Vancouver MP 'heartbroken' by arrest of Hong Kong journalists
CBC
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan condemned the recent arrest of six journalists, including one Canadian, at a Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet.
Hong Kong national security police raided the office of independent online outlet Stand News Wednesday and arrested six people, including Canadian singer and activist Denise Ho, for "conspiracy to publish seditious publications."
Kwan, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, wrote in a statement that she is heartbroken about the situation, and is asking Canada to work with ally countries to condemn these actions and support the people of Hong Kong.
"It threatens our entire basic right to the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, something that we so value and cherish in a democratic system," said Kwan in an interview with CBC.
Hong Kong police said in a statement they had a warrant "to search and seize relevant journalistic materials" and that over 200 uniformed and plainclothes officers were deployed during the operation.
Kwan said the implications of these arrests reach across the globe. Anybody in Canada that critiques the Chinese government can also be targeted by these laws if they travel to Hong Kong, she said. Kwan said Canadian expatriates living in Hong Kong are at risk of being targeted.
"No one is safe… I have now come to the realization that I can no longer travel back to Hong Kong, my birthplace. I had hoped that one day I could bring my children back… but that is not a reality for me," said Kwan.
Stand News announced later Wednesday it is shutting down. The outlet said all employees were dismissed and their website and social media will be taken down.
Kwan said Stand News was a popular site that offered a different point of view, and was sometimes critical of the government.
"It's a rallying call for those of us who are in a different country, who are safe and protected by our democratic rights to speak up and to rally in support of the people in Hong Kong," Kwan said.
Hong Kong's last remaining pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily ceased operations in June after five editors and executives were arrested and millions of dollars in its assets were frozen.
Stand News was one of the city's last remaining pro-democracy online news outlets.
Members of the Jewish community in Waterloo in southern Ontario celebrated the first night of Hanukkah on Sunday by lighting a massive five-metre-high menorah.
Charlottetown residents now have a new tool to help them follow the progress P.E.I.’s capital is making on its climate action plan.
The Northwest Territories’ minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) says government presence at mining conferences is “critically important” after she and two other territorial delegates travelled to London, England, for five days earlier this month to attend Resourcing Tomorrow.
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says he's ready to lend a hand and do what he can, if Prime Minister Mark Carney says he wants help restarting trade negotiations with the United States.
The Carney government is making good on a promise to help tackle one of the most potent forms of climate pollution, as it announces new measures to address methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.
Tracey Nicholson cried tears of joy when her 11-year wait for social housing in Kington, Ont., finally ended with an apartment at 381 Bagot St.
Toronto city councillors are set to decide the fate of a contractor that intentionally overbilled the city more than $1 million, a breach of the supplier code of conduct uncovered by a forensic audit conducted for the city.
A 29-year-old registered massage therapist has been accused by London police of sexually assaulting a client, and investigators say they believe there may be other victims.
A mass shooting in which 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach was "a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State," Australia's federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said Tuesday.
A three-man committee will lead Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec, and it has four months to do it.
A Yarmouth, N.S., woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2020 death of her 17-month-old son.
A new agreement signed between Parks Canada and eight Mi'kmaq First Nations in New Brunswick will give the Mi'kmaq a hand in the management of national parks and historic sites.
A Quebec teachers' union released the findings of a survey of its members on Monday that found 90 per cent of respondents said they were victims of some form of violence at work.