Twenty-one members of the Media Freedom Coalition, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have issued a joint statement on Friday to express their strong concern over the recent closure of the Apple Daily newspaper as well as the detainment of its staff by the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2021) Twenty-one members of the Media Freedom Coalition, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have issued a joint statement on Friday to express their strong concern over the recent closure of the Apple Daily newspaper as well as the detainment of its staff by the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong.
"The undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition express their strong concerns about the forced closure of the Apple Daily newspaper, and the arrest of its staff by the Hong Kong authorities. The use of the National Security Law to suppress journalism is a serious and negative step, which undermines Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong, as provided for in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration," the statement said.
The signatories are also concerned by the prospects of a new legislation introduction that is allegedly intended to eliminate criticism of the government's policies.
In additional to the United States and the United Kingdom, the other countries that co-signed the statement are Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovakia and Switzerland.
In June, Hong Kong police detained five executives of the Apple Daily newspaper - a vocal opponent of Beijing - over alleged violation of the recently-adopted national security law. Following the incident, US President Joe Biden called on China to release the detained executives and other members of the press that it recently arrested.
