Stand News editors convicted in sedition case

Two journalists who ran a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong have been convicted of sedition.

Chung Pui Kuen and Patrick Lam, editors of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet, could face a maximum two years in prison.

This is the first sedition case against journalists in Hong Kong since the territory was handed over from Britain to China in 1997.

Human rights groups condemned the ruling, with Reporters Without Borders calling on Hong Kong to “stop its shameful campaign against press freedom”.

In a written statement, District Court Judge Kwok Wai-kin said Stand News had become a “threat to national security.”

He added that their newspaper’s editorial line supports “local autonomy in Hong Kong.”

“It has even become a tool to discredit and smear the central authorities.” [in Beijing] And the [Hong Kong] “The government of the special administrative region,” he said in a written ruling.

The journalists were charged under a colonial-era sedition law — which prosecutors until recently rarely used — rather than under the controversial national security law.

Their verdicts are due later in September.

Stand News was among a handful of relatively new online news portals that gained particular prominence during the pro-democracy protests in 2019.

But since the implementation of the national security law in 2020, a large group of media outlets in Hong Kong have been closed.

Critics say the law effectively erodes the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary and makes it easier to punish protesters and activists.

Stand News was among the last openly pro-democracy publications until its closure in December 2021, when more than 200 police officers were sent to raid the newspaper’s office.

Seven staff members were arrested and charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications,” which included interviews with pro-democracy activists.

Hong Kong’s current Chief Executive John Lee supported the police operation at the time, describing those arrested as “evil elements harming press freedom”.

The case has drawn international attention and condemnation from Western countries.

The United States has repeatedly condemned the trial of journalists in Hong Kong, saying the case against the editors “creates a chilling effect on others in journalism and the media.”

The former British colony has seen its press freedom rankings drop from 18th to 135th over the past two decades, according to the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

On Thursday, their Asia-Pacific director described the ruling as a “horrific verdict.” [that] “It sets a very dangerous precedent for journalists.”

“From now on, anyone who reports facts that do not agree with the official version of the authorities can be prosecuted for sedition,” Cedric Alviani said in a statement.

“We renew our call on the Hong Kong authorities to end the ongoing judicial harassment of journalists and halt their vicious campaign against press freedom.”