Hong Kong Shuts Down Pro-Democratic News Site

On December 29th, 2021, Hong Kong raided Stand News headquarters and arrested its senior staff. Stand News is one of the largest, well-known non-profit political news sites in Chinese media. This news source ran from 2014 to 2021 and tended to lean towards pro-democratic viewpoints. To fully close Stand News, law enforcement raided the company’s office, and during the raid, they confiscated computers, phones, and anything that could contribute to the publication of articles on their news site. Law enforcement also proceeded to arrest the senior management of Stand News as well as freeze the company’s assets, so that even if any remaining staff were to attempt to reinstate the company, all their funds and equipment would be confiscated. The raid was said to be done to stop sedition, inciting people to rebel against authority.

However, Stand News is not the only news outlet that has been met by the authorities. Apple Daily, which began in 1995, faced a near-identical experience as Stand News in June of 2021. Though Apple Daily was a more established newspaper in Hong Kong, it also held more pro-democratic views. While the company didn’t face a large raid, they still had the entirety of their assets frozen, which resulted in being unable to pay employees, produce articles, and ultimately resulted in the forced closure of the newspaper company.

The National Security Law, which was enforced in 2020, is what has allowed the government to seize control of these news outlets. This law criminalizes four major things: secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion. Anything the government and its law enforcement deems in violation of any of those and perceive it as a threat to national security, they are allowed to handle as they seem fit. It is important to note that it is widely stated that Stand News was faced with sedition charges, while sedition is not one of the main focuses of the National Security Law. The creation of this law as well as the lengths that are being taken to enforce it may be worrisome for what the future holds for Hong Kong. If any source of opposition or differing views is met with prison charges at the hands of law enforcement, it raises the question of what will happen to the citizens if they can’t express if their government is hurting them.

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