A Hong Kong judge has sentenced a former editor of a closed pro-democracy news publication to 21 months in prison in a landmark case amid a security crackdown in the Chinese-ruled city.
Former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, 55, was sentenced on Thursday alongside his colleague, former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, 36, but the latter was released after his sentence was reduced due to health problems and time already served in prison.
They are the first journalists to be convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
His Chinese-language news outlet, which was raided and shut down in December 2021, was one of the last in Hong Kong to criticise authorities when China imposed a crackdown on dissidents following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Last month, the court found Chung and Lam guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious material, along with Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, the holding company of Stand News.
They could face up to two years in prison and a fine of HK$5,000 (about $640).
The sentencing of Stand News editors in August sparked a swift global outcry, with the United States denouncing it as “a direct attack on press freedom.”
The European Union has asked Hong Kong to “stop persecuting journalists”
Judge Kwok Wai-kin began the sentencing hearing two hours later than scheduled on Thursday.
The journalists' lawyer, Audrey Eu, asked for a mitigation of the sentence, saying Lam had been diagnosed with a rare disease and was concerned he would not be able to receive treatment at the hospital handling his case if he was sent back to jail.
She argued that they should be sentenced to time served, saying their case was different because they were journalists whose duty was to report on the views of various people.
The couple were jailed for nearly a year after their arrests before being released on bail in late 2022.
In his ruling, Kwok said the defendants were not genuine journalists but had participated in the territory's resistance movement.
Kwok wrote in his August verdict that Stand News had become a tool to smear the Beijing and Hong Kong governments during the 2019 protests.
He ruled that 11 articles published under the leadership of the accused had seditious intentions.
Kwok said Lam and Chung were aware of and agreed to the seditious intent, and that they made Stand News available as a platform to incite hatred against the two governments and the judiciary.
His lawyer told the court that the articles in question represented only a small part of what Stand News had published.
The defendants also stressed their journalistic mission in their mitigation letters.
How to “attend a funeral”
On Thursday morning, dozens of people were queuing for a seat in the courtroom. Former Stand News reader Andrew Wong said he wanted to attend the hearing to show his support, even though he felt it was like “attending a funeral.”
Wong, who works for a non-governmental organisation, said she had expected the sentences to be handed down last month but still had “a feeling that we have passed the point of no return” when she heard the verdict.
“Everything we had in the past is gone,” he said.
The trial, which began in October 2022, lasted about 50 days. The verdict was postponed several times for reasons including awaiting the outcome of the appeal in another landmark sedition case.
Hong Kong was ranked 135th out of 180 territories in RSF's latest World Press Freedom Index, up from 80th in 2021 and 18th in 2002.
Self-censorship has also become more common during the political crackdown on dissent following the 2019 protests, with reports of harassment against journalists increasing in recent months.
In March, the city government enacted another new security law that raised concerns about further restrictions on press freedom.
