Freedom within China is gradually diminishing as independent news continues to be silenced

One of the last pro-democracy outlets, Citizen News, is closing after five years due to its concerns about the safety of its staff.

The company blamed the “deteriorating media environment” for their inability to report the truth without fear.

This comes just days after another independent media outlet, Stand News, was accused of sedition and raided by about 200 police.

Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary has backed the police action.

When Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing promised to maintain media freedom and the city’s way of life.

But the government has been imposing more power over the area since the National Security Law was introduced to the territory in response to mass democracy protests in 2019.

This follows the removal of sculptures and other artwork from university campuses, some memorialising the victims of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

For years, Hong Kong has been the only place in China that has held a mass vigil to mark the 1989 event.