Hong Kong police arrest 6 online media workers for ‘conspiracy’ Press Freedom News

Employees of the pro-democracy news website Stand News have been accused of “conspiracy to publish a seditious publication.”

The Hong Kong Police National Security Department said Wednesday morning that it had arrested six current or regular employees of an online media company for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications.”

The Hong Kong TVB presenter said the six are former or former employees of the pro-democracy news website, Stand News.

Police said in a statement that three men and three women between the ages of 34 and 73 had been arrested and that their homes were being searched.

Stand News reported that one of the detainees was Ronson Chan, also the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

The news site posted a video of police arriving at Chan’s headquarters and showing a court order.

“The accusation was a conspiracy to publish seditious publications. This is the court order and this is my order card. Your phone is interfering with our work, ”said an official.

After protests against the government in 2019, Beijing enacted a comprehensive National Security Act last year in a semi-autonomous city, critics say it restricts freedoms promised to a former British colony not found in mainland China.

The law criminalizes secessionism, subversion, terrorism, and foreign cooperation for interfering in city affairs.

Since its inception in June last year, more than 100 pro-democracy people have been arrested under the law, and many others have fled abroad.

Earlier this year, police raided the offices of the pro-democracy Apple Daily, forcing the closure.

Apple Daily owner Jimmy LaiA sharp Chinese critic was also arrested and jailed.

Earlier this month, Lai was found guilty of several charges related to his participation in a banned vigil last year to commemorate the victims of repression in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Authorities say the National Security Act has restored stability many months ago after violent protests in favor of democracy.

Officials in Hong Kong and China have repeatedly said that media freedoms are respected but not absolute and cannot jeopardize national security.