Hong Kong Inmedia (Chinese: 獨立媒體) is a Hong Kong-based online news website established in 2004. After the shutdown of Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News in the aftermath of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Inmedia was widely regarded as the last surviving pro-democratic media outlet in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Inmedia
TypeOnline-only news
Founder(s)Oiwan Lam
Ip Iam-chong
Editor-in-chiefOiwan Lam
Founded2004 (2004)
Political alignmentPro-democracy
LanguageChinese
HeadquartersWan Chai, Hong Kong
Websitewww.inmediahk.net

History

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Inmedia was founded by Oiwan Lam and Ip Iam-chong [zh] in late 2004, during a wave of emerging pro-democratic online news platforms and podcasts following the 2003 protests.[1] Eddie Chu and Chow Sze-chung [zh] were among the first batch of journalists recruited by Inmedia.[2][3] Embracing the ideology of citizen journalism, Inmedia primarily covers political news and adopts an opposing perspective to government-funded newspapers and online media.[1] Its expenses are sustained through readers' subscriptions and public donations.[1] Inmedia gained public recognition for its extensive coverage of the Korean peasants' protests against the World Trade Organization during the 2005 Ministerial Conference.[4]

In 2012, Inmedia was involved in a defamation lawsuit brought against it by Oriental Daily News, which resulted in a loss for Inmedia and a fine of HK$100,000.[5][6] The same year, the company's headquarters were targeted and sabotaged by a group of paid thugs.[7][8] Journalists also received threat calls shortly after the incident.[7] Prior to March 2013, the company transitioned from operating as a limited company in Hong Kong to Nevada, United States, and functioning as an offshore company.[9]

In 2019, in response to the assault and mistreatment of journalists by the Hong Kong Police Force during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Inmedia, along with Stand News, RTHK, Ming Pao, am730, and Initium Media, jointly held a silent protest during a police press conference.[10] In December 2020, Inmedia's social media renamed from "香港獨立媒體" (lit. Hong Kong Independent Media) to "獨立媒體" (lit. Independent Media), an apparent move to prevent showing "Hong Kong independence" and to avoid accusations of sedition.[11] The outlet said they registered as "獨立媒體" with the government in 2017 because the logo does not include the characters of "香港". While declining to comment whether the move was related to the new national security law, Inmedia said the name of the parent company is still with "香港獨立媒體".[12]

In 2021, the Hong Kong Police Force conducted a search of Inmedia's offices for documents related to Hong Kong 47.[13][14] Following the shutdown of Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News, Inmedia was widely regarded as one of the last independent pro-democratic media outlets remaining in Hong Kong.[15][16][17] According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Inmedia ranked first in terms of credibility among online media outlets in Hong Kong.[18][19] In the same year, Inmedia was barred from attending and covering activities of the Hong Kong government.[20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "走過風雨十年,「打不死」的《香港獨立媒體》". The News Lens (in Chinese). 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  2. ^ 馮曉彤 (23 October 2022). "專訪《夕陽的光》作者周思中:反抗式微論調,溫柔地愛自己的土地". P-Articles (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. ^ 諸眾之貌 (10 September 2016). "朱凱迪:獨立媒體不會消失,除非資本消失". The News Lens (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  4. ^ "「独立媒体」诽谤赔10万". Sing Pao Daily News (in Chinese). 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  5. ^ "獨立媒體無刪誹謗東方文章賠10萬 被索網民手機身分證號碼 官裁毋須交". Ming Pao (in Chinese). 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  6. ^ "告「獨立媒體」誹謗 東方勝訴". Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b "【社會】制度暴力 與 獨立困境:從獨媒遇襲事件看". Chinese University Student Press (in Chinese). 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  8. ^ "法庭:刑毀獨立媒體 四男俱囚". Oriental Daily News (in Chinese). 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  9. ^ "獨立媒體(香港)就去年刑毀案今早判決的回應". Hong Kong Inmedia (in Chinese). 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  10. ^ Zhang, Karen; Lo, Clifford; Ng, Kang-chung (4 November 2019). "Hong Kong police walk out of their press conference after journalists stage silent protest accusing force of violence and lies". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  11. ^ 麥燕庭 (30 December 2021). "寒蟬效應:《獨媒》停止運作 稱免誤墮「煽動」法網". Radio France Internationale (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  12. ^ "編輯室周記:喂!獨媒改咗名嘅!". Hong Kong Inmedia. 10 December 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Hong Kong police order media outlets to surrender information on pro-democracy candidates". Committee to Protect Journalists. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  14. ^ 凌逸德 (6 January 2021). "警到《立場》《蘋果》《獨媒》 要求7日內交涉國安法案文件". HK01 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  15. ^ Lee, Peter (3 May 2023). "HKFP Guide: Small Chinese-language media outlets press on as Hong Kong's big names disappear". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  16. ^ Lau, Chris (21 January 2022). "Hong Kong media and the closures of Stand News and Citizen News: where do the rest go from here?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  17. ^ Niewenhuis, Lucas (3 January 2022). "Citizen News becomes latest Hong Kong news site to close down". The China Project. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  18. ^ Li, Almond (26 August 2022). "Hong Kong media credibility drops to new low, study finds". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  19. ^ "民調:香港傳媒在市民心目中公信力跌至新低". Voice of America Cantonese (in Chinese). 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  20. ^ Davidson, Helen (17 June 2022). "Hong Kong bans some media outlets from swearing-in of new chief executive". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  21. ^ Lee, Peter (9 August 2022). "Hong Kong gov't watchdog to investigate news dept's refusal to reveal list of media invited to cover July 1 celebrations". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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