Repression continues in Hong Kong. Two journalists were charged with “sedition” Thursday after the police operation the day before against the pro-democracy news site Stand News, which sparked an international wave of condemnation.
Hong Kong police “indicted two men, aged 34 and 52, and an online media company, with conspiring to carry out a seditious publication,” she said in a statement.
According to court documents, they are editor-in-chief Patrick Lam and his predecessor Chung Pui-kuen, arrested on Wednesday along with five other people linked to Stand News. The site publisher, Best Pencil, is also being sued.
Former journalist and four former board members also arrested
In a statement, the Chinese central government liaison office in Hong Kong said the arrests were “a way of ensuring that ‘the bad guys get what they deserve” that has nothing to do with freedom. of the press “.
Police searched the headquarters of Stand News and the homes of several of its employees on Wednesday, and froze 61 million Hong Kong dollars (7 million euros) in the publisher’s assets.
In addition to Patrick Lam and Chung Pui-kuen, a former journalist and four former members of the media’s board were arrested, including Cantonese pop star Denise Ho and the lawyer and former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Margaret Ng.
The second independent medium to disappear
The site, founded in 2014 and very active during anti-government protests in 2019 that it regularly filmed live, announced on Wednesday that it was closing and firing all of its employees.
It is the second independent media outlet to disappear from Hong Kong since local authorities loyal to Beijing began a relentless takeover of the city last year. In June, the pro-democracy Apple Daily closed after its leaders were arrested and its assets frozen.
The United States denounces the police raid
The police raid on Stand News has been condemned by several governments around the world. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the crackdown on the press was damaging the city’s reputation as an international financial center. “By silencing independent media, China and local authorities are undermining the credibility and viability of Hong Kong,” the US foreign minister said in a statement.
“Journalism is not sedition,” he said, before calling on Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities to “stop attacking the free and independent media in Hong Kong”.
The head of the Hong Kong executive, Carrie Lam answered him Thursday, affirming to share his feeling that “journalism is not sedition”. But, she said, seditious acts “cannot be tolerated under the pretext of reporting.” It “has nothing to do with the so-called crackdown on press freedom or democracy, as some claim,” she said.
Accused of “sedition”
Hong Kong National Security Police Chief Steve Li accused Stand News on Wednesday of posting “seditious” articles and blog posts between July 2020 and November 2021.
“They described protesters in Hong Kong as ‘missing’ or ‘raped’… These are vicious allegations with no factual basis,” Li said.
European Union diplomacy spokesman Peter Stano denounced a “further deterioration of press freedom” in Hong Kong. Canada also condemned the arrests.
In front of the press, the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Zhao Lijian, defended the closure of Stand News, explaining that “freedom of expression cannot be used as a shelter for criminal activities”. “Certain foreign forces, under the guise of defending press freedom, have engaged in irresponsible remarks,” he denounced.