Hong Kong police have arrested 6 television crews for “conspiracy” | Freedom of the Press News
Employees at the Stand News pro-democracy pageant are accused of “conspiracy to publish false news”.
The Hong Kong Police Department said on Wednesday it arrested six or more senior members of the online media company “for the purpose of spreading false information”.
A Hong Kong TV presenter said the six were recent or former employees from the democratic news stand Stand News.
Police said in a statement that they had arrested three men and three women, aged between 34 and 73, and were searching their homes.
Stand News reports that one of those arrested was Ronson Chan, his deputy editor and chief executive of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
The website posted a video of police arriving at Chan’s home and displaying their court order.
“The charge was to publish extremist literature. This is a court document and this is my confirmation document. Your phone is interrupting our work, “said one police officer.
Following months of anti-government protests in 2019, Beijing last year enacted a National Security Act in an independent city that critics say violates the promised freedom of the former British nation that is not available in China.
The law prohibits division, lawlessness, terrorism, and international cooperation to intervene in city affairs.
Since taking office in June last year, more than 100 Democrats have been detained under the law, and many more have fled the country.
Earlier this year, police raided the offices of Apple Daily’s pro-democracy book, forcing it to close.
Apple Daily Owner, Jimmy Lai, China’s most vocal protester, was also arrested and imprisoned.
Earlier this month, Lai was found guilty of a number of counts of alleged involvement in a banned ceremony last year to commemorate the 1989 Chinese massacre in Tiananmen Square.
Officials say National Security Law has restored order after months of violent protests in support of democracy.
Officials in Hong Kong and China have repeatedly said that the freedom of the press is respected but not completely absolute and that it cannot jeopardize national security.
