The Reporters Sans Frontieres’ (RSF) –Reporters Without Borders – low press freedom ranking for Hong Kong comes not from hard evidence but from revenge for barring one of its French reporters entering the city last year.
In November last, France Television journalist Antoine Vedeilhe was detained and deported when he tried to enter the city to produce a TV documentary on “how and why its freedoms have been curtailed,” according to his statement on RSF’s webpage. RSF highlighted the fact he was the 13th journalist to have been targeted by the territory’s authorities since the National Security Law was enacted in 2020. It did fail to note that many more were denied entry before then, implying that the vetting of journalists started only after the laws were implemented.
Each year so-called journalists are barred from entering countries, not only in Hong Kong but in the US, UK and elsewhere because they are either known activists, drug addicts, criminals or general undesirables. It is akin to allowing an undesirable person to enter your front door knowing he is going to harm you. The RSF statement said it condemns Hong Kong’s policy of weaponizing visas, a tactic long used by the Chinese regime to restrict access for foreign reporters. This “tactic” is used by every country, not only the Chinese regime, to restrict undesirables to enter a country.
Obviously, he planned mischief, which would not be allowed in any country, let alone Hong Kong. The reasons for his visit to Hong Kong were published well before the actual visit as if it was an invitation for the authorities to arrest him to fit into the script. The documentary is due for release this month.
On Thursday, RSF published its annual rankings of press freedoms, ranking Hong Kong 140 out of 180, citing as its main example the conviction and jailing of publisher Jimmy Lai, who was handed a 20-year sentence last year for treason related charges. Norway topped the list, as it did in previous years.
The Hong Kong government was quick to “strongly condemn the attempts by an anti-China organisation and foreign media to sugarcoat the criminal acts of national security offender Lai Chee-ying and to slander, smear, as well as attack the HKSAR by releasing a so-called press freedom index and presenting a so-called "award". Such despicable behaviours totally disregarded the rule of law and twisted the facts, which must be strongly condemned.”
If Jimmy Lai had committed his offences in any other country, be it the US, Australia or the UK, he would have been jailed with world-wide acclamation. But because it is Hong Kong/China and a multi-million-dollar public relations campaign carried out by his family with the help of international lawyers, he is viewed by the western media as a martyr for press freedom.
The courts proved, beyond reasonable doubt that he was guilty as charged after a 156-day trial with 2,220 pieces of evidence, 80,000 pages of documents and more than 1,000 pages of written submissions. Lai himself was given 52 days to plead his case. Nothing can be fairer than that.
In some countries, the RSF report noted, the information space has shrunk over the past 25 years due to political changes and increasingly draconian regimes, citing the case in Hong Kong which dropped 122 points “since Beijing tightened its control on the territory.” There has been no tightening controls by Beijing. The “controls” imposed by the national leadership have been to safeguard Hong Kong from the threats and attacks by foreign forces, namely the US, which is hell-bent on destroying Hong Kong to undermine the power of China.
It noted the closing down of Apple Daily (Jimmy Lai’s publication) and Stand News during the sedition investigations but failed to recognize that Hong Kong has 87 daily newspapers and 320 periodicals thriving very well. There are also about 50 foreign media organizations based in Hong Kong which report daily on local affairs.
But there is also a much more sinister aspect of RSF that merits recognition. It is partially sponsored by the US State Department’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which was deeply involved in the civil unrest of 2014-2020 by funding groups and organizations to raise against the Hong Kong administration. The US’s current Consul General in Hong Kong Julie Eadeh was photographed at the time conferring with the ring leaders.
With that background, RSF could hardly be an independent and trustworthy source to rank the “freedoms” of the media anywhere. The media in Hong Kong is alive and well and reporting daily events without fear or favor within the international constraints of the law.
Mark Pinkstone
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The Chairman of World Rugby, Brett Robinson, has branded the Hong Kong Sevens as “the crown jewel of our Sevens series” as tens of thousands of spectators celebrated the sport at Hong Kong’s biggest party of the year at Kai Tak Stadium.
The 50,000-seat arena was packed to capacity during the three-day event which drew in visitors from all points of the globe. An estimated 10,000 foreign visitors joined the Hong Kong throng despite rising airline costs due to the Middle East crisis. Most had purchased their tickets well before the crisis had begun.
