Hong Kong gov’t hails ‘justice upheld’ in sentencing of journalists for sedition, as NGO, union decry ‘danger’ of decision
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has hailed the sentencing of two former top editors of Stand News in a landmark sedition case, saying that the now-defunct media outlet had “sided with the protesters against the government,” while media groups described the case as a blow to press freedom.
The ideology of Stand News was “localism which excluded China” and the digital outlet became a tool to “smear and vilify” the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities during the 2019 extradition bill protests, a government spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday night.
The statement entitled “Justice upheld in District Court’s sentencing in a case of ‘conspiracy to publish seditious publication’” came hours after Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam received their sentences at the Wan Chai courthouse.
It was the first such conviction and sentencing of journalists since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Chung, 55, was jailed for one year and nine months, three months less than the maximum sentence under the anti-sedition law in force at the time, while 36-year-old Lam saw 14 months as a starting point for his sentence.
District Judge Kwok Wai-kin reduced Lam’s sentence considering that he was suffering from a serious health condition. The ex-journalist, who had already served 10 months in pre-trial detention, was able to walk free and did not have to serve extra time in jail.
The government said the pair had been aware of and approved of the seditious intent of 11 offending articles, providing Stand News as a platform for inciting hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, as well as hatred against the administration of justice.
The court found that the articles had attacked the police and “glorified the behaviour of rioters,” the government said. They also criticised judicial procedures and spread hatred and anti-government sentiment with disinformation, the government added.
“[I]n other words, they were not based on facts. To distort acts of inciting hatred as ‘journalism’ is a complete reversal of right and wrong,” the government statement read.
It said Chung, Lam and the parent company of Stand News were not engaged in “genuine journalistic work.” The maximum penalty of two years was “completely disproportionate to the severity of the offences,” the statement read.
“From the editorial of Stand News and News Stand, it is evident that they sided with the protesters against the government,” the government said.
During the trial that began in October 2022, prosecutors accused Chung and Lam of running 17 allegedly seditious articles, saying they intended to incite hatred and contempt against the Hong Kong government and Beijing.
In his verdict last month, Kwok said 11 articles – mostly opinion pieces critical of the authorities – caused “potential detrimental consequences to national security.” Among the articles were commentaries written by self-exiled activist Nathan Law and journalism teacher Allan Au.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) said the conviction of Chung and Lam reflected the “ongoing decline of press freedom in Hong Kong” and the “real dangers media workers in the territory are facing.”
The prosecution of the former editors caused “irreversible harm” to the city’s journalism industry, as many journalists lost their jobs after the outlet was forced to cease operations, the press union said.
HKJA raised concerns that neither the prosecutors nor the judge in the Stand News case had “drawn clear boundaries” for the media sector in terms of sedition. The offence, originally outlawed under a colonial-era law, was incorporated into the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, with its maximum penalty raised to seven years in jail, or 10 years if foreign forces are shown to be involved.
“This uncertainty can only make journalists in Hong Kong more worried about being blamed at every turn, hampering their ability to perform their constitutionally protected duties,” the HKJA said in a statement.
The case was condemned by press freedom watchdog Reporter Without Borders (RSF), which said it had set a “dangerous precedent.”
RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director Cédric Alviani called on the international community to “intensify pressure” on China to secure the release of Chung, alongside 10 other journalists and press freedom activists detained in the territory.
“Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were serving the public’s interest by covering social and political issues in Hong Kong and should never have been detained, let alone sentenced to prison,” Alviani said.
Hong Kong has plummeted in international press freedom indices since the onset of the security law. Watchdogs cite the arrest of journalists, raids on newsrooms and the closure of around 10 media outlets including Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city’s government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives and axed news and satirical shows.
See also: Explainer: Hong Kong’s press freedom under the national security law
In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was “in the pocket” of Hongkongers but “nobody is above the law.” Although he has told the press to “tell a good Hong Kong story,” government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches.
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