Content-Type: text/html

Press freedom in Hong Kong Before and After 1997
--- Newspapers' Coverage of China




PRESS FREEDOM IN HONG KONG BEFORE AND AFTER 1997
---NEWSPAPERS' COVERAGE OF CHINA



A paper submitted to the International Communication Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Miami Beach, Florida, August 2002


Tianbo Huang
Master's Student
Missouri School of Journalism
Apt 229, 1205 University Ave.
Columbia, MO 65201
Tel: 404-8085870
Email: <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0209B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3D8bit%26P%3D2020895%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_2416106%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>

Juyan Zhang
Ph.D Student,
Missouri School of Journalism
4 University Terrace Apt.A
Columbia, MO 65201
Tel: 573-7710079
Email: <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0209B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3D8bit%26P%3D2020895%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_2416106%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>

Yi Lu
Master's Student
Truman School of Public Affairs
<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0209B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3D8bit%26P%3D2020895%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_2416106%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>
Press freedom in Hong Kong Before and After 1997
--- Newspapers' Coverage of China


Abstract
Through a content analysis with an interrupted series design, three newspapers in Hong Kong, Ming Pao, Sing Tao Jih Pao and Hong Kong Economic Journal, were found to have become more favorable to the Chinese government immediately before the hand-over of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997. However, some newspapers appeared to have resumed their critical stances toward China several years after the hand-over.


Introduction
Until 1994, Hong Kong was one of the few privileged places in Asia where journalists enjoyed freedom of speech, without tight control from the government (Chan, 1994). According to Christopher Patten, the last British Governor of Hong Kong, press freedom had been crucial to Hong Kong's development and it was vital to the social and economic progress of this city. Whether or not China would allow Hong Kong press freedom will determine the way China is regarded by the world, and by Hong Kong itself. It will also assess "how far the hopes and possibilities that Hong Kong has created are given reality in the next decade" (AFP Wire Service, Jan 27, 1991).

 It has been five years since Hong Kong was formally handed to China and the city still maintains its unique political, economic, and legal systems.  The city is still regarded as a highly autonomous Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China under the framework of "One country, Two systems". It was designed by the late Chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping (Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, Article 5, 1984; Hong Kong SAR Basic Law, Article 23, 1990). So far, the media system has not experienced any explicit or drastic changes. Back in 2001, Tung Chee-hwa, the Hong Kong's chief executive, assured U.S. President George Bush that religious and press freedom were "alive and kicking" in the metropolis (BBC News, Hong Kong leader says freedom is safe, July 12, 2001). At the same time, some critics were arguing that freedom of speech in Hong Kong was gradually declining. According to these critics, the press in Hong Kong has been intimidated into self-restriction by
 the Chinese government. Since then, a number of problems related to the infringement of press freedom have emerged, due to the Chinese and the HK governments' influences (Hong Kong Journalists Association, 2000).

In fact many were worried before the hand-over of the city, that China would brutally control both press freedom and independence in Hong Kong as it did in the Chinese mainland (Ching, 1999). Thus, the assertion that freedom of speech is alive and the criticism that it has declined appear to contradict each other. It is therefore necessary to empirically examine whether or not there have been any attitude changes in the Hong Kong press after 1997.

This study is a content analysis in an interrupted series design of two rightist (Sing Tao Jih Pao and Hong Kong Economic Journal) and one centrist Chinese newspapers (Ming Pao) in Hong Kong.  It aims to examine whether or not there has been any significant changes to the ideological standings in their coverage of the Chinese mainland after Hong Kong was handed over. Such study will improve our understanding of the interactions between political power and freedom of speech in a unique political entity as Hong Kong is. It will also contribute to the study of the future of the mass media in Hong Kong.

























Literature Review

Conflicting predictions on destiny of Hong Kong's Press

Before the hand-over of the city, people from around the world were worried that the Chinese government would damage the freedom of the press in Hong Kong as it has done in Mainland China.  The ideological criteria of the Hong Kong press and its Mainland China counterparts have been quite different. On the whole, Hong Kong has practiced the western model of journalism, with an emphasis on timeliness, factual reporting, and a "watchdog" function (Lee & Chu, 1998). A study conducted in 1990 showed that nearly 95 percent of Hong Kong journalists considered objective reporting and rapid dissemination of information important. The same study reported that less than 19 percent agreed that media could slant reports in promoting government policies (Chan et al., 1996).

With regards to the influence of China's ruling, some researchers believed that the "One Country, Two Systems" policy would guarantee freedom of speech in Hong Kong and did not consider it in jeopardy (Lo, 1998).  They thought that Hong Kong newspapers would continue functioning pretty much as they did in the past (Ching, 1999). Press people adhered to their belief in free press and attempted to show the Chinese officials that what they were doing was in the best interest of the Hong Kong people and therefore Chinese officials should let them be (Elliott Cohen, 1997). Besides, it is noted that the Chinese government was aware that it would not be wise to treat the Hong Kong press the same way they were treating the press in Mainland China. Only a strong media system could fully exploit Hong Kong's role as a window of China (Ying Chan, 1999). On the other hand, some media people regarded China's promises to respect the autonomy of Hong Kong and its speech freedom as merely words on
 paper. In examining the U.S. major newspaper coverage of Hong Kong's hand-over, 54.3% of the news stories showed that press freedom would change for the worst in Hong Kong (Lee at el, 2001). A study conducted by Chan in 1994 (Chan, 1994) found that Hong Kong residents and members of the media equally shared those fears.  He was concerned that "China would crack down on the local media in subtly but eventually would bring the media to its heels" (Chan, 1994).

