WASHINGTON: The United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have all expressed deep alarm over the Chinese authorities' crackdown of independent media in Hong Kong in recent months.
More than 21 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, signed a joint statement on Tuesday.
"The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their deep concern at the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities' attacks on freedom of the press and their suppression of independent local media in Hong Kong," the joint statement said on Tuesday (local time).
"Recent developments include the raid of Stand News offices, the arrests of its staff, and the subsequent self-closure of Citizen News, stemming from concern over the safety of its staff. Since the enactment of the National Security Law in June 2020, authorities have targeted and suppressed independent media in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," it also said.
"This has eroded the protected rights and freedoms set out in the Basic Law and undermines China's obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. This has also caused the near-complete disappearance of local independent media outlets in Hong Kong. These ongoing actions further undermine confidence in Hong Kong's international reputation through the suppression of human rights, freedom of speech and free flow and exchange of opinions and information," the statement further added.
By the Basic Law and China's commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the coalition countries further encouraged Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities to protect freedom of the press and freedom of speech in the region.
In Hong Kong, crackdowns on press organisations and pro-democracy activists have become more severe in recent months.
Citizen News, an independent Hong Kong news site, announced its closure on January 3 to "ensure the safety of everyone," just days after the city's national security police raided another independent online news outlet on sedition charges.
The arrests and raid on the headquarters of the now-defunct news organisation Stand News on December 29 last year drew censure from the United Nations, the European Union, and other countries including the United States, Germany, and Canada.