An annual index of press freedom has for the first time placed Hong Kong alongside mainland China in its worst “very serious” category.
Hong Kong scored 39.86 out of 100—the lowest score for the former British colony on record—in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
Published on May 2, the index shows that Hong Kong’s score now sees it ranked 140th out of 180 countries and regions, down five places from last year, returning to its ranking in 2023 but scoring five points lower, which has pushed it from the “difficult” category into the “very serious” category for its freedom of press situation.
RSF pointed out that at the judicial level, since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forced the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) in 2020 to suppress independent voices, Hong Kong’s press freedom has experienced an unprecedented setback. The CCP-backed NSL suppresses independent voices by invoking the charges of “terrorism,” “secession,” “subversion of state power,” and “collusion with a foreign or external force.”
But its vague definition of the crimes mean that the NSL could apply to any journalist reporting on Hong Kong, regardless of whether they reside in the city. The crime of “incitement” has also been widely used to prosecute journalists. Addition of “espionage,” “stealing state secrets,” and “external interference,” through the enactment of the “Safeguarding National Security Ordinance” in 2024 further expanded the legal threats faced by journalists.
RSF also mentioned that most of Hong Kong’s major media are currently owned by pro-Beijing camps, while owners of independent media face political pressure. Two major independent media outlets in Hong Kong, Apple Daily and Stand News, were forced to cease operations in 2021 and had their assets were frozen by the SAR government.
“Stand News” is a well-known online media in Hong Kong. It was once ranked first in credibility in a poll conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In September 2024, former Stand News chief editor Chung Pui-kuen and then acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tong were sentenced to 21 months and 11 months in prison respectively for “conspiracy to publish seditious materials.”
Apple Daily used to be one of the best-selling newspapers in Hong Kong. Its founder, Jimmy Lai, and other senior executives have been charged with crimes including “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” and the case is still awaiting a court ruling.
As for security, RSF mentioned that before 2014, it was quite safe to work as a journalist in Hong Kong. But in recent years, there have been cases of journalists being arrested and subjected to violence at the hands of some police. In 2024, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) stated that dozens of their members were subjected to organized harassment.
RSF has been publishing its Press Freedom Index since 2002. Hong Kong’s ranking has gradually declined from 18th in the world in 2002 and once fell to 148th in 2022, although its score then was still considered “difficult” at 41.64 points. It was only in 2025 that Hong Kong’s press situation was downgraded to the “very serious” situation category for the first time in the city’s history, despite ranking slightly higher.
Mainland China ranked 178th this year, third from the bottom among 180 countries and regions, with 113 journalists imprisoned. It scored 14.8 out of 100. China, under the communist party’s rule, is known as the “world’s largest journalist prison.”
Meanwhile Taiwan, which is a liberal democracy, ranks high at 24th in the RSF’s Press Freedom Index with a score of 77.04.
