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Two journalists from Hong Kong, Chung Pui-kuen t Patrick Lamwere convicted by a court of publishing “seditious material” on the news website Stand News, which they both run, and now face a prison sentence of up to two years. The judges’ decision could have a profound impact on press freedom in the special administrative region. The convictions were made under an anti-sedition law that dates back to when Hong Kong was a British colony and has not been enforced since the territory was returned to China in 1997. The trial of the two journalists began in October 2022, almost a year after Stand News was closed.
Chung, Lam and five others were arrested in December 2021 as part of a broader crackdown by authorities on pro-democracy media that began with the imposition of the national security law in June 2020 to quell the previous year’s massive protests. The arrests were criticized by several Western governments. “Journalism is not sedition,” the US Secretary of State stressed at the time. Antony BlinkenIn addition to “Stand News”, the Hong Kong authorities had also ordered the closure of the daily newspaper “Apple Daily”, whose founder Jimmy Lai risks a life sentence in prison after being charged under the national security law, as well as the news website “Citizen News”.
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