A Hong Kong court is expected to rule Thursday on the sedition charge against pro-democracy media outlet Stand News and its two former chief editors, the first case of its kind since the city came under Chinese rule in 1997.
The case is seen as a bellwether for press freedom in the finance hub as Beijing continues to tighten its grip following a crackdown on huge and sometimes violent democracy protests five years ago.
The former British colony was once known for its freewheeling media, in contrast to mainland China where journalists are heavily restricted. But the city has tumbled in global press freedom rankings in recent years.
Stand News, a Chinese-language website whose audience swelled during the 2019 protests, shut down in December 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested top editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam.
Chung, Lam and the outlet’s parent company were charged with “conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications”, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.
In a trial that lasted nearly 60 days, prosecutors cited 17 Stand News articles as evidence, including interviews with pro-democracy activists and opinion pieces bemoaning the decline in freedoms.
Chung testified that the outlet was a platform for free speech and defended his decisions to publish articles critical of the government.
But prosecutors accused them of bringing “hatred or contempt” to the Chinese and Hong Kong government.
The sedition offence has its roots in British colonial rule. It had not been used for decades until authorities dusted it off in 2020 to target government critics.
More than 50 people have been prosecuted for sedition since. A Hong Kong court also ruled in March that a person can be found guilty of sedition even if they did not intend to incite violence.
Hong Kong authorities also enacted a security law — colloquially known as Article 23 — in March which upped the maximum jail term for sedition to seven years.
Chung and Lam spent almost a year behind bars before being granted bail in late 2022 as their trial took place.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the prosecutions of journalists in Hong Kong, saying that the case against the Stand News editors “creates a chilling effect on others in the press and media”.
