“On World Press Freedom Day 2018, I call on governments to strengthen press freedom, and to protect journalists. Promoting a free press is standing up for our right to truth.” — António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.
Thursday marks UN World Press Freedom Day. First launched in 1993, it is an opportunity to assess the state of press freedom around the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists worldwide. In 2018, the focus will be the role of an independent judiciary in guaranteeing press freedom. It will also highlight the role of the press in elections as a watchdog for transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
When HKFP asked Chief Executive Carrie Lam last month if local journalists could suffer legal action or censorship whilst reporting on the controversial issue of independence, she replied that “it depends.” Article 27 of the Basic Law states that “Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication.” In fact, the press is the only business which is constitutionally protected by states around the world. Yet, despite it being a fundamental right for all Hongkongers, Lam was unable to guarantee that press freedoms would be protected in the future.
As Hong Kong’s first crowdfunded media outlet, HKFP was lauded by NGO Reporters Without Borders last week as it upgraded the city’s ranking by three places to 70th in the world. It said that there had been “organised resistance” to Beijing’s meddling in Hong Kong “led by a handful of independent online media such as Citizen News, The Initium, Hong Kong Free Press and inMedia.”
At this important time, our reader-backed model is standing up to the test, though – as HKFP grows – we are only able to survive and remain independent with continual support from the public. As we approach our third anniversary next month, we invite readers to support our team throughout the year in order to safeguard our future. Just as we seek to make our news free, and as accessible as possible, we also seek to ensure it is as easy as possible for readers to contribute. Below are 10 ways in which you can support us on World Press Freedom Day.
Not-for-profit, run by journalists and completely independent, the HKFP team relies on readers to keep us going and to help safeguard press freedom. Learn more about our achievements in our latest Annual Report. Our Transparency Report shows how carefully we spend every cent.
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1. Make an instant one-off donation of any amount, or make a monthly commitment and become an HKFP Patron. Most costs accepted. HK$200 per month – the price of a weekly coffee – helps us achieve sustainability and safeguards our independence.
Click here for online donation T&Cs and FAQs.
Here are nine more ways to support our team – click an option below:
”2. Donate directly by cheque“
Cheques save us on fees. Please make them payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and post it – along with your name and address to – Hong Kong Free Press, The Hive Spring, 3/F Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong. [Please do not send cash.]
Donations are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records.
”3. Donate directly by bank transfer“
For setting up one-off, or regular, bank transfers, please email a screenshot or phone photo of the receipt/confirmation to donations@hongkongfp.com, after you have made arrangements. Thank you!
Our local HSBC account details:
- Account name: Hong Kong Free Press Limited
- Account number: 817887532-838
- Bank name: HSBC Hong Kong
- Bank address: 1 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.
- Bank code: 004. Branch number: 817. SWIFT address: HSBCHKHHHKH
Donations are confidential – a paper-trail is required for our internal accountancy records.
”4. Donate leftover coins at Coin Dragon machines”
Do you have a big jar or bag of coins at home? Donate leftover 10c, 20c, 50c, HK$1, HK$2 and HK$5 coins to HKFP at Coin Dragon machines across the city.
”5. Advertise with us”
Support us and promote your business or cause at the same time. Request our rate card and consider our affordable range of digital marketing solutions.
”6. Donate gear or sponsor us”
We welcome donations of new computer or audio-visual equipment. We also welcome sponsorship of key website sections or our ongoing operational costs – please get in touch if you can support us.
”7. Shop at the Book Depository with our referral link”
Shop at the Book Depository using this HKFP referral link. We will receive 5 per cent of each book purchase. Free delivery to Hong Kong.
”8. Help spread the word”
”9. ‘Tip’ us with a Flattr micro-donation”
You can ‘tip’ Hong Kong Free Press with a micro-donation via Flattr. The Flattr button is available at the top of every HKFP article.
”10. Donate Bitcoin”
Help us eliminate processing fees or make a fully anonymous contribution by donating BitCoin via Bitpay.
Why support us?
View some of our best stories, or read our Annual Report.
”How can I change or cancel my regular donation?”
Yes, you may cancel your monthly donation at any time by emailing donations@hongkongfp.com – we aim to respond within 1-2 business days. Or, if you donated after May 2018, you can manage your donation yourself on this page.
”Will you share or sell my personal information?”
No. Your payment details are stored securely. We do not sell, trade, or rent users’ personal identification information to others. We may share generic, anonymised aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, trusted affiliates and advertisers. For example, we use Google Analytics to identify where visitors click on the website and what browser they may be using – we may use this anonymous information to promote our site to advertisers. Read our full T&Cs and Privacy Policy here.
”What is your return/refund policy on merchandise?”
If you are dissatisfied with your purchase, you can return the product and get a full refund within 30 days since you purchased it. Any product you return must be in the same condition you received it, unused and in the original packaging. Please retain any receipt. Refunds through stripe.com may take 5-10 business days. Read our full T&Cs and Privacy Policy here.
