The Stand News website a day after its closure
Hong Kong/Beijing/Washington D.C.: A day after the United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s criticism of China following the closure of Stand News, a pro-democracy news website in Hong Kong, Beijing hit back claiming that “supporting media freedom is just a false pretense used by the US to serve its true agenda of destabilizing Hong Kong”.
The Hong Kong government had raided and arrested seven senior staff at Stand News on suspicion of conspiring to publish seditious material, on December 29, 2021. Among those taken into custody was also the news website’s editor Patrick Lam. This forced the closure of the news site which announced that it would shut down. All employees of the site too were dismissed.
It may be mentioned that in June 2021, Hong Kong’s popular pro-democracy news tabloid, Apple Daily, too had closed down its publication.
Blinken stated that the Hong Kong government’s December 29 raid and arrest of seven senior staff at Stand News has forced “yet another of the few remaining bastions of free and independent media in Hong Kong to cease operations”. He stated that freedom of expression, including media freedom, and access to information provided by an independent media are critical to prosperous and secure societies.” These freedoms enabled Hong Kong to flourish as a global center for finance, trade, education, and culture. By silencing independent media, PRC [People’s Republic of China] and local authorities undermine Hong Kong’s credibility and viability. A confident government that is unafraid of the truth embraces a free press.”
Blinken called on Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to “cease targeting Hong Kong’s free and independent media and to immediately release those journalists and media executives who have been unjustly detained and charged”.
However, criticising Blinken for his statement, Beijing offered figures to claim that rather it was the US which had seen press freedom deteriorating at home. Citing reports, it claimed that at least 117 journalists were arrested or detained in 2020 in the US, “a staggering 1,200% increase from 2019”. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian today asked if the US had a “confident government that is unafraid of the truth”, why does it seek the extradition of Julian Assange? Why not treat Edward Snowden like how it extols the so-called individuals in pursuit of truth?
He blatantly told the US to “cut out its hypocritical double standard and stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs in the name of freedom”.
Responding to Blinken’s statement “journalism is not sedition”, Lijian said the “lawful actions” taken by the Hong Kong police to arrest individuals suspected of conspiring to publish seditious publications and freeze relevant assets “are necessary actions of justice to safeguard rule of law and public order in Hong Kong. It has nothing to do with freedom of the press or speech”.
According to Lijian, since the implementation of the Law on Safeguarding National Security, Hong Kong had returned to the “right path” of development and press freedom there has been” better protected in a secure and stable environment with rule of law”. He claimed this to be a “fact that cannot be denied by anyone without bias”.
Claiming that Hong Kong is a society with rule of law where residents’ lawful rights and freedoms including freedom of the press and speech are fully protected, Lijian said media and speech freedom should not be used to shield criminal acts. He went on to warn media practitioners in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong that they must strictly comply with Chinese and Hong Kong laws. “Offenders shall bear legal consequences,” he stated.
It may be mentioned that besides the US, Canada and the European Union had also criticized the arrests of the journalists in Hong Kong. Lijian rebuked them stating that no country, organization or individual has the right to meddle in Hong Kong’s affairs. “Some external forces are distorting facts in an attempt to confuse the public by wantonly criticizing the Hong Kong SAR’s justified law enforcement activities under the disguise of media freedom,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, Beijing also opposed the joint move of the US Department of State and Department of the Treasury to add five deputy directors of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong (LOCPG) to a sanction list pursuant to the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.
It may be mentioned that in July this year, the US had announced sanctions on seven Chinese officials including the above mentioned five deputy directors of LOCPG when it issued the so-called “Hong Kong Business Advisory”. China also took reciprocal countermeasures on relevant US personnel.
Now the US dusted off the old sanctions and announced them again.
Accusing the USA of “merely hyping up Hong Kong-related issues to serve its political agenda of containing China” Lijian stated: “The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly condemns the US act of sanctioning Chinese personnel and interfering in China’s domestic affairs based on its domestic law.” He further disclosed that in response to the “erroneous practice” of the US side, China has decided to take reciprocal countermeasures and impose sanctions according to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law on five US individuals including former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Louis Ross, Chairman of US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) Carolyn Bartholomew, former Staff Director of Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Jonathan Stivers, DoYun Kim at National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and senior program manager of the International Republican Institute (IRI) Adam Joseph King.
“These individuals are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. Their assets in China will be frozen, and Chinese citizens and institutions will be prohibited from doing business with them. Anti-sanctions decisions that China made earlier in response to other wrong moves by the US concerning Hong Kong, including the targets sanctioned and specific measures, remain in effect,” Lijian said.
– global bihari bureau
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