A page independent web from Hong Kong which distributes news content announced on Sunday that it is ending its activities “to guarantee everyone’s safety”, three days after the police carried out a raid against another independent media, accused of sedition.
CitizenNews, an information page funded by its users, which was founded in 2017 by a group of journalists, is one of the most popular sources of information in Hong Kong, with more than 800,000 subscribers on social networks.
In 2021, he had hired journalists from other outlets, after authorities increased their control over the press. Hong Kong Radio TV came under the control of pro-Beijing leaders and the pro-democracy Apple Daily, accused of posing a threat to national security, was forced to shut down.
They claim to “feel fear”
On Sunday afternoon, CitizenNews announced “with great heartache” that it will end its activities on Tuesday and that its website will be closed “later.”
“Unfortunately, we cannot continue trying to transform our convictions into reality without feeling fear, due to the radical change in society in the last two years and the deterioration media environment, “the outlet said in a statement. Four of the co-founders of CitizenNews they are former presidents of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
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China increased its control over Hong Kong in the wake of the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that shook the city in 2019. One way to do this was to clamp down on the local press.
On Wednesday, police raided the newsroom of StandNews, a outlet similar to CitizenNews, which announced its closure hours later.
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