Hong Kong journalists convicted of sedition for first time since British handover to China in 1997

Source: The Independent (London)

A Hong Kong court has found two former editors of the now-defunct Stand News outlet guilty of conspiring to publish seditious content in the first such convictions since Hong Kong returned to Chinese control.

The conviction of Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, who now face up to two years in prison, comes amid an intensified crackdown on press freedom and dissent in Hong Kong by Beijing.

Critics argue that the verdict reflects a troubling erosion of rights as part of a broader crackdown under a national security law implemented in 2020 that has seen several media outlets shut down and journalists and pro-deomcracy activists jailed or forced into exile. The law was brought into force in the wake of pro-democracy protests in 2019 was the city's most concerted challenge to the Hong Kong government since the former British colony was handed back to Bejing in 1997.

As of the 2023 RSFworld press freedom index, Hong Kong is ranked 140th out of 180 countries and territories. Its 2023 ranking was a big drop from 73rd in 2019 and 18th in 2002. Hong Kong’s current rank places it below China and Russia.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hong-kong-trial-china-conviction-b2603798.html