A Hong Kong court has convicted two former editors of the defunct Stand News media outlet of sedition, marking a historic moment for press freedom in the city. Chung Pui-kuen, former editor-in-chief, and Patrick Lam, former acting editor-in-chief, were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious content, a charge that has not been seen in Hong Kong's judiciary system since the city's handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
The conviction stems from a case involving 17 articles published by Stand News between July 2020 and December 2021, which prosecutors claimed incited hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Chung, 54, and Lam, 36, now face up to two years in prison when sentenced on September 26. The court's decision has been met with international criticism and is seen as a pivotal moment in the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.
Judge Kwok Wai-kin, delivering the verdict, described Stand News as a platform that promoted "illegal" ideologies and aimed to undermine national security. "When speech is assessed as having seditious intent, it must be stopped if it poses potential damage to national security," Judge Kwok stated. The case has drawn significant attention as it is the first sedition trial involving media personnel since the 1997 handover.
Stand News, once a leading critical voice in Hong Kong, was raided by police in December 2021. This raid, coupled with the freezing of the outlet's assets, led to its closure. Chung and Lam, along with the outlet's parent company Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, were charged under a colonial-era sedition law, a legal remnant that critics argue is being used to stifle dissent and press freedom.
Prosecutors argued that Stand News acted as a political platform rather than a journalistic enterprise, with articles that allegedly smeared the Chinese and Hong Kong governments during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The court found that 11 out of 17 articles had seditious intent, including pieces by exiled activists Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, as well as veteran journalist Allan Au and Chung's wife, Chan Pui-man.
The verdict has elicited strong reactions from media freedom advocates. Aleksandra Bielakowska from Reporters Without Borders warned that the ruling sets a "dangerous precedent" that could be exploited by Beijing to suppress independent voices further. "This verdict strikes another blow against press freedom in Hong Kong," Bielakowska said. The organization condemned the ruling as part of a broader trend of suppressing dissent and restricting media freedoms in the city.
During the trial, Chung defended Stand News, asserting that the outlet had only "recorded the facts and reported the truth" and had aimed to reflect a broad spectrum of voices. Lam, who was absent from the court due to health issues, had argued in a mitigation letter that press freedom is defended through reporting. Both editors maintained that their work was in line with journalistic principles and did not intend to incite violence or defame.
The conviction of Chung and Lam comes amid a broader crackdown on media and political dissent in Hong Kong, following the enactment of a sweeping national security law in 2020. The law, which has been used to target pro-democracy activists and independent media, has led to a significant decline in press freedom. The city's ranking in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index has plummeted from 80th place in 2021 to 135th place this year.
The case has also sparked concerns about the future of media freedom in Hong Kong. The closure of Stand News and Citizen News, another independent outlet, underscores the shrinking space for critical journalism. The recent ruling highlights the escalating tensions between Hong Kong's legal system and the principles of press freedom, raising questions about the city's adherence to its mini-constitution's guarantees of media autonomy.
