US Condemns Strike Against Stand News | Currently Asia | DW

The US government has condemned the attack on the Hong Kong news website “Stand News”. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has urged SAR and China’s top officials to “stop targeting the free and independent media in Hong Kong and immediately release journalists and media personnel who have been unjustly arrested and charged.”

China and local authorities are undermining the island’s metropolitan “credibility and credibility” by silencing the independent media, Blingen said. He stressed: “A confident government that is not afraid of the truth welcomes the independent press.”

“Release of treason issue”

After searches of the editorial office and private apartments and several arrests on Wednesday, the makers of “Stand News” announced the forced closure of the media portal. A total of seven people were arrested for “plotting to publish a treasonous publication,” according to police. Two of the accused have been officially charged. Hong Kong has been legal since the time it was a British colony.

National Security Police Chief Steve Lee has accused journalists of publishing hateful articles and blog posts about the Hong Kong government. In his response, the US Secretary of State rejected this: “The press is not a source of hatred.” Hong Kong Prime Minister Gary Lam, who is committed to Beijing, stressed in a statement that the authorities’ actions “have nothing to do with what is called press freedom.”

Live broadcast of a brutal attack

“Stand News” was founded in 2014 as a non-profit online media. 2019 is a live broadcast of the brutal attack by masked thugs on pro-democracy protesters at an internationally known subway station. This portal was recently the most important media outlet in Hong Kong, standing up for the values ​​of freedom and democracy.

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He’s in jail now: Jimmy Loy, former editor of the Apple Daily (archive photo)

In June, a similar pro-democracy newspaper, the Apple Daily, had to shut down after its assets were frozen and its executives arrested. Jimmy Loy, a 74-year-old proprietor and Democrat, has long been in prison.

The basis of the severe repression of critics is the so-called Defense Act, which came into force in 2020. This allows the authorities to take drastic action against any activity that threatens China’s national security. In 2019, there were several months of mass protests against Beijing’s growing influence in Hong Kong. Numerous opposition leaders there have been arrested or deported.

jj / se (afp, rtr)