Press freedom is no excuse for breaking law, China’s foreign ministry says after Stand News sedition convictions
Hong Kong Free Press
Press freedom is no excuse for breaking the law, China’s foreign ministry has said after two ex-editors at the defunct Hong Kong news outlet Stand News were found guilty of sedition.
Spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry Lin Jian said in a press conference in Beijing on Friday that “some countries and organisations” had used the legal proceedings to “slander” Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law… press freedom cannot become an excuse for committing crimes,” Lin said in Mandarin, adding that Beijing supported Hong Kong’s Judiciary in carrying out its duties.
Lin’s comments were made in response to a landmark verdict on Thursday, which saw two former editors at Stand News, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, found guilty of conspiring to publish “seditious” materials.
The verdict came almost three years after the pair was arrested in a police operation that also saw Stand News’ office raided. Hours later, the outlet announced its closure and deleted all of its content.
Western politicians, including those from the US and the UK, have condemned the convictions. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called the verdict a “direct attack on media freedom.”
Britain’s foreign office minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West, said the editors were found guilty for “doing their job,” adding that free media was essential for the prosperity of society.
Lin slammed the criticism. “We urge countries to… respect China’ sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and stop any form of intervention on Hong Kong matters and interreference in China’s internal affairs,” he said.
In a statement published on Friday afternoon, the Hong Kong government accused US and EU politicians, “anti-China groups” and foreign media outlets of making false comments based on their political agenda.
“Just like other places, rights and freedoms [in Hong Kong] are not absolute. Media workers like everybody else have a responsibility to abide by the law,” the Chinese statement read. “As long as [you] do not break the law, the freedom for media commentaries and criticising the government is not restricted.”
‘Seditious intention’
In his written judgement handout after the verdict, judge Kwok Wai-kin – who was handpicked by the city’s leader to oversee national security cases – said he had found 11 of the 17 articles presented by the prosecution as evidence to be “seditious.”
Among them were an interview with former Stand News journalist turned activist Gwyneth Ho – who was in May convicted of conspiring to commit subversion over her role in an unofficial primary election along with other pro-democracy figures – and opinion pieces written by self-exiled activist Nathan Law and journalism teacher Allan Au.
Steve Li, the chief superintendent of the National Security Department of the police, addressed reporters outside the court after the verdict was delivered. Asked whether police would take action against the columnists or reporters behind those articles, Li said it depended on whether they had a “seditious intention.”
The chief superintendent also said that under Hong Kong’s new security law, known as Article 23, the maximum imprisonment term for a sedition offence has been increased from two years under the colonial-era law to seven years. The penalty is a maximum of 10 years if the person colluded with foreign forces, he added.
Sentencing was scheduled for September 26, with both Chung and Lam allowed to remain on bail until then.
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