Chinese Police Close Hong Kong News Outlet Stand News, Arrest Staffers
HAVANA TIMES – In Hong Kong, the independent media outlet Stand News has shut down after hundreds of national security police raided its newsroom Wednesday, arresting at least seven people, including senior staff. Stand News launched in 2014 and was one of the most prominent publications in Hong Kong opposing Chinese one-party rule, reported Democracy Now.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported: “Speed of Stand News shutdown sends chilling signal to Hong Kong’s media“.
“The Christmas attack on the Hong Kong website Stand News was no great surprise in a city where all forms of political opposition are being dismantled wholesale, but the scale, speed and nature of the operation to shutter this pro-democracy website were still shocking.
“Over 200 police officers swept into the newsroom, and others fanned out over the city making arrests under a harsh sedition law from the days of British colonial rule that had been gathering dust for decades.
“Activists warned that the legal charges used against the website could effectively make any critical journalism illegal in Hong Kong, after a senior police officer said they were based in part on publication of news reports that ‘incited hatred towards the Hong Kong government’ ”.