Stand News editors found guilty of sedition

The District Court on Thursday found two former editors of the now-defunct Stand News, along with the media outlet's parent company, guilty of sedition, in the first sedition case involving the media since the handover.

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 between July 2020 and December 2021.

Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd., the outlet’s holding company, was convicted on the same charge. It had no representatives during the trial, which began in October 2022.

The sentences for the journalists, who face up to two years in prison, will be handed down on September 26 in their next court appearance, with both Chung and Lam continued to be granted bail.

Chung appeared in front of judge Kwok Wai-kin at Wan Chai’s District Court on Thursday to hear the verdict, while it is understood that Lam was not present for the hearing due to a health issue.

Chung appeared calm after the verdict was handed down.

According to a press summary given to reporters in court, Kwok said the court found 11 out of the 17 articles to be seditious.

Their case is centered on the 17 articles. They included stories featuring pro-democracy ex-lawmakers Nathan Law and Ted Hui, who are among a group of overseas-based activists targeted by Hong Kong police bounties; interviews with three participants in a primary election organized by the pro-democracy camp in 2020; and commentaries by Law and veteran journalists Allan Au and Chan Pui-man. Chan is also Chung’s wife.

Prosecutors accused some of the articles of helping promote “illegal ideologies,” as well as smearing the security law and law enforcement officers.

Prosecutors said Stand News was a political platform as well as an online news outlet.

Chung previously denied that Stand News was a political platform, and emphasized the importance of freedom of speech during the trial.

“Freedom of speech should not be restricted on the grounds of eradicating dangerous ideas, but rather it should be used to eradicate dangerous ideas,” he said.

Meanwhile, defense lawyer Audrey Eu read out a mitigation statement from Lam in court today, who said Stand News reporters had a mission to cover news with independent editorial standards. “The way for journalists to defend press freedom is reporting,” Eu quoted Lam saying.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders condemned the guilty verdict, saying it sets a dangerous precedent and strikes another blow against the territory’s shattered press freedom.

“This appalling verdict sets a very dangerous precedent for journalists. From now on, anyone reporting on facts that are not in line with the authorities’ official narrative could be sentenced for sedition. We renew our call on Hong Kong’s authorities to end the continued judicial harassment against two journalists and stop its nefarious campaign against press freedom,” said Cédric Alviani, RSF’s Asia-Pacific Bureau Director.