Hong Kong Police Force National Security Department arrested six people linked to an online news site on Wednesday morning on the charge of printing and disseminating inflammatory publications. According to an online video, one of the arrested people is Ronson Chan, deputy assignment editor of Stand News and chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
The arrests came after prosecutors in Hong Kong added a new charge of printing and disseminating inflammatory publications on Tuesday to jailed Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and six other people with the newspaper, which experts said will provide the public with a much clearer view of inflammatory publications.
The six people include senior executives and former senior executives linked to the online media. They have all been arrested for allegedly violating the Crime Ordinance with seditious publication, according to local media reports.
Over 200 Hong Kong police officers searched the offices of Stand News in Kwun Tong after its national security department arrested six people linked to the online news outlet on the charge of printing inflammatory publication.
Former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and secessionist singer Denise Ho, who is also a board member of Stand News, are among the arrestees.
Stand News posted a video on its Facebook account on Wednesday morning showing the police raiding the place Chan lives with an order from the court, investigating on the charge of colluding and printing inflammatory publications.
On Tuesday, the seven suspects from Apple Daily were charged of printing, publishing, distributing, displaying, or copying inflammatory publications from April 1, 2019 to June 24, 2021 in order to trigger hatred toward and contempt of Hong Kong’s legal system and the Hong Kong regional government, provoke residents to attempt to change legal matters via illegal channels, and incite other people to use violence and violate the laws.
Legal experts said this might be the first time Apple Daily could be defied as a seditious publication, which will have certain social impact, giving the public a clearer view about inflammatory publications.
Chung Pui-kuen, editor-in-chief of Stand News, stepped down in late November. After his resignation, some experts said that it signaled the end of the news site given its role of being biased, distorting the facts and misleading the public especially during the social turmoil in 2019.
Stand News previously published an article that openly advocated for “resistance” saying the armed resistance in Northern Ireland is not impossible to happen in Hong Kong, Ta Kung Pao reported in May, noting that Stand News also encouraged black-clad violence and rioting.
Photo: screenshot of hk01.com
