US, Japan, Britain, 18 other countries condemn loss of press freedoms in Hong Kong

The ‘Media Freedom Coalition’ joint statement cites recent closings of Stand News and Citizen News as ‘suppression of independent local media’

Beijing’s institution of the national security law on Hong Kong violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, the statement contends

2-MIN READ2-MIN

A statement on the Citizen News website on January 3, 2022, announcing it would close. The US and 20 other nations condemned the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China on Tuesday for “attacks on freedom of the press”. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:27am, 9 Feb 2022Updated: 8:43am, 9 Feb 2022

The United States, Britain, Japan and 18 other countries have condemned the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China for undermining press freedom in the semi-autonomous city and former British colony.

Citing the recent closures of Hong Kong’s Stand News and Citizen News, the joint statement on Tuesday called moves against some of the city’s media outlets “attacks on freedom of the press” and “suppression of independent local media”.

Beijing’s imposition of a national security law for Hong Kong, which local journalists have said is behind a worsening media environment there, “caused the near-complete disappearance of local independent media outlets” in the city, the statement said.

The closings of Stand and Citizen followed the jailing of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who owned the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper and faces a charge under the law that he used social media and his newspaper to call for sanctions against Hong Kong government officials.

Jimmy Lai, who founded Apple Daily, is escorted by Correctional Services officers to a prison van before appearing in a Hong Kong court on December 12, 2020. Photo: AP

“These ongoing actions further undermine confidence in Hong Kong’s international reputation through the suppression of human rights, freedom of speech and free flow and exchange of opinions and information,” the statement said.