Journalists in Hong Kong have increasingly complained about having to self-censor and the fear of arrest since a national security crackdown began five years ago.

自五年前的一场国家安全打压行动以来，香港记者越来越多地抱怨不得不进行自我审查，担心遭受牢狱之灾。

Now, they say, they have another worry to add to the list: tax inspections.

他们说，现在又多了一个担忧：查税。

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said on Wednesday that the union itself and six independent news outlets — as well as their founders — are among those who have been subject to tax investigations, saying it added to the pressures being placed on journalists as press freedom dwindles in the Chinese territory.

香港记者协会周三表示，该协会和六家独立新闻机构——以及它们的创始人——均遭到查税，并称随着这个中国领土的新闻自由减少，记者们面临的压力也在增加。

The investigations also extended to the personal taxes of the spouses or parents of some of the journalists who are being investigated, the group said. Most of those being investigated by the department have been issued additional tax demands, and a few said they were asked to provide up to seven years of financial information.

该组织表示，部分被调查记者的配偶或父母也面临个人所得税调查。多数被查对象已收到补税通知，少数人更是被要求提交长达七年的财务信息。

Selina Cheng, the chair of the association, said that there was not sufficient evidence to prompt most of the tax investigations, and that, in some cases, the authorities had overestimated income without taking into account business expenses.

香港记者协会主席郑嘉如指出，多数税务调查缺乏充分依据，部分案例中当局在未扣除经营成本的情况下高估了收入。

“Journalists in Hong Kong do not have a very high income. Other than having to pay these claims of taxes, they also need to spend money, time and energy to prove in reverse that they were innocent,” Ms. Cheng said.

“香港记者收入本就不高，除被迫缴纳这些存疑税款外，还需耗费金钱、时间和精力自证清白，”郑嘉如说。

The number of tax investigations in Hong Kong is relatively low: The Inland Revenue Department said it completed about 1,800 field audit and investigations between 2023 and 2024. The department said in a statement that the investigations followed standard procedures. “The industry or background of a taxpayer has no bearing on such reviews,” it said.

香港的税务稽查相对少见。税务局数据显示，2023至2024年度共完成约1800宗实地审计及调查。该局在声明中强调，所有稽查均依标准程序进行，“纳税人的行业或背景不会影响稽查决定。”

Some independent media outlets in Hong Kong have faced great scrutiny since a national security law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 and criminalized some forms of dissent. The authorities have sent police officers to raid newsrooms, arrested media executives and convicted news editors.

自北京于2020年实施国家安全法并将某些异见行为入刑以来，香港的一些独立媒体面临着严格的审查。当局派警察搜查新闻编辑部，逮捕媒体高管，并将新闻编辑定罪。

The authorities have also used subtler ways to try to silence opposing voices of journalists, activists and even bookstore owners, political analysts say. Groups that are critical of the government have faced problems finding private venues for events, inspections of their premises and even inquiries into their pet licenses.

政治分析人士表示，当局还使用更隐蔽的方式试图压制记者、活动人士乃至书店经营者的反对声音。批评政府的团体面临活动场地租借困难、场所突检，甚至连宠物饲养许可证都遭到质询。

Thomas Kellogg, the executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said that administrative harassment can be an effective way to control the remaining outlets that have managed not to cross red lines that could put them at risk for prosecution under national security or sedition laws. Such reviews “serve as a reminder to media outlets that they have to watch what they say, and that the government has ways to hit back at them over reporting it doesn’t like,” he said.

乔治敦大学亚洲法律中心执行主任托马斯·凯洛格表示，对于尚存的那些尚未逾越红线，因而不必担心遭到国家安全或煽动叛乱法律检控的媒体而言，行政骚扰是一种行之有效的管控手段。他说，这类审查“意在提醒媒体机构谨言慎行，政府总有办法对其不喜欢的报道实施报复”。

Damon Wong, the director and editor in chief of InMedia, said that a tax investigation into the independent news outlet had caused it to use up significant time and resources. Last year he appeared in court and paid a fine of about $1,250 for failing to keep a physical copy of the company registry in its office.

《独立媒体》(InMedia)的主编黄俊邦表示，对这家独立新闻机构的税务稽查占用了它的大量时间和资源。去年，他因没有在办公室保留公司注册表的实体副本而出庭，并缴纳了1万港币罚款。

Tom Grundy, the founder of the Hong Kong Free Press, an English-language online outlet, also said that it has had to redirect time, resources and money away from covering the news as it faced scrutiny from the tax and other departments.

英文网络媒体《香港自由新闻》(Hong Kong Free Press)的创始人汤姆·格伦迪亦证实，税务和其他部门的审查占用了原本用于新闻报道的时间、资源和资金。

Last year, the authorities investigated what the outlet described as “false complaints,” including claims that a hot sauce it sold as a fund-raiser had come from an unlicensed food factory and that Mr. Grundy’s pet dog lacked a license and rabies shot. Both cases were closed after he submitted evidence to the contrary, Mr. Grundy said.

去年，香港当局针对该媒体发起多项被后者称为“不实控诉”的调查，包括指控其为筹款而售卖的辣椒酱产自一家无证食品厂，以及创办人格伦迪的宠物犬未办理许可证且未接种狂犬疫苗。格伦迪表示，在提交反驳证据后，两起案件均已撤销。

This year, Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking fell to 140th out of 180 countries and territories, according to an index compiled by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. About 20 independent outlets in Hong Kong have closed since 2020, according to a study published last year by the Georgetown Center of Asian Law.

根据倡导组织“无国界记者”发布的年度指数，香港今年在全球180个国家和地区的新闻自由排名跌至第140位。乔治敦大学亚洲法律中心去年发布的研究显示，自2020年以来，香港约有20家独立媒体关闭。

A press freedom survey conducted this year by the Foreign Correspondents Club showed that more than half of the respondents were concerned about the risks of arrest or prosecution, and that 65 percent had self-censored in their coverage.

香港的外国记者俱乐部今年进行的一项新闻自由调查显示，超过一半的受访者担心被逮捕或起诉的风险，65%的受访者在报道中进行过自我审查。

Mr. Grundy said that his outlet has always paid its taxes on time and had cooperated fully with the review. But that approach also came at a cost.

格伦迪说，他的媒体机构始终按时纳税，并全力配合稽查工作。但这种做法也是有代价的。

“I’m having to act as a one-man compliance department instead of a journalist,” he said. “It’s just not what I expected from the world’s freest economy when I chose to set up a business here a decade ago.”

“我不得不放下记者的工作，一个人担负起一个合规部的职责，”他说。“这与我十年前选择在这里创业时，对这个世界上最自由的经济体的期望大相径庭。”