Stand News: NGOs, union, US condemn Hong Kong journalist convictions, as gov’t hails ‘justice upheld’
Hong Kong Free Press
The government has hailed the conviction of ex-Stand News editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam after they – and their now-defunct news outlet – were found guilty on Thursday of publishing 11 “seditious” items. Multiple NGOs, a press union and the EU have slammed the guilty verdicts, saying they demonstrate the city’s decline in press freedom.
Stand News articles ruled “seditious” included an interview with journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho, and opinion pieces written by self-exiled activist Nathan Law and journalism teacher Allan Au. The duo face up to two years in prison when sentenced next month.
Multiple press groups and NGOs hit out at the verdict on Thursday, with the Hong Kong Journalists Association condemning the colonial-era sedition law, which was toughened earlier this year: “We strongly oppose using sedition laws — including those set out in the new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance — to prosecute people exercising their constitutional right to conduct journalism.”
The sentiments were echoed by US, UK and EU spokespersons, as well as NGOs Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, who called the convictions “another nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s press freedom.”
On Thursday evening, a government statement hailed the verdict: “Any individual or organisation that incites hatred and engages in acts and activities endangering national security can never escape sanctions of the law, and such malicious acts will surely be duly punished.”
A spokesperson added that, journalists are free to air criticism based on facts but “Stand News completely disregarded objective facts and contravened the special duties and responsibilities emphasised by international human rights conventions which journalists must observe.”
See also: 2 journalists from defunct media outlet Stand News found guilty of sedition
HKFP rounds up reactions from officials, NGOs and unions.
Press union Hong Kong Journalists Association
“HKJA believes that the case against Stand News exemplifies the decline of the city’s press freedom, and the damage done to the city’s press and to a media company is irreversible long before the verdict was handed down today… The government raised the maximum penalty for the crime of sedition from two to seven years earlier this year, which will deepen injuries to Hong Kong’s press using the same tool that the colonial government had once employed to muzzle pro-China press almost a hundred years ago… We strongly oppose using sedition laws — including those set out in the new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance — to prosecute people exercising their constitutional right to conduct journalism.”
National Security Department chief Steve Li
“We are not saying what topics or cases cannot be reported on. We are not doing that… But if they choose to use a seditious intention while reporting… this cannot be done. This could be sanctioned by the law.”
NGO Reporters Without Borders
“The guilty verdict for two editors-in-chief, after more than three years of continued delays, is yet another proof of the deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong. It marks the first time in the history of Hong Kong, when a media and its journalist, reporting on the facts, is receiving punishment for their articles critical of the authorities. This verdict is setting a very dangerous precedent that could be further used by Beijing to suppress any independent voices within the territory. What is even more concerning, with the new Article 23 legislation “sedition” can be punished now up to 10 years in prison. The authorities have sought to weaponize the law in a way that facilitates targeting any individual deemed a political threat.”
Hong Kong gov’t spokesperson
“As demonstrated by the reasons for verdict of the court, Stand News completely disregarded objective facts and contravened the special duties and responsibilities emphasised by international human rights conventions which journalists must observe. As such, the claims by individual media organisations which disregard facts, as well as anti-China and destabilising individuals, foreign politicians and organisations with vicious motives, which accused the verdict of ‘suppressing’ freedom of the press are utterly unfounded. To distort words and acts that incite hatred as ‘journalistic work’ as such individuals and organisations did is indeed the gravest insult against the professional journalists of Hong Kong… Members of the public (including journalists) in Hong Kong are, as always, free to make comments or criticisms that are based on facts, and to enjoy and exercise freedoms of the press and of speech in accordance with the law, without fear of unwittingly violating the law.”
European Union External Action
“This latest conviction is yet another sign of the dwindling space for press freedom, a fundamental right enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. The ruling risks further inhibiting the pluralistic exchange of ideas and the free flow of information, both cornerstones of the economic success of Hong Kong… The EU calls on the Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in press freedom in Hong Kong and to stop prosecuting journalists. The preservation of free, independent and pluralistic media is vital for resilient and healthy societies.”
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric Chan
“All journalists report based on facts, I think there will not be situations restricting the freedom of the press… Criticising the government is not an action that is disallowed. We see news articles criticising the government every day.”
Foreign Correspondents’ Club
“This verdict will send shockwaves through Hong Kong newsrooms, as well as international news organisations with bureaus in the city, as they seek to understand whether their day-to-day operations could be in violation of Hong Kong law. This case has long been regarded by many as a litmus test for press freedom in the city. The FCC will further assess the details of this verdict and its implications for our operations. Doubtlessly, news organisations throughout Hong Kong will be doing exactly the same.”
NGO Committee to Protect Journalists’ Iris Hsu
“The guilty verdict is another nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s press freedom… It shows the government’s determination to destroy independent journalism in the city. Hong Kong authorities must stop persecuting the media for their critical reporting.”
Foreign Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West
“Journalism is not a crime. Yet two former Stand News editors have been found guilty of sedition in Hong Kong today, for doing their job. Free media is essential if societies & economies are to prosper. But HK has dropped from 18 to 135 in World Press Freedom Index since 2002.”
US State Dep’t Spokesperson Matthew Miller
“The conviction of Stand News editors for sedition is a direct attack on media freedom and undermines Hong Kong’s once-proud international reputation for openness. We urge Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to restore and uphold rights guaranteed in the Basic Law.”
NGO Amnesty International’s Sarah Brooks
“The court’s judgment that 11 articles on the Stand News website were ‘seditious’ will invariably force journalists working in Hong Kong to think twice about what they write and further entrench a climate of fear in the city, fuelled by a succession of repressive national security laws… The Hong Kong authorities should end their use of sedition laws, which are repressive offences harking back to the colonial era, to muzzle freedom of the press and other human rights. The journalists convicted today have committed no internationally recognized crime and their conviction should be quashed.”
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