US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday condemned the closure of a Hong Kong-based stand-up media outlet that had sided with the pro-democracy movement in the city, saying it undermined the “credibility” of the international financial center.
“By silencing independent media, China and local authorities are undermining Hong Kong’s credibility and viability. Authorities that are self-confident and fear the truth are embracing the free press,” the secretary of state said in a statement. .
“We call on China and the Hong Kong authorities to stop targeting the Hong Kong free media and to release immediately the journalists and media executives who have been arrested and charged unjustly,” Mr Blinken said.
The news site Stand News announced earlier Wednesday that it was closing down after it was targeted by investigators and seven journalists and executives were arrested for “publishing texts inciting an uprising”, in the latest episode of the repression of the local press by the Turkish authorities. .
The head of security in Hong Kong, Steve Lee, said that Stand News is accused of publishing articles and blogs that incited “insurgency” between July 2020 and November 2021.
The development was recorded while the international community is expressing strong concern about China’s moves to subdue Hong Kong after the mass demonstrations in favor of democracy in 2019.
SOURCE: AMPE
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Source From: Capital
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