Through three real-life examples in and involving Hong Kong during the period from June 1987 to November 1988, this paper analyzes the impact of competition and availability of alternative news sources on the conduct and performance of the communist press in the pluralistic society of British colonial Hong Kong--a media-rich metropolis over which the People's Republic of China (PRC) will resume sovereignty in 1997. The paper provides a case study of the co-existence of the capitalist and socialist press in a "one country, two systems" model not found in the traditional four theories of the press, since the communist press is actively participating in shaping Hong Kong's future. The paper reveals some critical areas of PRC-linked press in Hong Kong in balancing its dual roles as the official mouthpiece of the PRC establishment and as an accurate information transmitter serving the interests of the people of Hong Kong. The paper also illustrates how the communist press journalists, sandwiched between these two masters, attempted to perform their task professionally compared with the local press in Hong Kong. (Sixty-nine footnotes are included.) (RS)