A group of 21 governments issued a joint statement Saturday condemning #China over its closure of #HongKong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The statement was issued through the Media Freedom Coalition. thehill.com/homenews/media…
The coalition expressed “strong concerns about the forced closure of the Apple Daily newspaper, and the arrest of its staff by the Hong Kong authorities.”
The statement was signed by the governments of Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
“The action against Apple Daily comes against a backdrop of increased media censorship in Hong Kong, including pressure on the independence of the public broadcaster and recent legal action by the Hong Kong authorities against journalists,” the group said.
The governments also expressed concern about the possible introduction of new legislation that they said could “eliminate scrutiny and criticism by the media of the government’s policies and actions.”
“Freedom of the press has been central to Hong Kong’s success and international reputation over many years. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities should fully respect and uphold this important right, in line with China’s international legal obligations,” the statement said.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
