Unlicensed Hong Kong radio station that hosted pro-democracy guests goes off the air after 18 years

An unlicensed pro-democracy radio station in Hong Kong, Citizens’ Radio, was shut down on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China’s rule

An unlicensed pro-democracy radio station in Hong Kong shut down on June 30 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 China’s rule.

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, Mr. Tsang said he had no choice but to say goodbye.

“It's hard to let go. It's like my third son," Mr. 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 finding that the promise that the former British colony would retain Western-style freedoms for 50 years after its return to Chinese rule on July 1 in 1997 was becoming increasingly threadbare.