 Furthermore, Hong Kong's Basic Law, adopted by the Seventh National People's Congress on April 4th, gives an overriding power of final interpretation of Hong Kong SAR constitution to the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (Basic Law, Article 158). The HK Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong shall enact laws on its own "to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies" (Basic Law, Article 23). Thus, many saw this Article as an ominous sign that the constitutional independence of Hong Kong's future was endangered. Such concern was heightened later when Xi Yang, a reporter of the Hong Kong's Ming Pao, was arrested on September 27, 1993 on the charges of espionage and endangering national security (Ching, 1999).

The worries about press independence and freedom were not only based on inexplicit laws and regulations, but also on what the Chinese officials said and did before 1997. Mr. Lu Ping, Director of the Chinese State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, once said that Hong Kong press could continue criticizing the Chinese government after 1997, but that the Hong Kong Democratic Party and the press should both be under regulation. There was only one limitation: journalists should not support Taiwan Independence, or "Two Chinas", or  "One China, One Taiwan" (ABC News, June 1996). The Chinese Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, warned that the Hong Kong media could put forward criticisms, but not rumors or lies, neither were they allowed to put forward personal attacks on Chinese leaders (Cohen, 1997). Tung Chee-hwa, chief executive-designated of Hong Kong also said "slanderous, derogative remarks and attacks against China's leaders should be illegal" (Id.). These comments suggested that after 1997 the law would be different, and that what was once common practice before the hand-over might not be permitted after 1997 anymore (Ching, 1996).

Self-Censorship
Most research on individual decision-making of news selection in Hong Kong media under the impact of sovereignty turnover concentrates on self-censorship. Chin-Chuan Lee (1998), a professor with Minnesota University, examined the transition of Hong Kong. He defined self-censorship as "a set of editorial actions ranging from omission, dilution, distortion, and as a change of emphasis to the choice of rhetorical devices by journalists, their organizations, and even the entire media community in anticipation of currying reward and avoiding punishments from the power structure."  It was observed that Chinese authorities would have little need to impose censorship or impose a direct ban on publications, because self-censorship was on the rise (Martin, Wilson & Meng, 1994).

The vague statements and ambiguous rumblings by Chinese officials prove very effective in curbing the press in the form of self-censorship (Elliot Cohen, 1997).  Hong Kong journalists became very concerned about the future condition of the freedom of the press. A survey conducted in 1990 interviewed 522 journalists and found that 68 percent of the journalists working in centrist media believed that press freedom in the late transition period, that is right before 1997, would be reduced. Seventy nine percent of them thought that press freedom would be reduced after July 1, 1997. About one-third of the journalists surveyed said that they wanted to immigrate to another country before the changeover (Chan, 1990). In 1996, another survey of more than 1,044 media professionals showed that 25 percent of them admitted self-censorship on sensitive issues regarding China and 50 percent of them said that they believed colleagues did so.  Joseph Man Chan came to a very pessimistic conclusion.
 Unless measures were taken to safeguard the integrity of the press, its freedom would be seriously eroded (Chan 1998).

 In addition, China's official Xinhua News Agency enjoyed power in Hong Kong by setting news agenda and defining an opinion climate favorable to China's assumption of sovereignty in 1997.  Xinhua had a very particular influence upon the centrist and rightist media that depended on its service (Joseph Man Chan, 1989).

Intimidation was another factor that pressured Hong Kong journalists to self-censorship. As an example Xi Yang, Ming Pao's reporter, was imprisoned by the Chinese government in 1994 by charging him of stealing state secrets. Such case inevitably constitutes a psychological threat to Hong Kong reporters covering mainland affairs (Chan P.K., 1994). Although scholarly research over self-censorship after 1997 has been very meager, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) admitted in his annual report in 1999 that self-censorship had always been a problem. In 1999, a prominent Chinese dissident, Wang Dan, reported during a visit to Taipei in March of the same year that some Hong Kong editors, in discussing possible articles, asked him to stay away from issues that were politically sensitive (HKJA 1999 Report.) As another example of playing down sensitive news, little coverage was given to the detention of a Taiwanese journalist in August 1998 in Xinjiang, a Muslim region of China (
HKJA 1999 Report). In 2001, the issue of self-censorship became even more complex when some journalist tried to report about Falungong, a Chinese spiritual movement. According to the HKJA 2001 report, publications "did not show great sympathy towards the group, reflecting perhaps skepticism on the part of the local population. At the same time, they did not give automatic backing to Beijing's stance on the group" (HKJA 2001 Report).

