Hong Kong police charge 2 from news outlet with sedition

HONG KONG – Hong Kong constabulary connected Thursday formally charged 2 radical from an online pro-democracy quality outlet with sedition, a time aft the outlet said it would cease operations pursuing a constabulary raid connected its bureau and 7 arrests.

National information constabulary said they charged 2 men, aged 34 and 52, with 1 number each of conspiracy to people a seditious work but did not place them.

According to section media reports, the 2 are Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, who were editors astatine Stand News, an online pro-democracy quality outlet.

Police besides said they would prosecute the institution for sedition.

Chung and Lam were being taken to West Kowloon tribunal connected Thursday, constabulary said successful a statement.

The different arrestees person been detained for further questioning. Apart from Chung and Lam, 4 different erstwhile Stand News committee members, including vocalist Denise Ho and erstwhile lawmaker Margaret Ng, were arrested connected Wednesday.

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Chan Pui-man, a erstwhile exertion astatine the pro-democracy Apple Daily paper and Chung’s wife, was besides arrested.

The 7 were arrested nether a transgression ordinance that dates from Hong Kong’s days arsenic a British colony earlier 1997, erstwhile it was returned to China. Those convicted could look up to 2 years successful situation and a good of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars ($640).

Hong Kong person Carrie Lam said astatine a quality league Thursday that the arrests were not targeted astatine the media.

“Journalism is not sedition, but seditious acts and activities and inciting different radical done different acts and activities could not beryllium condoned nether the guise of quality reporting,” she said.

“It should beryllium precise wide what is reporting of news, and what is seditious acts oregon activities to undermine nationalist security.”

Her comments came aft U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called connected Hong Kong authorities to merchandise the detainees.

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“Freedom of expression, including media freedom, and entree to accusation provided by an autarkic media are captious to prosperous and unafraid societies. These freedoms enabled Hong Kong to flourish arsenic a planetary halfway for finance, trade, education, and culture,” Blinken said successful a statement.

“By silencing autarkic media, (Chinese) and section authorities undermine Hong Kong’s credibility and viability. A assured authorities that is unafraid of the information embraces a escaped press.”

Stand News said Wednesday that it would cease operations and had laid disconnected each its staff.

The arrests and raid connected Stand News travel arsenic authorities ace down connected dissent successful the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

Hong Kong constabulary antecedently raided the offices of the now-defunct Apple Daily, seizing boxes of materials and machine hard drives to assistance successful their probe and freezing millions successful assets that aboriginal forced the paper to cease operations.

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