Hong Kong Free Press anniversary: 3 years of non-profit, independent news

Launched as a response to declining press freedom in the wake of the Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong Free Press celebrated its third anniversary on Friday, June 29. Below is an update on our work since our Annual Report was published in January. Thank you – from all of our team – to our supporters, donors, patrons and readers.

Original reporting since January 2018:

Last year, HKFP doubled the number of original features published – sharing a fully-fledged feature every weekend and launching a new opinion section. This year, we invested more in our daily reporting and updates to focus on scoops and exclusives.

• Exclusive features: Over the past six months, we published over 40 features on: grassroots activists filling the elderly care gap, residents fighting corruption at local housing developments, the struggles of a social activism bookstore, recruitment issues and challenges in the local media industry, the return of Hong Kong’s controversial anti-subversion law – Article 23 (two parts), a domestic worker who became a protest photographer, gentrification and the effect on local Western District communities, public space and noise pollution in Mong Kok, a labour dispute watchdog news website run by volunteers, the battle for a waterfront park, increase in the use of a draconian law governing computer use, suspicious fires in the wetlands, Hong Kong’s tribute to the Tiananmen Massacre victims, a board game about police corruption, Hong Kong’s “villain hitters,” dog shelters fighting for survival, war relics uncovered in a country park, the challenges facing the city’s wheelchair users, Taiwan walking tours which fight stereotypes.
• Exclusive China features: Despite lacking access, we also published China-related features about: the Communist Party’s treatment of western firms, its crackdown on dissident and rights websites, elderly care in China and the erosion of filial piety, anti-Japanese China movie dramas, and Beijing’s tightening grip on new media.
• Exclusive interviews: HKFP interviewed its first pro-Beijing lawmaker – Eunice Yung. We also interviewed Cardinal Zen – an outspoken critic of China’s Vatican deal, and pro-democracy rights lawyer Chris Ng. Our interview with pro-democracy law scholar Benny Tai received critical acclaim. Before she was banned from running, we spoke to pro-democracy election hopeful Agnes Chow, as well as writer/performer Gabby So. We also interviewed historian Vivian Kong and veteran pro-democracy activist Yip Po-lam.
• Exclusive Documentaries: We published video documentaries on Kin-ball’s fight for recognition as a sport, a domestic worker who turned to sex work, tensions on campus between local and mainland students and aerial bamboo yoga.
• Special features/scoops: We broke news about Beijing’s intervention with foreign consulates, as well as #MeToo allegations at the LA Times, a Hong Kong activist fleeing to Taiwan, and the authorities rejecting a protest application, among others. We also published an exclusive, two-part series of unseen Tiananmen Square protest photos from 1989.
• Special focus in 2018: HKFP gave full and comprehensive coverage to the 2018 legislative by-elections, the “ceding” of land to China for the Express Rail Link, the 2018 budget, the controversial bridge to Macau/China, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre.

Achievements since January 2018:

• Transparency: We published our public Annual Report and Transparency Report and completed our 2017 audit.
• New base: The HKFP team moved to The Hive’s new co-working space in Wong Chuk Hang: The Hive Spring.
• RSF praise: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) upgraded Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking in May, stating that Hong Kong Free Press is part of an “organised resistance to Beijing’s meddling.” We were invited to Seoul to help launch the report. RSF will link with us to host future events in Hong Kong.
• New hires: We hired two, new full-time staff: journalist Holmes Chan and Production Editor Jennifer Creery.
• Fundraising independently: We scrapped our partnership with third-party fundraising websites to host our own donation software – it saved us thousands of dollars in admin fees.
• More events: We have begun hosting more events, including a domestic worker documentary showing and Q&A. In August, we will host a forum on gender equality in news.
• Website issues fixed: A number of long-outstanding tasks related to web infrastructure were completed, including a move to entirely new servers. Dozens of bug fixes, CSS design issues and load bearing issues were fixed by a developer, resulting in a faster website.
• Community/profile: HKFP hosted several groups of students at the office. We spoke at TEDx Wanchai 2018 and attended the 2018 East-West Center conference in Singapore.
• Social media: We will gain access to Facebook Crowdtangle in July 2018, so we can better manage our Facebook presence.
• Staff benefits: HKFP staff now receive dental care and healthcare as of June 2018, and enjoyed a pay rise this spring to better bring conditions in line with the local industry.

Funding in 2018:

We are highly transparent and responsible with our meagre funds, operating on a shoestring in order to ensure we survive in the long-run, whilst ensuring staff are properly rewarded.

• Income: Our current revenue streams include: One-off/monthly donations (cheque/transfer, cards, Flattr, AliPay, Bitcoin), Google/YouTube display ads; directly purchased rate card ads; events; content sales; merchandise sales; resyndication through Dow Jones Factiva; and Apple News ads. As of 2018, we now accept coin donations, via CoinDragon, at machines across the city and have a small income from Book Depository online store referrals.
• Spending: Currently, we spend around HK$140,000 per month. Our expenses include: Salaries, office rent; accountancy costs; reporting equipment; audit and tax services; company secretarial services; accountancy and security software; AFP news wire service, Google Suite tools; web hosting and domains; developer/systems maintenance contract; employee insurance; employee healthcare; travel and transport; postage/stationery; and meals/drinks for sources and volunteers.
• Fundraising: In February/March, we raised HK$847,000 from 850 donors during our annual funding drive for one-off contributions – our best result yet. Through PayPal, 59 monthly donors give an average of HK$266 – totalling HK$13,529/month. Through our self-hosted Stripe payment system, we have 40 patrons giving an average of HK$150 – totalling HK$6,223/month. We receive HK$19,759 from patrons each month, excluding a handful who donate by cheque/transfer. Donors are overwhelmingly from Hong Kong, though we also have backers in the US, UK, Australia and China.

Ten ways to support us:

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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