First modification:
The ‘Citizen News’ team announced that it will cease operations as of Tuesday, January 4. Among the reasons, the journalists denounced the deterioration of freedom of the press and the media in Hong Kong and the fear of legal reprisals by the new legislature of the autonomous city, whose members were sworn in on January 3.
The end of the news portal ‘Citizen News’ adds to a series of closures in recent days by other media outlets akin to the Hong Kong opposition.
The journalists of the ‘Citizen News’ announced this Monday, January 3, that the portal will not publish more information as of Tuesday, January 4 for fear of reprisals by the Government and in order to “protect the safety and well-being” of the members of its staff, as announced in a statement published on the social network Facebook.
The nonpartisan news portal was founded in 2017 by a group of veteran journalists and funded by its readers. It is one of the most popular online news portals in Hong Kong, with more than 800,000 subscribers. Following the announcement of its closure, the website will stop updating as of Monday at midnight.
The closure of this media is accompanied by reports from journalists about the decline in freedom of the press in Hong Kong and the fear of the raids carried out last week by the authorities in the offices of the portal ‘Stand News’ already mid-2021 at the ‘Apple Daily’ offices.
The closure of the ‘Citizen News’ happens at the same time that the members of the new legislature were sworn in in a ceremony in which the opposition is not represented, but only those who are loyal to the Government of Beijing.
We announced with a heavy heart that CitizenNews will cease operation starting from Jan 4 (Tue).
To our subscribers and readers, we sincerely thank you for your support. We shall always treasure this incredible journey in the past five years. pic.twitter.com/32nSlQFAZR– 眾 新聞 CitizenNews (@hkcnews_com) January 2, 2022
The fear of journalists under the new security law that has been in force since 2020 also led – at the end of 2021 – to the removal by the University of Hong Kong of a sculpture commemorating the demonstration that was violently repressed in the square of Tiananmen in 1989 and which was erected in 1997, the year in which Hong Kong ceased to be under British control.
The crisis of the independent media
In the wake of the closures of several independent media outlets in Hong Kong, ‘Citizen News’ reporter Chris Yeung said his editorial staff had not been contacted by the police, but decided to shut down due to the detention of other journalists. media.
“We have tried our best not to break any laws, but it is difficult to know the limits of law enforcement and we can no longer feel safe to work,” said Yeung, co-founder of ‘Citizen News’ and former president of the Association of Journalists. Hong Kong (HKJA).
“Journalists are also human beings who have family and friends,” Yeung added.
‘Citizen News’ published its first article in January 2017, hoping to contribute to “protecting press freedom.” However, in the past two years, journalists’ freedoms have been increasingly curtailed by a government whose autonomy has been eroded by China. For Yeung, changes in Hong Kong society have meant that “he cannot turn his beliefs into reality without fear.”
# 預告 # 香港 這 一天 最後 一 集 : 眾 新聞 告別 的 一天 清一色 議會 第一 天
🔸 眾 新聞 告別 的 一天 5 年 一起 走過 的 日子
🔸 媒體 仍有 多少 空間? 新聞自由 怎麼 辦?
🔸 清一色 立法 會 宣誓 港澳辦 、 中 聯辦 發 聲明 pic.twitter.com/HGwMxiLseQ– 眾 新聞 CitizenNews (@hkcnews_com) January 3, 2022
The journalists of the ‘Stand News’ had the same feeling, who had to close their offices last week after a police operation that resulted in the arrest of at least seven executives and former executives, as well as the freezing of assets for about 7 $ 8 million for “conspiring to spread seditious publications,” according to the authorities.
The police also said that the raid on the media’s offices had “nothing to do with journalistic work or freedom of expression”, but was limited to “maintaining the rule of law and applying the law”, referring to the national security law in force since 2020 in the semi-autonomous territory.
In addition to this case, the newspaper ‘Apple Daily’, a harsh critic of the Beijing government, closed in mid-2021 after its editor-in-chief and four other executives were arrested for “conspiring with foreign forces,” according to Hong Kong authorities.
According to data published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Hong Kong’s position in the press freedom index compiled by the organization has fallen in recent years: in 2002 it stood at 18th place and in 2021 it plummeted to 80 In addition, the organization for the defense of human rights, Amnesty International, announced that it will close its offices in the financial center.
With EFE, AFP and local media
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