The State Department has condemned the attack on the Hong Kong Epoch Times printing press and urged Hong Kong authorities to “thoroughly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.” “The United States is concerned by increased efforts to silence independent media and otherwise suppress freedom of expression, including the politically motivated targeting of journalists,” a State Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times. “We are committed to standing up for press freedom and freer and wider access to information and ideas around the world. Freedom of expression, including for members of the press, is critical to transparency,” the spokesperson added. On April 12, four masked men broke into the printing facility, smashing equipment with sledgehammers and spreading construction debris from a bag. The break-in caused damage to multiple computers, a transmitter, and a CPU, forcing the Hong Kong edition to temporarily stop printing. Press freedom in Hong Kong has been in …