Hong Kong Free Press, an admirably courageous newspaper, backed by public with $6 million

^{Tom Grundy, Founder/editor Hong Kong Free Press}

Admirable Hong Kong Free Press attracted $6,056,859 in donations in 2019, according to its latest annual report. HKFP’s non-profit model is working well in volatile times as hundreds of people in the city back its independent reporting and courageous writers. The online publication was founded by Tom Grundy and others six years ago. Tom is now editor-in-chief of a small team of four to five staff and a phalanx of freelancers.

Tom writes in the 2020 annual report about a tough year for the Hong Kong press. Apple Daily was forced to close and its proprietor jailed. RTHK underwent a government crackdown. A freelance reporter was locked up. Self-censorship became rife. Democrats were rounded up and jailed while democracy books were pulled from libraries and bookshops.

^{HKFP editorial team, including well-known journalist Tim Hamlett}

HKFP was not immune to this turmoil, Tom says. “We found that sources were less willing to speak, op-ed-writers withdrew and our incoming editor became the city’s third Western journalist to be inexplicably denied a visa and ousted from Hong Kong. We nevertheless acted quickly to future-proof our operations — seeking legal and business advice, encrypting and securing our work devices, setting up backup entities, training staff and even locking our PCs to our desks.” HKFP has set aside $1.5 million as a legal defence fund in light of the national security law and new threats to press freedom.

If the authorities crack down further on English language media there is a danger that HKFP’s people could be a target. Despite this fear, Tom, his staff and their columnists publish hard-hitting stories and opinion pieces such as Steve Vines recent column on Hong Kong as a police state. Steve, one of Hong Kong’s finest journalists who ranks up there with Philip Bowring and Tom, was recently barred from RTHK because of his perceptive denunciations of the authorities.

^{Veteran Hong Kong journalist Steve Vines is regular contributor}

HKFP’s popularity with the English reading public is shown by its 20 million page views last year. It now operates a membership model with patrons paying an average of $172,996 a month. At last count 872 donors were paying $198 a month each. HKFP spent $2,893,154 in 2019, a total of $1,606,352 going on salaries and benefits for staff. The publication thus made a substantial surplus which will be ploughed back into the operation, Tom said. 2019 was an exceptional year with masses of people coming out in support of HKFP and he doesn’t expect such a large surplus to recur soon.