Hong Kong’s Factwire News Publication Closes With Immediate Effect
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFactwire, an independent news agency and publication in Hong Kong, said Friday that it will cease operations with immediate effect.It is the fourth closure in the last year of a significant news organization that is not aligned with the city establishment’s pro-Beijing camp.The injection by Beijing in July 2020 of a National Security Law, and a powerful security apparatus in the city, is seen by media organizations to have significantly reduced the freedoms of the press.
The government disputes this analysis, but says that reporting must remain lawful.Factwire, which specialized in investigative reporting, was established in 2015 using HK$4.7 million of funds that were crowd-sourced from 3,300 supporters in three months.
It did not pinpoint the reasons for its closure, nor analyze the timing of it. Instead, it issued an explanation that was heartfelt, but oblique. “In recent years, the media has contended with great change.
Despite having wrestled many times with the difficult decision as to whether to continue our journalistic work, we had always come to the same affirmative conclusion: to stand fast to our core values and beliefs, and to always report the facts.
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