China singer Denise Ho and two Stand News journalists indicted in Hong Kong
Stand News editor-in-chief Patrick Lam (c) is escorted by police in a van after a search of his Hong Kong office on December 29, 2021. AP - Vincent Yu
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
After the closure of the pro-democracy media Stand News in Hong Kong, China denounces "
irresponsible
"
criticism
of Western countries, namely the European Union, Canada and the United States.
Two journalists were charged this Thursday, December 30, with "
sedition
" after a police operation the day before against the independent news site.
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The Hong Kong police "
indicted two men, aged 34 and 52, and an online media company, with conspiring to carry out a seditious publication
," she said in a statement.
According to court documents, they are Stand News editor-in-chief Patrick Lam and his predecessor Chung Pui-kuen.
They were arrested on Wednesday along with five other people linked to the media.
The site publisher, Best Pencil, is also being sued.
According to the indictment, they were also charged with advocating "
hatred and contempt
" and "
inciting discontent
" against the government "
and violence
".
On Thursday, a court refused to grant bail to the two men, triggering murmurs and tears from the audience, which is largely made up of many Stand News employees.
Only Chung Pui-kuen appeared, nodding to his supporters, Patrick Lam being hospitalized, according to his lawyer.
In a statement, the Chinese central government liaison office in Hong Kong said that "
bringing affected Stand News members to justice is a way to ensure that the bad guys get what they deserve and get nothing. to do with freedom of the press
”.
Cantonese pop star arrested
The
police raided Wednesday
the headquarters of News Stand and the homes of several of its employees, and froze Hong Kong dollars 61 million (€ 7 million) of assets of the publishing company.
In addition to the editor-in-chief and his predecessor, a former journalist and four former members of the media's board were arrested.
Among them, the star of Cantonese or
cantopop
pop
Denise Ho, pro-democracy activist and very involved in the 2019 protests.
The site, founded in 2014 and very active during anti-government protests in 2019, which it regularly filmed live, announced on Wednesday that it was closing and firing all its employees.
It is the second independent media outlet to disappear from Hong Kong since local authorities loyal to Beijing began a relentless takeover of the city last year.
In June, the pro-democracy
Apple Daily
closed after its leaders were arrested and its assets frozen.
►
See also: News stand closed in Hong Kong: "A new blow to press freedom" [Interview]
International disapproval
The police raid on the media has been condemned by governments in many countries around the world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in a statement that the press crackdown was damaging the city's reputation as an international financial center.
"
Journalism is not sedition
," said Antony Blinken, calling on Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities to "
stop attacking the free and independent media in Hong Kong
". The head of the Hong Kong executive, Carrie Lam replied Thursday to share her feeling that "
journalism is not sedition
", but seditious acts "
cannot be tolerated under the pretext of reporting
". These measures "
have nothing to do with the so-called repression of press freedom or democracy, as some claim
," she added.
The Hong Kong National Security Police chief accused Stand News on Wednesday of publishing "
seditious
"
articles and blog posts
between July 2020 and November 2021. "
They described protesters in Hong Kong as" missing. " or "violated".
These are evil allegations without any factual basis
, ”said Steve Li.
In front of the press, the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Zhao Lijian, defended the closure of Stand News, explaining that "
freedom of expression cannot be used as a shelter for criminal activities
".
"
Certain foreign forces, under the guise of defending press freedom, have engaged in irresponsible remarks
," he denounced.
(With
AFP
)
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China
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