Hammer-Wielding Intruders Attack Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press

Four intruders barged into the printing plant of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times in the early hours of April 12, damaging computers and printing equipment. The attack is believed to be the latest effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to silence The Epoch Times. In an attack on the same facility in November 2019, four masked men set fire to two printing presses. The perpetrators behind the arson attack have remained at large. Cheryl Ng, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong edition, said the intrusion was characteristic of the CCP and had the aim of silencing an independent outlet from reporting on topics that are taboo to the communist regime. Ng condemned the attack and said it was a crime against Hong Kong’s freedom of speech. The Epoch Times, one of the few independent media outlets in Hong Kong, is known for its uncensored coverage of China, including political infighting within the CCP, the regime’s human rights violations against ethnic minorities and religious groups, and Beijing’s propaganda and influence operations abroad. The Hong Kong edition has also provided extensive independent coverage of the city’s pro-democracy movement, which started in June 2019 but subsided in July last year when Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the China-ruled city. The law has further stripped away Hong Kong’s dwindling autonomy, in particular the city’s press freedom.