A Hong Kong court convicted two former editors of a shuttered news outlet, in a sedition case.
Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were arrested in December 2021. They pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications.
Their sedition trial was Hong Kong’s first involving media since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Chung and Lam were charged under a colonial-era sedition law that has been used increasingly to crush dissidents.
They face up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $640) for a first offense.
Judge Kwok Wai-kin said in his written judgment that Stand News’ became a tool for smearing the Beijing and Hong Kong governments during the 2019 protests.
“When speech, in the relevant context, is deemed to have caused potential damage to national security and intends to seriously undermine the authority of the Chinese central government or the Hong Kong government, and that it must be stopped,” he said.
The case was centered on 17 articles. Prosecutors said some promoted “illegal ideologies,” or smearing the security law and law enforcement officers.
Judge Kwok found that 11 of the carried seditious intent, including commentaries written by activist Nathan Law and esteemed journalists Allan Au and Chan Pui-man.
Chan is also Chung’s wife. He found that the other six did not, such as interviews with pro-democracy ex-lawmakers Law and Ted Hui, who are among a group of overseas-based activists targeted by Hong Kong police bounties.
