31 Aug 2024獨媒#3995
【立場案】無國界記者批裁決立極危險先例 港府譴責：市民無須擔心誤墮法網
Stand News was convicted of publishing seditious publications, prompting concern in the United States and Europe. A US State Department spokesperson and the European Union criticised the verdict for damaging press freedom. Reporters Without Borders described the judgment as shocking and said it had set an extremely dangerous precedent for journalists: “From now on, anyone reporting facts that do not conform to the authorities’ official account could be sentenced for sedition.”
《立場新聞》被裁定發布煽動刊物罪成，引起歐美關注。美國國務院發言人、歐盟都批評裁決損害新聞自由，無國界記者則形容，判決令人震驚並為記者立下極其危險的先例，「從現在起，任何報導不符當局官方說法的事實者都可能因煽動罪名遭到判刑。」
30 Aug 2024獨媒#3978
【立場案】政府發言人：被告全數被定罪彰顯公義
The verdict in the Stand News case was delivered yesterday. The three defendants—the company that operated Stand News, Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, and its two former editors-in-chief, Chung Pui-kuen and Lam Siu-tung—were found guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. The Government issued a statement yesterday evening saying that the verdict demonstrated justice. A spokesman said, “Anyone or any organisation that incites hatred or engages in acts and activities endangering national security will inevitably be unable to escape the law, and their wrongdoing will surely receive the punishment it deserves.”
《立場新聞》案昨日裁決，三名被告即營運《立場新聞》的公司 Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited、以及兩名前任總編輯鍾沛權及林紹桐「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪名成立。政府昨日晚上發聲明，指裁決彰顯公義，發言人指「任何人或組織煽動仇恨，作出危害國家安全的行為和活動，都必然難逃法網，其惡行必定受到應有的懲治。」
30 Aug 2024獨媒#3980
【立場案】陳文敏指言論自由非只保障「鍾意聽嘅嘢」負面批評與引起憎恨「有段距離」
In the Stand News case, which was postponed three times, the court ruled yesterday that 11 articles had seditious intent, and found former chief editor Chung Pui-kuen and acting chief editor Lam Shiu-tong guilty of publishing seditious publications. Johannes Chan, former dean of the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law, said in a radio interview this morning that freedom of expression does not only protect “things everyone likes to hear”. He said that many views and opinions in daily life are merely laughable or simply abusive venting, and do not necessarily have to be “constructive” to still form part of freedom of expression. He also said that even between negative criticism, or criticism of the government and the courts, and whether such speech would incite hatred and disaffection, he believed there was “a long way” between them.
經歷三度押後的「立場案」，昨日法院裁定11篇文章具煽動意圖，而《立場新聞》前總編輯鍾沛權、署任總編輯林紹桐則被裁定發布涉動刊物罪成。香港大學法律學院前院長陳文敏今早接受電台訪問，他認為言論自由並非只保障「大家都鍾意聽嘅嘢」，日常生活很多觀點意見「得啖笑」或純粹謾罵發洩，並不一定要有「建設性」意見，但同樣是言論自由一部分。他又指即使負面批評、鬧政府鬧法庭，是否要引起憎恨和叛離，他相信「有段距離」。
30 Aug 2024獨媒#3982
【立場案】湯家驊稱裁決全無收窄言論自由 「我專欄就日日寫政治嘅」
The verdict in the Stand News case has attracted widespread international attention because it was the first time in more than half a century that a Hong Kong media organisation had been prosecuted and tried for the offence of sedition. Executive Council member and Senior Counsel Ronny Tong, appearing on a radio programme this morning as “the Response and Rebuttal Team”, criticised Hong Kong people for having “very short memories”. He said that in 1998, a newspaper column had published a series of articles insulting judges and the writer was convicted of criminal contempt of court, adding that the two matters were “the same”. Yet, he said, no Hong Kong people or foreign politicians had claimed at the time that freedom of speech in Hong Kong was being narrowed. He also said the verdict had “completely not” narrowed freedom of speech or freedom of the press, and that if people refrained from writing it was a “natural reaction”, but “I write about politics in my column every day”.
立場案的裁決廣受世界各國關注，因為是超過半世紀以來，香港首次有傳媒機構被控告「煽動罪」而受審。行政會議成員、資深大律師湯家驊今早在電台充當「反駁隊」，批評香港人「記性好短」，指在1998年曾有報章專欄刊登一系列辱罵法官的文章，被控「刑事藐視法庭」罪成，他稱兩件事「一樣」，當時卻無港人或外國政客聲言香港言論自由收窄。他又指裁決「完全無，睇唔到有」收窄言論自由或新聞自由，若有人卻步不寫是「自然反應」，但「我個專欄就日日寫政治嘅」。
30 Aug 2024法庭線#3983
《立場》案｜鍾沛權、林紹桐煽動罪成 官裁11篇文章有煽動意圖 免責條文不適用
The trial of The Stand News, charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, began in October 2022 and lasted 57 days. After the verdict was postponed three times, former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tong were convicted at the District Court on Thursday (29th). Judge Kwok Wai-kin granted both defendants bail until September 26 for sentencing.
