Hong Kong pro-democracy news site closes down, owing to safety concerns of journalists

Hong Kong pro-democracy news site closes down, owing to safety concerns of journalists

Citizens News, an independent news outlet, is closing its operations due to safety concerns during Hong Kong's ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy journalists.

Five years after the news outlet was founded, it moves to expand press freedom in Hong Kong, a region largely ruled by Beijing. Thanks to its status as a Special Administrative Region.

"[On] New Year's Day in 2017 … [a] On the day we launched our online platform, some of our pioneering journalists held a press conference against the backdrop of growing concerns over press freedom in Hong Kong. According to Citizen News' farewell message, "We hope Citizen News lived up to its reputation for professionalism, to serve the public and the greater public good and to report the news as we always have," the outlet said.

Citizen News has chronicled how Hong Kong's gradual loss of autonomy has triggered mass protests driven by anti-Beijing sentiment over the past five years. According to a law passed in 2020, China has the power to punish dissenters in the region.

Press coverage of struggling independent news outlets in the region has been under increased pressure lately. The agency froze the assets of Stand News, an independent news organization after hundreds of law enforcement officers raided its office on Wednesday.

Citizen News announced after the episode that it would no longer remain in business as press freedom rapidly worsened. 'We never lost sight of our original purpose'. Unfortunately, the deteriorating media environment and the sea change in society in the past two years have made it impossible for us to turn our beliefs into reality while being fearless. We discovered ourselves in a grave situation in the middle of a developing storm. Our number one priority in an emergency situation is safeguarding the safety of all people on board," the statement read.

International outrage has been sparked by Hong Kong's press crisis.

Last week, US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken released a statement condemning the raid on Stand News. By raiding Stand News and arresting seven senior staff members on December 29, the Hong Kong government has destroyed another of the few remaining bastions of free and independent media in Hong Kong. News reporting is not agitation. Hong Kong's free and independent media should not be targeted by the PRC or Hong Kong authorities, and those who have been unjustly detained and accused must be freed immediately," he said.

Amanda Million, UK's Minister of State for Asia, condemned the incident. Hong Kong's erosion of freedom of speech was further aggravated by the raid of independent media outlet Stand News and the associated arrests. "The UK will continue to stand up for freedom of expression around the world as we have condemned the curtailment of media freedoms in Hong Kong along with international partners," she wrote on Twitter.