This story by Hans Tse originally appeared on Global Voices on November 7, 2025.
All About Macau, an independent media outlet in the casino hub, has said it is closing down after authorities denied its reporters entry to official events and deregistered the company under the city’s press law.
In an announcement on October 30, 2025, the news outlet said it would stop its monthly publication after the October issue and cease updates to its website and social media accounts from December 20 onward, citing “increasing pressure and risk.” December 20 marks the 26th anniversary of the former Portuguese colony’s handover to China.
The Chinese announcement said:
Since last October (2024), some official events have prevented reporters from All About Macau from entering. In April, All About Macau was once again denied entry to the Legislative Assembly, and three of our reporters are now facing possible criminal prosecutions due to the incident.
The independent media outlet’s reporters were barred from entering the press area of the Legislative Assembly chamber on April 15, 2025, to cover Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s policy address. Two days later, two other journalists from All About Macau were detained for 11 hours after attempting to enter the Legislative Council. They were accused of “disruption of the operation of organs of the Macau Special Administrative Region” under Article 304 of the Penal Code. The maximum penalty for the charge is up to three years in prison.
One of the two detained reporters was the president of the Macau Journalists Association (MJA), Ian Sio Tou, according to a statement issued by the press union shortly after.
The MJA said at that time it “deeply regrets” the incident. The Estonia-based Society of European Journalists & Communication Professionals in Asia called it “a serious attack on press freedom.”
In addition to facing legal threats, the media outlet was also denied re-registration, which is a requirement for operating a news outlet in Macau:
Macau’s Government Information Bureau has also informed us in October that the periodicals registration of All About Macau has been cancelled and that, under the Press Law, this media ‘no longer has the legal basis for conducting relevant activities.’
All About Macau has long relied on a small amount of advertising income, readers’ subscriptions, and donations to maintain a limited operation. As resources become scarce and external pressure intensifies, with our reporters facing legal proceedings, our team is convinced that we may not be able to maintain the quality of our reporting.
Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) checked the Macau Government Information Bureau’s online system on Thursday but could not find All About Macau on a list of registered publications.
As of 2024, a total of 111 publications had valid registration with the Government Information Bureau, according to information provided on the online system. Eleven periodicals had their registrations cancelled last year.
According to Macau’s Media Registration Regulations, the registration of a daily publication will be cancelled after 180 days without publishing, while other registered periodicals’ registration will be revoked for one year without publication.
It is not immediately clear on what grounds the Macau government cancelled All About Macau’s media registration. HKFP has reached out to the Macau government for comment.
All About Macau was founded in 2010 as an online media platform. It started publishing a monthly print publication in 2013. The outlet is known for its coverage of Macau’s 2014 protests, when some 20,000 people rallied to oppose granting perks to retired government officials.
Macau has tightened its grip on dissent after the scope of the city’s national security laws was expanded in May 2023, which, according to officials, was implemented to prevent foreign interference.
Former Macau pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San was arrested in July on suspicion of “establishing connections… outside Macau to commit acts endangering national security.”
That month, city officials also disqualified 12 candidates from the legislative elections, which took place in September. They were accused by the authorities of not upholding Macau’s mini-constitution or pledging allegiance to the city, which is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The city’s first “patriots only” legislative polls in September recorded a 53 percent turnout rate, one of the lowest in recent years.
[VP]
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