A Hong Kong court on Thursday found two editors of the now-defunct media outlet Stand News guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a case that has drawn international scrutiny amid a security crackdown in the Chinese-ruled city.
The two editors, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, could be jailed for up to two years when they are sentenced on September 26. Their conviction is the first for sedition against a journalist or editor since Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China in 1997.
Critics, including the U.S. government, say her case reflects the deterioration of press freedoms resulting from a years-long national security crackdown in the Chinese-ruled city.
Stand News, once Hong Kong's leading online media outlet with a mix of critical reporting and commentary, was raided by police in December 2021 and its assets were frozen, leading to its closure.
Chung, 54, Lam, 36, and the outlet's parent company, Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, were charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications in relation to 17 news articles and commentaries between July 2020 and December 2021.
Chung and Lam had pleaded not guilty, and only Chung was present in court Thursday to hear the verdict. Chung edited or authorized most of the articles the court found seditious.
“When assessing that speech has seditious intent, the relevant actual circumstances must have been taken into consideration, as it is seen to cause potential harm to national security, (and) it must be stopped,” wrote district court judge Kwok Wai-kin.
During the 57-day trial, government prosecutor Laura Ng said Stand News had acted as a political platform to promote “illegal” ideologies and incited readers' hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
The articles deemed seditious by the court included comments written by exiled activists Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, veteran journalist Allan Au and jailed former Apple Daily associate editor and Chung's wife, Chan Pui-man.
'He reported the truth'
Several international press freedom groups have criticised the court's ruling.
“This verdict sets a very dangerous precedent that Beijing could use to suppress any independent voice,” said Aleksandra Bielakowska, head of advocacy in Asia and the Pacific at Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“Dozens of media outlets have been shut down, numerous journalists have fled into exile and others who remain in Hong Kong are facing a new reality where crossing red lines could be seen as a violation of national security laws,” he told Reuters.
During the trial, Chung, who decided to testify in court, stood on the witness stand for 36 days, defending press freedoms and saying Stand News had only “recorded the facts and reported the truth.”
He said the site simply sought to reflect a spectrum of voices, including pro-democracy advocates.
Chung stressed that they upheld the principle of publishing every article they received to “show the greatest degree of freedom of expression,” as long as these articles did not incite violence, negatively affect the public, and cause defamation.
Lam wrote in a mitigation letter that “the key to this case is freedom of the press and freedom of expression… the only way for journalists to defend freedom of the press is by reporting.”
“A point of no return”: The fall of Stand News, Hong Kong’s once leading online media outlet
