Canada 'deeply concerned' after Hong Kong police raid news outlet, lay charges
Hong Kong police detain 7, charge 2 with sedition at non-profit news website
Canada will stand up to support democracy and freedom of the press, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, following the police raid on a non-profit news organization in Hong Kong that led to the arrest and detainment of seven activists.
"We are deeply concerned by the arrests in Hong Kong of current and former board and staff members from Stand News, including Canadian citizen and activist Denise Ho," Joly added in a post on Twitter, a day after 200 officers raided the democratic-leaning publication's office, arrested staff and froze the organization's assets.
Two former senior editors of Stand News, the last-standing and most prominent independent publication in Hong Kong, have been formally charged with conspiracy to publish seditious materials amid a national security clampdown on publications.
In the raid on Wednesday, police arrested seven current and former senior editors and former board members, including Cantopop star and Canadian citizen Denise Ho.
Ho was released on bail Thursday morning after 36 hours of detainment.
Canada will always stand up to support democracy and freedom of the press. We are deeply concerned by the arrests in Hong Kong of current and former board and staff members from Stand News, including Canadian citizen and activist Denise Ho.
—@melaniejolyCharges laid
Police also said they would prosecute the company for sedition, according to a charge sheet.
Lam was not present in court because he was in the hospital.
Erosion of press freedoms
The move is seen as the latest attempt to erode press freedoms since China imposed a sweeping national security law in the former British colony last year, critics say.
Former federal justice minister and human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler said Canada has a responsibility to take a stand as the leader of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations earlier this year, and as one of the founding countries of the Media Freedom Coalition.
"What we're seeing is a frontal assault not only on media freedom, not only on the safety and security of journalists, not only on the democracy movement — but on democracy itself in Hong Kong," Cotler said.
Jenny Kwan, the New Democrat MP for Vancouver-East who was born and raised in Hong Kong, said she is heartbroken by the turn of events as the arrests show freedoms and human rights in the region are being ignored by China's Communist government.
"It clearly illustrates that Hong Kong has turned into a police state," Kwan said.
The arrests and criticism come days after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said China-Canada are at a "crossroads."
Along with Ho, three other former members of the Stand News board — former democratic legislator and lawyer Margaret Ng, Chow Tat-chi and Christine Fang — were released on police bail pending further investigations. They had not been charged yet.
Police said all four are due to report to police in late March.
Ng told reporters as she left the police station that, "continuing to care for each other is very important."
Ho left without comment.
Also arrested on Wednesday was Chung's wife, Chan Pui-man. Formerly a senior editor with the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, she was already being held in prison on different charges and was re-arrested there.
Promise of a free press
Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise that wide-ranging individual rights, including a free press, would be protected.
But pro-democracy activists and rights groups say freedoms have been eroded, in particular since China imposed the new national security law after months of at times violent pro-democracy protests.
"Does Canada see China as a partner or a rival?" spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. "This is a fundamental question bearing on the future of bilateral ties that Canada must think through."
The Canadian government has previously criticized what many see as Beijing's move to stamp out democracy in Hong Kong, which critics say is a violation of the China's agreement with Britain when it took over governance of the former British colony in 1997.
Relations between the two countries hit an all-time low after China detained two Canadians — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — in apparent retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December 2018.
The pair were held nearly three years before U.S. authorities, who had wanted Meng extradited from Canada to face fraud charges, agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement. Kovrig and Spavor were released shortly after Meng left Canada.
Canada has also announced a diplomatic boycott of the February Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing extensive Chinese human rights abuses, including crimes against its Muslim Uyghur population and military provocations toward Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau Liberals are expected to announce a decision soon on Huawei participation in its next-generation 5G internet network.
Canada is currently the last of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing members to decide the key international security issue. The alliance includes the U.S., which views Huawei as a security threat, as well as Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Hong Kong leader defends raid
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defended the raid on Stand News amid a wider crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous city, telling reporters that "inciting other people ... could not be condoned under the guise of news reporting."
In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry's Hong Kong office said support for press freedom was being used as an excuse to disrupt stability in the city.
"Those who engage in activities that endanger national security … under the cover of journalism are the black sheep tarnishing the press freedom and will be held accountable," it said.
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Stand News was set up in 2014 as a non-profit organization, and until this week was the most prominent remaining independent pro-democracy publication in Hong Kong after a national security investigation this year led to the closure of jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai's Apple Daily newspaper.
Stand News shut down hours after the raid and all of its employees were dismissed. Its website was not accessible on Thursday and its London bureau chief, Yeung Tin-shui, said on Facebook his office had also closed.
If convicted, they could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $800 Cdn).
With files from Thomson Reuters and The Canadian Press