Epoch Times media outlet to suspend print edition in Hong Kong
Epoch Times, tied to Falun Gong movement, to suspend physical edition of newspaper in Hong Kong after failing to renew lease for printing shop
A publication closely linked with the Falun Gong group branded by Beijing as an “evil cult” has announced it will suspend its print edition in Hong Kong after failing to renew the lease of its printing shop.
In a Facebook post on Friday, the Hong Kong edition of the Epoch Times said it would cease printing the newspaper on September 17, adding the decision was due to “various factors”.
“As the Epoch Times Hong Kong edition’s printing team had not been able to renew its lease after it had expired, in addition to the various factors in Hong Kong presently, the Epoch Times Hong Kong Edition has decided to temporarily stop its printing and the distribution of its daily newspaper,” the outlet said.
But the publication, which started its print edition in 2001, said it would continue to publish its online version.
The publication is closely linked with the Falun Gong, a spiritual group banned on mainland China after authorities branded it an “evil cult” in 1999.
Hong Kong Journalists Association chairwoman Selina Cheng said the publication’s difficulty in securing a lease for a printing shop when the real estate market was not doing well spoke “volumes” about the state of press freedom in the city.
