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Stand News editor convicted of “incitement” in a blow to Hong Kong press freedom
Source: BackChina.com Special Topic: The latest news in Hong Kong!
Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking has dropped to 135th out of 180 countries and territories, according to an index compiled by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. In April, a representative of the group was denied entry to Hong Kong while conducting a fact-finding mission.https://t.co/wqNOmgUo2U
— The New York Times Chinese website (@nytchinese) August 30, 2024
Even as China steps up its national security crackdown to silence critics in Hong Kong, two veterans of the city’s often fiery news media have not shied away from making pro-democracy voices on their Stand News website.
The police came, and two and a half years later, a judge on Thursday found the two journalists — former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pei-kuen and his successor, Lin Shao-tong — guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious articles at the now-defunct liberal news outlet. Both face possible jail time.
The landmark ruling underscores how severely press freedom has eroded in Hong Kong, where local news organizations have resorted to self-censorship to survive and some foreign news organizations have withdrawn or relocated staff amid increasing scrutiny from authorities.
During the trial, prosecutors characterized the two as publishing news articles and commentary pieces that were biased against the government and posed a threat to national security. The articles were similar to those published by Stand News for years. But tolerance for dissent in Hong Kong’s free media began to evaporate after China imposed a national security law after authorities cracked down on protests that rocked the city in 2019.
The two editors have maintained their innocence. In his court testimony, Mr. Zhong said they were acting within journalistic principles to provide newsworthy coverage that was in the public interest.
“We don’t have a hidden agenda, we don’t have other purposes or agendas behind us that you can’t see. We just saw something that was very important and of public interest that we wanted to record,” he said in court testimony last year.
Former colleagues of Zhong Peiquan described him as a fearless leader and an impartial reporter who encouraged employees to seek out pro-Beijing politicians for interviews or opinion pieces, although those requests were often denied.
“He is steadfast in his ideals,” said Lin Yanbang, a former editor at the site who now runs an online news agency on his own. “He has the most backbone. His spirit of sacrifice is extreme.”
The trial is the latest example of the authorities’ crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, a campaign that has jailed dozens of activists, opposition politicians and ordinary citizens who post online comments. The campaign has led to an exodus of local and foreign residents and caused some foreign companies to relocate, even as Hong Kong’s economy struggles to recover from a pandemic-era slump.
“This verdict is likely to have more of a chilling effect on the local media industry, which has been strictly self-censoring since 2020,” said Lai Yanhao, a Hong Kong law expert at the Georgetown Asian Law Center.
Judge Kwok Wai-kin, one of the judges handpicked by Hong Kong’s leader to hear national security cases, wrote in his ruling that it was necessary to strike a balance between free speech and “preventing potential harm from seditious publications.”
Hong Kong’s press freedom ranking has dropped to 135th out of 180 countries and territories, according to an index compiled by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. In April, a representative of the group was denied entry to Hong Kong while conducting a fact-finding mission.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, is on trial on charges of conspiracy and collusion with foreign forces under the national security law.
Radio Free Asia, a U.S.-funded news service, said in March it had closed its office in Hong Kong after the government enacted a new national security law targeting alleged foreign interference. The Hong Kong Journalists Association became a target of criticism after it elected a new board this year, with Chinese state media accusing the association of having political agendas.
Both editors have spent nearly a year in jail since their arrests, and their bail was extended pending sentencing in late September. Lin Shaotong did not attend Thursday’s hearing because of health problems, his lawyer said.
The implementation of Hong Kong’s new security law has created some uncertainty about how existing political cases will be handled. Stand News journalists were prosecuted in 2021 under the British colonial-era sedition law, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
But Hong Kong’s new national security law introduced this year, which replaced the old sedition law, raises the maximum sentence for sedition to seven years, or 10 years if “external forces” are involved.
Legal experts said that in at least one other case related to national security, a court had retroactively imposed a new, harsher penalty. It was unclear whether that would happen with the court’s ruling against the two editors.
Founded in 2014, Stand News’ founding principles include upholding democracy, freedom and human rights. It became more famous for live-streaming the months-long anti-government protests in 2019, with its small but seemingly ubiquitous team nimbly covering the movement and the authorities’ response.
Zhong Peiquan and Lin Shaotong were arrested in late December 2021. Hundreds of police officers descended on the newsroom and collected boxes of evidence. Stand News changed its homepage to a notice announcing its closure.
During the trial, prosecutors cited 17 articles that they said were at the heart of a conspiracy between the two editors and the company that owned Stand News to publish seditious material. The articles included an opinion piece written by Nathan Law and an interview with Alvin Hui, two former lawmakers who are now in exile and wanted by Hong Kong police.
The trial of the Stand News editor has dragged on: initially scheduled to last 20 days, it stretched to more than 50. The verdict was initially set for October last year but was postponed three times.
Chung spent 36 days in the witness box as prosecutor Annie Ng said Stand News was a platform for hardline critics of Hong Kong and Beijing. Chung responded by saying he sought to include voices from across the political spectrum because he believed open discussion was good for society.
“Free speech is close to a religion for me,” he said.
In one exchange, Chung was asked whether his belief in free speech included providing a platform for dangerous voices, such as Osama bin Laden after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The torment the trial has taken on Chung was evident, as he broke down in tears at one point as he recalled the arrest of his wife, Chan Pui-man, as deputy publisher of Apple Daily. Chung resigned as Stand News’s top editor a few months before the site shut down to focus on her affairs in prison.
Prosecutors accused him of continuing to give instructions to Lin Shaotong afterwards, citing typos he pointed out in group chat messages and topics that the newspaper had not yet reported. Zhong Peiquan said he was only offering advice and that work habits were difficult to change.
Mr. Zhong’s former colleagues recalled in interviews that he was often the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave. They said he sometimes drafted articles himself, created graphics and captioned photos. When Stand News ran into financial trouble, they said, he took a pay cut.
His former colleague Lin Yanbang recalled that Stand News once published an article criticizing the Democratic Party of Hong Kong.
“We’re not serving anyone in particular, nor are we saying what’s right,” he said. “To say this is a conspiracy is a joke.”
