Hong Kong’s Citizen Information to shut, amid fears for workers’s security | Freedom of the Press Information

Impartial on-line outlet to shut on Tuesday, citing fears for its employees and an more and more hostile media surroundings.

Hong Kong unbiased on-line information outlet Citizen Information is to shut on Tuesday after 5 years, within the face of what it described as a deteriorating media surroundings within the Chinese language-ruled territory and issues concerning the security of its employees.

The announcement, made on social media on Sunday, comes lower than per week after some 200 police raided the workplace of Stand Information, one other unbiased media outlet, accusing its senior editors of sedition.

Citizen Information mentioned it had come to its determination with a “heavy coronary heart”, noting the outlet had been established in 2017 by veteran journalists dedicated to serving the general public and the “higher public good” with their reporting.

“We’ve by no means forgotten our authentic intent,” the media group mentioned in a press release. “Sadly, we will now not try to show our beliefs into actuality with out worry due to the ocean change in our society over the previous two years and the deteriorating media surroundings.”

Beijing promised to respect Hong Kong’s freedoms and lifestyle, together with free media, for at the least 50 years when the territory was returned to Chinese language rule in 1997.

However pro-democracy activists and rights teams say freedoms have been eroded, significantly since Beijing imposed the Nationwide Safety Legislation on the territory in June 2020 within the wake of mass democracy protests in 2019.

We introduced with a heavy coronary heart that CitizenNews will stop operation ranging from Jan 4 (Tue).
To our subscribers and readers, we sincerely thanks in your assist. We will all the time treasure this unimaginable journey prior to now 5 years. pic.twitter.com/32nSlQFAZR

— 眾新聞 CitizenNews (@hkcnews_com) January 2, 2022

as a former journalism professor in hong kong, it’s been heartbreaking to see the final couple of essential and unbiased information organizations shut down in only a few days time. stand information. citizen information.

— lokman tsui (@lokmantsui) January 2, 2022

The closure of Citizen Information comes days after the raid on Stand Information during which senior editors had been charged with conspiring to publish seditious supplies and denied bail.

Final 12 months, the massively common Apple Every day was compelled to shut after a nationwide safety raid on its workplaces. Jimmy Lai, its founder and one in every of Hong Kong’s most distinguished supporters of democracy is in jail dealing with plenty of costs underneath the regulation. Different senior editors additionally face costs.

Hong Kong authorities reject claims of a crackdown and deny concentrating on the media.

The safety regulation criminalises what Beijing deems acts of “secession”, “subversion”, “terrorism”, and “overseas collusion to intervene within the metropolis’s affairs”.

Because it was applied in June final 12 months, greater than 100 pro-democracy supporters have been arrested underneath the regulation, and lots of others have fled into exile.