 | |
 Hing Wai Centre, which has the Hong Kong head office ofTa Kung Pao | |
| Type | Daily newspaper;state media |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group (subsidiary ofHong Kong Liaison Office) |
| Founder | Ying Lianzhi |
| Editor | Wong Wai-Keung |
| Founded | 17 June 1902; 123 years ago (17 June 1902) |
| Political alignment | Pro-Beijing camp |
| Website | www |
Ta Kung Pao (simplified Chinese:大公报;traditional Chinese:大公報;pinyin:Dàgōng Bào;Jyutping:daai6 gung1 bou3; formerlyL'Impartial in Latin-based languages) is a Hong Kong-based, state-owned Chinese-language newspaper. Founded inTianjin in 1902, the paper is controlled by theLiaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong after theChinese Civil War.[1][2] It merged with another state-owned pro-Beijing newspaper,Wen Wei Po, in 2016.[3]
In the final years of theQing dynasty,Ying Lianzhi, a CatholicManchu aristocrat, founded the newspaper inTianjin on 17 June 1902, in order to, "help China become a modern and democratic nation".[4] The paper put forward the slogan"Four Noes" (四不主義) in its early years, pledging to say "No" to all political parties, governments, commercial companies, and persons.[citation needed] It stood up to the repression at the time, openly criticising theEmpress Dowager Cixi and reactionary leaders, and promoted democratic reforms, pioneering the use ofwritten vernacular Chinese (baihua). Readership fell after theXinhai Revolution in 1911 andWang Zhilong [zh] bought it in 1916. Still, the newspaper was out of business by 1925 due to the lack of readership. On 1 September 1926, however,Wu Dingchang [zh],Hu Zhengzhi,Zhang Jiluan [zh] re-established the newspaper in Tianjin.[5]
As the war raged on, the newspaper's staff fled to other cities, such as Shanghai,Hankou, Chongqing,Guilin and Hong Kong, to continue publishing, but local editions were abandoned as the Japanese captured more and more territory. After the war was won,Wong Wan San [zh], the chief editor, re-established the Shanghai edition on 1 November 1945, in the format and style of the old Shanghai edition. They had also planned to issue editions for other cities, includingGuangzhou, but theChinese Civil War forced this proposal to be shelved.Ta Kung Pao supported theKuomintang at the beginning of the Civil War, but switched its sympathies to theChinese Communist Party (CCP) after the repression of intellectuals, hyper-inflation, and other violent purges of political opponents by the Kuomintang.[6]
In March 1948, the Hong Kong edition was re-established. A major newspaper during theRepublican years, it continued to be influential after re-publication by Fei Yi Ming, the subsequent publisher in Hong Kong after 1949, as one of few newspapers that survived foreign invasion and civil war. In April 1952, the colonial authorities in Hong Kong tried the newspaper's proprietor, publisher, and its editor for violation of theSedition Ordinance.Ta Kung Pao, along with theNew Evening Post andWen Wei Po, were charged with inciting an uprising by negatively reporting on the colonial authorities' response to a fire inTung Tau Tsuen. As a result,Ta Kung Pao's leadership was fined, jailed, and ordered to cease reporting for six months.[6]
A mass demonstration began in 1953 after protesters became dissatisfied with the Hong Kong government following a fire in the Tung Tau squatter area. The government in Guangzhou began fundraising to support the protesters and decided to dispatch a relief delegation to Hong Kong on 1 March 1952. The trip was cancelled after opposition from the Hong Kong government, and protests began on the same day targeting theHong Kong police.Wen Wei Po and other publications supporting the Chinese government produced frequent reports emphasizing the Hong Kong government's neglect of the poor.[7]: 104–106 On March 5,New Evening Post,Wen Wei Po andTa Kung Pao reprinted an editorial fromPeople's Daily, the newspaper of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, but removed references to "massacre of our countrymen" to avoid violating Hong Kong's Sedition Ordinance. However, the Hong Kong government accused the newspapers of sedition.Ta Kung Pao, its owner Fei Yiming and publisher Li Zongying received to nine and six months of prison sentence and fined a few thousand Hong Kong dollars.[7]: 108 The newspaper was also ordered to stop publishing for six months.[7]: 108
