What's at stake as 2 Hong Kong journalists await a verdict in their sedition trial?
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two journalists who led a now-shuttered Hong Kong online news outlet will hear a verdict in their sedition case on Thursday, in a trial that's seen as an indicator for press freedom in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Stand News was one of the last remaining openly critical media outlets in Hong Kong following the shuttering of the Apple Daily newspaper in June 2021. The Hong Kong government in March enacted a new, home-grown security law that critics fear would further curtail the city's civil liberties. Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said the case is significant because it was the first sedition case the Hong Kong government brought against news editors and a media outlet since the 1997 handover.