Hong Kong authorities reject claims by 23-nation coalition about state of media freedom
Media Freedom Coalition says conviction of editors for sedition falls against wider backdrop of increased media self-censorship
Hong Kong authorities have dismissed as “baseless smears” claims about the state of the city’s press freedom made by a coalition of 23 countries after the recent sedition conviction of two former local editors.
The Media Freedom Coalition, whose members include the US, the UK and France, said on Monday it was alarmed by the guilty verdict against the ex-editors of now-closed online outlet Stand News and the “wider suppression of media freedom” in the city.
It expressed “grave concern” and stressed that journalism should not be prosecuted under “the guise of national security”.
Last month, former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, 54, and ex-acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 36, were found guilty of sedition by the District Court.
“Journalism is not a crime. Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam have been prosecuted for over 2 ½ years,” it said. “Their guilty verdict falls against a wider backdrop of increased media self-censorship and the hostility by Hong Kong authorities against local and foreign journalists and their representative bodies, especially since the imposition of the national security law in June 2020.”
The coalition said the domestic national security law, passed by the legislature in March, was further “hampering the free exchange of opinions and information”, which were vital to Hongkongers, the city’s institutions and its reputation as an international business hub.
The legislation was required under Article 23 of the city’s Basic Law mini-constitution and operates as the domestic counterpart to the security law Beijing imposed in 2020.
