Foreign governments criticize Hong Kong’s convictions of two journalists

Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — The convictions of two Hong Kong journalists who led a now-shuttered online news outlet have deepened concerns of media groups and foreign governments over the city’s press freedom. The Hong Kong government insists there aren’t restrictions on such freedoms when journalists simply stick to the facts. Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were found guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications. The judge said in the verdict that their outlet had become a tool to smear the government. Their sedition trial was Hong Kong’s first involving media since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.