''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and collects local advertisements. Currently, of the overseas editions, only the two Canadian editions remain: ''Ming Pao Toronto'' and ''Ming Pao Vancouver''. In a 2022 survey from the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

sampling 994 local households, ''Ming Pao'' was listed as the second most credible paid newspaper in Hong Kong.

History

Launch, early days

''Ming Pao'' was first published on 20 May 1959, and was founded by the famous Chinese

Wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

novelist Louis Cha, known better by his pseudonym Jin Yong (金庸), and his friend, Shen Pao Sing (沈寶新). Daisy Li Yuet-Wah won an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists for her work with the paper in 1994. Before British Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China by the United Kingdom in 1997, ''Ming Pao'' was considered hostile to the Chinese authority. When China reunited with Hong Kong, the controversial editors of ''Ming Pao'' turned favorable towards the Chinese government.

Merger with Malaysia Sinchew and Nanyang Groups

In October 1995, the publisher of ''Ming Pao'', Ming Pao Enterprise was taken over by Tiong Hiew King (Chinese: 張曉卿). On 29 January 2007, Tiong released a proposal to merge the three media groups – Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad (Malaysia), Nanyang Press Holdings Berhad (Malaysia) and Ming Pao Enterprise Corporation Limited (Hong Kong). The merged group, named Media Chinese International Limited was dual-listed on the main boards of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad in April 2008. All of the existing groups retain their existing publications and independent operations. The website of ''Ming Pao'' was set up in 1995, one of the earliest newspaper websites in Hong Kong. Since April 2008, ''Ming Pao'' is published by Ming Pao Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Media Chinese International Limited.

International development

''Ming Pao'' set up a Toronto office in Canada in May 1993 to publish the Ming Pao Eastern Edition (), then set up a Vancouver office in October the same year for the Ming Pao Western Edition (). In April 1997, the group set up a New York office and started publishing the Ming Pao US East Coast Edition (). The journal launched in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in April 2004 with a print run of 25,000, the sixth Chinese newspapers to be distributed in the region. In 2007, the office also published the ''New York Free Newspaper'' (). ''Ming Pao New York'' and ''Ming Pao San Francisco'' ceased operations on 31 January and 14 February 2009, respectively. The closing of NY operations was a symbol of the weakening of ethnic newspapers of the region. The group merged the resources of ''Ming Pao New York'' and the ''New York Free Newspaper'' to create ''Ming Pao Daily Free News (New York)'' (), serving the Chinese community along the US East Coast.

Controversies

Accusations of Chinese Communist Party influence

A 2001 report on Chinese media censorship by the

Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

cited Ming Pao as one of the four major Chinese newspapers in the United States directly or indirectly controlled by Beijing.Duzhe, Mei. China Brief Vol1, Issue 10
"How China's Government is Attempting to Control Chinese Media in America"
"Jamestown Foundation." 2001 "Employees at ''Ming Paos New York office have told sources that their 'true boss' is none other than the Chinese Consulate n New York and that they are obligated to do whatever the Consulate asks," it said. A 2006 study of ''Ming Pao'' editorials noted a tendency toward

self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...

concerning criticism toward Beijing. According to a 2013 report by the Center for International Media Assistance, this came after a number of newspapers, including ''Ming Pao Daily'', were bought by business tycoons with interests in China and close ties to mainland officials before and after the

handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

in 1997.

Assault on former chief editor Kevin Lau

Kevin Lau, who had been chief editor of the journal until January 2014, was attacked in the morning of 26 February 2014 in Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong. He was seriously injured in a targeted knife attack. It was widely speculated that the attack may have been driven by political motivation, and related to its role in investigation by the

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C., with ...

(ICIJ) into the offshore assets of China's leaders, including relatives of Communist Party general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

, former Premier Wen Jiabao, and several members of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

Mitra-Thakur, Sofia (28 February 2014)
"Hong Kong: Former editor Kevin Lau Chun-to stabbed in triad-style hit "
. ''The Independent''.Mullany, Gerry (25 February 2014)
"Hong Kong Editor Whose Ouster Stirred Protests Is Slashed"
. ''The New York Times'' Journalists and press of the world saw the attack as an attack on

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

. Thousands of people, led by leading journalists, attended a rally to denounce violence and intimidation of the media.Siu, Beatrice (3 March 2014)
"Pressing the point"
. ''The Standard''. During the court hearings of the two suspects, one declared that he was looking to get a $100,000 reward with this attack.

Appointment of Chong Tien Siong

In 2014, the appointment of new chief editor Chong Tien Siong sparked controversy and internal revolt, due to Siong's close ties to Beijing, and was seen as a major threat to the Chinese-language newspaper's editorial independence.

Censorship of 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre

''Ming Pao'' was subject to controversy in 2015 after editor-in-chief Chong Tien-siong ordered that a story detailing the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

be replaced with a story about Chinese Internet giant Alibaba as a "role model for young, would-be entrepreneurs". Chum Shun-kin said the story that was pulled contained details about the history of the massacre, including eyewitness accounts of the killing of civilians and information from diplomatic cables from Canada. The pulling of the Tiananmen story has been criticised by some, including Civic Party lawmaker Claudia Mo who said that Chong appears to "want to shield Beijing from embarrassment, instead of acting in the interests of the public and protecting their right to information". Hong Kong Journalists Association spokeswoman Shum Yee-lan called on Chong to "communicate" with his own staff.

Termination of chief editor Keung Kwok-yuen

The journal's executive chief editor, Keung Kwok-yuen (), was abruptly terminated on 20 April 2016, the same day that a report based on the Panama Papers was published on its front page. Management said that the paper's turnover had been falling in since last year and the Keung had been laid off with immediate effect due to difficult operating conditions. The timing of Keung's removal led to speculation that the Panama Papers report, which connected a number of influential individuals in the territory to tax havens abroad, may have been considered sensitive, thus being the real reason for the dismissal. Keung had written several weeks earlier about the suppression of '' Ten Years'', a dystopian film about Hong Kong in the year 2025 that was banned in mainland China. Staff and the union publicly denounced editor-in-chief Chong Tien Siong's decision to "punish editorial staff who have different opinions", and questioned the cost reduction pretext as an excuse. Journalists at ''Ming Pao'' manifested the concern felt by the media at large, several of them protested by filed blank space reports in an edition the Sunday following the dismissal.

Editorials for 2019 anti-extradition bill protests

On 13–14 June 2019, ''Ming Pao'' published editorials to define the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests as a riot (), blaming the violence of the protesters. However, on 14 June, the instant news section of ''mingpao.com'', the web portal of the publisher, published a statement to declare that the editorial represents the newspaper, but not the frontier staff of the publisher. The translator of the editorial refused to translate the article to English as well as any editorials in the future in protest. On 17 June 2019, ''Ming Pao'' published an open letter written by some of its employees criticizing the 13 June editorial for being biased towards the establishment and damaging the reputation of the newspaper.

References

External links

*
Ming Pao News Search – Article 23 legislation
Ming Pao News
Archived
from original on 24 February 2024. {{Newspapers in Hong Kong Chinese-language newspapers published in Hong Kong Newspapers established in 1959 Chinese-language newspapers published in the United States Non-English-language newspapers published in California Non-English-language newspapers published in New York (state) Defunct newspapers published in New York City 1959 establishments in Hong Kong Daily newspapers published in New York City Overseas Chinese newspapers