HONG KONG: A Hong Kong judge on Thursday (Sep 26) jailed a former chief editor of pro-democracy news outlet Stand News for sedition, handing down a 21-month prison term in the landmark case.
The sentencing of Chung Pui-kuen is the latest crackdown on free speech in the former British colony that has seen critics of China jailed or forced into exile, following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The 55-year-old and fellow chief editor Patrick Lam, 36, were in charge of Stand News, a Chinese-language website that gained a massive following during the protests, before it was raided and shut down in December 2021.
Last month, district court judge Kwok Wai-kin found the pair guilty of “conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications”. Stand News’ parent company, Best Pencil Limited, was also found guilty.
The judge on Thursday handed out a 21-month sentence to Chung, making him the first journalist to be jailed for sedition since Hong Kong came under Chinese rule in 1997.
Lam received a sentence reduction and will not return to jail, owing to time already served, with Kwok saying a prison term “could endanger his life” due to serious health issues.
He added that the two defendants, as well as the publication, were “not doing genuine journalistic work”.
“They were taking part in the so-called resistance. They stood on the side of the protesters to oppose the government,” he said.
“Stand News had 1.6 million followers and these seditious articles must have caused quite serious damage, even though I couldn’t quantify it,” Kwok said, adding that prison was the only option.
