The decline of Hong Kong’s press freedom under the national security law
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/12/10/explainer-the-decline-of-hong-kongs-press-freedom-under-the-national-security-law/
Happened in Hong Kong Only in December, 2022
December 2022
The national security trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was adjourned on its scheduled starting date until December 13 as Hong Kong waits for Beijing to “clarify” the law as to whether overseas lawyers are allowed to appear in such cases.
Defendants charged under the national security law could be sent to mainland China for trial if they cannot find a lawyer in Hong Kong, the city’s top delegate to Beijing’s advisory body said.
US-based NGO Human Rights Watch announced it would co-host the Human Rights Press Awards after Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) cancelled the event earlier this year.
Jimmy Lai, the founder of defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail after being convicted of fraud.
The jailing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai over fraud charges “has nothing to do with freedom of the press or freedom of speech,” the Hong Kong government said, following criticism from the US.
Chung Pui-kuen, a former top editor of Hong Kong news outlet Stand News facing sedition charges was granted bail after spending almost a year in custody pending trial.
The national security trial against Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was adjourned until September 25, 2023.
Proceedings against former editors of independent outlet Stand News were “unfair” and “not transparent,” the defence argued, as the court sought to rule on whether the discovery of previously undisclosed evidence was grounds to terminate the trial.
An additional six articles published by the shuttered independent media outlet Stand News were flagged by the prosecution for potentially violating Hong Kong’s colonial-era sedition law.
2022年12月
由于香港正等待北京”澄清”有关是否允许海外律师出庭的法律，民主派媒体大亨赖智晟的国家安全审判原定于12月13日休庭。
北京咨询机构首席代表说，根据国家安全法被起诉的被告如果在香港找不到律师，将被送往中国大陆受审。
香港外国记者俱乐部(FCC)今年早些时候取消人权新闻奖后,总部设在美国的非政府组织人权观察宣布将共同主办该奖项。
已故民运小报《苹果日报》的创办人赖昌星因欺诈罪被判处五年零九个月监禁。
在受到美国批评后，香港政府表示，民主派媒体大亨赖昌星因涉嫌欺诈罪而被关进监狱”与新闻自由和言论自由无关”。
曾任香港《立报》主编的钟沛权因涉嫌煽动叛乱而被保释，此前他被拘留将近一年，等待审判。
对苹果日报创始人赖俊美的国家安全审判延期到2023年9月25日。
辩方辩称，对独立媒体《站立新闻》的前编辑提出的诉讼”不公平”和”不透明”，因为法院试图裁定发现以前未披露的证据是否是终止审判的理由。
被关闭的独立媒体Stand News发表的另外六篇文章被检方标记为可能违反香港殖民时代的煽动叛乱法。