Defunct Stand News was committed to documenting and reporting the truth, its former editor-in-chief told the court during its trial.
Chung and His Wife
During his trial on Jan. 12, Chung denied that the former Stand News was a company that “hyped up” social events to overthrow the regime. Chung emphasized that the mission of Stand News was simple: to document and report the truth. There was never intention or energy to incite anyone.Stand News’ Position
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the anti-extradition movement aimed to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party and rebel against the Hong Kong government, as well as provoke Hong Kong’s independence and self-governance and divide the country.Chung pointed out that the democracy movement initially was to demand the government withdraw the “Fugitive Offenders Ordinance” and investigate police brutality. It was not until much later in the protests the demand for “Hong Kong independence” appeared.
The former Stand News editor-in-chief mentioned when he was working at the former media agency, many protesters and netizens demanded their photos be removed permanently and accused the company of being a sell-out of the protesters.
He believed the media should be impartial and not side with or protect anyone, so he never deleted photos. Chung reiterated that Stand News was only interested in and dedicated to reporting and documenting the truth.
Hong Kong Independence
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the former social media pages of Stand News contained comments which could incite others.Hong Kong Primaries
Prosecutors claimed that Stand News popularized three of the winning candidates in the primaries when they published an exclusive interview with Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, and Fergus Leung in 2019.They accused Stand News of glorifying the primary contenders, and promoting illegal ideas and means. Saying the promoted primary participants were guilty of “inciting violence and conflict” to instigate “blood shedding suppression” and “subversion of state power.”
Countering the prosecutors’ allegations, Chung denied the newspaper had ever endorsed the three former candidates. He also explained that Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, and Fergus Leung caught public attention because they were new and young politicians for the first time in any Hong Kong elections.
Chung defended that they were all persons with significant news value to the public eye at the time. The exclusive interview was an opportunity to showcase themselves to the community they were to serve.
Chung said the interview allowed the public to further understand their political opinions and stances. The primaries were the most-discussed political event in Hong Kong at the time.
He added that Primaries were political events relevant to the public interest. So they interviewed Candidates with as many different political spectra as possible.
Although the interviewees were arrested afterward, Chung did not think reporting the primaries was a crime. He said that even if they were convicted, prisoners and criminals still would have the right to freedom of speech. So if any opinions concerned the public, they had to be reported.
At the time of the interview, Leung was already disqualified. The government also postponed the election. Chow and Leung had no chance to run anytime soon, so the prosecutors’ claim of Stand News promoting them was unfounded.
As for the articles about Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Chung said that the pieces were not inflammatory, nor did they call on readers to support Ho.
Chung also pointed out Ho’s statement that “police violence is a fact” stemmed from factual basis and public support.
Many voices questioned the excessive use of force by the police: “There is no reason why a politician shared view of their own can cause incitement or link to a crime.”
Nathan Law, ‘The Shameless Rebel’
In the trial, the prosecutors’ also argued an article by Nathan Law Koon-chung, Hong Kong: The Beauty Island,” was a piece of promotion, revenge, and an opportunity to rebel against the government.The former editor-in-chief said law, the youngest Legislative Council member, who has also been crowned the king of votes, was a well-known, valued, and high-profile politician.
Hong Kong’s Media Ecosystem
On Jan. 12, 2023, Former Founder and Chief Writer of HKCNews, Yeung Kin-hing, shared his thoughts in an online program with the former Democratic Party Chairperson Lau Wai-hing,Yeung recalled, “After the of Apple Daily in June 2021, there were rumors that Stand News, then HKCNews, would be next.”
Yeung said that the former HKCNews could feel the risks from different aspects. The team did not want to believe the rumors until multiple former executives of Stand News were arrested under the national security law.
The newspaper shut down its operation very shortly after in December 2021.
The former media founder stated the media ecosystem in Hong Kong could no longer rely on the news value alone before deciding whether to publish comments critical of the government.
Stand News Journalists
Current affairs commentator Cho Ka-chiu said on his online program, “Before its operation ended in 2021, the Stand News team collaborated bravely with the International Council of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).”And together, the two organizations revealed and published documentation from “The Pandora Papers,” exposing the rich and powerful such as former chief executive C.Y Leung, for concealing their assets.
Cho added, “Unfortunately, if it were reported in the current media ecosystem, journalists would need to wait for a formal response from the government before publishing the scandal.”
The hearing continues.