The judgment said that 11 of the 17 articles in question had seditious intent. They accused the Department of Justice of prosecuting the primary election case in an absurd and abusive manner, and of using fake news to spread hatred and anti-government sentiment. The remaining six interviews and reports dealt only with candidates’ political views and were found not to have seditious intent. The judge also said the statutory defence under the sedition offence was “clearly inapplicable to statements with no objective factual basis and an intent to seriously undermine the authority of the central or HKSAR governments”.
In the judgment, the judge said that, having considered The Stand News’ founding statement and editorials, he believed its media line was localism, supporting and promoting Hong Kong autonomy, and that during the anti-extradition bill movement it became a tool for smearing and disparaging the central and HKSAR governments. He considered that the two defendants, in approving publication of the articles in question, knew and agreed with their seditious intent. By using Stand News as the publishing platform, they incited hatred towards the central or Hong Kong governments and, “in any event, at least recklessly disregarded the consequences of the sedition”.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，2022 年 10 月開審，經歷 57 日審訊，裁決日三度押後，前總編輯鍾沛權及前署任總編輯林紹桐，周四（29 日）在區域法院被裁定罪成，法官郭偉健批准兩人保釋至 9 月 26 日判刑。
判詞提到，涉案 17 篇文章當中，11 篇具煽動意圖，指控律政司檢控初選案荒謬及濫權、以假消息散播憎恨及反政府情緒，餘下 6 篇專訪及報道，僅涉參選人政治觀點，裁定不具煽動意圖。官又指，煽動罪的免責條文，「明顯不適用於無客觀事實基礎、意圖嚴重破壞中央或特區政府權威等的言論」。
法官在判詞中表示，參考《立場新聞》的創刊辭、社論等，認為其媒體路線是本土主義、支持及促進香港自主，在反修例期間成為抹黑和中傷中央及特區政府的工具。他認為，兩名被告審批發布涉案文章，是知悉並認同文章的煽動意圖，以《立場》作發布平台，煽動憎恨中央或香港政府等，「無論如何，至少罔顧煽動後果」。
30 Aug 2024法庭線#3984
《立場》案｜官推翻「羊村案」裁決 裁定「蓄意煽動」及「罔顧煽動後果」都可定罪
Judge Kwok Wai-kin, who presided over the Stand News case, heard the “Sheep Village picture-book case” two years ago—the first case since 1997 involving the offence of publishing seditious publications. In the present case, he overturned his own ruling from two years earlier, finding that the “Sheep Village case” definition of criminal intent “cannot effectively safeguard national security”. He expanded the required criminal intent from “deliberate incitement” to also include knowingly taking the risk while “disregarding the consequences of incitement”, holding that either could result in a conviction, in line with the preventive nature of the sedition offence in relation to national-security risks.
After finding that the 11 articles in question had seditious intent, the judge ruled that the defendants were guilty on the basis that they knew of and endorsed the articles’ seditious intent, provided Stand News as a platform for publication, or published them while “at least disregarding the consequences of incitement”. (See separate report.)
As for the defence’s constitutional challenge concerning “seditious intent” in the charges, the judge cited the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the Tang Tak-chi sedition case and rejected all the challenges. He said that, since the Court of Appeal considered seditious intent to encompass a “potentially damaging” effect on national security that needed to be prevented, the charges “naturally” struck a balance between national security and human rights.
《立場新聞》案主審法官郭偉健，兩年前審理 1997 年後首宗發布煽動刊物罪「羊村繪本案」。他在本案推翻自己兩年前的裁決，認為「羊村案」對犯罪意圖的定義「不能有效維護國家安全」，並將被告的犯罪意圖，由「蓄意煽動」拓展至「罔顧煽動後果」明知犯險，都可入罪，以符合煽動罪對國安風險的「預防性質」。
法官在判斷涉案 11 篇文章具煽動意圖後，基於各被告知悉並認同文章的煽動意圖，提供《立場》作為平台發文，或「至少罔顧煽動後果」而發文，裁定罪成。（見另稿）
至於辯方針對控罪「煽動意圖」提出的憲法爭議，法官引用「譚得志煽動案」上訴庭裁決，悉數駁回爭議，指基於上訴庭認為煽動意圖，已涵蓋對國安有「潛在破壞」，有必要制止，因此控罪「自然」已平衡國安與人權。
30 Aug 2024法庭線#3985
《立場》案｜判詞指2019是「民粹年代」 《立場》創刊辭、社論等證有政治立場
In the case in which Stand News was charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, Judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled on Thursday (29th) that Stand News’ parent company, former chief editor Chung Pui-kuen and acting chief editor Lam Siu-tong were guilty. The two men were granted bail pending sentencing. (See separate report.)
