HK’s Initium Media moves headquarters to Singapore

Initium Media, a Hong Kong-based digital media outlet, said on Tuesday that it was moving its headquarters to Singapore, citing “difficult” conditions in the SAR.

In a letter to readers, Initium’s executive editor Susie Wu said “the road to freedom” had become more and more difficult over the past six years since the outlet’s launch, with the world becoming more divided, and Hong Kong’s global press freedom ranking plummeting.

She said the media organisation will make use of online and decentralised methods to produce content, and continue to provide in-depth reporting on Greater China and global developments.

“Do not despair in hardships, do not give up exploring and changing, because the heart is free, and the values you and I believe in will not be easily broken,” Wu told her readers.

Journalism lecturer Grace Leung from Chinese University said she believes Initium no longer finds Hong Kong a safe place to continue with its reporting.

“Those outspoken media, like this media organisation, even though it has just stayed in Hong Kong for a few years, find the pressure of self-censorship and the room for press freedom is declining,” Leung said.

“Media organisations feel that they have to have a plan B of how to survive under the present situation. So… just like many Hong Kong people emigrating to other countries, even media organisations have to plan how to survive in such a depressive situation.”