Hong Kong Press Faces Aggressive Crackdown
takyon writes:
Guilty Verdict for Hong Kong Journalist as Media Faces 'Frontal Assault' (archive)
Hong Kong's police chief warned journalists they could be investigated for reporting "fake news." A newspaper controlled by the Chinese government called for a ban on the city's biggest pro-democracy news outlet. Masked men ransacked the offices of a publication critical of China's Communist Party and smashed its presses.
Hong Kong's reputation as a bastion of press freedom in Asia, home to journalism that is far more aggressive and independent than that found next door in mainland China, has been under sustained pressure for years.
Now, as Beijing moves to stamp out dissent in the city, the news media is under direct assault. Traditional pressure tactics, such as advertising boycotts, have been eclipsed by the sort of bare-knuckles campaign that could leave prominent journalists silenced and their outlets transformed or closed.
Recent targets include the freewheeling pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, whose founder was sentenced to 14 months in prison last week, and RTHK, a public broadcaster known for its deep investigations. On Thursday, one of the network's prizewinning producers, Choy Yuk-ling, was found guilty of making false statements to obtain public records for a report that was critical of the police. She was ordered to pay a fine of 6,000 Hong Kong dollars, about $775.
Also at CNN and Yahoo News.
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