activists for participating in July 2020 pro-democracy primaries, was released on bail on January 7, 2025. He represented the LSD in the city’s district council before his arrest in January 2021.

At the press conference, Sham did not speak until prompted by a reporter. “The LSD was the first political party in Hong Kong to put the rights of sexual minorities on its agenda,” he said. “The LSD stood by the gay community in its darkest hour,” he added, as he became emotional.

Members of the party held roses — a symbol in socialist and labor movements representing human dignity — as they addressed the dozens of reporters crammed into the LSD’s office in a Chai Wan industrial unit, some of their voices struggling to reach the back of the room.

Dozens of groups disband

The demise of the league has made it the third major pro-democracy party to have met its end in recent years. The Civic Party folded in March 2024, and the Democratic Party, the city’s largest opposition group with a history of three decades, announced in February that it would begin steps to disband.

“Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Chan Po-ying’s husband and former LSD chair, remains in prison serving six years and nine months for subversion under the 2020 security legislation. He is among 14 democrats seeking appeals against their convictions and sentences.

Chan Po-ying said that Leung’s appeal would still proceed, as would her own over an unauthorized fundraising case, despite the party’s dissolution.

Fernando Cheung, spokesperson of the Amnesty Hong Kong Overseas Section, said in a press release on June 29:

The organisation and its members have been continuously subjected to surveillance and harassment by the Hong Kong government, including repeated fines for setting up street booths; before June 4th, July 1st and other ‘sensitive dates’ as defined by authorities, members were summoned by the National Security Department for ‘reminders’ not to organise demonstrations, and were even subjected to targeted searches or arrests on those days.

Originally published on Global Voices

A figure representing Taiwan in the Reversed Front. Screenshot from the Reversed Front Promotion video on YouTube. Fair Use.

This report was written by Irene Chan and Hillary Leung and published in Hong Kong Free Press on June 11, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

The Hong Kong national security police have warned against downloading a role-playing game app on June 10, claiming it promotes Hong Kong and Taiwanese independence.

By the morning of June 11, the game app had vanished from Hong Kong’s App Store, less than 24 hours after the warning had been issued. However, Google searches for the game have surged 1,000 percent.

In a statement, the police force’s National Security Department said “Reversed Front: Bonfire” – a mobile game by Taiwanese developers ESC Taiwan – promotes secessionist agendas, advocates “armed revolution” and the overthrow of the “fundamental system of the People’s Republic of China.”

The game “also has an intention to provoke hatred towards the Central Authorities and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” police said.

Anyone who publishes related content, including sharing the game online, may be accused of inciting secession and inciting subversion, both offences under the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Doing so may also violate the city’s homegrown national security law, also known as Article 23, which criminalises “offences in connection with seditious intention.”

The law defines a person with seditious intention as one inciting hatred or disaffection against the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese governments. The maximum penalty for the offence is up to 10 years’ imprisonment if it involves an external force.

According to the description on the gaming platform Steam, “Reversed Front” takes players through a war to “overthrow the communist regime.” Players can assume different roles, such as Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan, the Uyghurs, and Mongolia. Below is a promotional video from the Game's YouTube channel:

The developers describe the communists in the game as “heavy-handed” and corrupt due to “malicious ethnic cleansing and an obstreperous military.”

The national security police said those who have downloaded the app should “uninstall it immediately” and urged the public not to provide funding for the game, for example, by making in-app purchases.

Vanished from the HK App Store

“Reversed Front: Bonfire” was initially available on both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store. However, it was removed from the Play Store in May for failing to ban players from using hate speech, according to Reversed Front’s social media post.

When HKFP checked at around 8 pm on June 10, the app could no longer be found in Hong Kong’s Google Play Store, but it was still available in the city's Apple App Store.

However, at around 10 am on June 11, the app also disappeared from the App Store in Hong Kong.

In a Facebook post on June 11 afternoon, Reversed Front said that the game was the most downloaded app on Hong Kong’s App Store on June 10 evening.

Netizens commented on Facebook, saying, “thanks to the government, now I know there is such a game.”

Meanwhile, Google Trends, a tool that measures the frequency of search queries, showed that 逆統戰 — the Chinese name of the mobile game — was the most searched topic in the city on June 11.

Google recorded more than 20,000 searches for the game over the past 21 hours — an increase of 1,000 percent.

According to a BBC report in 2020, ESC Taiwan raised around NTD 19 million (USD 640,000) online to create a similarly themed tabletop game.

Originally published on Global Voices

Peter, left behind in Hong Kong following Trump’s refugee ban, has gradually got back on his feet. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Irene Chan and published in Hong Kong Free Press on May 25, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

Peter, a refugee in Hong Kong, fled political persecution in his home country in Africa. But he never thought he would become a victim again — this time because of a foreign leader thousands of kilometres away.

He was scheduled to leave Hong Kong for resettlement in the US on February 4, but the plan was in shambles after Donald Trump was re-elected as president of the United States.

In January, Peter — who declined to disclose his full name and country of origin due to safety concerns — made preparations for his departure.

But on January 20, just hours after taking office, President Trump, infamous for his anti-immigrant rhetoric, signed an executive order, indefinitely suspending the US Refugee Admission Program (USRAP).

The executive order also called for a report from the Department of Homeland Security within 90 days to consider whether to resume refugee admissions. Yet, the April 20 deadline came and went without any announcement.

With a stroke of a pen, Trump upended the lives of many refugees like Peter around the world. They face a life in limbo, unable to enter the US despite having received approval for resettlement, and are forced to stay in a place without a path to permanent residency or citizenship.

The number of refugees admitted into the US annually actually decreased, from over 200,000 in 1980, when USRAP started, to around 100,000 in 2024, before Trump began his second term.

Citing “the interests of the United States” and the country’s lack of “ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees”, Trump ordered the suspension of USRAP. Critics slammed the decision, calling it “unjustified” and pointing out that studies — including those by the government — showed refugees “have a positive economic effect on the United States”.

As a victim of Trump’s orders, Peter felt disappointed while trying to be understanding. “It is unfair to us, but the fairest thing from their perspective,” Peter told HKFP, referring to US policymakers. “They’re trying to sort out their house, to fix their house, right?” Peter said:

I understand that people handling refugee cases are also kind of overwhelmed… struggling to screen out who is a genuine refugee, but again, that doesn’t give them the right to make [the lives of] people who are genuine refugees so hard. But people don’t choose to become refugees. Refugees are victims of circumstances, victims of people’s decisions, victims of people’s fights, and they find themselves to be victims for a lifetime.

As of October 2024, there were 37.9 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In Hong Kong, there were 359 recognised refugees from late 2009 to March 2025, according to the Immigration Department’s data.

Now, four months after the ill-fated news, Peter has slowly gotten back on his feet.

After back-and-forth negotiations with his landlord, he was allowed to stay in the subdivided flat. His church agreed to hire him as a pastor again. In late April, he started working after receiving a work permit from the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

“I am the luckiest,” said Peter, in his 40s, as he compared himself with many other refugees affected by the US ban. But like them, he was pessimistic about future resettlement.

‘Back to square one’

Around 10 refugees served by The Christian Action Centre for Refugees in Hong Kong had prepared to leave for the US before the suspension was announced.

Jeffrey Andrews is a social worker and centre-in-charge of the Christian Action Centre for Refugees. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Social worker and centre-in-charge Jeffrey Andrews explained how Trump's decision affected the refugees:

Some had resigned from their jobs, their kids had withdrawn from school, and their house had been returned to the landlord. They are now back to square one, just like the day they arrived in Hong Kong to seek asylum.

Most refugees directly affected by Trump’s policy have not secured jobs in Hong Kong again after resigning in preparation for departure, he said. Dozens of refugees he knows expect their waiting time for resettlement to be prolonged.

From asylum seekers to resettlement

There were more than 15,000 asylum seekers in Hong Kong as of June 2024, according to the local NGO Justice Centre Hong Kong. They must go through lengthy screening and security vetting procedures before they finally see a glimpse of hope for overseas resettlement.

The city, however, does not grant resettlement. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, asylum seekers can file non-refoulement claims with the city’s Immigration Department, which assesses whether their claims of fear of persecution are substantiated.

If so, the government will not refoul them from Hong Kong. It will refer their cases to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to decide their refugee status.

If UNHCR recognises them as refugees, Hong Kong officials will try to arrange resettlement, mainly to Canada and the US, the world’s largest resettlement countries. Only after refugees are resettled do they gain the right to become naturalised citizens.

“But resettlement is not a right for refugees according to UNHCR, which means it is not guaranteed,” said Andrews.

Starting from their arrival in Hong Kong, asylum seekers wait an average of 10-15 years to be recognised as refugees and to be resettled in a third country, the social worker said.

Peter was a school principal when he fled his country after suffering torture and political persecution. He arrived in Hong Kong in 2016 and had to wait around one year to be recognised as a refugee, which he said was “relatively fast”.

It took him another seven years to be resettled. He said he was thrilled when UNHCR told him that the US had granted him asylum and that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services had approved his resettlement.

Niki Wong, a programme manager at Branches of Hope, a Vine Church-founded NGO serving refugees and asylum seekers, told HKFP that refugees endured a longer waiting time over the past few years because Western countries suspended refugee resettlement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, just as the resettlement programme returned to normal, they were hit by Trump’s refugee ban.

Wong said that although most US-bound refugees he knows could find a place to live and carry on with their lives in the city, they still felt frustrated and hopeless because of an uncertain future.

Decades of waiting

Aimé Girimana, who has been in Hong Kong for 21 years, is another African refugee affected by Trump’s policy.

Aimé Girimana, a refugee from East Africa, has been waiting for resettlement for 21 years in Hong Kong. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Girimana, who works as a community partnerships officer at Justice Centre Hong Kong, was a human rights lawyer in an East African country.

He arrived in Hong Kong in 2004, leaving behind his wife and children, to escape political persecution in his home country. “As I knew my life was under threat, I fled from my office directly to the airport,” he told HKFP.

At that time, UNHCR — not the Immigration Department — was responsible for assessing persecution claims in Hong Kong. Girimana said it took only three days for him to be recognised as a refugee, but waiting for resettlement was far longer than he had ever imagined.

He said UNHCR had difficulties finding him permanent asylum because of his political activism in his home country. In 2006, UNHCR assigned him to be resettled in Canada, but Canadian authorities refused.

It was not until December 2023 that he learned the US had expanded the Welcome Corps programme, allowing private individuals to sponsor refugees they know and welcome them to be resettled in the US under USRAP.

Girimana successfully reached out to five American sponsors as requested by the programme. He went through the first interview in October and was waiting for the final interview when Trump announced the suspension of USRAP, including the Welcome Corps. He said,

As a human being, your life is always dependent on others. It’s just like that anybody can decide on your life.

Nonetheless, Girimana, who is in his 60s, is grateful to have a job in Hong Kong that allows him to work with the refugee community. It took years for him to get to where he is today.

“It’s my duty”

When he arrived in Hong Kong, Girimana found it difficult to support himself because refugees and asylum seekers were not allowed to work. He took the initiative to collect food, clothes, and electrical appliances to help refugee and asylum seeker families.

He also worked with lawmakers and spoke at Legislative Council sessions to raise awareness.

Girimana recalled that in his early years in Hong Kong, refugees and asylum seekers were either treated as if they were invisible or faced prejudice. “Prejudice [against] refugees was really bad. People didn’t have any awareness of refugees and thought that refugees were the same as economic immigrants.” he said.

Having no legal right to work, most refugees and asylum seekers rely on a monthly allowance that the government only began to provide in 2006.

In 2014, the government increased the allowance, giving an adult asylum seeker or refugee a total of HKD 3,200 to HKD 3,420 (USD 408 to USD 436) in monthly assistance —  HKD 1,500 for rent, HKD 300 for utilities, HKD 200 to HKD 420 for transport, and HKD 1,200 in food coupons — plus a rent deposit of HKD 3,000. The amounts have not changed since. For reference, the poverty line in Hong Kong was marked at HKD 4,400 per month as of 2020.

In 2010, Girimana was among four refugees and a torture claimant who filed a judicial review of their right to work in Hong Kong. They lost in the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The case ultimately went to the Court of Final Appeal. The top court ruled in 2014, upholding the lower courts’ decisions that refugees have no constitutional right to work but do have a “discretionary permit” granted by the director of the Immigration Department.

In 2013, Girimana got his first job in Hong Kong. It set a precedent, allowing refugees with a job offer to apply for permission to work from the Immigration Department.

Uzma Naveed, a refugee from a country in South Asia, has been working as a diversity and inclusion coordinator at the Centre for Refugees for nearly two years.

Uzma Naveed, a South Asian refugee who arrived in Hong Kong 10 years ago, is a diversity and inclusion coordinator at the Christian Action Centre for Refugees. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

She told HKFP that she arrived in Hong Kong 10 years ago with her husband and child after religious persecution forced them to flee their country. Their lives changed overnight, from a comfortable middle-class existence to living hand to mouth.

Uzma was finally recognised as a refugee in 2023 after going through exhaustive screenings for eight years, essentially — in her words — “repeating the trauma again and again”. She and her family are still waiting for UNHCR’s resettlement.

However, with the USRAP suspension, she does not see much hope in the near future of finding a permanent home.

At the Centre for Refugees, she organises activities, including cooking, sewing, yoga, and basketball, for refugees and asylum seekers to build “a home away from home”.

“Every refugee has some kind of depression. No one is living a good life”, said Uzma, in her 30s.

For refugees and asylum seekers – many of whom live in subdivided units – knowing others with similar experiences can be empowering, she added.

In early February, four American NGOs filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s refugee ban and funding halt for refugee humanitarian aid.

On May 15, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to “immediately” resettle around 160 refugees who were scheduled to travel to the US on or before February 3. For an additional 120,000 refugees “who had arranged and confirmable travel” to the US after February 3, the court would appoint an official to help conduct a case-by-case review.

However, as of May 24, the Trump administration has yet to take any action.

Peter is unsure about his resettlement, saying it depends on whether the US will lift the ban.

Meanwhile, prejudices against asylum seekers and refugees persist. Some Hong Kong lawmakers still talk about “bogus refugees” who they claim commit crimes and waste public expenditure — allegations that activists call “racist” and “xenophobic”.

Despite living in limbo, Girimana is determined to continue raising public awareness. He said:

It’s my duty when I fled my country. You could blame the system [of screening refugees], but don’t blame those people looking for safety as refugees.

Originally published on Global Voices

LGBTQ groups mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) in Causeway Bay on May 17, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Hillary Leung and published in Hong Kong Free Press on May 19, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

Parts of Causeway Bay were transformed into a sea of rainbows on May 17 as the city’s LGBTQ+ community marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).

Organised by the NGO Gay Harmony, the event featured eight other groups, including an LGBTQ-friendly church and a small media outlet that reports on LGBTQ-related issues.

The groups took turns giving short speeches, while volunteers distributed flyers to passersby, from young couples to families with kids. Around the corner, at a booth run by NGO Pride Lab, passersby were asked to rate how friendly their environment is toward LGBTQ+ people on a scale of one to six.

Metres away, people responded to a prompt set by Quarks, an NGO supporting transgender rights, asking how they took care of themselves when facing discrimination. They wrote their responses on Post-It notes clipped onto a board at the booth.

“Music. Make meals. See friends.” one note read.

Another note said: “Trans rights are human rights. One day we shall prevail.”

Passersby are taking pictures near the IDAHOBIT booth outside the SOGO department store at Causeway Bay. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Shrinking queer spaces in today’s Hong Kong

Events like IDAHOBIT have become increasingly rare in Hong Kong, where space for advocacy has narrowed in recent years. Since the protests and unrest in 2019, followed by the Beijing-imposed national security law, dozens of civil society groups have shut down under pressure.

While LGBTQ+ groups have not specifically been targeted, activists say it has become harder to host large-scale events.

Gay Harmony founder Francis Tang said groups have had to change their outreach methods in recent years. The last year the city saw a pride parade — which Tang also organised — was 2018, and the group behind it now holds indoor bazaars to mark the date instead.

“We’re not able to make as much noise anymore,” he said in Cantonese.

One of the aims of Pride events is to raise public awareness about sexual and gender diversity, Tang said. However, he acknowledged, “There is a big difference in the number of people we are able to reach nowadays.”

Gay Harmony organises activities to mark IDAHOBIT every year, but they scaled down the event in 2020. This year was the first time they invited other groups to take part.

“So far so good,” he said, adding that the process of receiving approval from government departments to host the public event was smooth. “There have been no complaints, and the feedback seems good. We hope we can do this again.”

Whilst same-sex sexual activity was legalised in 1991, Hong Kong has no laws to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, the provision of goods and services, or from hate speech.

Same-sex marriage is not legally recognised, although a 2023 survey showed that 60 percent of Hongkongers support it. Despite repeated government appeals, courts have granted same-sex couples who married — or who entered civil partnerships — abroad some recognition in terms of tax, spousal visas, and public housing.

Visibility matters

With AI-generated images of Jesus delivering marriage vows to Chinese-looking gay couples, the booth run by the LGBTQ-friendly Blessed Ministry Community Church (BMCC) was perhaps the most eye-catching one on Great George Street.

Jensen Yiu, head of social ministry at Blessed Ministry Community Church, on May 17, 2025. AI-generated images in the background show Jesus blessing a gay couple. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Volunteers chatted up passersby, bringing them to their booth and walking them through an activity about the relationship between Christianity and gender and sexual identity.

The activity involved asking whether they had any queer friends, and if they believed those who identified as LGBTQ+ deserved to be blessed by the church when they found love.

Jensen Yiu, head of social ministry at BMCC, said the event was a good opportunity for LGBTQ+ groups to gain visibility and interact with a larger cross-section of the public.

He said there was value in running booths on the streets and passing out flyers to passersby — something they would not be able to do during enclosed events like Pink Dot, a popular Singaporean Pride festival.

“People who go to those kinds of events are probably already pro-LGBTQ,” he said in Cantonese. “But on the streets, we have different people and some tourists come over.”

Breaking taboos

Fran and Gu — who declined to give their full names — had just finished some shopping at Muji nearby when the booths lining the street caught their eye.

They said they did not know this event was happening but wanted to check it out.

Both said they were straight, but that they followed news about LGBTQ+ rights in Hong Kong. They also said they had friends who were gay or lesbian and whose families were not supportive when they came out.

Fran said he thought events like this could dispel preconceived notions about the LGBTQ+ community and normalise different types of sexual and gender identities.

“People may find that what it means to be LGBTQ is different from what they thought,” he said in Cantonese. “That can increase public acceptance and make these topics less taboo, removing their labels.”

Gu said she was aware that Pride Month was coming up in June, but did not have plans to go to any activities. “But I would stop by if I saw them,” Gu added.

A kid hitting a “discrimination monster” at Pride Lab’s booth in Causeway Bay on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on May 17, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.

Volunteering with Pride Lab was social worker Jacinta Yu, who was wearing rainbow earrings and a T-shirt that read in Chinese, “‘No offence’ is not an excuse.”

Yu said she treasured the chance to talk to people and educate them on LGBTQ+ topics.

“Some passersby said they don’t think homosexuality is right. I respect that they have different views,” Yu said. “But I hope everyone respects each other and does not discriminate.”

This year’s IDAHOBIT comes ahead of the government’s October deadline to enact a framework to recognise same-sex partnerships, according to a landmark Court of Final Appeal verdict in September 2023.

Tang, of Gay Harmony, said he was not aware of the government holding any consultations to gather public opinion. He said the group had written a paper suggesting what a framework could look like, but had no channels to submit it to the authorities.

“Lobbying has become harder now,” he said.

Originally published on Global Voices

The 2025 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. Photo: via RSF. Used with permission.

This report was written by Tom Grundy and published in Hong Kong Free Press on May 2, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement with Global Voices.

Hong Kong has tumbled five places in the annual Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index, entering the “red zone” — meaning a “very serious” situation — for the first time, alongside China.

The city fell five places to 140th place, sandwiched between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. China fell six places to 178th place — only North Korea and Eritrea ranked lower.

The watchdog’s Asia-Pacific Bureau Advocacy Officer, Aleksandra Bielakowska,⁩ told HKFP:

At RSF, we have never seen such a sharp and rapid deterioration in the press freedom record of any country or territory. Today, Hong Kong increasingly resembles neighbouring China, the world’s largest prison for journalists.

Hong Kong saw sharp dips in all five of the watchdog’s indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context, and safety, adding up to a historic low score of 39.86.

The free expression NGO said: “The main factor behind this decline is the deterioration of the political indicator (-7.28 pts), notably due to the September 2024 conviction for ‘sedition’ of Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, former editors of Stand News. This is the first sedition case against the media since the UK handed over the territory in 1997.”

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Bielakowska⁩ told HKFP on May 2: “Imprisonment, harassment, doxxing, administrative pressure, surveillance and lack of financial sustainability all define a grim daily reality for the valiant few journalists who decided to stay in the territory. This often leads Hongkongers towards another path: reporting from exile.”

She cited the protracted national security case against Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, the enactment of a local security law in 2024, and the fact that hundreds of journalists have fled overseas, with foreign reporters facing “visa weaponization” similar to that employed in China. Bielakowska⁩ said:

As the situation keeps deteriorating in Hong Kong, we cannot forget about those who, despite the pressure, continue the almost-impossible work of covering stories from within the city. Not only do these intrepid professionals face government pressure, but they also experience a hard time making ends meet. They are also often barred from covering official events and entering press conferences. It is clear that authorities are trying everything in their power to dissuade all critical voices from reporting on the ground.

In April last year, Taiwan-based Bielakowska⁩ was barred from entering Hong Kong. She was detained, searched, and questioned for six hours at the airport. The Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases.

Image via HKFP. Used with permission.

Despite the low rating, the Hong Kong government has said that press freedom remains guaranteed. In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.

Norway topped the 2025 index, followed by the Netherlands and Estonia.

Press freedom is ‘not absolute’

In response to HKFP’s enquiries, a government spokesperson on May 2 “strongly condemned the unfounded and biased remarks” by RSF, saying that Hongkongers enjoy press freedom and free speech as defined by the mini-constitution, Bill of Rights, and security laws. They added:

Nonetheless, freedom of the press and freedom of speech are not absolute. The exercise of them may be subject to restrictions that are provided by law and are necessary for pursuing legitimate aims such as protection of national security or public order.

Journalists, like everyone else, have an obligation to abide by all the laws. The most crucial point is that journalists must act in good faith and on accurate factual basis and provide reliable and precise information in accordance with the tenets of ‘responsible journalism’ in order to enjoy the protection of their rights to freedom of speech and press freedom.

They said that prosecutions were “based on evidence and strictly in accordance with the law,” adding that there were 206 media organisations registered with the government:

The media continue to enjoy the freedom to comment on and criticise government policies without any restriction, as long as this is not in violation of the law.

A ‘new low point’

In 42 countries — home to 56.7 percent of the world’s population the press freedom situation was classified as “very serious” by RSF this year, with fewer than 1 percent of the world’s population living in territories where press freedom is fully guaranteed. RSF's press release said:

For over ten years, the Index’s results have warned of a worldwide decline in press freedom. In 2025, a new low point emerged: the average score of all assessed countries fell below 55 points, falling into the category of a “difficult” situation. For the first time in the history of the Index, the conditions for practising journalism are poor in half of the world’s countries and satisfactory in fewer than one in four.

Image via HKFP. Used with permission.

This year’s report also warned of economic threats to press freedom, with tech giants having dominance over the dissemination of information and ad revenue. It named companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft by name and said:

These online platforms further hamper the information space by contributing to the spread of manipulated and misleading content, amplifying disinformation.

Editorial interference and the monopolization of media ownership has also been a factor in the deterioration of press freedom, with serious threats to media plurality in 46 countries.

The index said that “funding is now directed toward pro-government media” in Hong Kong, Peru, and Tunisia.

The index also referenced the case of Palestine, where the Israeli army has killed nearly 200 media professionals and imposed a media blackout.

RSF uses a scoring system based on a quantitative tally of abuses against media and journalists in connection with their work, and a qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists.

Press freedom in Hong Kong

Aside from the arrest of journalists in recent years, Hong Kong has seen raids on newsrooms and the closure of around 10 media outlets, including Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News.

Last week, Channel C was the latest independent media outlet to cease operations following financial strife and the arrest of one of its parent company’s directors for alleged government loan fraud.

Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs in Hong Kong, whilst many have emigrated abroad. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives, and axed news and satirical shows.

Originally published on Global Voices

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Tom Grundy and published in Hong Kong Free Press on April 24, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) has found that the majority of its members said their working environment had changed for the worse over the past two years.

Sixty-nine members took part in the FCC’s biannual Press Freedom Survey between December 2024 and February 2025. It was the first FCC poll since Hong Kong enacted Article 23, the city’s homegrown national security law, in March 2024.

According to the latest poll, around 62 percent of respondents said the professional environment had worsened since the last poll in 2023, whilst over 30 percent said they were considering leaving because of press freedom concerns. Nearly 6 percent of respondents said they already had plans to leave the city.

Foreign Correspondents’ Club survey results 2025. Photo: FCC Correspondent Magazine via HKFP. Used with permission.

FCC President Lee Williamson told the club’s Correspondent magazine:

This survey reflects what we see on the ground every day. It appears that sources are less willing to be quoted, some journalists continue to practice self-censorship, and many newsrooms are downsizing their Hong Kong operations… Hong Kong does not enjoy the freedoms of the press that it once did… but that doesn’t mean we should stop our advocacy work.

He added that the rule of law and press freedom had long been key drivers of Hong Kong’s prosperity.

Of those surveyed, 64 percent said sources were less willing to be quoted or discuss sensitive topics, whilst 65 percent said they had self-censored in the last 18 months. Meanwhile, 18 percent said they had self-censored “considerably.”

More than half — 52 percent — said they were “slightly concerned” about the possibility of arrest or prosecution over their reporting, opinion articles or work they had edited.

Foreign Correspondents’ Club survey results 2025. Photo: FCC Correspondent Magazine via HKFP. Used with permission.

Newsrooms also appear to be downsizing, with 36.23 percent of respondents saying that their organisation has seen staffing reduced over the past 18 months. “Corporate cost-cutting” was the reason cited by 57.14 percent of respondents, whilst 7.14 percent cited changes in the political and legal environment.

In a statement on April 22, the club said,

The FCC supports journalists’ fundamental right to conduct their work freely and without fear of intimidation or harassment.

In contrast, nearly 70 percent of FCC members surveyed in 2023 said they had self-censored in their own writing, while an overwhelming 83 percent said they believed the working environment for journalists in the city had “changed for the worse.”

Press freedom concerns

Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom indices since the onset of the security law. Watchdogs cite the arrests of journalists, raids on newsrooms and the closure of around 10 media outlets including Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives and axed news and satirical shows.

Reporters Sans Frontiers’ Hong Kong Press Freedom Index via HKFP. Used with permission.

In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.

Originally published on Global Voices

The backdrop said, “This is a strong mother country.” The photo was taken at the opening ceremony of the 10th National Security Education Day on April 15, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. With permission to use.

This report was written by Kelly Ho and published in the Hong Kong Free Press on April 15, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

Hong Kong’s education minister said that schools are on the “frontline” of preventing the spread of “soft resistance,” as students may develop “extreme, biased” values due to online rumours.

