WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to immediately release employees of pro-democracy media Stand News, arrested after a police raid that led to the shutdown of the information site.
“We call on the authorities in the PRC and those in Hong Kong to stop targeting the free and independent media and immediately release the journalists and officials who have been wrongfully arrested and charged,” Antony Blinken said in a statement, pointing to the China by its official name of People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“By silencing an independent media outlet, the PRC and local authorities are undermining Hong Kong’s credibility and viability,” he added.
Stand News was the last major pro-democracy outlet in Hong Kong since the shutdown last June of the Apple Daily tabloid controlled by businessman Jimmy Lai, who is in prison.
(Eric Beech report; French version Camille Raynaud)
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