Storm in Hong Kong: Hundreds of policemen raided the offices of the Stand News system today (Wednesday), one of the last independent news sites left in Hong Kong after the expansion of Chinese rule in the province.
Seven employees of the site’s staff were arrested on suspicion of “organizing a conspiracy and inciting rebellious publications.” The site’s system responded to the events and wrote that “due to the situation, the ‘Stand News’ site will cease its activities immediately.” The website system also said that they would delete the system’s accounts on social networks within a day.
The police officers who reported to the company’s offices claimed that they had the authority to “search for and seize journalistic material relevant to the investigation.” Chinese police said they were showing “zero tolerance for behavior that threatens national security.”
The arrest comes amid clashes between Hong Kong, which until recently operated on partial independence from China, and recently the Chinese have been trying to impose full control of the province, and abolish democratic rule there.
The closed news site was one of the best-known news sites in the country and published various articles against the conduct of the Chinese government in Hong Kong.