Hong Kong court convicts two journalists in a landmark sedition case

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court convicted two former editors of a shuttered news outlet on Thursday, in a sedition case that is widely seen as a barometer for the future of media freedom in the city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.

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. Their sedition trial was Hong Kong’s first involving media since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Stand News was one of the city’s last media outlets that openly criticized the government amid a crackdown on dissent that followed massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The offense is punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $640) under a colonial-era sedition law. Judge Kwok Wai-kin is not expected to hand down a sentence on the same day.

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.