John Lee warns Hong Kong news industry against becoming ‘corrupted’ after Stand News case

Chief Executive John Lee says ‘there is no one or any industry that overrides the law’ at media industry event marking country’s founding

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Chief Executive John Lee speaks at a media industry event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 5:22pm, 27 Sep 2024Updated: 2:19am, 28 Sep 2024

Hong Kong’s leader has warned the media industry against letting its credibility and ethics become “corrupted” by those with ulterior motives, a day after two former editors of a defunct news outlet were jailed for conspiring to publish seditious content.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Friday that no one, including journalists, was above the law.

“The credibility and ethics of the news industry cannot be corrupted by people who use the platform of news for personal purposes, to destroy law and order or commit sedition,” he told an industry event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Lee noted that Hong Kong was a society governed by the rule of law, with everyone being equal under the principle.

“There is no one or any industry that overrides the law,” he said. “No matter if it is government officials, ordinary citizens or members of the media industry, they will have to follow the law.”

Former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, 55, and ex-acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 36, were sentenced in the District Court on Thursday, nearly one month after they were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles.