Benedict Rogers: Hong Kong’s Press Freedom Entirely Destroyed by CCP

Benedict Rogers, a British human rights activist and co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong Watch group, said in an interview with the Epoch Times on Nov. 23, that Hong Kong’s press freedom has been devastated and utterly destroyed. Liang Yao/The Epoch Times

Benedict Richard Victor Rogers, a British human rights activist and co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong Watch group, said in an interview with the Epoch Times on Nov. 23, that Hong Kong’s press freedom has been devastated and utterly destroyed.

Rogers expressed his concerns about the upcoming trial of Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Media and Apple Daily, and six former senior employees of Apple Daily who were accused of colluding with foreign forces and endangering national security. The six have remained in custody for more than a year. They plead guilty in the High Court a few days ago. In addition, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice (DOJ) blocked Jimmy Lai when he tried four times to hire King’s Counsel Timothy Owen from the UK to represent him in Hong Kong.

Rogers believes that, “These cases just show that the press freedom in Hong Kong has been entirely destroyed.”

“There is no freedom of the press in Hong Kong now. All independent newspapers, including Apple Daily and Stand News, have been shut down. Radio Television Hong Kong and the Public Broadcasting Company are now basically the propaganda channels of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Rogers.

He told The Epoch Times that he was a reporter for five years after the handover of Hong Kong. “At that time, [Hong Kong] was known for its vibrant media scene and broad free-speech protections—that was the key.” In 2017, Rogers was barred entry to Hong Kong; and in Early 2022, he became the first British citizen wanted by the National Security Department of Hong Kong since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL).

Urges Canadian Government to Assist Hongkongers

Recently, Rogers’ new book “The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny,” hereinafter referred to as China Nexus, was published in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto Canada.

In the book, Rogers discusses in detail the loss of press freedom in Hong Kong since the NSL was implemented. “The implementation of the National Security Law—a law that abuses the vaguely defined term “national security” and criminalizes free speech and peaceful protest—changed everything … One of the few bold voices in defense of Hong Kong’s freedom was Chinese-language Apple Daily, founded by the entrepreneur Jimmy Lai. Twenty years later, the newspaper was forced to close.”

He hopes that the Canadian government will take concrete actions to help those who are persecuted in Hong Kong. He hopes the Canadian government will update and expand the Open work permit program for Hong Kong people to find asylum in Canada if they cannot stay in the UK.

Growing Concerns About CCP’s Control

When answering questions at a new book conference on Nov. 23, Rogers said it is not only in Hong Kong that, “Xi Jinping has strengthened control and surveillance on Chinese people, and it is almost impossible for people to express any dissent under the advanced and integrated surveillance system. From 1990 to 2000, although the Chinese Communist Party was repressive, there was still a certain space for civil society discourse, but now all these spaces are gone.”

He met some Chinese human rights lawyers in the early 2000s, “Not only did their room to speak disappear, but they themselves also disappeared.”

Rogers has also seen the recent civil resistance movements in China, such as the protest against China’s zero-COVID policies in Guangzhou a few days ago; and before the 20th National Congress of the CCP, a very brave person hung banners on the bridge opposing China’s zero-COVID policies on the Sitong Bridge in Beijing. These are signs that people are starting to resist this draconian system, but he said that in a draconian environment, “it will require some true courage to change the status quo.”