Resistance to ‘framing’? The portrayal of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong's online media

This article examines online media reporting on asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong in 2015–2016. Studies of print media show that, during this period, there was a sudden surge of news stories about asylum seekers and refugees being involved in criminal activities and abusing the asylum system. This plethora of news stories subsided after 2016, when the Legislative Council election had taken place, and the pro-establishment bid to toughen up its policy on asylum seekers and refugees had failed. However, there has been less research into online media in the same period. This article therefore presents findings from a frame analysis conducted on all of Hong Kong’s online news media between June 2015 and July 2016. The results show that online news coverage tends to focus less on alleged criminal activities and more on humanitarian issues. Online news coverage could thus be a source of access for the population to alternative information and perspectives on this marginalized group. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s).