Thursday December 30th 2021
After “Stand News” closed
Hong Kong accuses journalists of conspiracy
Several journalists are arrested again in Hong Kong. The official charge: conspiracy, promoting hatred and inciting violence. The EU sharply criticizes the approach, but Beijing rejects criticism from abroad as “irresponsible”.
Following the forced closure of the independent news website “Stand News” in Hong Kong, two leading editors have been formally accused of “conspiring to publish a seditious publication”. Beijing also rejected international criticism of the actions of the authorities in the Chinese Special Administrative Region as “irresponsible”.
The allegations concern two men aged 34 and 52 and an “online media company”, the police said. According to court documents, it was the “Stand News” editor-in-chief Patrick Lam and his predecessor Chung Pui-kuen, as well as the parent company of the website, Best Pencil Limited. They were also alleged to have promoted “hatred or disregard or arousing dissatisfaction” with the government and incited “people to violence”.
“Give the bad guys what they deserve”
Lam, Chung and five other people were arrested on Wednesday. 200 police officers searched the editorial office of “Stand News” as well as the apartments of several editors. The independent website then stated that it was ceasing to operate. The Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong described the raids as an “act of justice” and accused the news site of “inciting a secession.” “If the people in question are held accountable by ‘Stand News’, it’s about ‘giving the bad guys what they deserve,’ it has nothing to do with freedom of the press,” said a spokesman for the bureau.
The EU as well as the federal government reacted with sharp criticism to the forced end for “Stand News”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities “to stop targeting the free and independent media in Hong Kong and to immediately release the unjustly detained and accused journalists and media workers.”
“Journalism is not hate speech,” said Blinken. “By silencing independent media,” China and local authorities would undermine “Hong Kong’s credibility and viability.”
Hong Kong Prime Minister Carrie Lam replied that she agreed with Blinken that “journalism is not hate speech”. Subversive acts could not “be condoned under the guise of reporting,” she said. Western countries would trample the rule of law in Hong Kong if they asked for the allegations to be dropped.
“Irresponsible remarks” from abroad
Beijing also rejected international criticism. “Some foreign forces have made irresponsible remarks about Hong Kong law enforcement under the guise of freedom of the press,” said Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. This completely confuses “right and wrong” and “misleads public opinion”.
Since months of mass protests against Beijing’s growing influence in Hong Kong in 2019, the authorities have been acting with increasing severity against critics in the Special Administrative Region. The so-called Security Act came into force in July 2020. It allows the authorities to crack down on any activity that they believe threatens China’s national security. This includes all activities that China regards as calls for secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism.
The pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily had to shut down in June after its assets were frozen and its executives were arrested. The 74-year-old owner and democracy activist Jimmy Lai is in jail.