Stand News: Hong Kong jails journalists for sedition

Rights groups have condemned the sentencing. Reporters Without Borders told the BBC it is “yet another nail in the coffin for press freedom in Hong Kong”.

Since the introduction of the NSL in 2020, a host of media outlets have closed in Hong Kong.

Critics say the law effectively reduces the city’s once-prized judicial autonomy, making it easier to punish demonstrators and activists. China defends it as necessary for maintaining stability.

Stand News was among the last openly pro-democratic publications until its closure in December 2021, when more than 200 police officers were sent to raid its office.

Seven employees were arrested and accused of a “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, which included interviews with pro-democracy activists.

Hong Kong’s current chief executive John Lee supported the police operation at the time, calling those arrested the “evil elements that damage press freedom”.

The case has drawn international scrutiny and condemnation from western countries.

The United States has repeatedly condemned the prosecutions of journalists in Hong Kong, saying that the case against the both editors “creates a chilling effect on others in the press and media”.

The former British colony has seen its standing in press freedom rankings plummet from 18th place to 135th over the past two decades, according to the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

Their Asia-based Advocacy Manager Aleksandra Bielakowska told the BBC that the Hong Kong judiciary has become “a political tool, used to threaten those who dare to speak independently”.

“Like in China, the regime is trying to create its own narratives, and make sure that all reporters will be only ‘telling Hong Kong’s story well’,” she said.

“Deliberately targeting independent media and its journalists has left a huge void in Hong Kong’s media landscape that will be very difficult to rebuild,” she added.