Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong Free Press
Type of site	News
Available in	English
Headquarters	Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
Founder(s)	Tom Grundy; Evan Fowler;
URL	hongkongfp.com
Commercial	No
Registration	None
Launched	29 June 2015
Current status	Active

Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit news website based in Hong Kong. It was founded by independent journalists in response to concerns over declining press freedom in the territory; to provide an alternative to the dominant English-language news source, the South China Morning Post; and to provide quicker English coverage of local news.[1][2]

Tom Grundy, co-founder

Tom Grundy has been the editor-in-chief since 29 June 2015.[2]

Beginning in late 2015, Chinese authorities blocked access to the site from mainland China.[3] In a 2019 survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, HKFP was the third most credible online news outlet in Hong Kong with a credibility rating of 5.56 out of 10 (the overall media credibility rating in 2019 was 5.71).[4]

History

Before founding Hong Kong Free Press in 2015, Grundy was a social activist and a blogger. He wrote the blog Hong Wrong and ran the HK Helper's Campaign, a group advocating for rights of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong.[1] He and co-director Evan Fowler established HKFP in response to concerns about worsening freedom of the press and media self-censorship in Hong Kong.[1] HKFP also aimed to provide quick news reports with context, which Grundy said Hong Kong's largest English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, does not do.[2]

Crowdfunding for HKFP took place on Fringebacker and aimed to raise $150,000 (US$19,342) in a month to support two journalists. The amount was raised in two days and the goal was raised to $500,000.[5] The fundraising campaign concluded in June 2015 with more than $600,000 raised. HKFP recruited more journalists and contributors and established headquarters in the offices of D100 Radio in Cyberport. The full website was launched on 29 June 2015.

In its first year of operation, HKFP published 4,400 news articles and commentaries and had over 3.5 million unique visitors.[6]

HKFP relocated from Cyberport to a co-working space in Kennedy Town in late 2017.[7]

In early 2020, HKFP suspended its coverage for a website relaunch. In the relaunch, HKFP introduced its code of ethics and fact-checking policy and recruited two reporters.[8]

Content

In the long term, HKFP plans to achieve financial sustainability through "continued crowdfunding efforts, advertising and sponsorship events" and by operating with minimal overhead costs.[5] Tom Grundy, a freelance journalist who co-founded the website, stated that the site would "start with simple local news, and investigative pieces about Hong Kong" and that "we have no political agenda. We simply aim to be credible".[5]

Doxxing and Kong Tsung-Gan identity claims

In August 2020, it was reported that the columnist Kong Tsun-Gan, whose opinion pieces are published by Hong Kong Free Press, was using a pseudonym. Kong was using a Chinese name 江松澗 and a profile picture of an Asian man. Kong's work has been cited by CNN, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, AFP, The Guardian, other Western news sources and the former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten for Kong's expert views on Hong Kong and China. Max Blumenthal, the editor of The Grayzone website, claimed that Kong is a white American male named Brian Kern and said that Kern was involved in anti-government protests in Hong Kong. In December 2019, HKFP threatened to sue the Hong Kong newspaper The Standard for claiming Kong was in fact an American. HKFP declined to clarify whether they knew of Kong's identity prior to Kong's own public admission in August 2020.[9]

After the publication of these accounts, HKFP published a letter by Kong accusing pro-Chinese Communist Party of defaming him and admitted to having used a pen name since 2014, but declined to reveal his true identity. Kong Tsung-Gan responded in the HKFP:

Clearly in none of the above cases did I have any intention of pretending I was the person in question. I have never asserted that I am ethnically Chinese. This disinformation campaign is meant to discredit first of all me and secondly the Hong Kong freedom struggle.
Those who’ve tried to “expose” my identity—as if a gweilo can’t be every bit as legitimate and authentic a member of the Hong Kong freedom struggle as anyone else—have refused to engage with anything I’ve written in order to rebut or argue with it.[10]

gollark: Fair point. I suppose I can just wait and see if they do anything noticeable.

gollark: Maybe I could print something on the screen and run the speaker.

gollark: PotatOS does that automatically.

gollark: Which is also blank.

gollark: The disk drive... has a disk, fascinating.

References

"Hong Kong Free Press launches crowdfunding campaign". Time Out Hong Kong. 10 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
Baiocchi, Francisco (30 June 2015). "Activist turned editor who tried to arrest Tony Blair launches crowdfunded Hong Kong news website". Press Gazette.
"Hong Kong Free Press falls foul of Great Firewall, blocked in China". Hong Kong Free Press. 6 November 2015.
Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey (2019). "Tracking Research: Public Evaluation on Media Credibility - Survey Results" (PDF). The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
Sala, Ilaria Maria (20 May 2015). "Hong Kong to get new crowdfunded independent newspaper". The Guardian.
"A year of Hong Kong Free Press: On our first anniversary, a look back at our best coverage". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 June 2016.
"Hong Kong Free Press moves to The Hive co-working space in Kennedy Town". Hong Kong Free Press. 19 October 2017.
Grundy, Tom (23 January 2020). "Editorial: Pause in coverage - HKFP's month-long timeline for relaunch". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
Wong, Natalie (15 August 2020). "Hong Kong activist, writer 'Kong Tsung-gan' confirms that's only a pen name; website says he's really Brian Kern, an American". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
Kong, Tsung-Gan (16 August 2020). "On being continually doxxed, defamed and harassed by Communist Party allies". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 16 August 2020.

External links

Official website

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[timeout-1] "Hong Kong Free Press launches crowdfunding campaign". Time Out Hong Kong. 10 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.

[pressgazzette-2] Baiocchi, Francisco (30 June 2015). "Activist turned editor who tried to arrest Tony Blair launches crowdfunded Hong Kong news website". Press Gazette.

[3] "Hong Kong Free Press falls foul of Great Firewall, blocked in China". Hong Kong Free Press. 6 November 2015.

[4] Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey (2019). "Tracking Research: Public Evaluation on Media Credibility - Survey Results" (PDF). The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

[guardian-5] Sala, Ilaria Maria (20 May 2015). "Hong Kong to get new crowdfunded independent newspaper". The Guardian.

[HKFP-firstanniv-6] "A year of Hong Kong Free Press: On our first anniversary, a look back at our best coverage". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 June 2016.

[moves-7] "Hong Kong Free Press moves to The Hive co-working space in Kennedy Town". Hong Kong Free Press. 19 October 2017.

[8] Grundy, Tom (23 January 2020). "Editorial: Pause in coverage - HKFP's month-long timeline for relaunch". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 2 May 2020.

[9] Wong, Natalie (15 August 2020). "Hong Kong activist, writer 'Kong Tsung-gan' confirms that's only a pen name; website says he's really Brian Kern, an American". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 August 2020.

[10] Kong, Tsung-Gan (16 August 2020). "On being continually doxxed, defamed and harassed by Communist Party allies". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 16 August 2020.