Hong Kong pro-democracy site closed after raid, arrests
HONG KONG — A vocal pro-democracy website in Hong Kong shut down Wednesday after police raided its office and arrested seven current and former editors, board members and a journalist in a continuing crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Stand News said in a statement that its website and social media are no longer being updated and will be taken down. It said all employees have been dismissed.
The outlet was one of the last remaining openly critical voices in Hong Kong after the shuttering of the Apple Daily newspaper. It closed after its publisher, Jimmy Lai, and top editors were arrested and its assets frozen.
Police raided Stand News’ office after arresting the six, including popular singer and activist Denise Ho, a former board member, on charges of conspiracy to publish a seditious publication.
They later also arrested a seventh person, a former Apple Daily editor who is married to the arrested former Stand News editor.
More than 200 officers were involved in the search, police said. They had a warrant to seize relevant journalistic materials under a national security law enacted last year.
The seven were arrested under a crime ordinance that dates from Hong Kong’s days as a British colony before 1997, when it was returned to China. Those convicted could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to about $640.
Police did not identify who was arrested, but Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported they were one current and one former editor of Stand News, and four former board members including Ho and former lawmaker Margaret Ng.
A Facebook post early Wednesday on Ho’s account confirmed that she was being arrested. A subsequent message posted on her behalf said she was OK and urged friends and supporters not to worry about her.
Early Wednesday, Stand News posted a video on
Facebook of police officers at the home of Ronson Chan, a deputy editor. Chan, who is also chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was taken away for questioning, the organization confirmed in a statement.
Chan, who was later released, told media the police seized his electronic devices, bank cards and press card.
Hong Kong police previously raided the offices of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, seizing boxes of materials and computer hard drives to assist in their investigation and freezing millions in assets that later forced the newspaper to cease operations.
Police charged the Apple Daily’s Lai, who is already jailed on other charges, with sedition on Tuesday.
“We are not targeting reporters, we are not targeting the media, we just targeted national security offenses,” said Li Kwaiwah, senior superintendent of the police National Security Department.
Asked what advice he had for the media, Li replied, “Don’t be biased.”