Media outlet All About Macau has announced that it will soon suspend operations, with its online presence scheduled to go offline by 20 December this year.
According to a Facebook post made on Thursday, AAM, a self-described independent media outlet, explained that the decision was taken after thorough consideration.
‘Mounting pressures and risks’ and ‘a scarcity of resources’ were cited as major reasons for its forthcoming departure.
The print edition of AAM’s
monthly is slated to cease publication after its October issue. However, AAM added
that a special edition will be published to commemorate the topics it has
covered over the years.
AAM, according its official website still running, positions itself as a media outlet that explores social topics from an ‘independent’ and ‘professional’ perspective.
AAM began relying on a separate newspaper to run weekly features in August 2010.
Two years later, the small team formally established its website. It was not until May 2013 that it started to publish copies of its monthly magazine, gradually expanding its reportage to include breaking news and investigative reports.
AAM’s scheduled closure is linked to the company owner’s ‘long-time absence’, according to a government letter reviewed by Macau News Agency.
Two legal stipulations
are invoked in the letter sent by the Government Information Bureau.
Under an existing law governing publication, a periodic publication must have at least one person residing in Macau acting as its publisher.
It was also written in the letter that AAM was notified on 10 October of its lack of ‘legal conditions’ to operate media activities.
All public services and
entities, as per the same letter, have been ordered not to extend interview invitations
to AAM.
AAM’s announcement also came about a year after the media outlet said it began facing restrictions on access to events organised by government entities.
Three AAM journalists are currently being investigated over an incident that took place at the Legislative Assembly in April this year.
During that incident, two AAM reporters were declined entry to the conference room of the legislature where a debate was ongoing.
According to an AAM report
dated 17 April 2025, these two reporters were only allowed to watch the debate
live in a separate room.
An announcement made by the Public Security Police Force in response then alleged that the two had caused disruptions to order at the scene, such as ‘shouting loudly and repeatedly ignoring warnings from Legislative Assembly personnel’.
The pair were later escorted away by police and asked to assist with an investigation.
Police have said that they are suspected of committing the crime of ‘disrupting the operation of the organs of the Macau Special Administrative Region’ under Article 304 of the Penal Code.
The case is currently being handled by the Public Prosecutions Office for follow-up
In its Thursday announcement, AAM stressed that halting its operations was just the ‘end’ of a stage, and pleaded for donations for a new book it was compiling.
