On Tuesday, Mr. Lai was charged with a new accusation of sedition related to the newspaper, as were six other former senior employees. Mr. Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent opposition voices, had already been sentenced to 20 months in prison in relation to his support of the pro-democracy movement, and he faces up to life in prison on other charges.
Officials have sent warning letters to news outlets about coverage they dislike, and several foreign journalists have been denied visas to work in the former British colony. The government has also announced plans to enact a law against so-called fake news.
After Apple Daily folded, Stand News — which was founded as a nonprofit in 2014 after an earlier round of mass pro-democracy protests that year — became one of the city’s last openly pro-democracy outlets. Officials made clear that it could be targeted next.
Hong Kong’s security secretary, Chris Tang, this month accused the news site of “biased, smearing and demonizing” reports about conditions at a prison. Lau Siu-Kai, an adviser to Beijing, was even more blunt, telling Chinese state media that “the survival room” for opposition news outlets was shrinking.
“Stand News will come into an end,” Mr. Lau said.
The arrests on Wednesday began around 6 a.m., according to videos and posts shared on Facebook, when officers arrived at the homes of current and former Stand News staff members, including Ronson Chan, a deputy editor, and Denise Ho, a popular local singer who had served on the organization’s board.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/29/world/asia/hong-kong-stand-news-arrest.html
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