Hong Kong's Lam: Media closures unrelated to press freedom

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says that the recent closure of two media outlets in the city cannot be associated with the state of media freedoms in Hong Kong as the decisions were made by the outlets themselves

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said that the recent closure of two media outlets in the city does not reflect the state of press freedom in Hong Kong as the decisions were made by the outlets themselves.

Her comments came almost a week after authorities arrested seven people associated with pro-democracy online news outlet Stand News over sedition, with the outlet announcing that it would cease operations. Days later, another online site Citizen News also said it would stop operating.

“For none of the media outlets, we did not do anything. They were never approached by law enforcement agencies,” Lam said during a news conference Tuesday.

“But if they decided to cease operation out of their own concerns, I think this is nothing out of the ordinary." She added that Hong Kong authorities do "not seek to crack down on press freedom.”