'I believe through media, the public can know about the views of different social strata and different races, and will learn to value others' thinking and put themselves in others' shoes.'

Award-winning work

Police Suppression to Report Tan Zuoren's Trial

In August of 2009, the interviewee on the NOW TV news report, to one's surprise, was the reporter of that news organization. Ka-yu and a cameraman went to cover the trial of Tan Zuoren, a human rights activist on the mainland, in Chengdu, but were obstructed by the police. They documented the whole process to show how the mainland government restricted the freedom of the press.

Ka-yu was dispatched to the mainland branch in early 2008, when it was a fledgling office. She was responsible for covering news stories on the mainland as well as the administrative work of the whole office. 'I worked like a news editor of the mainland section, deciding which piece of news should be reported and from what angle.'

When talking about her experience there, she described that there was no specific post in the mainland government bureaucracy to take care of the press. It also set many hurdles for interview requests and kept a watchful eye on the Hong Kong media. Sometimes the government officials would interfere with interviews, intercepting phone conversations, or even stalking reporters. 'If you ask unfavorable questions, trouble may follow.'

'Professionalism, independence, determination, being proactive and understanding one's rights are essential for working while under threat.' Ka-yu affirmed that the one-year exchange experience equipped her with these qualities. She had won a scholarship from CUHK to go on exchange to the University of California (Irvine) to study political science. Ka-yu was astonished and deeply influenced by the proactiveness, expressiveness and respect for others' opinions of her foreign classmates.

Going on exchange is a precious experience of CUHK students. The undergraduate progamme of the School of Journalism and Communication puts equal emphasis on theoretical and professional training. It requires majors to select courses from the Social Science Faculty to broaden their horizons. Ka-yu believes this consolidates students' multi-disciplinary knowledge base and analytical thinking from different angles. The school also invited their graduates to share the experience of being front-line journalists. As one of the mentors in the school's mentorship programme, Ka-yu hopes to share her experience in work and life with the younger generation.

Ka-yu is worried about the decline of the freedom of the press. She illustrated with examples: the government may gradually set interview zones to limit the press's freedom; media investors only run their organizations as a business or exploit it for political advantage. As a result, the coverage may not be neutral and in the interest of the general public, and this in turn will lead to a reduction of the freedom of the press.

In Ka-yu’s view, a good journalist should have a critical mind and sensitivity to current issues, be objective, be indignant at the lack of fairness, and should act in the interest of the public.