Unlicensed HK Radio Station Goes Off Air After 18 Years

An unlicensed pro-democracy radio station in Hong Kong shut down Friday, June 30, 2023, after 18 years on the air. The closure of Citizens’ Radio came on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese rule, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: The closure reflects the collapse of the city’s pro-democracy movement under the national security law that followed massive protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

Since its launch in 2005, the station had hosted prominent democracy advocates, including former lawmakers Szeto Wah, Emily Lau, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan.

But its founder, Bull Tsang said it was becoming increasingly difficult to invite guests following the enactment of a Beijing-imposed law that jailed or silenced many activists. Coupled with banking problems and limited resources, Tsang said he had no choice but to say goodbye, the Asahi Shimbun also reported.

“It’s hard to let go. It’s like my third son,” Tsang, 67, told reporters before he hosted his last show on Friday night.

The closure reflects the collapse of the city’s pro-democracy movement under the national security law that followed massive protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

After the law’s enactment three years ago, dozens of civic groups disbanded, most of the city’s leading activists were charged with alleged national security crimes, and two vocal media outlets shut down as their top management was accused of sedition or collusion.

Large numbers of democracy supporters also left Hong Kong after pledges the former British colony would retain Western-style freedoms for 50 years after its return to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, were becoming increasingly threadbare.

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