(New York, NY) — PEN America today lamented the forced closure of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper. PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said the following:

“The forced closure of Apple Daily is a casualty of the stranglehold China’s government has placed on Hong Kong, and yet again illustrates how authorities are wielding the National Security Law as a tool to erase eviscerate the civic freedoms and culture of this once-vibrant city. The chilling effect of this closure on other independent media on the freedom to speak out, dissent, and hold government figures accountable will be grave. There should be no pretense that this is anything other than a death knell for independent media in Hong Kong. The international community must speak out loudly and clearly to reject this mortal blow to press freedom.”