In his judgment, Kwok said that, in relation to the offence of sedition, the historical context in which the articles in question were published was an “indispensable” consideration, and that it was necessary to consider whether the public was susceptible to sedition during that period. Kwok described the period in question as one in which “the age of populism arrived” and an “age unwilling to seek the truth”. He said that public dissatisfaction with and distrust of the government meant that, even after the National Security Law came into effect, destabilising factors had not been completely eliminated, and the government could easily become a target of rumours.
The judge also rejected Chung Pui-kuen’s testimony that Stand News’ guiding principle was to safeguard universal values. Citing the publication’s founding statement and several editorials during the anti-extradition bill movement, including the phrases “with Hong Kong as the basis” and “Hong Kong is Hong Kong people’s home ground”, he said the editorials used emotionally provocative language and displayed hostility towards the police. He also said that wording such as “a borrowed place” and “a borrowed time” reflected Chung’s nostalgia for colonial rule and refusal to accept Hong Kong’s return. He considered Chung’s claim that Stand News had no political stance to be “absolutely a lie”.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，法官郭偉健周四（29 日）裁定《立場》母公司 、前總編輯鍾沛權及署任總編輯林紹桐罪成，兩人保釋候判。（詳見另稿）
郭偉健在判詞指，就煽動罪而言，發布涉案文章的時代背景是「不可或缺」的考慮因素，並須考慮該期間公眾是否容易受煽動。郭形容，涉案時段「民粹年代降臨」、是「不願尋找真相的年代」，而市民對政府不滿及不信任，即使《國安法》實施後，不穩因素仍未完全消除，政府容易成為謠言的攻擊目標。
法官又不接納鍾沛權供稱，《立場》理念是守護普世價值，引《創刊辭》及反修例期間多篇社論，包括「以香港為本位」、「香港，是香港人的主場」等說法，指社論使用挑動情緒的字句，對警方展示敵意，又指「借來的地方」、「借來的時間」等用語，反映鍾戀殖，不接受香港回歸，認為鍾聲稱《立場》無政治立場「絕對是謊話」。
30 Aug 2024法庭線#3986
《立場》案｜李立峯指判決為傳媒定界線「但唔等於好清晰」 傅景華相信傳媒日後更步步為營
In the case in which Stand News was charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tung were found guilty on Thursday (29). Judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled that Stand News advocated localism and, amid a heated political atmosphere, published 11 seditious articles with the intention of advocating and inciting the public to oppose the Central Government, among other things.
Lee Lap-fung, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication, said all the articles at issue were strongly critical of the government and regarded as lacking a factual basis. He said their “objective effect was to draw certain boundaries”, but this did not mean the boundaries were clear, as whether an article had a factual basis remained a subjective judgement. The judge’s view that the media should not continue reporting opposing views when public sentiment was surging also differed from the general understanding of the media’s role in reflecting public sentiment.
Professor King Wa Fu of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Journalism and Media Studies said there was no consensus in academia on Stand News’s political stance and that he “did not quite understand” the basis for the court’s finding that Stand News advocated localism. He also believed that media outlets might have to be more mindful in future of whether their own outlets could be regarded as having a political ideology, and act with greater caution.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，前總編輯鍾沛權及前署任總編輯林紹桐，周四（29 日）被裁定罪成。法官郭偉健裁定《立場》主張本土主義，在政治氣氛熾熱之時，發布 11 篇煽動文章，鼓吹和煽惑群眾對抗中央政府等煽動意圖。
中大新聞與傳播學院教授李立峯認為，觸礁的全為強烈批判政府、被視為沒事實基礎的文章，「客觀效果係去劃一啲界線」，但不代表界線清晰，文章何謂有事實基礎，仍是主觀判斷；法官認為傳媒不應在民情洶湧時繼續報道反對意見，亦與一般對傳媒反映民情的理解「有出入」。
港大新聞及傳媒研究中心教授傅景華則關注，學術界對《立場》的政治立場沒定論，「不太明白」法庭裁定《立場》主張本土主義的基礎；他亦相信媒體日後可能要顧及自身媒體會否被視為有政治理念，更步步為營。
29 Aug 2024法庭線#3967
立場案｜兩總編煽動罪成 陳情提新聞理念 官裁定11篇文章具煽動意圖
In the case against former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tung and the company for conspiracy to publish seditious publications, District Court Judge Kwok Wai-kin found all the defendants guilty on Thursday (29th) and adjourned sentencing to 26 September. Chung and Lam were continued on bail, while Lam was permitted to be absent from the verdict because of illness.
