Hong Kong Economic Journal
The Hong Kong Economic Journal was founded by Mr. Lam Hangzi (林行止, 真名林山木), the former data collector of the Hong Kong Ming Pao, and Mr. Lo Ziping (羅治平, withdrew his share later) who saw the possibility of developing an economic journal in the 70s. The newspaper was eventually first published on July 3, 1973, which was a year when the stock market faced its downturn. Today, it is still considered to be one of the most influential newspapers in the Chinese media world.
The Hong Kong Economic Journal initially consisted of two pages. Nowaday, it has been extended to be seven or eight pages. The Journal has a circulation of 63,120 copies per day in January 2001, and the main reader groups are intellectuals and businessmen, who usually demand reliable sources of news.
7 journalists are working for Hong Kong Economic Journal, they are:
The reports and commentaries of the newspaper are always regarded as radical, objective, fair and well-balanced among the Hong Kong newspapers, since the editors are quite outspoken and bold to criticize the HKSAR and the Chinese central government in the 'Editorial'. The editors usually hold skeptical views on government interventions and policies, reflecting their affirmation towards Chicago school of economics. According to a survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2001, the Hong Kong Economic Journal as well as Ming Pao were regarded as the newspapers with the highest degree of credibility in Hong Kong.
As The HK Economic Journal mainly focuses on reporting government policies and financial affairs, soft news plays a minor role in it. The style it adopts is very different from other local newspapers in Hong Kong, such as Apple Daily, Oriental Daily News, etc., which stress on the 'Entertainment' part and sensitize or exaggerate some of the news reported so as to draw attention from the consumers and attract them to buy. Instead of publish the newspaper in such commercial way, the HKEJ informs readers of the news mainly by words and with a few photos. Detailed graphs showing the changes in the stock market are displayed preciously. Advertisements or story-like news are not found in the front cover. Therefore,all these, to a certain extent, cause the Journal difficult to compete with those 'popular' local newspapers in Hong Kong. On the other hand, book reviews and music critiques published by the Journal are of high quality, providing other aspects of entertainments to readers.
One of the characteristics of the newspaper is that it mentions different business information to readers. This section can be found in the "Investment" part in which it discusses the changes in the market, no matter they are major or minor issues. For instance, it mentions some new services from the DHL Express as well as the muscial contest launched by McDonald's. The newspaper provides their readers with many substantial information they need.
The other characteristic of the paper is that it contains detailed information on the funding market,including interpretation on the fund market and changes in thr fund market. These columns are relatively rare in other newspaper in Hong Kong.
The HKEJ plays an important role in relating HKSAR and the People's Republic of China(PRC) as many senior officials of PRC regard the Journal as a true reflection of Hong Kong situation. In July 2003, Hong Kong people opposed the legislation of the Article 23 of the Basic Law. Mr. Cho (曹志明, 筆名曹仁超),the director of the Journal, aligned himself with the Hong Kong citizens and announced that if the government did not modify the article,
he would stop the publication of the Journal. The reasons he provided were that it was dangerous to disclose the truth and express their own thoughts after the implementation of the Article 23. He also opposed the term that the police could go into one's house to conduct a search or freeze one's assets without the ordinance issued by the court. The next day, the government made concession by modifying some of the terms according to the suggestions Mr. Cho
provided. Hence, it has been highly valued by HKSAR and the government of the PRC .
There are 2 columns in HKEJ which deserve people's special attentions: Mr Lam Hangzi's "Political and Economical Review" (林行止政經短評) and Mr. Cho's "Investor's Diary" (投資者日記).
Since 1973, Mr. Lam has been writing the Journal's Editorial (i.e. Political and Economical Review). Before writing for HKEJ, he had worked for Ming Pao in 1960s and was recognized by the boss of Ming Pao (查良鏞先生) at that time. His reviews are generally accepted as being objective, supported with facts and in-depth. One good example is during the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre. Regardless of the anger expressed and protests taking place in every part of Hong Kong, Mr. Lam still gave a practical and rational opinions about this issue. He had suggested ways to manage and organize the funds donated by the Hong Kong citizens to the Beijing students, as the contact between the two parties was blocked by the government of the People's Republic of China(PRC) at that time. This conscientious action has surely contributed to the prosperity of the HKEJ.
Starting from 1997, Mr. Lam has stopped writing the editorial and started a column for himself. The style of his writing has then become more various. Apart from giving analyses on hard news, he also writes articles about some interesting economics theories. According to Mr. Lam, publicizing economics is what he wants to achieve.
Mr. Cho's "Investor's Diary" is a highly respected analysis for the financial market. The discussed areas of this column include worldwide stock market, oil prices, different financial tools and suggestions on best-buy equities. There are 2 interesting characteristics of the column. Firstly, Mr. Cho is fond of writing in oral Cantonese, as he thinks that it is more comfortable for the public to read. Secondly, Mr. Cho prefers to make up nicknames for government officals. Examples include "IQT" for the Financial Secretary, Mr. Henry Tang.The history and the changes
The staffs and the sections
The Journal is categorized into "News", "Investment","Technology",
"Editorials" and "Supplement". They are further divided into sub-sections in which the section of "News" contains up-to-date information on:
The 'Investment' part contains:
The 'Technology' part includes:
The "Supplementary" part consists of:
The " Editorial" part contains:
The stance, style and characteristics
The role of the HKEJ in Hong Kong and China
Additional information of the two special sessions and the founder
Mr. Lam HangZi
