A U.S. NGO rescues critical programming content targeted by Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law.

By China Unofficial Archives

Read the original version of this post, as well as the Chinese-language translation, at the publisher’s website here.

In Brief by Probe International

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), once a beacon of press freedom, has become yet another target of Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law.

RTHK demonstrated that Hong Kong society possessed a nuanced understanding of Communist Party rule, yet this awareness ultimately fell victim to suppression under the guise of national security, leading to the loss of programs dedicated to politics and the erasure of vast amounts of content from its platforms.

RTHK’s key programs, such as Hong Kong Connection, This Week, and Headliner, documented critical social issues and movements, including the 2019-2020 protests. However, under the National Security Law, they have been either restructured or canceled, with Hong Kong Connection now focusing on non-political topics and This Week being forced off the air due to its platform for diverse political dialogue.

Headliner, known for its political satire, was also removed after airing controversial segments that criticized the police and government actions.

The suppression of RTHK’s programming reflects a broader effort to distort Hong Kong’s history and limit public discourse. But an offshore preservation lifeline means the latest target of the city’s National Security Law has not been erased definitively. U.S. NGO China Unofficial Archives has managed to preserve hundreds of hours of deleted RTHK content, encompassing several years of essential programming, and now this content can be accessed online for free [see: minjian-danganguan.org].

Created as a project to combat China’s shrinking internet—evident in a 70% drop in Chinese-language websites since 2013 to 1.3% globally—the US-registered non-profit China Unofficial Archives aims to safeguard vital historical memories amid Xi-era political pressures and technical archiving hurdles. The archived RTHK programs serve as crucial, albeit preliminary, records of Hong Kong’s evolving history for future generations