Chinese PremierZhou Enlai then issued a statement demanding Hong Kong to stop the prosecution. The British government told Hong Kong authorities days later to rescind the court sentence againstTa Kung Pao, its owner and its publisher, and the newspaper was allowed to publish again after 12 days of suspension.[7]: 109
In 2016,Ta Kung Pao merged withWen Wei Po to form the Hong Kong Dagong Wenhui Media Group, which is under the control of theHong Kong Liaison Office.[8][3]
In January 2019,Ta Kung Pao published an article stating that a "secret envoy" of presidentTsai Ing-wen had met with three Hong Konglocalist camp activists from the pro-independence groupStudentlocalism. However, the "secret envoy" was actually Su Yong-yao, a senior political reporter forLiberty Times, a Taiwanese newspaper. The article was in turn criticized by theTaiwanese presidential office as "ridiculous" and "a piece of fake news".[9] In 2019, theChinese University of Hong Kong's Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey rankedTa Kung Pao as having the lowest credibility score among all paid newspapers in Hong Kong.[10][11]
During the2019–2020 Hong Kong protests,Ta Kung Pao publishedantisemiticGeorge Soros conspiracy theories, displaying Soros as a reptile in collusion withJimmy Lai.[12] In 2020,Ta Kung Pao frequently attacked judges perceived as siding with pro-democracy protesters, causing Chief JusticeGeoffrey Ma to make an 18-page plea against attacking judges and the judiciary system.[13] In November 2020, theHong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) published a letter to Secretary of JusticeTeresa Cheng, accusingTa Kung Pao of publishing false material that claimed judge Anderson Chow was being supportive of criminal activities.[13] The HKBA asked Teresa Cheng to protect the city's judges against false accusations.[13]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic,Ta Kung Pao spreadvaccine misinformation and portrayed Western vaccines more negatively than Chinese ones, mirroringChinese government disinformation about COVID-19.[14] In 2022, the newspaper launched investigations into several Hong Kong academics that it deemed "anti-China scholars."[15]
In May 2023, the newspaper attacked housing and urban planning NGOLiber Research Community, saying the NGO was "taking things out of context with groundless evidence."[16]
In 2024, the newspaper partnered with the Heilongjiang Daily Newspaper Group to establish the HeilongjiangInternational Communication Center.[17]: 19
In March 2025,Ta Kung Pao ran a series of articles and editorials, republished by the CCP'sHong Kong and Macao Work Office, criticizingCK Hutchison Holdings andLi Ka-shing for agreeing to sell the company's Panama ports stake toBlackRock.[18][19][20] In May 2025, in response to declining press freedom and greatercensorship in Hong Kong,Ta Kung Pao calledReporters Without Borders a "thug" and termed itsWorld Press Freedom Index a "political smear tool".[21]
A 2021content analysis published by the journalGlobal Media and China foundTa Kung Pao to be consistently aligned with thePeople's Daily andXinmin Evening News.[22]
The paper is state-owned, controlled by theLiaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong.[23][24] The head office ofTa Kung Pao is located onHennessy Road,Wan Chai,Hong Kong Island, with offices in mainland China, such as in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin,Inner-Mongolia and Guangzhou.[citation needed]
The paper's Asia-Pacific head office is in Hing Wai Centre (興偉中心),Tin Wan,Aberdeen,Hong Kong. Its China head office is inChaoyang District,Beijing.[25] Previously the head office was in Kodak House Phase 2 (柯達大廈二期),North Point, Hong Kong.[26]
亚太总部 香港 香港仔田灣海旁道7號興偉中心3樓[...]中国总部 北京市朝阳区亮马河南路14旁1门
总社 香港北角健康东街三十九号柯达大厦二期
(in Chinese)
