Hong Kong, April 11 : In the latest blow to press freedom in Hong Kong, the National Security Police on Monday arrested veteran journalist Allan Au Ka-lun accusing him of conspiring to publish seditious materials. The Standard quoted sources as saying that Au, 54, previously worked as a senior producer at TVB News and a radio host on RTHK, was brought to a police station in Kwai Chung for further investigation. He was arrested for sharing his political views in columns of various publications and social media, possibly linked to the Stand News case. In December last year, the Stand News, an independent pro-democracy media outlet, was shut down after police raided its newsroom, froze its assets, and arrested seven people linked to the outlet over suspicion of conspiring to publish seditious material. Soon after Stand News’ closure, Au began to write “good morning” each day on his Facebook to confirm his safety, The Standard reported. Two former senior editors of the outlet, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, are in jail after their bail application was rejected in December last year. In June, AU was fired from RTHK from its radio program Open Line Open View due to a government-directed editorial overhaul.
with agency inputs