Media ownership and its influence
Changes of ownership related to the influence of the Chinese government may also lead to content changes in Hong Kong newspapers. Shoemaker noted that gate-keeping could be studied solely as an organization-level process with one of the most important variable being newspapers' ownership (Shoemaker, 1991). Ching (Ching, 1998) said that the main problem with press freedom in Hong Kong was corporate censorship since media owners were vulnerable to economic pressure. It is observed that by influencing the ownership of local newspapers and magazines via pro-China businessmen, the Chinese government would be more effective on their purpose of exerting control upon the Hong Kong media (Lo, 1998). Even before 1997, China had tried to manage political effect of the transition through media acquisition by pro-China or China-affiliated capitalists (Fung & Lee, 1994). The practice by Murdoch's News Corp in Hong Kong is a good example, which has been famous for its pro-Beijing stance (Lee & C
hu, 1998). In 1993, Murdoch withdrew BBC news from his Star TV in Hong Kong to appease the Chinese government after BBC produced a documentary about late Chinese leader Mao Tsedong (Guardian, December 19, 2001).

Analysis of what happened to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Ming Pao and Sing Tao Jih Pao could also shed some light on how the ownership might influence newspaper's content. The SCMP has been the Hong Kong's leading paper with a pro-British attitude before 1997 (Fung and Lee, 1994). In 1993, a Chinese-Malaysian businessman, Robert Kuok, with close ties to China and friend of Chinese former Prime Minster Li Peng purchased 34.9 percent of the share of the SCMP from Murdoch's News Corporation (Cohen, 1997). At that time, Kuok was a major investor on mainland China and was one of China's 90 Hong Kong advisors and Beijing's consultant on Hong Kong affairs. Before the hand-over in 1997, Kuok did not seem to have imposed any pro-Beijing line on the SCMP. However, he hired Feng Xiliang, as a consultant. Feng Xiliang was a founding member of the China Daily, the official English-language newspaper of China. Since then the newspaper's coverage of China has been criticized as being "l
ess vigorous" (Lee, 1998).

Ming Pao, a leading intellectual newspaper that is acclaimed for its critical analysis of China's politics, was also criticized because it "conspicuously failed to criticize Beijing in recent years, particularly since 1996" after a businessman close to China bought 60% of the parent company of Ming Pao in early 1990's (Lee, 1998). The newspaper published an apology to China in September 12, 1993 on behalf of Xi Yang, its reporter detained in Beijing for alleged "embezzlement of national secrets." (Fung & Lee, 1994). For several months in the second half of 1996, Ming Pao covered intensively the alleged Japanese invasion of the disputed Diaoyu Islands. It even published a series of articles denouncing as "unpatriotic" those who took a different stance as the nationalistic ones (Fung & Lee, 1994).

Sing Tao Jih Pao had a strong emotional tendency favoring Taiwan. However, Sally Aw, its owner, changed her attitude toward Mainland China and personally visited China's leadership in 1992. In 1993 the Sing Tao Holdings became the first and only overseas press company permitted to launch media ventures in China and even formed a partnership with the People's Daily, China's propaganda mouthpiece, in publishing a nonpolitical journal in a South China city (Fung & Lee, 1994). As a result, it is noted that the editorials of Sing Tao Jih Pao have titled toward Beijing and the words like "Republic of China" (Taiwan) in the dates of the newspaper disappeared, together with previously favored terms like "Communist bandits" and "Chinese Communists" (Lo, 1998).
However, impact of ownership on newspaper content has become uncertain for HK press, because their ownership changes very rapidly in recent years with the up and down of economy. For example, Sing Tao Jih Pao was sold to the investment bank, Lazard Asia, after being hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the Aw family's control of the newspaper was ended. In addition, although censorship has been exercised by the journalists out of personal reason and some media due to ownership changes for business profits and security, it is too early and pejorative to jump to a conclusion that press freedom in Hong Kong has been sacrificed by direct intimidation from Chinese communists on mainland. After July 1, 1997, the late Deng Xiaoping once said that the Hong Kong media would still be allowed to criticize the Chinese Communist Party (Ching, 1997). On September 11, 1997, the office of the commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong reiterated China's pledge not to restrict freedom of the press. On September 24, 1997, toward the end of the fi
rst three months of the SAR, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists released a report saying that fears of a clampdown on the media in Hong Kong "have so far proved unfounded" (Ching, 1997). Some researchers also argued that "the dire predictions of the demise of press freedom in Hong Kong did not materialize and that the media have remained as freewheeling and rambunctious as they were in the year leading to the hand-over on July 1, 1997." (Chan, 1999)

Based on the above review, 9 hypotheses are developed:

H1. There is no significant difference generally among negative, positive, neutral, and balanced coverage of the Chinese government in each of the three newspapers.
H2. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the negative coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H3. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the positive coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H4. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the neutral coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H5. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the balanced coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H6. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the length of coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H7. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the prominence of coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H8. There are no significant differences among the four years with regard to each of the five topics in the coverage of China in each of the three newspapers.
H9. There is no significant difference among the four years with regard to the location of criticism of China in each of the three newspapers.


