Carol P. Lai is Assistant Professor at the Department of Media and Communication, the University of Macau. She is a veteran journalist who has travelled extensively from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s to cover mainland China news. Elected as the chairperson of the professional trade union, Hong Kong Journalists Association, in 1997, she played a leading role in lobbying for press freedom internationally and in raising public awareness about free speech in the 1990s. She has also written book chapters and articles on journalism, media independence and the importance of pluralism in Hong Kong politics.