Launched in 2005 by veteran activist Tsang Kin-shing (right), the Cantonese-language broadcaster gained a steady following. - Reuters
HONG KONG (Bloomberg): A Hong Kong pro-democracy radio station will air its final show Friday evening, ending nearly two decades of broadcasting due to what it called a "dangerous” political situation.
"Citizens’ Radio has no choice but to suspend broadcasting,” founder Tsang Kin-shing wrote in a post on the station’s official Facebook page. "Faced with a dangerous change in the political situation, red lines are everywhere.”
The broadcaster was founded in 2005 by former legislator Tsang, and famous for shows that were often critical of the authorities. The station’s Hang Seng bank account had recently been frozen, Citizens’ Radio told Bloomberg News via Facebook Messenger on Friday, making operating conditions unsustainable.
The station only had enough money to pay rent until August, Tsang said. A representative from Hang Seng Bank didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong opposition politicians of The League of Social Democrats staged a rally outside of HSBC Holdings Plc to protest a decision by the bank to close accounts of the group and demand an explanation.
Hong Kong authorities have cracked down on free speech in the wake of a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed in June 2020. Two prominent pro-democracy outlets - Apple Daily and Stand News - have shuttered under pressure campaigns from security police, and several journalists are facing up to life in prison for charges under the legislation.
Cedric Alviani, east Asia bureau director of Reporters without Borders, described the station’s closure as an "irreplaceable loss” in a statement.
Alviani added that the broadcaster’s bank had been refusing to register donations for nearly a year.
"We urge the government to stop its policy of harassment against independent media outlets, which have already significantly damaged the territory’s international image since the enactment of the national security law,” Alviani added.