Methodology
This study adopts an interrupted series design and content analysis of the coverage of Chinese mainland by three HK newspapers to determine if there were any ideological tendency changes after the hand-over of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997. Content analysis was used because of its ability to identify trends of media coverage changes over long periods of time (Kerlinger, 1986).

Dependent Variable and Independent Variable
        One-way ANOVA was employed to examine the mean difference of dependant variables. Time was the independent variable, including four treatments, respectively two years before the hand-over and two years after hand-over of Hong Kong. The dependent list included favorableness, length, prominence, page number, location of criticism and headline-body interaction, which reflected the importance of story, framing mechanism found in news text (Entman, 1993; Dickerson, 2001; Bantimaroudis, 2001). Chi-square was employed to compare the non-ratio variables include section, topic and categories.

Categorization of newspapers
Regarding their ideological tendencies, the newspapers in Hong Kong were divided into three categories:
(1) Leftist: Leftist newspapers were those who supported mainland government's policies and believed in feasibility of "One Country, Two Systems", or even got funding from the mainland government (Chan & Lee, 1991). They held an anti-colonial rhetoric and harshly criticized the colonial policies. Leftist newspapers primarily included Wen Wei Pao and Ta Kung Pao.

(2) Rightist: Rightist newspapers were those who adhered to the journalist principle of working as watchdogs and criticizing the communist government of China. Before 1997, especially before the Declaration was signed in 1984, most of them were pro-Taiwan  (Chan & Lee, 1991). They strongly supported the British pursuit of continued rule over Hong Kong. These papers included Hong Kong Times, Sing Tao Jih Pao, Kung Sheung Yat Pao, Wah Kiu Yat Pao,  Apple Daily and Hong Kong Economic Journal.

(3) Centralist: The centralist newspapers referred to those who did not have obvious ideological and political tendencies. They did not support the mainland or British government but generally supported the status quo. These papers included Ming Pao, Hong Kong Economic Journal and Oriental Daily News.

This research focused on the content changes in the rightist and centralist newspapers because the newspapers accounted for more than 90 percent of circulation in Hong Kong (Chan & Lee, 1988).  Besides, only the study of the center-to-right-leaning  the newspapers of this nature makes academic sense by showing the gate-keeping role variation during fundamental social and political changes. Ming Pao, Hong Kong Economic Journal and Sing Tao Jih Pao were selected for analysis, because they have long been regarded as flagships in the centralist and rightist ideological camps. The leftist newspapers were omitted because they had a pro-Beijing history even long before the turnover. These newspapers continued their support of the Chinese government after the hand-over.

Sampling and coding
All of the news stories, editorials and opinions about China in the three newspapers in the week immediately after the China's National People's Congress (NPC) conferences from 1992 to 2001 were sampled for analysis. The conclusion of the NPC annual session was chosen as a timeframe because it has long been a significant media focus in both China and Hong Kong. The NPC is the highest legislative unit of China. Its main functions and power are formulation of laws, election of politicians and policy formulation. The 2,989 deputies to the NPC meet in full session every March (although seldom, they also meet in April) represent China's 30 provinces, autonomous regions, directly administered cities and the military, including HK after its hand-over. The wide-ranging decisions made at the NPC shape the lives of one 5th of the world's population and have always been under the limelight of media worldwide. Reports about China by Hong Kong newspapers are also intensified and concentrated d
uring NPC sessions. In addition, the newspaper coverage of China in the week after the NPC sessions is still intense but has less impact from the confounding factor such as governmental press conferences, which are the major information sources when the NPC sessions are going on.
In this research, a total of 1555 stories were sampled and coded. They include 576 from Ming Pao, 416 from Sing Tao Jih Pao, and 563 from Hong Kong Economic Journal. The films of the HK newspapers were obtained from the library of the East Asia Research Center of Columbia University. Two coders independently coded all of the sampled journalistic items. Scott Pie alpha for inter-coder reliability was 90 percent.

Measures of variables
Topic categories: This research used the topic categories and sub-categories based on the 1980 project of the IAMCR (International Association for Mass Communication Research) (Stevenson, 1984).
The major categories included the following:
Politics (POLITICS) =1, including PRC domestic politics, international politics, human rights, Tibetan, Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Beijing relationship.
Economics (ECONOM)=2, including PRC domestic politics, its international

economics.

Defense (DEFENSE)= 3, including military buildup, nuclear weapons, war crisis.

Science & Culture (SCICUTU)=4, including science, technology, culture,

religion, sports.

Society & Law (SCOILEG)=5 including disasters, unrest, terrorism, law, crimes,

population and social services/welfare/education.

