Human Rights Watch urges Hong Kong to overturn journalists’ convictions and end media repression

International human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Hong Kong government to overturn the politically motivated convictions of two journalists and stop attacks on media freedom, as concerns remain over a national security law in the Chinese-controlled territory.

On August 29, the Hong Kong District Court found two editors of the defunct Stand News guilty. Chung Pui-kuen, 54, the former editor-in-chief, and Patrick Lam, 36, the former acting editor-in-chief – as well as the newspaper’s parent company Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd. – guilty of “conspiring to publish seditious material.” Chung and Lam face up to two years in prison.

“The Hong Kong government is sending a terrible message to journalists that reporting on issues of public concern will land you in jail. The Hong Kong and Chinese governments should immediately revoke Chung and Lam’s convictions and stop the crackdown on media freedom,” said Maya Wang, human rights associate China director at Human Rights Watch.

During the 57-day trial, the prosecution presented 17 articles from Stand News as evidence, claiming that the acclaimed media outlet aimed to “incite hatred against the Hong Kong and central governments”.

A district court judge chosen by the government to handle national security cases determined that 11 of these articles were “seditious.” Police raids and arbitrary arrests of its staff forced Stand News to shut down in December 2021.

Under the national security law, both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments have taken swift action to curtail civil liberties in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong government has abused the broadly defined colonial-era sedition law to suppress peaceful expression. The law has been used against authors of children’s books, academics, individuals distributing pro-independence pamphlets, and even people who clapped during the trial of a pro-democracy activist.

In March, after the Hong Kong government imposed an even harsher national security law that broadens its powers to suppress dissent, the colonial-era sedition law was replaced by the new law, which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison.

Human Rights Watch also said that since 2020, many governments and the United Nations have expressed concern about the rapid deterioration of freedoms in Hong Kong, but only a few have taken concrete action. An exception is the United States, which has imposed targeted sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials in response to the national security law.