The online media winandmac said today that it had withdrawn from Hong Kong based on safety considerations; on the same day, the “852 Post” removed all previously published films, saying it wanted to “remain useful” and apologized to readers. The Journalist Association issued a statement today (28th) in response, stating that the incident reflects that the “white terror” in Hong Kong is ubiquitous. For some media, reports and comments need to be “taken off the shelves to ensure safety”, and even the entire organization “leaves Hong Kong to ensure safety” “, expressing extreme anxiety. The Journalist Association criticized that the law enforcement agencies did not clearly explain the law enforcement guidelines, which prevented the media from operating with peace of mind, and would eventually completely undermine the monitoring role of the fourth power.
The Journalist Association pointed out that since the “Apple Daily” ceased publication, the trend of “self-censorship” in the media industry “has been blown like a hurricane.” Earlier, “Stance News” announced that it would temporarily remove “blog articles”. Today, there will be “852”. The Post removed all films and the online media winandmac withdrew from Hong Kong. The incident reflects that the media is worried about criminalizing their words and has shaken the media’s confidence in the government and law enforcement agencies to protect freedom of the press.
The National Security Department of the police arrested two chief writers of “Apple Daily” earlier, including Yang Qingqi and Feng Weiguang. The reporter said that after the two were arrested, the critics were even more on pins and needles.
In the past, many government officials pointed out that “freedom of speech is not absolute.” The Association urged the government to explain in detail what they consider as the “boundary” of freedom of speech when proposing this statement. The Journalist Association believes that if the government only uses the “intent” of idealistic argument to explain whether the media workers’ behavior is illegal, the relevant practices will not be convinced by the press, nor will it be recognized by the industry. Hong Kong is still a free port where a hundred schools of thought have contended in the past.
The Association emphasized that freedom of speech is the mother of all freedoms in a civilized society, and freedom of the press is also part of freedom of speech. “When freedom of speech is eroded repeatedly, Hong Kong will no longer be called a civilized city.” The Journalist Association urges that in the difficult times of the media industry, all colleagues in the media industry should unite and support each other to defend freedom of the press free from fear.
The online media winandmac announced today that the freedom of the press in Hong Kong is no longer there. For safety reasons, it has withdrawn from Hong Kong and has cancelled the relevant business registration in Hong Kong. (See also draft)
The founder of the “852 Post”, You Qingyuan, said today (28th) that all previously released films have been temporarily removed from the shelves, describing the current political atmosphere in Hong Kong as “black rainstorm, even the No. 10 typhoon” and “retaining usefulness” “The body”, I had no choice but to take the film off the shelves, and apologized to the readers for this. He also said that the previous method of filming is no longer feasible, and in the future, he will change to another method and continue to “report the feelings of Hong Kong and the spirit of Hong Kong.” (See also draft)