The second week of the Year of the Snake did not bode well in Hong Kong, to some quarters to say the least, with a string of bad news demoralising those who have aspired for justice and decency, fairness and openness in the city.

In a strict sense, they are unrelated news. Taken together, they have added more gloom to the once-diverse and dynamic city.

Shut down of Webb-site

First came an announcement by corporate governance activist David Webb on last Wednesday (13/2 ) he will shut down his information services platform Webb-site.com after almost three decades. He said he only has months to live after a long battle with prostate cancer.

He said his pro-bono and unprofitable service would be closed from next month in an orderly manner in stages. When its server in New York shut down, Webb-site and all its editorial content would disappear, he added.

Webb had earlier considered moving the Webb-site database to the University of Hong Kong (HKU), when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2020. But in a post-National Security Law environment, the detailed proposal was rejected by the university’s senior management team, he said.

HKU said in a statement they will continue to uphold academic freedom and the freedom of thought and speech, without commenting on the Webb-site.

Webb-site focuses on Hong Kong’s corporate and economic governance, business, finance, investment, legal and regulatory affairs.

With massive data, Webb, dubbed as “’Long Hair’ of the financial markets”, has played an unique role in promoting government and corporate governance and transparency and accountability in Hong Kong.

PORI suspend all self-funded research

Then came an announcement on Thursday by Robert Chung, founder of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), saying it will suspend all self-funded research and may “even close down.”

It came weeks after Chung was investigated by national security police reportedly for his connection with his former PORI partner Chung Kim-wah, now in the UK. Chung was put on a wanted list last December over alleged violations of the national security law.

Security minister Chris Tang said last month the questioning of Chung had “absolutely nothing to do with the results of (PORI) polls.”

In the statement, Chung said PORI has always been law-abiding. “But in the current environment, it is difficult to take a step forward. We have no choice but to stop.”

He said they welcome interested parties to take over the institute.

Founded in 2019 after Chung left the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong, the closure of PORI now seems to be just a matter of time.

If no one comes up to carry the torch as it appears to be so, the authoritative pollster will become history; its long list of tracking surveys on a wide range of political and social issues will come to an end.

They include popularity of the Chief Executive and principal officials, confidence in “one country, two systems” and the central government, vindication of the June 4 verdict and satisfaction rating of the annual policy address and Budget, among others.

Through the publication of data collected through scientific surveys, PORI has played a significant role in telling the society and, more importantly, policy- and decision-makers here and in Beijing, what people think on issues such as the implementation of “one country, two systems”, performance of the CE and waste levy scheme.

Some of the findings may not be music to their ears. But they are a big help to decision-makers for them to understand the aspirations of people and to improve governance.

HKJA fundraising dinner

The third piece of news featured the Hong Kong Journalists Association on Friday telling attendees of an fundraising dinner planned to be held on Saturday it has to be held at another venue on February 24. It came after the Regal Hong Kong Hotel in Causeway Bay, which had earlier accepted the booking, said on Thursday the dining place was not available due to “water leakage causing unstable power supply.”

Reporters from several online media outlets, including Hong Kong Free Press, visited the venue on Friday evening and found lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day. HKJA chairperson Selina Cheng said the hotel might face “harassment or pressure”. The hotel has no immediate comment.

News of the last-minute cancellation on dubious reasons caused few surprises but a mix of anger, frustration and feeling of absurdity among journalists and some quarters of the society.

Once the regular attendees at the biggest annual gathering of journalists, government officials, business corporations and public bodies began to distance themselves from the trade union after it was dismissed by senior officials as “lack of representativeness” and attacked by pro-Beijing media as a pro-democracy political body.

As a registered trade union, HKJA is subject to regular monitoring of the Labour Department. It is a lawful body until after it is being outlawed in a legal process.

HKJA, Webb-site, PORI are separate bodies with different objectives and tasks. Among other organisations, they have played a part in promoting a set of important values in the city.

That their future is facing growing uncertainty has dampened the mood of some circles in the populace at the beginning of the Lunar New Year, shedding more light on the rapid-changing fabrics of Hong Kong.

（ Photo : ShutterStock ）

 

 

▌[At Large] About the Author

Chris Yeung is a veteran journalist, a founder and chief writer of the now-disbanded CitizenNews; he now runs a daily news commentary channel on Youtube. He had formerly worked with the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Economic Journal.