6 arrested as Hong Kong security police raid news outlet
Hong Kong, Dec 29 (EFE).- More than 200 Hong Kong national security police officers on Wednesday raided the offices of Stand News and arrested six current and former senior staff members, state media reported.
Three men and three women aged 34 to 73 were detained, RTHK said citing the police, over conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.
The homes of those arrested were also being searched Wednesday morning.
Those arrested include former and acting editors-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, as well as former board members Denise Ho, Margaret Ng, Christine Fang and Chow Tat-chi, RTHK said.
The police also took Stand News editor and Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) chairman Ronson Chan Ron-sing in for questioning.
The HKJA said it was “deeply concerned” over the many arrests of journalists and raids on news organizations in the past year.
Last month, Stand News, a not-for-profit outlet with a pro-democracy lean, was nominated for the Reporters Without Borders 2021 Press Freedom Prize for independence.
In June, it was one of the first media outlets to initiate preventive measures such as taking down its opinion pieces after the raid on pro-democracy paper Apple Daily under the National Security Law.
The law establishes penalties of up to life imprisonment for cases of secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.
The subsequent closure of Apple Daily attracted the attention of the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, which have called on democracies to take steps to force China to change its repressive policies by expressly mentioning the worsening freedom of expression in Hong Kong. EFE
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