Attitudes toward media freedoms in Hong Kong: A prelude to 1997

Abstract

As Hong Kong prepares for a return to sovereignty of the People's Republic of China, issues surrounding individual freedoms become increasingly relevant. This study investigates protections Hong Kong residents feel should be extended to the media all the time. First, protections such as joumalistic criticism of political leaders and the military, confidentiality of sources, and other specific situations are tested. Second, commercial (advertising) free speech protections are tested including advertising of false or misleading claims, illegal products, pornographic or obscence material, and legal but potential harmful products. Third, protection of media programming dealing with sexual themes, showing sexual acts, showing nudity, and promoting drug use are tested. This initial study had the two-fold purpose of 1) establishing a benchmark of preliminary data; 2) examine three different methodologies (telephone interviews, in-home personal interviews, mall intercept interviews) to determine the preferred method for the subsequent studies.