Expressing concern over the closure of Hong Kong offices of pro-democracy media outlet Stand News, the United States on Wednesday called on authorities to release all those unjustly detained. This comes after as many as seven current or former senior staff members of the Hong Kong online media company were arrested on suspicion of breaching the colonial-era Crimes Ordinance by conspiring to publish seditious publications. 

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “The Hong Kong government’s Wednesday raid and arrest of seven senior staff at Stand News have forced yet another of the few remaining bastions of free and independent media in Hong Kong to cease operations. Journalism is not sedition.”