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Australia has signed a joint statement with members of the Media Freedom Coalition expressing concern about the future of press freedom in Hong Kong and the arrest of journalists in the semi-autonomous city.
- The statement, published by the UK, said the coalition has "strong concerns" about the closure of Apple Daily
- It said the nations were "highly concerned" about the introduction of new laws which could curtail media freedom
- It urged Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to "fully respect and uphold" freedom of the press
The statement, published by the United Kingdom and signed by 21 members of the coalition, said it had "strong concerns" about the closure of the Apple Daily newspaper.
"The use of the National Security Law to suppress journalism is a serious and negative step, which undermines Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong, as provided for in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration," the statement said.
"We are highly concerned by the possible introduction of new legislation that is intended or could risk being used to eliminate scrutiny and criticism by the media of the government's policies and actions."
The statement said Hong Kong and Chinese authorities should "fully respect and uphold" freedom of the media, in what it described as being central to Hong Kong's success.
AP
)The coalition is made up of Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The city's pro-democracy tabloid newspaper Apple Daily closed last month after police arrested its chief editor and four senior executives for "suspected contravention" of the national security law.
The action came amid a crackdown on pro-democracy figures following anti-government protests in 2019.
The national security law criminalises subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion.
After the arrests, Hong Kong and Chinese officials said the media must abide by the law, and that press freedom cannot be used as a "shield" for illegal activities.
Australia previously issued a joint statement with the United Kingdom, United States and Canada about the arrest of pro-democracy activists.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has also expressed concern about recent changes to Hong Kong's electoral system which further reduced democratic representation in the city's institutions.