Time: The year of 1997 when Hong Kong was handed over was used as the intervention for the interrupted series design.
Section was divided into News, Editorial, and Opinion.
Length of news stories was measured as less than 1/8 of the page, 1/8 of the page, ¬ of the page, and more than ¬ of the page.
Prominence was measured as above-fold and below-fold.
Location of criticism was measured as first half of the story, second half of the story, and no criticism.
Page Number includes Front page, Major News/China page, and other pages.
Headline-body Interaction was measured as Negative headline/negative body, Negative headline/positive or neutral body, Positive or neutral headline/negative body, and Positive or neutral headline/positive or neutral body. (See Appendix I: Coding Sheet).
Favorableness: Favorableness was exhibited in four forms:  negative, positive, balanced and neutral (Budd, et al, 1967; Eribo, 1993).  Four stories of Hong Kong Economic Journal on March 26th could be examples on how favorableness was defined in this research.
        Negative coverage refers to those reflecting conflicts, disorganization, instability and weakness. Hong Kong Economic Journal published a commentary on March 26th about the internal power struggle inside the Chinese Communist Party. It said the central government of China tried to promote Hu Jintao to be the successor of President Jiang Zemin at the price of preventing development of the leader of China's economic powerhouse Guangdong Province. This commentary shows the "instability" in Chinese politics and was coded as "negative".
Positive stories were defined as those reflecting social cohesion, co-operation, stability and strength. On the same page as the story above about political struggle, there was a commentary about China's policy to commercialize its state-run banks. It supported Premier Zhu Rongji about how important the new move would be for the national economy of China. This commentary was coded as positive.
Balanced stories are those reflecting both positive and negative sides. On the financial page of Hong Kong Economic Journal on March 26th, there was a news about the Central Discipline Commission of the Chinese Communist Party issued a notice nationwide to ban dining on public funds. On the one hand, the news shows the magnitude of corruption for communist officials in the form of dining at public funds. On the other hand, it shows the government was making efforts to correct this problem. The news was coded as balanced.
Neutral coverage reports only facts without any hint of ideological stance. The bulk of stories we coded were of this nature. According to Hong Kong Economic Journal, the President of New York Stock Exchange visited Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 25th.  This story was coded as neutral.









Results
All of the significant variations were reported in the results. Results of one-way ANOVA were reported first. Then results of the Tukey post hoc tests were displayed to determine the specific differences.
1. Valences of coverage
The Sing Tao Jih Pao had more negative than balanced, neutral or positive coverage of China ((2 = 125.923, p< .000). H1 is rejected only for the Sing Tao Jih Pao. Results of one-way ANOVA showed that the four valences varied significantly for both of the Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal. For the Sing Tao Jih Pao, only positive and negative coverage varied significantly in the four years. H2, H3, H4 and H5 are rejected for the Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal. For the Sing Tao Jih Pao, H3 and H4 are rejected.
Table 1. One-way ANOVA of the four valences among the four years
           Ming Pao                    Sing Tao Jih Pao                Hong Kong Economic Journal
F
df
F
Df
F
df
Negative
8.003**
3, 573
8.390**
3, 561
Positive
5.337**
3, 573
5.852**
3, 415
7.658**
3, 561
Neutral
14.031**
3, 573
2.943*
3, 415
10.024**
3, 561
Balanced
5.514
3, 573
6.865**
3, 561
**. P<.001, *. P<.05
Table 2 of the Tukey post hoc test showed that for the Ming Pao, negative coverage were significantly less in 1995 than in 1992, 1998 and 2001 (The numeric value is the outcome of the column minus the row). Positive coverage in 1995 was less than in 1992 and in 2001. Neutral coverage was more in 1995 than in 1992 and 2001. Balanced coverage was significantly more in 1995 than in 1992 and 1998, and more in 2001 than in 1998. For the Sing Tao Jih Pao, there was more positive coverage in 2001 than in 1992 and 1995, and in 1998 than in 1992. Neutral coverage decreased significantly in 1998 than in 1992.

For the Hong Kong Economic Journal, negative coverage in 1995, 1998 and 2001 was significantly less than in 1992. Positive coverage in 1998 and 2001 was significantly more than in 1995. Neutral coverage was also more in 1995 than in 1992, 1998 and 2001. Balanced coverage was significantly less in 1992 than in 1998 and 2001.
Table 2. Tukey post hoc test of one-way ANOVA of negative, positive, neutral and
balanced coverage of the four newspapers

Ming Pao
Sing Tao Jih Pao
Hong Kong Economic Journal
1992
1998
2001
1992
1995
1992
1995
1998
2001
Neg.
1995
-.20*
-.15*
-.21*
1992
.22*
.21*
.18*
Pos.
1995
-.10*
-.13*
2001
.18*
.16*
1995
-.14*
-.14*
1998
.12*
Neu.
1995
.19*
.34*
1998
-.18*
1995
.21*
.24*
.27*
1998
.24*
Bal.
1995
.11*
.13*
1998
-.18*
1992
-.18*
-.18*
1998
-.14*
*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

