HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government has criticized the Economist magazine over an article about the city’s recent Legislative Council election, saying it is “appalled by the biased reporting” and “baseless accusation that the polls were rigged.”
Candidates in the Dec. 19 city assembly election were vetted so only “patriots” could stand. Pro-Beijing candidates swept to victory though turnout was a record low for a vote that came some 18 months after Beijing cracked down on a pro-democracy movement in the city with a new national security law.
Critics described the election as undemocratic but authorities in the former British colony have repeatedly said it was “conducted in an open, fair and honest manner.”
Hong Kong’s second most senior official, John Lee, denounced what he said was a serious but baseless accusation by the Economist that the poll was rigged.
“If anything was ‘rigged’, it was the deliberately distorted image of Hong Kong that has been manipulated from the dark side of one’s personal internal bias,” Lee said in a letter dated Jan. 11 and posted on a city government website.
The Economist did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The British magazine published an editorial on Jan. 8 headlined “Pliant patriots” with a subheadline that said “Hong Kong’s new legislature has been sworn in. It is a mockery of democracy.”
Beijing imposed the national security in mid-2020 after months of at times violent pro-democracy protests.
Since then, more than 150 democracy activists, newspaper editors and journalists have been arrested and the clampdown on one of Asia’s most vibrant media hubs has sent a chill through the global financial center.
Critics of the legislation say it is being used to crush dissent but Hong Kong and Beijing authorities reject that.
Hong Kong authorities also deny targeting the media.
Authorities have also criticized recent commentaries by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg regarding the election.
In November, the Economist said Hong Kong had declined to renew the visa of one of its journalists and urged the city to maintain foreign media access.
The government and immigration department said at the time they could not comment on individual cases.
When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it was with the promise that wide-ranging individual rights, including a free press, would be protected. Pro-democracy activists and rights groups say freedoms have been eroded, in particular since Beijing imposed the national security law.
Hong Kong government denounces ‘biased reporting’ by the Economist
https://arab.news/5vcru
Hong Kong government denounces ‘biased reporting’ by the Economist
How media reshapes the rules of diplomacy
- International envoys discuss influence diplomacy, misinformation, and the growing need for credible storytelling
- Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama: The Saudi Media Forum itself is a tool of influence diplomacy, projecting the Kingdom’s image and soft power to the world
RIYADH: As dialogue surrounding the media’s influence across all sectors continues at the fifth edition of the Saudi Media Forum, some of the Kingdom’s ambassadors took to the stage to discuss diplomacy in an age of greater transparency.
A major topic on the panelists’ minds was “influence diplomacy,” an evolution of traditional diplomacy shaped by modern realities, said Ambassador of Djibouti to the Kingdom and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama.
Influence diplomacy draws on soft power, he said. It uses tools such as arts and culture, sports, education, and humanitarian work to serve political interests and enhance credibility.
According to Bamakhrama, Saudi Arabia harnesses that influence through international forums, cultural initiatives, and a growing global sports presence.
“The Saudi Media Forum itself is a tool of influence diplomacy, projecting the Kingdom’s image and soft power to the world,” he said. “When a child in Africa or Latin America wears the jersey of a Saudi football club, that is influence diplomacy reaching far beyond borders.”
South African Ambassador to the Kingdom Mogobo David Magabe added that every country seeks to project an image that accurately reflects its culture, values, and identity to the world through food, music, cinema, civil society engagement, and cultural exchange.
However, Magabe warned that influence diplomacy must respect legal frameworks, avoid interfering in internal affairs, and operate transparently and ethically.
Spain’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Javier Carbajosa Sanchez echoed those remarks in saying that influence diplomacy can be a positive tool when it is ethical, disciplined, and grounded in facts.
Media has historically played a generally positive role in shaping public opinion, he said. But the rise of digital platforms requires a more responsible hand.
Diplomatic communication must follow rules, training, and ethical limits. “Propaganda may work temporarily, but credibility is what endures,” Sanchez said.
The ambassadors also highlighted that media today, particularly digital media, was a key actor in diplomacy, not just an observer.
While credibility depends on truthful and consistent narratives, digital platforms also enable the rapid spread — and exposure — of falsehoods.
“In today’s connected world, lies are exposed faster than ever,” Bamakhrama added.
Propaganda-based diplomacy no longer survives in the age of digital transparency. Instead, an effective diplomatic narrative relies on diplomats and policymakers’ understanding of the audience’s mindset, honest and clear communication of facts, and giving the necessary context for events.
Truth, he said, does not always require full disclosure, but it does not tolerate deception.
And the truth is especially paramount during times of crisis. The ambassadors agreed that false narratives collapse during conflict, and unchecked narratives can escalate crises beyond control.
“During conflict, responsibility must be shared between governments and media institutions,” Sanchez said.
Misinformation, the speed of news cycles, and the pressure to respond instantly were cited by the South African ambassador as the biggest challenges facing influence diplomacy today.
Accurate storytelling weighed heavily on speakers’ minds in the forum, especially in an era when messages can diverge between digital and traditional media.
Many of the same concerns surfaced in “Television and Streaming Platforms: Conflict or Opportunity?”, a panel focused on journalism and broadcasting, where media leaders examined how misinformation and competition are reshaping television.
Tareq Al-Ibrahim, director of MBC 1 and MBC Drama Channels and chief content officer at MBC Shahid platform, said that social media is both a bridge and competitor to television.
“It allows us to reach wider and more diverse audiences, but it also competes for people’s time,” he said.
In addition to audiences being larger, more fragmented, and more demanding, news organizations must now not only compete with other newsrooms, but with every other form of content on social platforms.
Despite this, professional journalism still holds great value and reaches wide audiences — if it adapts.
Al-Ibrahim added that competition was essential, not just for platforms, but for the entire value chain: “From writers to cameramen to directors, competition raises everyone’s standards.”
He also pointed to the evolution of Arabic content over the last decade as driven by competition from Netflix, Shahid, and other regional and global platforms.
Amjad Samhan, head of social media at Al Arabiya news network, described what the network’s transition was like from television to social media.
The challenge, he said, was figuring out how to deliver news to people who are not actively looking for news.
One solution was to transform long-form TV content into fast, digital formats. “We built a parallel digital newsroom with the same standards and principles,” Samhan shared.
When the question of social media influencers was brought up, Samhan argued: “The real competition is not with influencers. It’s with low-quality content. Credibility is what distinguishes news institutions from content creators.”
Journalism is built on trust, resources, and responsibility while influencers often lack verification and accountability, he said.
Reflecting on what the rise of digital platforms means for television, Al-Ibrahim said they are not alternatives, but complementary partners.
“Television creates shared moments; platforms create personalized experiences,” and the average consumer could greatly benefit from both.