The trial was the first post-1997 case in which a media organisation was charged with sedition. The judge found that 11 articles, including an interview with Ho Kwai-lam and a blog post by Nathan Law, had seditious intent, involving advocacy of anti-constitutional resistance and the use of false information to spread hatred, among other matters. The judge also rejected Chung Pui-kuen’s defence and ruled that Stand News had, during the anti-extradition bill protests, “become a tool for smearing and denigrating the central and HKSAR governments.”
In the judgment, the judge also expanded the criminal intent required for the charge to include publishing seditious articles while “reckless as to the consequences”, in line with the preventive nature of the sedition offence in relation to national security risks. The judge cited the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the Tam Tak-chi case and said the charge had balanced national security and human rights.
In mitigation, the defence said the two men were journalists who regarded themselves as having a responsibility to record events. In their representations, both referred to journalistic principles. Chung said that accurately recording and reporting were “an inescapable responsibility”; Lam said that a journalist’s allegiance was “only to the public, and can only be to the public”.
The government said the verdict demonstrated justice and that claims that it suppressed press freedom were completely untenable. Police said the judgment reflected that there had been grounds and an urgent need for law enforcement at the time. The Hong Kong Journalists Association said the case had heightened journalists’ concerns.
《立場新聞》前總編輯鍾沛權、署任總編輯林紹桐，以及所屬公司被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪一案，區院法官郭偉健周四（29 日）裁定被告全部罪成，押後至 9 月 26 日判刑；鍾、林續准保釋，林因病獲批准缺席裁決。
本案為 1997 年後首宗傳媒被控煽動罪的審訊，法官裁定 11 篇文章，包括何桂藍專訪、羅冠聰博客文章具有煽動意圖，涉提倡反憲制抗爭理念、以假消息散播憎恨等（見內文表）。官亦拒納鍾沛權辯解，並裁斷《立場》在反修例期間「成為抹黑和中傷中央及特區政府的工具」。
在判詞中，法官亦將控罪的犯罪意圖，拓展至「罔顧後果」而發布煽動文章，以符合煽動罪對國安風險的「預防性質」，並引上訴庭就譚得志案的裁決，指控罪已經平衡國安與人權。
辯方求情指兩人是新聞工作者，自覺有責任記錄。兩人陳情均提及新聞理念，鍾指如實記錄和報道是「不可逃避的責任」；林稱新聞工作者效忠對象「只有公眾，只能是公眾」。
政府指裁決彰顯公義，打壓新聞自由的説法完全站不住腳。警方指，判詞反映當日有理據及急切需要執法。記協指，案件加劇新聞工作者的擔憂。
29 Aug 2024法庭線#3968
《立場》案｜涉案17篇文章 官裁11篇具煽動意圖 各文章裁決理據一覽
In the case in which Stand News was charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, Judge Kwok Wai-kin ruled that former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tong and the company behind Stand News were guilty. The judge also ruled that 11 of the 17 articles in question had seditious intent, including an interview with Ho Kwai-lam, blog posts by Nathan Law, Chan Pui-man, Au Ka-lun and Cheung Kwun-yang, and an interview marking two years since the Chinese University of Hong Kong clashes.
The judge said the articles, without any objective basis, accused the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the primary election case of being absurd and an abuse of power, used false information to spread hatred and anti-government sentiment, and attacked police enforcement. For the remaining six articles—five interviews with Chow Ka-shing, Leung Wong-wai, Nathan Law, Hui Chi-fung and Leung Chung-hang, and a report on Chow Hang-tung receiving an award—the judge ruled that they did not have seditious intent. Reasons included that they concerned only the political views of election candidates and did not urge others to take action. The report on Chow Hang-tung receiving an award was merely news reporting.
The Witness, based on the contents of the written reasons for judgment, has compiled how the judge interpreted each of the 17 articles in question.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，法官郭偉健裁定，前《立場》總編輯鍾沛權、署任總編輯林紹桐，以及《立場》所屬公司罪成。官並裁定 17 篇涉案文章之中，11 篇具有煽動意圖，包括何桂藍的專訪，羅冠聰、陳沛敏、區家麟、張崑陽的博客文章，以及中大衝突兩年專訪。
官指，相關文章無客觀基礎下，指控律政司檢控初選案荒謬及濫權、以假消息散播憎恨及反政府情緒，以及攻擊警方執法等。餘下的 6 篇文章，即鄒家成、梁晃維、羅冠聰、許智峯及梁頌恆的 5 篇專訪，以及鄒幸彤得獎報道，官裁定不具煽動意圖，理由包括只涉參選人政治觀點、沒有鼓動他人行動等；而鄒幸彤得獎報道，則僅屬新聞報道。
《法庭線》根據裁決理由書內容，逐一整理法官如何解讀涉案 17 篇文章。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