2. Topics, length, location of criticism
        In both of the Ming Pao and the Sing Tao Jih Pao, political coverage was significantly more than other topic categories (Ming Pao: (2 =197.611, p<. 000; Sing Tao Jih Pao: (2 = 188.231, p<. 000). For the Hong Kong Economic Journal, economic stories were significantly more than other topics categories ((2 = 627.329, p<. 000). One-way ANOVA showed that political coverage and economic coverage varied significantly in the four years for the Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal. H8 is rejected for political topics in the Ming Pao, political and economics topics of the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

        Table 3 displayed the results of one-way ANOVA of some variables and their categories. It showed that H6 is rejected for all of the three newspapers. H9 is rejected for the Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

Table 3. One-way ANOVA of other variables
       Ming Pao                         Sing Tao  Jih Pao           Hong Kong Economic Journal
F
df
F
Df
F
Df
Politics
7.229**
3, 564
11.763**
3, 562
Economy
5.3**
3, 561
21.83**
3, 559
Length
29.217**
3, 572
35.11**
3, 412
17.061**
3, 559
1st (LC)
2.818*
3, 561
2nd(LC)
11.22**
3, 558
No Crits
2.818**
3, 561
**. P<.001, *. P<.05

Tukey post hoc tests showed that political coverage of China was significantly less in 1995 than in 1992 and 1998 for the Ming Pao, and significantly less in 1995 than in 1992, 1998 and 2001 for the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Economic coverage of China increased significantly in 1995 than in 1992 for the Ming Pao, and was significantly more than 1992, 1998 and 2001 for the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

Length of coverage of China was significantly more in 2001 than in 1992, 1995 and 1998 in both of the Ming Pao and the Sing Tao Jih Pao. Length of China coverage in both 2001 and 1998 was more than in 1995. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between negativity and length for the coverage about China on the Hong Kong Economic Journal (r =.326**, p<.000, two-tailed).

Location of criticism varied in both of the Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Stories that had criticism in the first half were significantly less in 1998 than in 1992 for the Ming Pao. For the Hong Kong Economic Journal, stories with criticism in the second half were significantly more in 2001 and 1998 than in 1992 and 1995, respectively. Stories with no criticism were significantly more in 1998 than in 1992 and 1995, and more in 1998 than in 2001 for Hong Kong Economic Journal. Political stories were significantly less in 1995 than in 1998 and 1992 for Ming Pao, and were significantly less in 1995 than in 1992, 1998 and 2001 for the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Economic news was significantly more in 1995 than in 1995 and 1998.





Table 4. Tukey post hoc tests for length, location of criticism and topics
The Ming Pao
The Sing Tao Jih Pao
The Hong Kong Economic Journal
1992
1995
1998
1992
1995
1998
1992
1995
1998
Length
2001
.70*
.66*
.47*
2001
.96*
.98*
.68*
1995
-.57*
-.52*
2001
.57*
1st half
1998
-.08*
2nd half
2001
.106*
.129*
1998
.117*
.139*
No crits
1998
.147*
.142*
2001
-.13*
Topic
Politics
1995
-.21*
-.18*
2001
1.8*
1995
-2.4*
-2.8*
Economy
2001
-.23*
1995
.43*
.32*
Promin
Above
2001
-.17*
-.19*
1992
.168*
1995
.177*
.149*
*. P<.05


 Discussion
The statistical results provided a complex but revealing picture of the changes of the three newspapers coverage of China. Firstly, the results showed that the Sing Tao Jih Pao had least changes in its China coverage. The Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal, particularly the latter, had more variations.

The Hong Kong Economic Journal changed most among the three papers. Negative and neutral coverage as well as political topics of China decreased in 1995 as compared to 1992, while positive and balanced coverage increased after the hand-over. Stories with criticism in the second half increased in 2001 from before the hand-over. Above-fold stories increased in 1995 than in 1992, and stories without criticism also increased in 1998 from before the hand-over. These indicators showed that the Hong Kong Economic Journal broadened its coverage of China and became less negative around the hand-over time. Like Ming Pao, length of China reporting on Hong Kong Economic Journal has increased but its negative coverage decreased after the hand-over of Hong Kong. We inferred that this was partly due to the fact that economic development has always been one of the top priorities for China after 1978, which is one of the most dynamic economies in the world right now.

For Ming Pao, editorial shift in 1995, two years before the hand-over of Hong Kong, was obvious. Its negative coverage and political topics decreased compared to 1992 while neutral and balanced coverage increased. Significant changes after the hand-over were also very visible.  Stories with criticism in the first half decreased in 1998 than six years ago. There was more positive coverage in 2001 than in 1995. Above-fold China reporting decreased in 2001 than in 1992 and 1995. However, this does not necessarily mean the paper became submissive to the Mainland Chinese government. In fact, its negative coverage was more in 1998 and 2001 than in 1995. It shows that Ming Pao has continued its critical coverage after 1997 as before the hand-over of Hong Kong and the Chinese government did not impose censorship on it.  This point was proven in March 2002 by its reporting on the scandal about appropriating donations for drop-out students by high-profile officials of the Communist Youth Le
ague, the reserve for the Communist Party of China. Most of mainland Chinese newspapers keep self-censorship about this issue and a few bold newspapers like South China Weekend was punished severely. However, Ming Pao covered this issue intensively and caused a great impact in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. When the NPC conference was held from March 5th to March 15th, 2002, some delegates called for an in-depth investigation over this issue.

