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Stand News

Stand News (Chinese: 立場新聞) was a free non-profit online news website based in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2021. Founded in December 2014, it was the successor of House News. It primarily focused on social and political issues in Hong Kong, and generally took a pro-democracy editorial position.

Stand News was ranked highest in credibility among online news media in Hong Kong in two public opinion surveys conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2016 and 2019.

On 29 December 2021, amid the backdrop of increasing government suppression of news media following the 2020 enactment of the Hong Kong national security law, Stand News was raided by the Hong Kong Police Force, who arrested senior staff and froze the company's assets. As a result, similar to Apple Daily earlier the same year, Stand News was forced to dismiss its staff and cease operations.

Stand News was founded after the closure of House News in July 2014. Instead of running the website as a limited company like House News, the owner company of the website, Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, is legally managed by a trust company, while prohibiting any transfer of shares.

Following the forced closure of Apple Daily on 24 June 2021, the organisation announced precautionary measures, citing "security concerns". While it vowed to continue publishing, it said that it would pre-emptively take off line all non-news items, such as commentaries and op-eds. Stating that giving their current finances would allow operations to continue for 9 to 12 months, they would cease to accept sponsorships or subscriptions to prevent money "going to waste". Six of the board's eight members resigned."

The organisation also participated in the Pandora Papers leaks in October 2021.

On 24 August 2018, former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying filed for defamation against university professor Chung Kim-wah and Stand News in the High Court, alleging that an article in the website falsely associated Leung with the triads. The article had reported a dinner between Leung's aides and alleged triad members. Chung Kim-wah refused to retract the article, while Stand News chief editor Chung Pui-kuen stated that he did not believe that the article defamed Leung, and extended Leung the right to reply.

During the Yuen Long attack on 21 July 2019, Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho was attacked by triad members while live-streaming the attack. When the assailants were attacking commuters in the train station, some of them turned on Ho, who was knocked over and hit by sticks and wooden batons while she continued filming. Ho was taken to the hospital, where she received treatment for her injuries and was given stitches.

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