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HONG KONG — Hong Kong person Carrie Lam connected Tuesday said that the caller closure of 2 media outlets successful the metropolis does not bespeak the authorities of property state successful Hong Kong arsenic the decisions were made by the outlets themselves.
Her comments came astir a week aft authorities arrested 7 radical associated with pro-democracy online quality outlet Stand News implicit sedition, with the outlet announcing that it would cease operations. Days later, different online tract Citizen News besides said it would halt operating.
“For nary of the media outlets, we did not bash anything. They were ne'er approached by instrumentality enforcement agencies,” Lam said during a quality league Tuesday.
“But if they decided to cease cognition retired of their ain concerns, I deliberation this is thing retired of the ordinary.” She added that Hong Kong authorities bash “not question to ace down connected property freedom.”
Lam said that the authorities follows the regularisation of instrumentality successful Hong Kong, and that erstwhile she archetypal assumed office, she had opened up authorities quality conferences to online outlets and met with the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
“As agelong arsenic quality outlets bash not prosecute successful amerciable acts, they tin proceed to study quality successful Hong Kong,” Lam added.
She said that determination was an summation of 5.4% for section quality outlets registered successful the city, and a leap of 9.4% for overseas outlets since the National Security Law was enacted successful the metropolis successful June 2020.
“So you cannot accidental that the state of property is eroded owed to the closing of the 2 media outlets,” Lam said.
Since the information instrumentality came into effect, implicit a 100 radical person been arrested, including galore pro-democracy activists arsenic good arsenic immoderate journalists who antecedently worked for the now-defunct Apple Daily and Stand News.
Separately, Lam said Tuesday that the metropolis would beryllium tightening vaccine requirements to screen not lone amusement venues, but besides places similar libraries, schools and museums.
The mandate would beryllium tightened from Feb. 24, and would necessitate those entering specified venues to person astatine slightest 1 vaccine dose against COVID-19.
The enlargement of the vaccine mandate comes days aft Hong Kong reported its archetypal omicron COVID-19 cluster, linked to respective Cathay Pacific unit members who had breached isolation rules and visited eating spots and bars crossed the metropolis earlier aboriginal investigating affirmative for omicron.
The metropolis had antecedently mostly kept the delta variant from causing section outbreaks done strict quarantine rules. Hong Kong presently designates each countries with section omicron outbreaks arsenic “high-risk” countries, requiring arrivals from those countries to service a 21-day quarantine.
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