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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.
The front page of independent media outlet All About Macau on October 30, 2025. The Chinese words say: “Take care.” Photo: Screenshot.
In an announcement on Thursday, 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 onwards, citing “increasing pressure and risk.”
“Since last October, 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,” according to the outlet’s Chinese-language announcement, titled, “Take Care, Goodbye.”
Macau’s “Government Information Bureau has also informed us 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,’” it said.
“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.”
HKFP checked the Macau Government Information Bureau’s online system on Thursday but could not find All About Macau in 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. The registration of 11 periodicals was cancelled last year.
The Ruins of St Paul’s in Macau. Photo: Wikicommons.
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.
In April, two reporters from All About Macau were taken for questioning and were detained for 11 hours, after authorities denied them entry to the Legislative Assembly for reporting.
One of the two detained reporters was the president of the Macau Journalists Association, Ian Sio Tou, according to a statement issued by the press union shortly after the incident.
In April, the Macau government-funded broadcaster TDM cited police as saying that the two reporters were suspected of violating the offence of “disrupting the operations of the Macau Special Administrative Region authorities.”
The Macau Journalists Association said at that time it “deeply regrets” the incident, while the Estonia-based Society of European Journalists & Communication Professionals in Asia called it “a serious attack on press freedom.”
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 to step up the prevention of 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.
The city’s first “patriots only” legislative polls in September recorded a 53 per cent turnout rate, one of the lowest in recent years.
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