A Hong Kong journalist said he feared his outlet and other local publications could be forced to eventually shut down, reflecting on the one-year anniversary of a contentious national security law being imposed on Hong Kong.
“I am just doing the work of a journalist. Reflecting somebody else’s opinion,” said Lam Yin-pong, an assignment editor for the online media outlet Stand News. “By doing so, I have to be afraid of being arrested. I have to be afraid of my company being raided by the police, I have to be afraid of my company being shut down by the national security law.”
His remarks come following the recent shutdown of Apple Daily, a boisterous tabloid with a distinct pro-democracy standpoint, which sent a chill through the city’s media.
“As a journalist working in Hong Kong, I doubt if we can still say there’s any press freedom,” he said. “What happened at Apple Daily is a very alarming case that the government can indirectly take down any media outlet that they don’t like, by simply accusing them of breaking the national security law.”
A government spokesperson told Reuters the investigation of Apple Daily related to suspected acts of collusion that are in breach of the city’s national security law and had nothing to do with the freedom of the press or the background of the media company.
The government spokesperson added that the government is firmly committed to protecting and respecting the freedom of the press.
On Sunday (June 27), Stand News announced it would remove some opinion pieces and stop accepting donations from readers, which had been the basis on which it operated. Instead, it plans to run on its existing savings. Several directors, including barrister Margaret Ng and singer Denise Ho, stepped down. Stand News said its actions were aimed at protecting supporters, authors and editorial staff.
Lam said a plan was in place if the outlet was targeted by law enforcement but declined to provide specific details.
Founded in 2014, Stand News gained recognition for its comprehensive live video coverage of massive anti-governmental protests that took place in 2019, often streaming footage via Facebook.
“We placed a lot… of reporters and efforts, to try to cover every single one of them. And then put them live. Put them on the internet. And leave a record on the internet, to just let the audience (understand) what’s happening outside and let them make their own judgment,” Lam said.
One of the most well-known live streams showed about 100 men in white shirts entering a train station in the Yuen Long district and attacking commuters and people returning from protests.
The reporter who filmed it, Gwyneth Ho, later left journalism to enter politics. She is currently remanded in custody on national security charges after participating in a “primary election” intended to choose the strongest candidates to contest in elections that were later scrapped due to coronavirus.
Stand News and other online media have sometimes been the subject of verbal attacks from Hong Kong government supporters and Chinese state media. But Lam said Stand News upholds professional standards, adding that it plays an important role in deepening people’s understanding of current events.
“We have the responsibility to try to let the society understand why all this happened, instead of just taking the government’s line. So if by doing so we’ll be labelled as yellow media, or even black media, then let it be.
