After the “Apple Daily” and “Stand News”, “Citizennews” comes, in turn, to announce the cessation of its activities. The climate for the press has deteriorated considerably with the repression that followed the popular mobilization of 2019.
Le Monde with AFP
Media closures follow up in Hongkong. Journalists from the Information website Citizennews denounced , Monday, January 3, the decline in freedom of the press in the territory, a few hours after announceting a cease of activities due to fears about their safety.
This closure occurs less than a week after that of the website of the prémocracy Stand News which has been covered by searches and seven arrests for “seditious publication”, the last example of the law enforced on the local press by the authorities loyal to Beijing.
Citizennews, a non-partisan information site founded in 2017 by a group of experienced journalists and financed by its readers, is one of Hongkong’s most popular online information bodies, with more than 800,000 subscribers on social networks. He announced his closure Sunday, stating that her website would no longer be updated from Monday Soir night.
“We can not feel safe to work”
On the occasion of this last day, the journalists explained that their decision originated the raid last week at the stand News premises. “We did our best to violate no law, but it is difficult to know the contours of the law and we can no longer feel safe to work,” said Chris Yeung journalists, co-founder of Citizennews And former President of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA). “Journalists are also human beings who have families and friends,” he added.
Chris Yeung said his writing had not been contacted by the police, but that she decided to close because of what happened in the other media. “Can we work on” safe news “? I do not even know what” safe information “,” said Daisy Li editor, also former president of the Hkja, the press.
Hong Kong has long been considered, because of its great autonomy vis-à-vis Beijing, as a bastion of freedom of the press in Asia and many international media had established their regional seats. But the climate for the press has deteriorated considerably with the repression that has followed the popular mobilization of 2019. A draconian law on national security, imposed by Beijing in 2020, has become the main instrument of suffocation against dissent.
In June, Apple Daily’s Précharocracy newspaper had closed after the gel of his assets and the arrest of his leaders.