Thomas Gnocchi has been the Head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau since September 1st, 2020 — arriving amidst the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and just a few months after Beijing’s National Security Law (NSL) was introduced in Hong Kong.

Now, just four years later, he will soon be departing Hong Kong for a new assignment in Tokyo, Japan. Before leaving, Ambassador Gnocchi spoke at an FCC Club Lunch event alongside First Vice President Morgan Davis to summarise his experience during a pivotal period in Hong Kong’s history.

“It’s a real pleasure to address the FCC Club Lunch. This is my last public event before leaving, so I’m particularly happy that this is taking place here at the FCC,” he began.

To kick off the discussion, Davis first asked Gnocchi how he would characterise his past four years in the city.

“I think it would have been even wilder had I come the year before,” said Gnocchi.

Gnocchi referenced the anti-government protests of 2019 that were caused by a now-withdrawn amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which would have allowed suspected criminals from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan to be extradited to mainland China for trial. Protests were fueled further by the Hong Kong Police Force’s alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators.

After months of large-scale protests that extended into the first half of 2020, Beijing pushed for the NSL in Hong Kong, which stamped out nearly all forms of criticism towards the local and central government. In early 2024, the Hong Kong government then enacted Article 23 of the Basic Law which aimed to “plug the gaps” not covered by Beijing’s NSL. Article 23 has been criticised by various sectors for its seemingly vague definitions of national security and state secrets.

These events ultimately set up Gnocchi for a new political landscape in Hong Kong unlike anything the EU Office had previously experienced.

“I think my job here in the EU Office here was very, very different to that of my predecessors [who] weren’t dealing with these more political topics. We’re out of the pandemic, but [these] political changes have changed Hong Kong quite a bit in this relatively short period of time,” Gnocchi said.

Some of the new changes that Gnocchi noted in his talk were the amount of self-censorship that journalists now engage in while reporting under these new conditions, as well as the city’s declining press freedom environment and the closure of various independent news organisations.

Apple Daily and Stand News are just two of the many media outlets that have been shut down since the implementation of Article 23 and the NSL. Also, Hong Kong’s ranking in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index has fallen to 135 out of 180, and many of the city’s journalists have confirmed in various indices and surveys that they have censored their work more often over the past few years.

“I’ve had several instances where a reporter says, ‘Well, we can’t really carry that.’ I’ve seen it first hand, this self-censorship,” Gnocchi recalled.

Davis then asked if it’s possible for these laws to be undone, which Gnocchi agreed is possible but would take a tremendous amount of effort to change the legal framework that Hong Kong currently utilises.

“Theoretically, yes it is reversible. But I think it would take something pretty substantial to roll this back,” he said.

Despite being the Head of the EU Office and noticing media censorship in the interviews he has given over the past four years, Gnocchi said he hasn’t gotten specific feedback from European journalists working in Hong Kong. Regardless, he emphasised that press freedom in Hong Kong is still a top concern for the EU.

“I think that the general realization that a thriving media environment — an environment where there’s true press freedom — I think that’s good for business and many organizations that rely on objective news and free information. Steps taken in that direction would be very, very welcomed,” he summarised.

On a positive note, Gnocchi also shared what he would miss about Hong Kong after he soon relocates to Japan. Food and nature were the first things that came to the outgoing ambassador’s mind.

“Well, the food has been a particular highlight — and spending time in the FCC. I’ve tried to balance the food by walking in the great country parks, which are just around the corner. That is something that I’ll really miss about Hong Kong – the fact that you have this international finance center and you walk two minutes and you’re in a country park. Certainly I’ll miss that a lot,” he said.

Despite this, Gnocchi also shared his excitement for the new range of cuisine that will be available to him once he reaches Tokyo.

“There’s good food in Japan, too. I’m not out of the woods yet!” he concluded.

Watch the full discussion between Morgan Davis and Thomas Gnocchi on our YouTube channel: