Editorial_05.01.22

Almost every year, the Chinese government uses the Christmas calm in the West for all-out attacks on dissidents in its own country. Human rights experts cynically refer to this as the ‘Jingle Bells’ tactic. What has long been routine on the Chinese mainland has now also spread over to Hong Kong shortly before the turn of the year. With the shutdown of the online portal Stand News during the Holidays, authorities silenced one of the city’s last critical voices. And the work of Western journalists is increasingly slandered, writes Marcel Grzanna in his sobering situation report.