Citizen News or CitizenNews () was an

online news An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for new ...

website based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. The platform was launched on 1 January 2017 and shut down on 4 January 2022 amid a government crackdown on news media.

Establishment and growth

Citizen News was established in 2017 following a successful crowdfunding campaign. Citizen News was founded by 10 veteran journalists, including ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

'' former editor-in-chief Kevin Lau and former HKJA chairperson Daisy Li. They expressed concern on the worsening freedom of press in Hong Kong at that time, and hoped to start a new platform to secure jornalistic professionalism. Citizen News relied on public donations to sustain operation and growth. Citizen News focused on in-depth, less-biased, local news reporting, especially in legal and political issues, and was focused on filling gaps not covered by mainstream media. The outlet expanded in 2021, recruiting journalists from Chinese News Group of

Cable Television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

on 18 January 2021 after their resignation in protest to staff cuts, and from

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

, after many of its staff left the public broadcaster over what was seen as increasingly pro-government and censored political coverage.

Closure

The outlet shut down on 4 January 2022, citing unclear “legal boundaries,” after the passing of the controversial national security law. The decision was made to cease operations to ensure the safety of its staffers. The surprise announcement on 2 January came just days after another opposition-leaning online news platform

Stand News ''Stand News'' ( zh, t=立場新聞) was a free non-profit online news website based in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2021. Founded in December 2014, it was the successor of ''House News''. It primarily focused on social and Politics of Hong Kong, po ...

was raided and shut down, and several months after ''

Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong.

Cheung Sha Wan Cheung Sha Wan is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District, which a ...

. The

Hong Kong Journalists Association The Hong Kong Journalists Association ( Chinese: 香港記者協會) is a Hong Kong association that represents journalists in Hong Kong. Established in 1968, the association acts as a trade union for journalists by seeking to improve work ...

stated that it was saddened by the closure. On the other hand, Beijing mouthpiece ''

Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing state-owned newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, after its Shanghai edition was launched in 1938. Its head office is in the Hing Wai Centre () in Aberde ...

'' referred to the closures of ''Citizen News'', ''Stand News'', and ''Apple Daily'' as "self-inflicted". Hong Kong chief executive

Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Se ...

stated that ''Citizen News'' had decided to close on its own, and therefore the incident was not an issue of diminishing

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

Awards

* Human Rights Press Awards 2018 ** Multimedia category – "Legal Records of Civil Disobediance" by Ng Yuen Ying (winner) ** Text & Print – Commentary category – "Joint checkpoints: How they are done under British and French law" by Alvin Lum (merit award) ** Tertiary – Text category – ""28th Anniversary series for the June 4 Tiananment Square massacre" by Chong Hiu Tung (merit award) * Human Rights Press Awards 2019 ** Commentary Writing category – "Three Secretaries for Justice Sought External Adivce on Ten Cases Unrelated to Staff" by Ng Yuen Ying (winner) ** Breaking News Writing category – "Edward Leung and 6 Others Charged for Inciting Riots in Mong Kok's Conflicts" by Tai Ching Hei (merit award) ** Investigative Feature Writing category – "Save our Kids": Examining Child Abuse Issues by Yip Kit Ming (merit award) * Human Rights Press Awards 2020 ** Explanatory Feature Writing category – "3 Barristers Cite European Cases: STS (Special Tactical Squad) Uniforms Not Showing Police Numbers Unconstitutional" by Ng Yuen Ying (merit award) ** Multimedia category – Interactive Page on 721 Yuen Long Terrorist Attack by Cheung Hoi Kit, Egon Sung and Cherry Wong (merit award)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Citizen News 2017 establishments in Hong Kong 2022 disestablishments in Hong Kong Censorship in China Crowdfunded journalism Defunct websites Hong Kong news websites Publications established in 2017 Publications disestablished in 2022 Defunct newspapers published in Hong Kong