By NTD

February 28, 2013

The printing house of the Epoch Times daily newspaper in Hong Kong saw a break-in attempt on Saturday. The Epoch Times is one of NTD’s partner medias.

The lock on the front gate looked as if it had been tampered with and security camera footage showed three people trying to force open the door. They were not successful but the shop’s supervisor says it isn’t reassuring. This is the third break-in attempt in the last five months.

Now, Hong Kong legislators are calling on the Hong Kong government to act.

[Albert Ho, Member of the Legislative Council]:
“I think the Hong Kong government should seriously enforce the law, [they] must not condone those thugs.”

Ho points out that the intruders’ behavior is similar to that of a pro-communist organization called the Hong Kong Youth Care Association.

[Albert Ho, Member of the Legislative Council]:
“Today’s attackers were masked. We are not sure who they are related to. But their action is very similar to what the Hong Kong Youth Care Association has done. Therefore, we are very, very angry.”

The association’s official mission is to help the poor and elderly by providing everyday services. But in reality, the group mostly blocks the anti-persecution efforts of the practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual practice. The Epoch Times has consistently reported on the over-a-decade long persecution of Falun Gong in China.

[Leung Yiu-chung, Member of the Legislative Council]:
“[The Epoch Times] is a big threat to [the Chinese Communist Party], because the paper is daily, and it points out the Communist Party’s problems everyday. It’s such a big pressure on [the Communist Party], so it took actions to damage the paper.”

Hong Kong citizens have become worried that the region is not as independent as it once was. Hong Kong’s current leader, Leung Chun-ying, has been accused of being a pawn to the Mainland government. Legislative council member Wong Yuk-man says this case is just another example of communist influence.

[Wong Yuk-man, Member of the Legislative Council]:
“He [Leung Chun-ying] not only takes advantages of public authority, including police and other law enforcement, but also uses the Chinese Communist Party’s peripheral agencies to suppress us.”

The Epoch Times Newspaper has reported on issues in the Mainland that have been censored by Chinese state-media. While Hong Kong has maintained a certain amount of autonomy from the Mainland, it is not immune to its influence.

The security company that manages the Epoch Times print shop plans to reinforce security in the building.

Original article