published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This master thesis deals with the current situation of the media environment in two selected countries from the Southeast Asia region - Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and Singapore. The main object of the text is to create a descriptive analysis of Hong Kong's and Singapore's political and media systems and to compare the media environment of the two countries with a special focus on the freedom of the media. The comparison is based on the definition of their political systems, their constitutions and how they are respected, as well as on data published by international nongovernmental organizations focusing on the freedom of the press and the freedom of the speech. All findings will be illustrated with examples from Hong Kong and Singapore. The work is divided into four chapters. The first theoretical part defines basic terms and indexes, which measure the freedom of the press, as well as outlines the concept of Asian values and the concept of civil society. The descriptive section provides a brief summary of the history and political systems of both countries and introduces their constitutions, laws and power of political leaders. The third part of the thesis concentrates on the media environment of both countries and the role of local media. The...