Two former editors at Hong Kong's now-defunct Stand News media outlet were on Thursday found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious material, a crime that could carry a long prison sentence.

The case is seen as indicative of the future of media freedom in the city under Chinese rule, to which it returned in 1997.

Stand News was one of the last media outlets in the city to openly criticize the government amid a crackdown on dissent that followed massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. 

The two convicted journalists, Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were arrested in December 2021. 

The judge granted the two bail before their sentencing on September 26.

Although Chung and Lam were charged under a colonial-era law that punishes sedition with a maximum jail term of two years, a recent security law enacted in March raised the jail term for sedition to seven years. 

Former bastion of media freedom

Thursday's landmark convictions come amid growing restrictions on freedom of expression in the former British colony under Beijing's control.

The city, once seen as one of the world's freest places for the media, has dropped from 18th place in 2002 to 135th this year in a global media freedom index by Reporters without Borders.

Stand News had its offices raided and assets frozen in late 2021 under a draconian security law imposed by Beijing to repress dissent.

The European Union criticized the verdict, calling on Hong Kong to "stop prosecuting journalists."

"The ruling risks inhibiting the pluralistic exchange of ideas and the free flow of information, both cornerstones of the economic success of Hong Kong," an EU spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X that the convictions were a "direct attack on media freedom" and undermined the city's international reputation for openness.

Reporters Without Borders also condemned the verdict, saying it set a "dangerous precedent," while Amnesty International's China director Sarah Brooks said the sentence was "another nail in the coffin" for press freedom in the city.

Increasing self-censorship

In an interview with DW, Tom Grundy, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the independent news website Hong Kong Free Press, said Thursday's conviction would have a big effect on what media in Hong Kong published.

"Every newsroom will now be impacted and will have to think hard about what writers they have on their website and what exactly they will be writing," he said, pointing out warnings on media freedom issued after the guilty verdict by several rights organizations, including Amnesty International.

He said the recent rise in the maximum sentence length for sedition convictions meant that Chung and Lam could expect to sit out the full duration of whatever sentence they are given on September 26.

tj,dh/sms (AP, Reuters)