Police Take the Hammer on Stand News
Who Got Ruffled?
Early Wednesday, December 29, the Hong Kong Police National Security Department swooped into the offices of the pro‑democracy site Stand News and nabbed six senior staff members—three men and three women, ranging from 34 to 73 years old. The officers were on the lookout for their court warrant and carried out home searches to keep things tidy.
- Three men aged 34, 47, and 58
- Three women aged 57, 63, and 73
“The charge is conspiracy to publish seditious publications,” one officer told a camera with that same intensity you’d expect in a courtroom drama. “This is the court warrant, and this is my warrant card. Your phone is obstructing our work,” he warned, sweeping a recorder toward Ronson Chan’s house.
Ronson Chan’s Big Wig‑Wars
Ronson Chan, the deputy assignment editor at Stand News and the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was in the spotlight. A video of police making their way to his apartment made the rounds on social media, complete with a dramatic display of the warrant. If you’re a fan of real‑time news, you’ll know that police in Hong Kong don’t just take a picture—they take a picture.
Apple Daily’s Ghost Story
Fast‑forward to June, when police rolled out their giant carpet (aka police vans) at the vinyl‑record office of Apple Daily, another pro‑democracy giant. The crackdown was on “collusion with a foreign country,” a phrase that sounded like an angered emoji in hindsight. The paper was shut down soon after, and its staff took the hit.
Why It Matters
These arrests are the latest spill in a sea of tension, reminding us that in Hong Kong, the line between journalism and the law is a tightrope that’s constantly being reshuffled. One can’t help but feel that the future of free press in the city hangs in the balance—same as a precariously balanced stack of pancakes.
