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The days leading up to the US presidential election, and those immediately following, seemed to last forever. The election coverage was broadcast on television 24/7. You saw people scrolling through the updates on their phones in the elevators, watching the latest polls as they walked the subway and catching a glimpse of the news crawling on every television in every shop window.
No matter who you spoke to and regardless of the original topic, in a few sentences you are back in the election.
Last weekend’s declaration of Joe Biden as the winner ended the race, but the United States remains a very divided nation. While Biden received the most votes in US presidential election history, Trump received the second most. Both Democrats and Republicans attracted more voters to the polls than in previous elections. But the two sides remain distant in their views on everything from taxes, to social justice issues, to health care to commerce.
While Democrats control the White House and the House of Representatives, Republicans still hold the Senate right now. All of this could have profound effects on US domestic politics and also shape international politics.
The deep divisions in the United States and the partisan rhetoric that has become a hallmark of the outgoing administration will take a long time to heal. The world is a very different place than it was when Trump was elected, and even America’s role on the world stage is no longer what it used to be.
As always, there is more to the world news than what is happening in the United States. But these events are all issues facing the new president as he shapes his foreign policy in the wake of the former leader’s America First stance.
There have been terrorist attacks in France in recent weeks. Azerbaijan and Armenia continue their war in the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ethiopia is on the verge of civil war. There have been contested elections in Tanzania and Ivory Coast. Protests continue in Thailand against the monarchy and the army-dominated government. And an election in Myanmar is expected to keep the National League for Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi in power despite allegations of genocide over the treatment of the Rohingya. On top of it all, there is still Covid-19.
Meanwhile, attacks on press freedom continue in Hong Kong.
Last week Choy Yuk-ling, a producer for RTHK, was arrested after reporting slow police response to an attack by a crowd dressed in white against protesters, journalists and residents of Yuen Long. His crime? Using license plate information from a publicly accessible database to track people in the vicinity at the time of last year’s attack.
A student journalist, Nelson Tang, was accused of obstructing the police and resisting arrest following a May 8 event at Central’s IFC Mall, where dozens gathered in a pro-democracy cantato. Apparently Tang had recorded events and, while wearing a press pass, he was surrounded by police and submissive. He was overheard claiming that he was beaten by police and photographs show him with a bloody nose.
Finally, a Ben Yu Entertainment reporter was arrested for filming the arrest of two women on Sai Yee Street in Mong Kok. She was accused of obstructing the police after refusing to stop recording the meeting. She was reportedly pepper sprayed, her camera taken away, and then subdued until she lost consciousness.
Chief executive Carrie Lam, referring to Choy’s arrest, said that “there are no law enforcement or selective prosecutions.” He went on to say that “freedom of the press is still guaranteed by the Basic Law” and “we will not suppress freedom of the press”. But then she also said that “media professionals should abide by the law” and refused to comment on the lawsuit against Choy.
The arrest of three reporters in such a short period, coupled with Lam’s comments on reporters and the law, sends a very strong signal as to what will happen to those who try to monitor the police. Those who question people in positions of authority and question the rule of law and order, despite what Lam claims, appear to be held to a different standard than those who do not. Actions speak much louder than words and these arrests seem to undermine everything the CEO said. They also stress the dominance of the National Security Act over the Basic Law and the press freedom warnings contained therein.
President Donald Trump’s attacks on the press and the language he used against journalists are well known. The term “fake news” has become a catchphrase for any unflattering story for the administration. It has become a mantra for pro-Trump voices in Washington and has been echoed by even more authoritarian leaders and their administrations. While Trump’s words have resonated around the world, freedom of the press has suffered.
With Joe Biden poised to become the next president, what will America’s stance be on press freedom issues? Will the power of journalists as the fourth estate be strengthened or will the press continue to be vilified for their work in reporting? What will be the position of the new administration on China and the trade war? Will the visa weapon for the press continue to be a policy of that war? Will the US position on Hong Kong’s national security law change?
These are all questions with no difficult answers at the moment. But in Biden’s election there is a tangible hope that America will return to its position as a “city on a hill” and its role as a beacon of freedom and democracy in the world.
The situation of journalists around the world is never safe. But there is once again the hope that an American administration will defend press freedom and fight for its ideals, rather than denigrate the work that journalists do and will stand by while undergoing repression.
It remains to be seen how America’s position on the United States, Hong Kong and China will change. But Joe Biden is not Donald Trump, and only in this fact will things change. No matter what, the press will be there to report everything and hopefully have a powerful ally behind them like them.
HKFP does not necessarily share the views expressed by commentators and advertisers. HKFP regularly invites personalities from across the political spectrum to write for us to present a diversity of opinion.
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