Compared with the other two papers, the Sing Tao Jih Pao had the least changes. Positive coverage of China increased after the hand-over, while neutral and balanced coverage decreased. In 1995, before the hand-over of Hong Kong, above-fold China stories decreased compared to 1992.  Like the two other papers, length of China reporting on Sing Tao Jih Pao increased significantly in 2001. As a well-known rightist newspaper, Sing Tao Jih Pao seemed undisturbed in its editorial policy although Hong Kong had a new communist ruler after the hand-over.

It is impossible to trace the psychological, professional, institutional or ideological dynamics behind the changes in the newspapers' coverage of China through content analysis. However, the changes immediately before the hand-over were clear. Particularly in 1995, even the least changing Sing Tao Jih Pao had more positive coverage, and these changes were sound indicators that the hand-over had some effect upon the newspapers' ideological stance toward China. The papers appeared to be more pro-China in the run-up to the hand-over. However, this does not mean that they became submissive and consistently supportive of China from then on. In fact, negative coverage in the Ming Pao in 1998 and 2001 was significantly more than in 1995. Stories without criticism decreased in 2001 than in 1998.
The deduction is that the press probably refrained from criticizing China before 1997, but critical coverage resumed to a similar level after the hand-over of Hong Kong.
 Limitations
This research is not a text analysis of the changes in the three newspapers' coverage of China. Although statistical results revealed quantified trends in the papers, they cannot provide reasons as to how and why the changes occurred.  If I had had more time, I should have conducted in-depth interviews with some professional journalists and editors in Hong Kong. Their first-hand working experience would provide enlightening answers about the result of our study.

  In addition, after we coded all the coverage about China in the three newspapers, I should have separated the statistical results for news and those for commentary content so that we could get more meaningful results.   And, if I could have more than two coders, that would increase the objectivity of the research.

Conclusion
The content analysis of the three Hong Kong newspapers' coverage of China before and after the hand-over of Hong Kong in 1997 produced mixed but revealing messages. The Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Journal had more variations before and after 1997, and the Sing Tao Jih Pao had the least variation. Significant changes were found in the papers in 1995, two years before the hand-over of Hong Kong, These papers appeared to be friendlier toward China, with either negative coverage decreasing or positive coverage increasing. The length of China reporting in all of the papers increased after the hand-over. However, the papers did not appear to become supportive of China's government after the hand-over of Hong Kong.

Results of this research show the press refrained from criticizing the Chinese government before the hand-over. Critical coverage resumed to the similar level after 1997, especially for Ming Pao.

