Two former editors of the now-defunct online news outlet Stand News were found guilty on Thursday of conspiring to publish seditious articles.

Former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and acting chief editor Patrick Lam were convicted of conspiring to publish and reproduce seditious publications between July 2020 and December 2021.

Stand News' parent company, Best Pencil Limited, was also found guilty of the same offence.

In a written judgement, District Court judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled that 11 of the 17 publications raised by the prosecution were seditious, noting the political climate at the time was extremely heated and many people were unhappy with the SAR and central governments.

The published materials included interviews with opposition figures as well as commentaries.

The court ruled that the political ideology of Stand News was localism and its stance was to "support and promote Hong Kong local autonomy".

“During the anti-extradition bill movement, it even became a tool to smear and vilify the central authorities and the SAR government,” Kwok wrote in the judgement.

The court ruled that Chung knew and approved of the articles’ seditious intentions and offered Stand News as a platform to incite hatred against central and SAR authorities.

The judge also noted that Lam approved one of the articles found to be seditious, while at the same time voicing support for the anti-extradition bill movement in a forum.

The verdict, originally slated for last October, was postponed three times pending an appeal in a separate sedition case.

Sentencing has been adjourned to September 26, and both Chung and Lam were freed on bail.

They each face up to two years in prison.

Lam was absent from the hearing on Thursday due to a health issue.

Defence lawyer Audrey Eu read Lam’s mitigation letter in court, which said Stand News journalists sought to run a news outlet with fully independent editorial standards.

“Journalists are not only responsible for their own reports. They are also failing in their duty if they deliberately avoid reporting when they know the public has the right to be informed,” Eu quoted Lam as saying.

She also revealed that Lam is suffering from a “rare disease” that required chemotherapy, and it would be difficult for him to receive medical care if jailed.

In a written mitigation letter submitted to the court, Chung said it is the “inescapable responsibility” of journalists to report the truth.

Senior counsel Eu told the court that both defendants had spent over 10 months behind bars before getting bail.

Stand News closed down in December 2021 after police raided its office and froze its assets.

Speaking to reporters outside the court after the verdict, chief superintendent from the national security unit, Steve Li, said police welcomed the court's decision.

"When the national security department took the enforcement against the Stand News on December 2021, some people criticised us that we are suppressing the freedom of the speech and the press," he said.

"But the judge's verdict has clearly illustrated the necessity and the lawfulness of the enforcement [action] taken on that day."

Speaking to reporters at another event, Chief Secretary Eric Chan said authorities respected and valued media freedom, which is protected by law.

"If all journalists report based on facts, I think there would not be situations restricting the freedom of the press," he said.

"Criticising the government is not an action that is not allowed. We see news articles criticising the government every day."

In a statement issued late Thursday evening, a government spokesman said "any individual or organisation that incites hatred and engages in acts and activities endangering national security can never escape sanctions of the law, and such malicious acts will surely be duly punished."

The statement added, "To distort words and acts that incite hatred as 'journalistic work' as such individuals and organisations did is indeed the gravest insult against the professional journalists of Hong Kong."
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Last updated: 2024-08-29 HKT 23:39