HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities have refused to renew the work visa for Australian journalist Sue-Lin Wong without providing any explanation.
A graduate of the Australian National University and China's Tsinghua University, Wong was the China correspondent for the British magazine Economist, Hong Kong Free Press reported.
Taking to Twitter, Sue-Lin Wong expressed her disappointment saying: "Very sad I won't be able to continue reporting from Hong Kong. I loved getting to know the city and its people"
In a statement, The Economist said that the authorities have refused to renew a work visa for their correspondent.
Wong is the latest target in a crackdown against foreign journalists by pro-China Hong Kong authorities. Last year, Hong Kong Free Press incoming editor Aaorn Mc Nicholas was inexplicably denied a visa.
Chris Buckley of the New York Times was forced to leave weeks earlier, and Victor Mallet of the Financial Times was ousted from the city in similar circumstances in 2018. None were given an explanation.
In China and Hong Kong, where the Chinese regime has tightened control in recent times, working conditions for journalists have markedly worsened.
At least one veteran journalist has fled the city, citing safety concerns amid what he called a "White Terror" under the national security law. A former bureaucrat now sits at the helm of public broadcaster RTHK, which has been instructed to use terminology on Taiwan approved by Beijing.