Hong Kong: Two journalists found guilty in sedition case

Former editors of defunct independent news website Stand News, Chung Pui-Kuen and Patrick Lam, were found guilty of sedition by Hong Kong's District Court on August 29, with both facing up to two years in prison. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the verdict as a grave attack on press freedom and urges Hong Kong authorities to uphold its constitutional commitments to press freedom.

Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of Hong Kong's now shuttered pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, leaves the district court in Hong Kong on August 29, 2024, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Credit: AFP

On August 29, District Court judge Kwok Wai-kin found Chung Pui-Kuen and Patrick Lam, former editors of the closed independent news site Stand News, guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications under sections 10(1)(c), 159A and 159C of the Crimes Ordinance. The ruling is the first sedition trial involving media in Hong Kong since the former British colony was handed back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

The Hong Kong court hearing focused on 17 articles published by Stand News between July 2020 and December 2021. Judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled that 11 of the articles were seditious, with prosecutors arguing that they incited hatred or contempt towards the Chinese government, the Hong Kong government, and the 2020 National Security Law (NSL). Of the 11 articles, nine were commentaries by activists, with a further profile on activist Gwyneth Ho and a feature on a student march.

Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd., Stand News' holding company, was also convicted of sedition. The company had no representatives at the trial, which began in October 2022. The verdict, delivered after multiple delays, found that the heated political climate at the time influenced the seditious nature of the articles. Chung and Lam, both of whom spent nearly a year in pre-trial custody, will be sentenced on September 26, facing a maximum jail term of two years and fines of HKD 5000, or approximately USD 640.

Stand News rose to prominence for its extensive coverage of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which were triggered by a proposed amendment to the city's extradition bill. In December 2021, over 200 national security police raided Stand News' office, freezing HK$61 million (USD 7.8 million) of the outlet's assets. Shortly after the raid, Stand News announced its closure and removed all its online content.

Released on August 20, the 2024 Press Freedom Index, published by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institution (HKPORI), dropped to the lowest score on record among media workers. Factors included the city's new security law, and ongoing trials against media workers, including Chung Pui-Kuen and Patrick Lam.

The IFJ stated:"The IFJ condemns the convictions of Chung Pui-Kuen and Patrick Lam as a clear violation of Hong Kong's constitutional commitments to press freedom. Journalists must be free to report on events in the public interest without fear of legal repercussions, with this result representing the immense challenges faced by the city's media community since 2020. Hong Kong authorities must ensure that journalists can conduct their duties without fear of retaliation or prosecution."