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A confident government that is unafraid of the truth embraces a free press.” “It should be very clear what is reporting of news, and what is seditious acts or activities to undermine national security.”īlinken criticized the arrests, saying that by silencing independent media, Chinese and local authorities undermine Hong Kong’s “credibility and viability. “Journalism is not sedition, but seditious acts and activities and inciting other people through other acts and activities could not be condoned under the guise of news reporting,” Lam, the Hong Kong leader, told a news conference. If convicted, they could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars ($640). The seven were arrested on Wednesday under a crime ordinance that dates from Hong Kong’s days as a British colony before 1997, when it was returned to China with a promise from Beijing that it would keep Western-style freedoms for 50 years. Apply Daily was forced to cease operations earlier this year after its publisher, Jimmy Lai, and top editors were arrested and its assets frozen. Ho was released from police custody on Thursday afternoon.Ĭhan Pui-man, a former editor at the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper and Chung’s wife, was also arrested. They include four former Stand News board members, including Ho and former lawmaker Margaret Ng. The others have been detained for further questioning. Lam was not present in court because he was in the hospital. The cases were brought to West Kowloon court on Thursday, police said in a statement.
Police also said they would prosecute the company for sedition.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Hong Kong authorities to release the detainees, and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said her country was deeply concerned about the arrests, which included singer Denise Ho, a Canadian citizen and activist.Īccording to a charge sheet, national security police filed one count each of conspiracy to publish a seditious publication against Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, former editors at Stand News. The works supported democracy and memorialized the victims of China’s crackdown on democracy protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.U.S. Wednesday’s arrests also followed the removal of sculptures and other artwork from university campuses last week. “When a free press guaranteed by Hong Kong’s Basic Law is labelled ‘seditious,’ it is a symbol of the speed at which this once great, open, international city has descended into little more than a police state,” he said. Just $5 a month.īenedict Rogers, co-founder and CEO of the non-governmental organization Hong Kong Watch, said the arrests are “nothing short of an all-out assault on the freedom of the press in Hong Kong.”
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“The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) is deeply concerned that the police have repeatedly arrested senior members of the media and searched the offices of news organizations containing large quantities of journalistic materials within a year,” it said in a statement.Įnjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. The HKJA urged the city’s government to protect press freedom in accordance with Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Six board members had also resigned from the company. Stand News earlier this year said it would suspend subscriptions and remove most opinion pieces and columns from its website due to the national security law. Police charged former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai with sedition on Tuesday.
Hong Kong police had previously raided the offices of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, seizing boxes of materials and hard drives to assist in their investigation and freezing millions in assets that later forced the paper to cease operations.
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The arrests come as authorities crack down on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Chan, who is also chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), was taken away for questioning, the organization confirmed in a statement.Ĭhan, who was later released, told media the police seized his electronic devices, bank cards and press card. Early Wednesday, Stand News posted a video on Facebook of police officers at the home of a deputy editor, Ronson Chan, where they were investigating the alleged crime.
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