Two journalists from the now-closed Hong Kong‘s independent media outlet ‘Stand News‘ were convicted of conspiring to publish seditious materials on Thursday. These are the first convictions of their kind since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese control.
Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were editor-in-chief and acting editor-in-chief at Stand News respectively.
The court ruled that 11 of the 17 articles published by Stand News were seditious. The prosecutors argued that the media outlet promoted “illegal ideologies” and incited hatred against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, as well as the 2020 national security law. Stand News’ parent company, Best Pencil Ltd, was also found guilty.
The judgment said that Stand News took a stance supporting and promoting Hong Kong’s local autonomy, and it had even become a tool to smear and vilify Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR government. District court judge Kwok Wai-kin noted that in determining seditious intent, the court considered both the potential threat to national security and the prevailing circumstances at the time.
In December 2021, Lam, Chung, and five other Stand News staff and board members, including former politician and lawyer Margaret Ng and pop singer turned pro-democracy activist Denise Ho, were arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police. The arrests took place shortly before Stand News shut down after its offices were raided by the police.
Chung and Lam’s trial was highly anticipated, as it marks the first sedition case directly involving journalism and media, despite not being the first sedition charge since the national security laws were enacted.
Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were editor-in-chief and acting editor-in-chief at Stand News respectively.
The court ruled that 11 of the 17 articles published by Stand News were seditious. The prosecutors argued that the media outlet promoted “illegal ideologies” and incited hatred against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, as well as the 2020 national security law. Stand News’ parent company, Best Pencil Ltd, was also found guilty.
The judgment said that Stand News took a stance supporting and promoting Hong Kong’s local autonomy, and it had even become a tool to smear and vilify Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR government. District court judge Kwok Wai-kin noted that in determining seditious intent, the court considered both the potential threat to national security and the prevailing circumstances at the time.
In December 2021, Lam, Chung, and five other Stand News staff and board members, including former politician and lawyer Margaret Ng and pop singer turned pro-democracy activist Denise Ho, were arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police. The arrests took place shortly before Stand News shut down after its offices were raided by the police.
Chung and Lam’s trial was highly anticipated, as it marks the first sedition case directly involving journalism and media, despite not being the first sedition charge since the national security laws were enacted.
Source : Times of India
