Political communication in Hong Kong: Transition, adaptation, and survival

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the roles communication plays during the political transition of Hong Kong. The authors suggest that China has only three options in dealing with the return of Hong Kong. They are, ‘coexistence’, ‘changing itself, or ‘slowing down the pace of Hong Kong’. Only the last option seems to be viable. On the basis of five models of government‐media relationship, the authors postulate that in the near future the media of Hong Kong are likely to play the Public Relations or Propaganda role, whereas in the future when China democratizes, Hong Kong's media may be able to resume its Reformist or Public Forum roles which they developed in the early 1990s.