Telling good Hong Kong stories

The Hong Kong tax authorities’ mass audits of independent media organizations and journalists get attention in the international press – as you would expect. From the Guardian…

Hong Kong authorities have targeted journalists and media outlets with what are supposed to be “random” tax audits, in a move the industry union says adds pressure to waning press freedoms.

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Selina Cheng, detailed what she said were “strange” and “unreasonable” accusations by Hong Kong’s inland revenue department. Requests or audits were made against the association, at least eight independent media outlets, and at least 20 journalists and their family members, including Cheng and her parents, she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Cheng said the tax department had told one journalist that they had to pay a profit tax for a company they did not run, and had cited a registration number that did not exist. Another company was told it was being audited for profits made during the year before it was even founded. One journalist had their income “assessed” as double the amount they had actually earned, and was issued a demand for prepayment of tax on the “under-reported” income.

…Citing IRD figures, [HKFP founder Tom] Grundy said the chance of being “randomly” selected for an IRD audit was about 0.123%. “The probability drops much further when considering almost all independent media outlets were coincidentally, simultaneously selected.”

From RFA…

The association expressed concern that this could further reduce the operating space for small-scale and independent news outlets in a city once known for its freewheeling media. It called for the revenue department to stop audits without clear justification and to publicly explain the rationale for what it sees as a potentially coordinated crackdown on independent journalism.

“For small outlets like ours, this is a serious reputational attack. Being accused of tax evasion is defamation. The authorities’ frequent scrutiny of journalists and media organizations creates anxiety and casts a shadow over press freedom in Hong Kong,” Selina Cheng, the association’s chair, told a news conference.

And NYT…

Thomas Kellogg, the executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said that administrative harassment can be an effective way to control the remaining outlets that have managed not to cross red lines that could put them at risk for prosecution under national security or sedition laws. Such reviews “serve as a reminder to media outlets that they have to watch what they say, and that the government has ways to hit back at them over reporting it doesn’t like,” he said

….Last year, the authorities investigated what [HKFP] described as “false complaints,” including claims that a hot sauce it sold as a fund-raiser had come from an unlicensed food factory and that Mr. Grundy’s pet dog lacked a license and rabies shot. Both cases were closed after he submitted evidence to the contrary, Mr. Grundy said.

If you think journalists’ salaries are hardly high enough to warrant tax audits, wait until you find out how much artists make. The Standard reports…

Patriotism must be at the core of artistic practice in the new era to solidify Hongkongers’ national identity and promote the preservation of Chinese culture, Zheng Yanxiong, director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said.

Speaking at the opening of the Guangdong Art Centennial Exhibition Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, Zheng emphasized that art should serve as a vehicle for fostering patriotism and a sense of belonging to both the nation and Hong Kong. 

He called for greater innovation in artistic creation and cultural production to advance Chinese culture while maintaining its traditional essence.