‘Dark day for press freedom in Hong Kong’: Stand News editors found guilty of alleged sedition

Today, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, two former Stand News editors, were found guilty of alleged sedition in a Hong Kong court. The editors are the first journalists to be issued such a conviction since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, and face up to two years’ imprisonment. This verdict reflects another dark milestone for press freedom in the city.

Mr Chung and Mr Lam were accused of and pleaded not guilty to conspiring to publish 17 seditious articles between July 2020 and December 2021. The allegedly seditious articles include the profiles of pro-democracy candidates, a feature interview with Hong Kong Watch Advisory Board member Ted Hui, and commentary pieces from pro-democracy activists and journalists responding to Beijing’s imposition of the National Security Law in 2020.

During their trial from October 2022 to June 2023, Mr Chung told the court he never imagined that journalism could attract a sedition charge and that the government’s “suppression of critical voices or opinions will cause hatred more easily” than the comment itself. “I believe that if Hong Kong truly upholds the space for free speech granted by the Basic Law and Bill of Rights, these articles are fine to publish,” he said. 

The trial was expected to last 20 days, but lasted more than 50 days. The verdict from the trial was expected in October 2023, but was thrice delayed and is now being issued ten months later. 

Stand News was one of Hong Kong’s last significant remaining independent Chinese-language, pro-democracy media outlets. Stand News was forcibly closed in December 2021 after its newsroom was raided by more than 200 national security police officers and six staff members were arrested. Its closure signalled that the regime in Beijing no longer tolerated any form of dissident, criticism or scrutiny in Hong Kong, even though the city’s Basic Law guarantees press freedom. The verdict today echoes the same signal, demonstrating the ongoing and deeply concerning dismantling of the free press in Hong Kong.

Lord Patten of Barnes, the last Governor of Hong Kong and Patron of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“It is a dark day for press freedom in Hong Kong as Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam have been found guilty for simply doing their jobs as journalists. The baseless allegations and verdict of this trial mark a further sinister turn for media freedom in Hong Kong, as it is clear that political commentary and opinion pieces may violate national security.

The international community must continue to closely monitor the freedom of the press in Hong Kong, and international lawmakers should consider punitive measures to pressure the Hong Kong authorities to recommit to upholding the Basic Law and Sino-British Joint Declaration which guarantee the observance of free press, including by imposing targeted sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. Lawmakers should also call for the immediate and unconditional release of all Hong Kong journalists in jail, including British citizen Jimmy Lai.”

「香港新聞自由黑暗的一天」：《立場》前總編及署理總編「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪成

今天，香港區域法院就《立場新聞》案頒下裁決，時任總編輯鍾沛權和署任總編輯林紹桐被裁定「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪名成立。兩人是自1997年香港主權移交以來首被判煽動罪成的新聞工作者，最高可處兩年監禁。這是香港新聞自由史上又一黑暗的一天。

鍾沛權和林紹桐被控在2020年7月至2021年12月期間串謀發布17篇煽動文章，兩人均不認罪。涉案文章包括民主派初選候選人的人物專訪、流亡海外港人許智峯等的專訪、社運人士和記者回應2020年北京實施《國安法》的評論文章。

審訊原訂20日，最終歷時超過50日。案件原訂於2023年10月裁決，但經三度押後至今才裁決。

香港監察贊助人、前香港總督彭定康勳爵（Lord Patten of Barnes）表示：

「這是香港新聞自由黑暗的一天：鍾沛權和林紹桐只因履行記者的職責，就被判罪成。這場審訊毫無根據的指控和裁決標誌着香港媒體自由進一步惡化，因政治評論和觀點文章顯然可能違反國家安全。

國際社會必須繼續密切關注香港新聞自由，國際立法議員應考慮採取懲罰措施，包括點名制裁香港特首李家超，迫使香港當局重新承諾維護《基本法》和《中英聯合聲明》 ，兩份文件均保障恪守新聞自由。立法議員亦應呼籲立即無條件釋放所有在囚香港新聞工作者，包括英國公民黎智英。」