Hong Kong No 2 official slams Wall Street Journal editorial on Stand News crackdown, accusing it of ‘new levels of nastiness’
- John Lee expresses anger over piece titled ‘No One is Safe in Hong Kong’, centred on arrests of news portal’s employees and further charges against Apple Daily ex-staff
- Chief secretary’s complaint letter is latest of its kind penned by city officials against foreign media outlets
Arguing the international newspaper had hurled “baseless allegations” at the city’s government, Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu also said the publication had misled readers over Hong Kong’s situation and should support the Stand News arrests if it was “genuinely interested in press freedom”.
The editorial, titled “No One is Safe in Hong Kong” and published last Wednesday, centred on the shutdown of online news platform Stand News and the arrests of its executives. It also mentioned the levying of further charges against staff of the now-defunct Apple Daily paper.
Last week, national security police rounded up seven people who worked at or were linked to Stand News for allegedly publishing seditious content and stirring up hatred against the government.
Two of the suspects were charged – acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung and his predecessor Chung Pui-kuen. Police also froze about HK$61 million in assets.
The online portal, which was popular among opposition activists and their supporters, dismissed all staff and shut down on the same day.
“China’s shredding of Hong Kong’s autonomy is reaching new levels of nastiness,” the editorial stated.