In a ruling that underscores the precarious state of press freedom in Hong Kong, two former editors of the now-defunct Stand News have been convicted of sedition by a Hong Kong court. The verdict against Chung Pui-kuen, the former editor-in-chief, and Patrick Lam, the former acting editor-in-chief, marks a significant moment in the ongoing erosion of media independence in the city.
Chung and Lam were arrested in December 2021 during a sweeping crackdown on dissent, just months after the implementation of Hong Kong’s controversial national security law. Both editors had pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications. The court has granted them bail pending sentencing, scheduled for September 26.
This case has been widely viewed as a litmus test for the future of media freedom in Hong Kong, a city that once prided itself as a beacon of free press in Asia. The trial was the first of its kind since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, highlighting the shifting landscape of civil liberties under Beijing’s tightening grip.
In his judgment, Judge Kwok Wai-kin accused Stand News of being a mouthpiece for anti-government sentiment during the 2019 pro-democracy protests. He argued that certain articles published by Stand News had the potential to harm national security by undermining the authority of the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong administration. Kwok concluded that 11 out of the 17 articles in question carried seditious intent, including commentaries by prominent activist Nathan Law and veteran journalists Allan Au and Chan Pui-man, the latter being Chung’s wife.
The remaining six articles, which included interviews with pro-democracy ex-legislators Nathan Law and Ted Hui—both of whom are now overseas activists with bounties on their heads issued by Hong Kong police—were found not to be seditious.
Defense lawyer Audrey Eu presented a mitigation statement from Lam, who emphasized that Stand News aimed to maintain an independent editorial stance, free from external influences. “The only way for journalists to defend press freedom is through their reporting,” Lam stated. While Chung’s mitigation letter was not read aloud in court, local media reported that he expressed solidarity with ordinary Hong Kong citizens who have suffered for standing up for their beliefs, emphasizing the crucial role of journalists in documenting and sharing their stories.
Stand News was one of the last remaining independent news outlets in Hong Kong to openly criticize the government during the 2019 protests. Its closure in December 2021, following a dramatic police raid involving over 200 officers, marked the end of an era of robust journalism in the city. The raid, executed with a warrant to seize journalistic materials, was followed closely by the shutdown of Citizen News, another independent outlet, which cited the deteriorating media environment and the potential risks to its staff.
The sedition law under which Chung and Lam were charged dates back to the colonial era, and those convicted under it face up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately USD 640) for a first offense.
Hong Kong’s rapid decline in press freedom is reflected in its fall from 80th to 135th place in Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index. Despite this alarming trend, the Hong Kong government maintains that the city continues to enjoy press freedom, as guaranteed by its mini-constitution.
The conviction of Chung and Lam, however, sends a chilling message to the remaining independent voices in Hong Kong’s media landscape, signaling a future where freedom of the press may be little more than a memory.
