Beijing official’s warning of ‘soft confrontations’ not relevant in Hong Kong sedition trial of former Stand News editors, defence tells court

Prosecutors cite remarks by Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Xia Baolong as part of case against former senior editors Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam

Defence argues Xia commenting on city’s current sociopolitical situation rather than targeting now-defunct outlet

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The case is being heard at the city’s District Court in Wan Chai. Photo: Warton Li

Published: 10:26pm, 28 Jun 2023Updated: 11:18pm, 28 Jun 2023

A Beijing official’s warning against “soft confrontations” in Hong Kong after the national security law took effect should not form part of a sedition case against two former chief editors at a now-closed news outlet, defence lawyers have told a court.

The defence also urged the District Court not to hold the pair from Stand News liable for the extremist thoughts and independence agendas that Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, had said persisted after the law’s imposition in 2020.

They added that none of the articles published on the popular website posed a substantial risk to the country’s safety.

Wednesday’s remarks came on the third and last day of oral submissions from the bar table as the trial drew to a close, after stretching 35 days past its original schedule of 20 days.

Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, had warned the city to remain on guard against “anti-China activities”. Photo: Dickson Lee

Former editors-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, 53, and Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 35, face a joint conspiracy charge for allegedly conspiring to publish and reproduce seditious publications to damage the central government, the local administration and the national security law.