Role in Hong Kong and China
The HKEJ plays an important role in relating HKSAR and the People's Republic of China (PRC) as many senior officials of PRC seem to regard the Journal as a true reflection of Hong Kong situation. For example, during July 2003 (when the Hong Kong people organised a protest march against the government's plan to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law), Mr. Cho aligned himself with the democratic camp and announced that if the government implemented the Article, he would stop the publication of the Journal. The reasons he provided were that it would be dangerous for the journalists to disclose the truth and express their own thoughts if Article 23 were to be implementated. He also opposed one of the terms in the Article, which states that the police can go into anyone's house to conduct a search or freeze anyone's assets without a court-issued warrant. The next day, the government made a concession by modifying some of the terms according to Mr. Cho's suggestions.
Columnists[edit]
There are two columns in HKEJ which deserve special attention: Mr. Lam's "Political and Economical Review" (林行止政經短評) and Mr. Cho's "Investor's Diary" (投資者日記).