INTERNATIONAL: Hong Kong pro-democracy media outlet Stand News has announced on Wednesday it would shut down after police have raided its office earlier in the day and arrested senior staff on suspected "seditious publication" offenses.

"As a result of the circumstances, Stand News has immediately halted operations. This includes our website and all social media platforms, which we immediately stopped updating, and will be removed by today. Editor in Chief Mr. Patrick Lam has resigned and all staff at the Stand News have been immediately dismissed," it said in a Facebook post.

Stand News, set up in 2014 as a non-profit, was the most prominent remaining pro-democracy publication in Hong Kong after a national security investigation this year led to the closure of jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai's Apple Daily tabloid.

The raid raises more concerns about press freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise that a wide range of individual rights would be protected, media advocacy groups said.