Schools in Hong Kong should cultivate patriotism among students and step up training for teachers to prevent “hostile forces from infiltrating schools,” Secretary for Education Christine Choi said on April 15, as the city marked its 10th National Security Education Day — a special day designated by the National People Congress on July 1, 2015, to raise public awareness on national security.

Choi warned of the “dangerous aspect” of soft resistance, saying it could “easily penetrate the heart and mind.”

She cited as an example illustrated books published by a now-disbanded speech therapists’ union and said the stories, ruled as seditious in 2022, had promoted “anti-government sentiments” to students who were “mentally immature.”

The minister went on to mention online rumours that portrayed “normal learning activities” as “forcing” students to visit mainland China and “brainwashing” them. Choi said in Cantonese:

Students unknowingly absorb these messages, forming extreme, biased, or even incorrect values.

They can be manipulated and incited to engage in illegal activities, disrupting social peace and endangering national security. The consequences are very serious.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang recently alleged that some people were using issues unrelated to national security to “divide society” and stir “hatred against the SAR government and the central government.”

He then accused a former examinations official of spreading rumors about the recent death of a secondary school student during a study tour in mainland China through a social media outlet, Edu Lancet. The outlet is run by former Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) subject manager Hans Yeung on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Tang slammed the outlet for suggesting that the incident was caused by students being “forced” to take part in exchange trips across the border.

Choi said that the Education Bureau had rolled out various training programs for teachers to improve their ability to identify “soft resistance.”

Schools are asked to incorporate national education into their daily teaching in order to strengthen students’ “cultural confidence, national identity, and a conscious awareness to safeguard national security.”

“The younger generation is our future, and schools are on the frontline of preventing soft resistance,” the minister stressed.

Since 2021, government officials have cited “soft resistance” as a threat to national security, yet they have not provided a clear definition of the term.

Apart from the children’s books that led to five speech therapists being jailed for 19 months in 2022, another example of “soft resistance” cited by the city’s authorities was a series of national anthem blunders at international sporting events.

During those incidents, overseas organisers wrongly played the 2019 protest song “Glory to Hong Kong,” instead of China’s national anthem — which is also that of Hong Kong — “March of the Volunteers.”

Originally published on Global Voices

“Whynot bids farewell today. Remember the silence and the echo of this voice of freedom,” reads the front page of Chinese-language online media outlet Whynot, last updated on March 21, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

This report was written by Hans Tse and published in Hong Kong Free Press on March 30, 2025. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

Veteran Hong Kong journalist Justin is a freelance editor at Whynot, a Chinese-language online media outlet and a subsidiary of the US government-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Since US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, Justin — not his real name — began to fret about the future of his media organisation. It turned out his fear was not unfounded.

His contract has been suspended following an executive order Trump signed on March 14 to defund RFA’s parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Around two dozen employees at Whynot and hundreds at RFA have been put on leave.

Trump’s move against the USAGM — which oversees the Voice of America (VOA) and gives federal grants to RFA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other news outlets — forced VOA to place more than 1,300 of its staff on leave and axed funding for RFA and RFE/RL.

The cuts were part of the US president’s sweeping effort that he claimed would reduce federal spending and remake the US government. Critics warned that shutting down the news outlets would benefit US adversaries like China and Russia.

RFA is “still providing limited news updates” following the grant cuts, according to a notice on its website. As of March 15, it was still publishing stories from across the region in a limited capacity.

But Whynot has halted operations. “As RFA appeals against the grant termination, the future of Whynot is uncertain,” the online outlet said in a statement dated March 21, the last day the website was updated.

Whynot occupies a unique position in the Chinese-language media landscape, employees and experts alike told HKFP, as there are few alternative platforms dedicated to telling human-interest stories and covering topics that appeal to China’s younger population.

Losing Whynot also means losing an important platform for a group of liberal-minded Chinese journalists to get editorial support and publish their stories, they said.

Whynot and RFA

Whynot was launched in September 2020, targeting young, educated Chinese as its audience.

The online outlet said its mission was to encourage “genuine, diverse, and secure” conversations about significant topics in China. “If you always ask: ‘Why not?’ Then you must be one of us,” it said on its website.

Since March 21, all of Whynot’s two dozen staff members — as well as its contractors — have been placed on leave, according to a Canada-based employee at the outlet, who spoke anonymously due to safety concerns.

RFA spokesperson Rohit Mahajan told HKFP that the broadcaster had to rely on its own savings following the grant termination and that it had been forced to retain only around 70 of its 350 US-based full-time staff, placing the rest on furlough.

About 500 contracts with stringers and freelancers worldwide were suspended, including those working for Whynot, he added.

