After arrests, HK's last major pro-democracy outlet shuts forever

Hong Kong’s biggest remaining pro-democracy news outlet closed after becoming the target of a national security investigation, capping a year of historic strokes by Beijing to silence dissent in the Asian financial center.

Stand News on Wednesday announced on Facebook that it would immediately lay off all staff and cease operations, and take down its website and social media accounts within days. The move came hours after more than 200 police raided the outlet’s newsroom, froze some HK$61 million ($7.8 million) of assets and arrested seven people connected to it on a colonial-era sedition law. They included acting Editor-in-Chief