Further analysis of the media text is needed to reveal the full picture of the media's attitude changes.
  References
Anthony Y.H. Fung, Chin-Chuan Lee. (1994). Hong Kong's Changing Media Ownership: Uncertainty and Dilemma. Gazette 53  (1-2) 127-133.
A.Z. Bass (1969), Refining the 'Gatekeeper' Concept: A UN Radio Case Study,
 Journalism Quarterly 46: 69-72.
Bantimaroudis, P., & Ban, H. (2001). Covering the crisis in Somalia: Framing choices by the New York Times and the Mancester Guardian, in Reese, S. D., Gandy, O. H., Grant, A. E. Framing Public Life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 164.
        Budd, R., Thorp, R. K., &Donohew, L. (1967). Content Analysis of Communication. New York: Micmillan Company 50-65
Chan, Lee, and Lee. (1992).  Fighting Against the Odds: Hong Kong Journalists in Transition. Gazette 50 (1) 1
Chan and Lee. (1989). Accommodation: Xinhua and the Press in Transitional Hong Kong. China Quarterly 117: 289-310
Chan, Joseph Man.  (1991).  Mass Media and Political transition: the Hong Kong press in China's orbit. New York: Guilford Press.
Chan, P.K. - Hong Kong Press Freedom on the Eve of 1997 (1994), a paper delivered for master degree in the school of Arts and Humanities at California State University at Fresno.
Chan, Ying (Winter, 1999).  Hong Kong: Still a Window between China and the West, Media Studies Journal 84-89.
Chin-Chuan Lee. (1998). Press Self-Censorship and Political Transition in Hong Kong. Press/Politics 3 (2) 55-73
Cohen, E. (1997). Hong Kong: the future of press freedom, Columbia Journalism Review. May/June 1997.
Dan Kubiske. (2000). Press Freedom in Hong Kong: No Easy Answers. The Quill 88 (3) 38-40
            Denis McQuail, McQuail's Mass Communication Theory, Sage Publications, 2000, 237- 239.
David Manning White (1950), The Gate Keeper: a Case Study in the Selection of
News, Journalism Quarterly 27: 41-70.
Dickerson, Donna L. (2001). Framing "political correctness": The New York Times' tale of two professors, in Reese, S. D., Gandy, O. H., Grant, A. E. Framing Public Life: Perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 177.
Elliott Cohen. (1997). Hong Kong: The Future of Press Freedom. Columbia Journalism Review 36 (1) 48-50.
Entman, R. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication 43(3), Autumn, 54.
Frank Ching. 1998. The Hong Kong Press: Will It Remain Free after 1997. Asian Affairs 24 (4) 217-226.
Frank Ching. 1999. The Post-1997 Hong Kong Press: How Free and for How Long. Asian Affairs 25 (1) 3-10.
        Fung, Anthony Y. H., & Lee, C. C. (1994). Hong Kong's changing media ownership: uncertainty and dilemma, Gazzet 53, 127-133.
Giber.W (1964). News is what newspapermen make it. People, Society and Mass Communication. New York: Free Press.
Lo Shiu-hing. (1998). Mass Media and Politics in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. East Asia 16 (3-4) 111-136.
Hong Kong Journalists Association. 1999.  Freedom of Expression in Hong Kong. Annual Report.
Hong Kong Journalists Association. 2000. Freedom of Expression in Hong Kong. Annual Report.
Hong Kong Journalists Association. 2001. Freedom of Expression in Hong Kong. Annual Report.
Hong Kong Journalists Association, 2000, Press freedom in jeopardy <http://www.ifex.org/members/eroding/>
Joseph Man Chan, Chin-Chuan Lee. (1988). Press Ideology and Organizational Control in Hong Kong. Communication Research 15 (2) 185-197
Joseph Man Chan. (1991) Mass Media and Political Transition: the Hong Kong Press in China's Orbit. Hong Kong: Chinese UP.
Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Government Publications Center, 1985.
Kerliner, F.N. (1986), Foundations of Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Kurt Lewin (1951), Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers,
  NY: Harper.
Lau, Emily. "Media's Red Barons." Far Eastern Economic Review, 7 Feb. 1991:20
Lee, C., Pan, Z., Chan, J. M., & So, C. Y. K. (2001). U.S. media view the Hong Kong hand-over, p.349, Journal of Communication, June 2001, Vo. 51, No. 2.
Lee, Chi-hsien Chen, Joseph Man Chan, and Paul Siu-Nam Lee. (1996). Partisanship and Professionalism: Hong Kong Journalists in Transition. Gazette 57 (1) 1-15
Lee, Paul Siu-nam, and Leonard Chu. (1998). Inherent Dependence on Power: the Hong Kong Press in Political Transition, Media, Culture & Society 20 (1): 59-77.
Martin, Gary B. Wilson, and Cheng Yew Meng. A paper presented at the International Association for Mass Communication Research Annual Meeting, Seoul, Korea, July 1994.
        Logan, Peng Zengjun and Nancy Fraser. (2000). Science and Medical Coverage in the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post: A Six-year Perspective. Science Communication 22 (1) 5-26
        Martin, E. F., Wilson, G. B., & Meng., C. Y. (1994). Attitudes toward media freedoms in Hong Kong: A prelude to 1997. Gazette 54: 123-122.
McGregor, R (1996) . "Red Chips" on Menu Before HK Hand-over, Australian 11 June: 26.
            Pamela Shoemaker (1991). Gatekeeping (Newbury Park, N.J.: Sage Publications, 11- 52.


 Appendix: Coding sheet
Paper: Ming Pao =1; Sing Tao Jih Pao=2; Sing Pao =3
Time: 1992=1; 1995=2; 1998=3; 2001=4
Length: Less than 1/8 of the page =1; 1/8 of the page= 2; ¬ of the page = 3; More than ¬ of the page =4
Page Number: Front page=1; China page/Major News=2; Other pages=3;
Prominence: Above-fold =1; Below-fold=2
Favorableness: Negative coverage refers to those reflecting conflicts, disorganization, instability and weakness. Neural coverage reports only facts without any hint of ideological stance. Positive stories were defined as those reflecting social cohesion, co-operation, stability and strength; balanced stories are those reflecting both positive and negative sides (Budd, et al, 1967; Eribo, 1993).
Negative=1; Positive=2; Neutral=3; Balanced=4

 Section : News=1; Editorial =2; Opinion=3;
Topic: Politics (POLITICS) =1, including PRC domestic politics, international politic, human rights, Tibetan, Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Beijing relationship.
Economics (ECONOM)=2, including PRC domestic politics, its international economics.
Defense (DEFENSE)= 3, including military buildup, nuclear weapons, war crisis.
Science & Culture (SCICUTU)=4, including science, technology, culture, religion, sports.
Society & Law (SCOILEG)=5 including disasters, unrest, terrorism, law, crimes, population and social services/welfare/education.
Location of criticism: First half the story =1; Second half of the story=2; No criticism=3; (Only editorial and comment page were coded for location of criticism)
Headline-body Interaction
Negative headline/negative body =1
Negative headline/positive or neutral body=2
Positive or neutral headline/negative body=3
Positive or neutral headline/positive or neutral body=4