The economic benefits of the event are enormous. Although figures for this year have not yet been analysed, in 2025 it was estimated the Rugby Sevens generated some HK$780 million to the city’s economy, according to global analytics firm Nielson.
“There is nothing quite like it,” said Robinson in an AFP interview, adding that it was one of the pinnacle events on global sports, not just rugby. “It’s the jewel in the crown of our Sevens series.”
The runaway success of the Hong Kong Sevens played a key part in rugby returning to the Olympics at Rio 2016 after a 92-year absence. Robinson said that when rugby was applying to become an Olympic sport again, delegations were shown Hong Kong to help stake its case for inclusion.
The weekend celebrated the 50th year for the Hong Kong Sevens and has grown from a mere 3,000 local spectators in 1976 to 50,000 fans today.
And party the fans do, which is one of the attributes to the weekend’s activities. At the South Stand 0.2 young and old alike enthusiasts don colourful costumes and consume gallons of beer as the games progress. It is the colour of the attendees which make it an international attraction to the event.
Of course, to host such a major event, there must be the facilities to match the task. The $30 billion stadium opened last year with major events being a series of concerts and the Rugby Sevens, sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways and HSBC bank. In fact, the futuristic purplish façade of the stadium with its retractable roof was purposely built for the Sevens with its 24 separate changing rooms.
The rugby opening ceremony on Friday could rival that of the Olympics. It featured dancing robots, cheer leaders, K-Pop stars, light shows and fireworks. The Hong Kong Tourism Board brought in the dancing robots that had previously featured on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala as part of its mission to showcase the city’s appeal as the events capital of Asia.
The 28 hectare Kai Tak Sports Park where the stadium is located is designed around a covered Kai Tak Sports Avenue, an indoor and outdoor pedestrian walkway starting at the Station Square and takes people all the way to the Dining Cove overlooking the Victoria Harbourfront.
The main stadium has a flexible pitch system which can be switched between natural turf for premier football or rugby events, to other surfaces for a variety of sports, entertainment, and community events. The facility has been designed to meet the standards of major international events with customisable staging and seating configurations that cater to various events and crowd sizes.
The sports park's Indoor Sports Center provides a large multi-purpose space with retractable seating to host major competitions or events of up to 10,000 seats and to accommodate sports courts for community use. A 5,000 seat Public Sports Ground is also provided for hosting school athletic events, athletic training and local league games.
Other facilities include more than 8 hectares of open spaces, outdoor ball courts, a children's playground, a health and wellness center, a bowling center and 200 retail and dining outlets. An event village will also be built to house international athletes visiting from other regions and countries.
The weekend was wall-to-wall sporting activities kicked-off by Hong Kong China Rugby which showcased international wheelchair rugby at the Kai Tak Sports Park Sports Hall with the inaugural Hong Kong 5s competition. Fast, fierce and full contact, the wheelchair rugby 5s brought high-intensity action to the Sevens week.
Earlier the premier U18 boys and girls players from the best local schools and clubs and school teams from all over the world competed in the Cathay Youth Invitational Sevens 2026 at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.
The inaugural Fast 4s Netball tournament took place at the Sevens Fan Village situated at the Kai Tak Sports Park’s East Village. With local and overseas teams competing in a 4x4 mixed format in seven-minute halves, visitors experienced the high-speed action and razor-sharp moves associated with Fast 4s Netball.
Also in the Fan Village, Hong Kong China Rugby partnered with the Asia Pacific Padel Tour (APPT) to host the APPT Grand Slam Platinum Hong Kong 2026 event.
Cathay/HSBC ticket holders can also experience the first ever Primal Race in Hong Kong, also running across the tournament. Combining running, strength, mental grit, machines, and functional endurance, the exciting hybrid fitness event was of interest to fitness gurus and those who were curious about reaching their full physical fitness potential.
The Hong Kong Sevens is more than a sporting spectacle—it is a living symbol of the city’s global connectivity, and ability to bring people together in celebration. From its humble beginnings to its golden jubilee at Kai Tak, it reflects how Hong Kong continues to evolve while staying true to its vibrant, international character. As the city looks ahead, the Sevens will remain an event capital, not just a crown jewel of world rugby, but a beacon of Hong Kong’s ambition to be Asia’s events capital—open, dynamic, and ready to welcome the world.
