Online platform Mad Dog Daily shuts down, becoming second Hong Kong media outlet to fold after Stand News arrests
- Platform founded by radio host-turned-politician Raymond Wong is latest to call it a day, after Citizen News
- ‘We would not be considered seditious under the Crimes Ordinance if there were still press freedom in the city,’ Wong told viewers on his YouTube channel
Mad Dog Daily, an online news outlet run by former opposition lawmaker Raymond Wong Yuk-man, had deleted its official website and social media pages as of Tuesday.
Announcing the closure on his YouTube channel MyRadio Hong Kong, Wong, who has moved to Taiwan, said the publication had been known for its critical stance since launching as a Chinese-language print tabloid in 1996.
“We would not be considered seditious under the Crimes Ordinance if there was still press freedom in the city,” said Wong, who served as a lawmaker from 2008 to 2016. “But now, it’s really up to the government to make accusations against us.”
The sentiment was similar to the one voiced by another independent outlet, Citizen News, when it announced on Monday that it was abruptly ceasing operations over fears of authorities’ “vague” approach to law enforcement.
That announcement came less than a week after national security police arrested seven people with ties to yet another online platform, Stand News, over accusations they had stirred up hatred against the government.