The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, 1900 to today

The record

Incidents: licensing and closure of outlets in Asia, stage: silence

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
CountryCambodia, RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180Hong Kong, RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180South Korea, RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180Türkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180
ContinentAsia
TacticLicensing and closure of outlets 7Detention and violence 2Funding and ownership pressure 1Prior restraint 1
StageSilence 7
OutcomeSustained 5Reversed 2
LevelNational 7
Head of governmentCarrie LamChun Doo-hwanHun SenIndira GandhiMin Aung HlaingRecep Tayyip Erdoğan

7 incidents match this view.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
13 February 2023Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen orders Voice of Democracy's license revoked over one articleCambodia (RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsHun SenSustained (13 February 2023)
24 June 2021China (Hong Kong): Apple Daily closes after its assets are frozen under the national security lawHong Kong (RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsCarrie LamSustained (24 June 2021)
8 March 2021Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coupMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsMin Aung HlaingSustained
4 September 2017Cambodia's government forces the closure of The Cambodia Daily with a disputed multimillion-dollar tax billCambodia (RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsHun SenSustained (4 September 2017)
27 July 2016Turkey closes more than 100 media outlets by decree after a failed coup attemptTürkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsRecep Tayyip ErdoğanSustained (31 December 2016)
31 July 1980South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controlsSouth Korea (RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsChun Doo-hwanReversed (1 June 1987)
26 June 1975India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 EmergencyIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Prior restraintIndira GandhiReversed (21 March 1977)
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