RFA is prioritising keeping foreign staff whose visas depend on employment and who will face persecution in their home countries, the spokesperson said. Some RFA journalists say they fear deportation if they lose their work visas. Mahajan said:

We’re trying our best to keep all those folks not just on staff, but also receiving payments so they can continue staying in the US.

RFA was established in 1996 to provide reporting to China, North Korea and other countries in Asia with limited press freedom. Sarah Cook, an independent researcher on China's media landscape, explained:

RFA has been a vital source of information… on what is happening at the grassroots level in China and especially in regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, which are mostly off-limits to foreign correspondents… RFA’s Uyghur and Tibetan journalists have extensive contacts in the regions and among the diaspora, and are adept at collecting and verifying information on what is happening.

While RFA focuses on straight news stories, Whynot is specialised in long-form journalism, offering in-depth analyses and feature stories on topics like China’s feminist movement and young Chinese who emigrated overseas.

It also reported extensively on the “white paper” protests, which emerged in 2022 in response to China's strict COVID-19 lockdown, even after they had ended. One year after the protests — the largest display of dissent in mainland China since the 1989 pro-democracy movement — Whynot published a series of reports on the whereabouts of those who were arrested during rallies, as well as the overseas civil society organisations that emerged following the demonstrations.

Despite its relatively young age, Whynot has won multiple prizes, including a Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, two Human Rights Press Awards, and an Online Journalism Award from the Online News Association (ONA).

Both Whynot and RFA cannot be accessed from mainland China, where the “Great Firewall” blocks politically sensitive content, including scores of other Western news media.

Whynot’s link to RFA, as well as to the US government, is not overtly visible.

It can be considered a “strategic decision” to keep Whynot away from China’s criticism of RFA, said Fang Kecheng, assistant professor in journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Despite that, Fang told HKFP in Mandarin that Whynot’s coverage did not shy away from politics, and its editorial stance was “obviously” liberal. He also added that its reportage also had a clear emphasis on telling human interest stories in China:

To put it this way, [Whynot] is down to earth. It understands what is actually happening in China. Its coverage tends to tell the stories of individual people and their fates. These stories will be lost.

The Canada-based Whynot employee similarly mourned the loss of Whynot and its human-interest focus:

There are ample media outlets in the Chinese-language landscape that like to address China from a macro perspective. Stories that concern people’s actual lives, in particular young people’s lives and their interests – they are not so common.

“We want to fill this gap,” he said in Mandarin, “and now this leaves a hole.”

Impact on Chinese journalists

The suspension of Whynot may have a tremendous impact on a network of Chinese journalists who are likely to lose not only their jobs but also a channel for their creative output.

Justin said they had put on hold planned stories about China-Japan relations and the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law in Hong Kong. He said:

I have no idea about where I should go from now on, nor do the journalists I have worked with [at Whynot].

Whynot “would run stories where other media wouldn’t,” he said. “This is a serious loss for the Chinese-language media landscape.”

Fang said that one possible option for Whynot journalists is to become freelance reporters and publish their stories through social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram.

Some citizen journalists in mainland China have adopted this strategy.

But that cannot be compared to news reports produced in a professional newsroom that has its own set of journalism standards, the scholar said.

Moreover, more ambitious reportage that requires fieldwork and long-term investment will not be possible without financial support from media outlets.

Fang took as an example a Whynot documentary that was published in December 2024. It reported a surge of Chinese migrants entering the US illegally through dangerous treks in Colombia and Mexico, sometimes risking death. The crossing is known in Chinese as zouxian, “walking the line.” He pointed out:

Without a proper media institution that sponsors the reporting, an individual reporter can hardly accomplish such a task.

After Whynot announced its suspension on March 21, some readers went to its Instagram page and left “thank you” comments. “We shall meet in a place where there is no darkness,” one netizen wrote.

There is still a possibility that Trump’s executive order will be reversed.

RFE/RL said on March 25th that it successfully challenged the decision in court and announced the following day that the USAGM had rescinded its letter terminating the grant for the broadcaster.

Following its sister company’s court victory, RFA filed a similar lawsuit on March 27. It said that it would “fully shut down by the end of April” if the court did not intervene.

In a separate court case, a federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from dismantling VOA and prohibited the termination of RFA’s and RFE/RL’s grants.

The Canada-based Whynot employee said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of RFA successfully challenging Trump’s decision, citing some bipartisan support for the broadcaster in Washington.

But Fang argued that the grant termination had already underscored that US funding to the media outlets was not “guaranteed forever” and that it could be subject to political uncertainty or even the whim of a president. He stressed that media outlets should diversify their funding so that losing one stream of income would not lead to immediate closure:

Frankly speaking, it doesn’t sound quite right or healthy that high-quality journalism concerning the interests of young Chinese people is funded solely by the US government.