Ex-newspaper staff plead for lighter sentences in HK
HONG KONG—Former executives of a now-defunct, prodemocracy newspaper in Hong Kong who were convicted under a national security law pleaded for lighter sentences on Tuesday in a landmark case widely seen as a barometer of media freedom in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.
The former journalists pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security.
They admitted to the prosecution’s charge that said they conspired with their ex-boss and onetime media mogul Jimmy Lai to request foreign sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
Lai, the Apple Daily founder who pleaded not guilty in the case, was convicted in December.
Six Apple Daily executives were convicted in Lai’s case: publisher Cheung Kim-hung; associate publisher Chan Pui-man; editor in chief Ryan Law; executive editor in chief Lam Man-chung; executive editor in chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong; and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee.
Some of them served as prosecution witnesses during the 156-day trial.
