The ruling highlights the increasing use of colonial-era sedition laws to suppress dissent and media criticism in Hong Kong.

Judge Kwok Wai-kin stated that the articles published by Stand News contributed to smearing the Beijing and Hong Kong governments and posed a potential danger to national security.

Foreign governments, including the U.S. and the European Union, condemned the court's ruling as an attack on media freedom, while local officials defended the enforcement actions against dissent.

The Hong Kong government claims that press freedom is protected, but insists it is not absolute, complicating the environment for journalists.

A Hong Kong court has convicted former editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of sedition for publishing articles about pro-democracy activists, marking the first conviction of journalists on such charges in decades.

This landmark case is the first involving a media outlet since Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, raising serious concerns about press freedom in the region.

The conviction reflects ongoing concerns over media freedom and censorship in Hong Kong, part of a broader crackdown following the pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Critics argue that the national security law broadly targets political dissent rather than genuine security threats, leading to increased self-censorship among journalists.

British officials have called for an end to politicized prosecutions of journalists, asserting that the convictions are an attack on press freedom.

The trial lasted nearly 60 days, involving evidence from 17 articles and three videos that criticized the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities.

Both journalists face a potential sentence of up to two years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for late September.

The closure of Stand News in December 2021, following a police raid, has led to increased concerns about media freedom, with other outlets also facing pressure.