HK singer Denise Ho granted bail in Stand News case
She is among four former board members released after arrest on sedition charges
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HONG KONG • Singer and activist Denise Ho was granted bail after being swept up in a raid on the now-shuttered media outlet Stand News in Hong Kong that escalated fears over eroding press freedom in the city.
"Thank you friends for all your kind messages, I have been released on bail and have returned home safely," the pop star wrote on her verified Twitter account late Thursday evening.
Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly had earlier expressed concern for Ho, who has Canadian citizenship.
She was among four former Stand News board members released on Thursday after their arrest by national security police on sedition charges on Wednesday. They had each stepped down from their posts in June.
More than 200 police officers raided the outlet's newsroom and seized HK$61 million (S$11 million) of assets on Wednesday. Hours later, Stand News said it was folding and would delete its website. Its collapse was the latest blow to civil society in Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in June 2020. Since then, some of the largest labour unions have disbanded, international non-governmental organisations like Amnesty International have left town, and its largest pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily closed.
More than 160 people have now been arrested by the local national security department.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged the Chinese authorities to stop arresting members of the media, adding that "journalism is not sedition".
Hitting back, 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 press freedom and will be held accountable," it said.
Beijing's main representative Liaison Office in Hong Kong also said Stand News was an "out-and-out political organisation" that "kept publishing articles that incited others to use violence and even split the country".
On Thursday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the action against Stand News was aimed at seditious activity. "These actions have nothing to do with so-called suppression of press freedom," she said. "Journalism is not seditious... but seditious activities could not be condoned under the guise of news reporting."
Separately, the Chinese embassy in Britain said the police raid was "completely lawful and beyond reproach". This came after British Minister of State for Asia Amanda Milling said on Twitter that the actions "further erode freedom of speech in Hong Kong".
The embassy said: "The rights and interests of Hong Kong residents, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press, are safeguarded in accordance with the law. The Chinese side once again urges the UK to right its wrongs and stop interfering in any form in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs."
Meanwhile, although Ho and the other three former Stand News board members were released, former top editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam remain in custody after being charged on Thursday.
Yesterday, the People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, said in an editorial that "freedom of the press" was being used as an excuse to sow "anti-China chaos" in Hong Kong. It accused foreign politicians of "recklessly discrediting" Hong Kong police.
"Freedom has a bottom line, and violations of the law must be punished," it said.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
