The once highly respected and free nation of Hong Kong is now a different country as the free press is dead and punishing COVID mandates have killed the country’s once-great economy.
In Hong Kong, the free press is a thing of the past.
“One ‘wrong’ word could cost us our jobs, or worse, land us in jail. Every time I see a journalist being arrested or a media organisation closing down, I tell myself I have to work harder to do their part as well. But I don’t know if that’s possible.”https://t.co/vmIL1hG8rV
— Hong Kong Democracy Council (@hkdc_us) February 9, 2022
The Financial Times reports on the decimation of the free media in Hong Kong:
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https://www.ft.com/content/5d388472-dd25-4869-af54-4051bfa0b634
Journalists broadly decried the “death of free press” in Hong Kong, whose vibrant media scene — at least 15 newspaper titles with a mix of political leanings and more than four news channels for a population of 7.4mn — was once hailed as one of the most freewheeling in Asia. It is not just these recent high-profile closures that have prompted local journalists to lose faith. The ripple effects of the imposition of a sweeping national security law by Beijing in 2020 — which led to dozens of pro-democracy activists either being arrested or fleeing the city and the forced closure of more than 50 civil society groups — are still unfolding. Last June the city’s biggest pro-democracy tabloid, Apple Daily, was shut down following a police raid and the arrest of members of its senior management. “There is no press freedom and the salary is so low, no one would want to enter the industry any more,” says a reporter in her 20s at the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao. She is switching to a better-paid job in PR.
Now China (because nothing now is done without China’s approval) is demanding Hong Kong shut down for another two weeks. Barbershops and temples were busy up till Thursday when the COVID actions of closing the country again were put in place.
As Covid cases in the city hit record high, religious premises and hair salon are required to close for two weeks starting from Thursday. Citizens rushed to barber shops and temples today, seized the final opportunity for a nice haircut and good fortune. pic.twitter.com/x91zzqUjOh
— The Young Reporter (@hkbutyr) February 10, 2022
No worries. Hong Kong should be open within a year.
Hong Kong will open “within a year”?!?!? #CathayPacific is dying, there are no vegetables in the markets, the SFC can’t get staff and Bernard Chan says he’s “very optimistic” the city will reopen to the world within the next year https://t.co/jCWw4yDEwA via @bpolitics
— Mark L. Clifford (@MarkLClifford) February 9, 2022
The people of Hong Kong are being punished for once being free. Hong Kong is locked up. The once-great world-class airport with 250,000 people flying through a day is down to 5,000.
How far behind is the United States from this once beautiful and free Hong Kong?
The post The Free Press Is Dead and COVID Lockdowns Are Back in Place – The People of Hong Kong Are Being Punished for Once Being Free appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
