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Hong Kong. ‘Red’ fears are rising again among Hong Kongers, potentially heightening the already frayed tensions between them and mainland Chinese.

This time, the issue is over English-language newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP), and its new editor-in-chief Wang Xiangwei, 46, who became the first mainlander to be given the job.

The appointment late last month has triggered concern that the SCMP, widely regarded as a neutral paper, might join the ranks of Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, two pro-Beijing dailies labelled as ‘Ah Kong’s newspapers.’ Some Hong Kongers refer to mainland China as Ah Kong, or grandfather in Cantonese.

Adding to suspicions was a rare meeting in Beijing recently between the SCMP’s chief executive Kuok Hui Kwong, the 33- year-old daughter of tycoon Robert Kuok, and China’s top official in Hong Kong and Macau, Wang Guangya.

The events attracted attention and criticisms from the Hong Kong media, many of which fiercely guard their independence from Chinese control.

The anti-mainland Apple Daily declared the SCMP has “gone red.” The Standard, an English- language free newspaper, headlined its report with “A paper that’s well red.”

Some observers say there are grounds for concern that the SCMP could become pro-Beijing, given its history of not running politically sensitive stories.

Michael Mo, chief development officer of Community Development Initiative, a local think- tank which studies media freedom among other issues, said there had been news in the past about how the SCMP had withheld sensitive reports on the 1989 Tiananmen incident.

“It’s a bit worrying. Hopefully the front-line reporters would continue to do their best,” he added.

For now, many will be watching the actions of the new editor-in-chief. Wang was with the English-language China Daily for three years before moving to Britain, where he worked at several news organizations, including the BBC’s Chinese Service.

He relocated in 1993 to Hong Kong to work at the Eastern Express and joined the SCMP in 1996 as a China business reporter. He became its China editor in 2000 and was appointed SCMP’s deputy editor in 2007.

He is also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Jilin province.

Contacted yesterday, he told The Straits Times that he believes SCMP readers already know him well, as he has been with the paper for 16 years and has a regular column, China Briefing.

Of his new role, he said: “I will lead an excellent editorial team to continue the tradition of everything that has made the SCMP a great paper. We always have and always will continue to strive for objectivity, insight and professionalism in our news reporting.”

He added that the SCMP takes pride in producing cutting-edge journalism on Hong Kong and China, and aims to provide useful information for Hong Kongers and ‘serve their need for trustworthy, authoritative and credible reporting’.

However, there is speculation that Beijing is trying to exert subtle control at the SCMP, given its stature as a trusted authority on China issues and its insider knowledge of the opaque political dynamics in China.

If Hong Kongers take such speculation to be true, it could deepen the hostility between Hong Kong residents and their mainland counterparts.

A recent bout of name-calling between the two sides did not help. A Peking University professor last month described Hong Kongers as dogs while Hong Kong netizens derided mainlanders as locusts.

Beijing’s motives aside, many saw commercial considerations behind SCMP’s move. The newspaper is said to be hoping to be given permission to print and publish directly in major Chinese cities, which could increase sales and cut distribution costs.

A new market could revive the company’s fortunes. Its share price these days is around HK$1.44, having plummeted from the HK$8 per share that Mr Kuok paid for his stake in October 1993.

But the SCMP has to strike a delicate balance between entering China and holding on to its Hong Kong readers, who are known to value media freedom strongly.

SCMP has a circulation of around 100,000 for the daily and 80,000 on Sundays, catering mostly to the Hong Kong establishment, expatriates and a generally older readership.

Opinion polls have shown an increased mistrust among readers towards the Hong Kong media in general.

Said Ann Chiang, 36, a homemaker: “If the SCMP becomes too pro-China and promotes Chinese culture excessively, I will stop reading it. Also, it may no longer be independent as it may not report news that might be embarrassing to Beijing.”

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.