Hong Kong news site shuts as pro-Beijing lawmakers sworn in

HONG KONG – Hong Kong welcomed a caller batch of pro-Beijing lawmakers successful its Legislative Council connected Monday who were chosen successful an predetermination without absorption candidates, arsenic the editors of 1 of the city’s past remaining pro-democracy quality outlets announced its closure.

They are the latest successful a series of events successful the past twelvemonth successful which the section authorities has been reshaping Hong Kong, with Beijing's backing, successful an effort to stamp retired dissent successful a metropolis erstwhile renowned for its freedoms of expression.

The founders of quality outlet Citizen News said Monday that though they person not been contacted by the Hong Kong nationalist information police, the deteriorating media freedoms successful the fiscal hub marque it unclear whether their reporting violates the law. They said the quality tract volition halt publishing connected Tuesday.

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“We each emotion this place, deeply. Regrettably, what was up of america is not conscionable pouring rains oregon blowing winds, but hurricanes and tsunamis,” Citizen News said successful a connection connected Sunday, erstwhile it primitively announced the closure.

Citizen News is the 3rd quality outlet to adjacent successful caller months, pursuing pro-democracy paper Apple Daily and online tract Stand News.

The outlet was founded successful 2017 by a radical of seasoned journalists. While small, it focused connected governmental quality and investigation pieces, arsenic good arsenic investigations.

The abstraction for doing those types of stories has shrunk since China’s cardinal legislature imposed a sweeping National Security Law successful Hong Kong successful 2019 pursuing monolithic anti-government protests. As authorities stepped up arrests of governmental activists, civilian rights groups and unions disbanded, and immoderate activists fled. Independent media person been 1 of the much salient casualties of the ongoing crackdown.

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“What we understood astir property state has changed a lot,” said Chris Yeung, laminitis and main writer astatine Citizen News. “What’s the enactment between, say, state and what the authorities has ever emphasized responsibilities oregon obligations similar upholding nationalist security, nationalist order, etc.”

Yeung said astatine a quality league connected Monday that the trigger for their determination to unopen down was what happened to Stand News. Last week, authorities raided Stand News and arrested 7 radical — including editors and erstwhile committee members — for allegedly conspiring to people seditious material. Stand News announced connected the aforesaid time that it would cease to operate.

Two of Stand News’ erstwhile editors who were arrested were aboriginal formally charged with sedition.

In the summer, authorities forced the closure of Apple Daily, the paper owned by media tycoon and ideology activistic Jimmy Lai. Lai is presently successful jailhouse and was recently charged with sedition past week.

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The U.S. and different Western governments person condemned the limits connected media and civilian freedoms that Beijing promised to uphold for 50 years pursuing Hong Kong’s 1997 handover from Britain.

Hong Kong person Carrie Lam past week defended the raid connected Stand News, telling reporters that “inciting different radical ... could not beryllium condoned nether the guise of quality reporting.”

The lone remaining pro-democracy quality media successful the metropolis are Hong Kong Free Press, an English-language quality outlet, and Initium, a Chinese-language quality outlet which moved its office to Singapore successful August, but inactive has unit successful the city.

Citizen News likened itself to a tiny dinghy successful unsmooth waters.

“At the halfway of a brewing storm, we recovered (ourselves) successful a captious situation. In the look of a crisis, we indispensable guarantee the information and well-being of everyone who are connected board," it said.

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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.

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