The case against online news website “Stand News” has concluded with two chief editors and the parent company found guilty of "conspiring to publish seditious publications." Western governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, promptly criticized the verdict, alleging that freedom of speech and the press are diminishing in Hong Kong. However, when compared to actions taken by these same Western governments, Hong Kong's measures appear relatively restrained.
In the United Kingdom, swift trials and severe sentencing have once again set a precedent. British Undersecretary of State (Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office), Catherine West, posted on the social media platform X, urging Hong Kong authorities to halt what she termed "political prosecutions" of journalists and to uphold the freedom of the press as stipulated in the Basic Law. This criticism is ironic given the UK's recent harsh sentencing of instigators of domestic riots.
On July 29, nationwide riots erupted across the UK following a knife attack at a children's dance school perpetrated by a member of a minority group. The British government responded by employing rapid trial and sentencing procedures reminiscent of those used during the 2011 London riots. By August 13, authorities had arrested 1,024 individuals, with 572 swiftly prosecuted. Many received immediate prison sentences ranging from several weeks to ten years, including an 11-year-old boy and a 69-year-old man.
By West's own standards critiquing Hong Kong, some of those heavily sentenced in the UK were merely engaging in what could be described as "free exchange of opinions" online, without participating directly in the riots. For example, 28-year-old Jordan Parlour from Leeds admitted to posting racially charged messages on Facebook and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, becoming the first individual sentenced in connection with the UK riots. Parlour's posts included statements such as, "smash [the] f--- out of Britannia hotel (a hotel housing migrants)". He also claimed in a comment on Facebook that migrants were given "the Life of Riley off the tax us hard-working people earn when it could be put to better use". Compared to the 11 articles by “Stand News” deemed seditious, Parlour's comments seem relatively minor. Notably, the maximum sentence for "sedition" in Hong Kong at that time was two years, making it unlikely that the defendants in the “Stand News” case will face harsher penalties than Parlour. In some instances, individuals in the UK received several weeks of imprisonment merely for reacting with supportive emojis to radical posts—outcomes unimaginable in Hong Kong.
Similarly, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated on X that the conviction of “Stand News” represents a direct attack on press freedom and tarnishes Hong Kong's reputation for openness. However, recalling the sentencing following the 2021 Capitol Hill riots, Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the right-wing group Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison—the longest sentence among all defendants involved. Tarrio was convicted of "seditious conspiracy" despite not being physically present at the Capitol during the riots; he was coordinating activities online from a hotel in Baltimore. When comparing the 2021 Capitol Hill riots to the prolonged unrest in Hong Kong in 2019, the U.S. incident was relatively brief, yet one of its organizers received a 22-year sentence. By American standards, it raises the question of why Tarrio's sentence is not considered a violation of freedom of speech.
The situation in France further highlights this apparent double standard. A spokesperson for the European Union's External Action Service criticized the “Stand News” verdict as another example of shrinking press freedom in Hong Kong, warning that it could further limit diverse opinions and the free flow of information—both fundamental to Hong Kong's economic success. But look at what the French did. France recently arrested Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, accusing the platform of facilitating unchecked criminal activities. It’s noted that Telegram was widely used during Hong Kong's 2019 unrest, with several groups directly organizing riots through the app. Despite this, Hong Kong authorities have not taken action against such communication platforms, which often claim they cannot control the content shared by users. Now that France directly hit on a communication software provider, but the EU spokesperson says nothing about freedom of expression in France.
In summary, the United States and other Western governments often exhibit inconsistencies between their words and actions. The UK's handling of rioters and France's arrest of Telegram's founder inadvertently support the Hong Kong court's judgment in the “Stand News” case by demonstrating methods of addressing incitement to rebellion. Notably, the UK's rapid sentencing effectively quelled the riots within 11 days—an approach Hong Kong should seriously study and consider.
Wing-hung Lo
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Jimmy Lai is now convicted of colluding with foreign forces, and the court’s reasons for verdict run a staggering 855 pages — packed with testimony, evidence, and step-by-step findings. Beyond Lai’s list of “offences,” the judgment also traces his dense web of ties to political figures in Hong Kong and overseas.
What jumps out is how it revisits Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Martin Lee Chu-ming, detailing their contacts with US political heavyweights and “intermediaries,” and pointing to their significance in the overall picture. Read the courtroom testimony and track what they did before and after the 2019 unrest — especially those repeated US trips for “closed-door meetings” — and the old accounts still look jaw-dropping.
This anti-HK triad, even if the “two corners” pulled back in time and slipped away, one question still hangs: is there unfinished business left to follow up?
Coaching, then headlines
The judgment says Chan doesn’t just show up in Washington — she gets coached for the mission. Before travelling to the US in March 2019 to meet then Vice President Mike Pence, she is “coached” by former US Consul General in Hong Kong James Cunningham, who advises her to make thoroughly defeating the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance the core message.
Chan moves before the chaos: Pence, Miles Yu — and a foreign-collusion trail that starts earlier than Lai.
Cunningham then relays this to Jimmy Lai, who forwards it on to Martin Lee, Democratic Party senior figure Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, Lee Wing-tat and others. After Chan meets Pence, Lai quickly instructs Cheung Kim-hung and others to “make the news as big as possible.”
Then comes the “international front” pitch — and it’s explicit. On March 26, 2019, the judgment says Lai messages Martin Lee saying he hopes Cunningham can help the democrats lobby overseas on the “international front.” Lai adds that Cunningham should stay in Washington to work, especially to push Congress to intervene over the anti-extradition campaign.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg — and the timeline matters. Based on what I’ve checked in public materials and courtroom testimony, Chan and Lee are meeting senior US officials even earlier than Lai, and their ties look deeper than this slice suggests.
Martin Lee opens doors for Lai: Pelosi and other US power players — a heavy hitter on the “international front.
Washington doors swing open
Mid-March 2019 is when the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance controversy heats up — and Chan is already on a US invite. She is invited by the White House National Security Council to visit the US, first holding a closed-door meeting with NSC officials to discuss the anti-extradition situation. Three days later, she meets Vice President Pence one-on-one, going deeper on how to “defeat” the bill.
The meetings don’t stop at Pence — they fan out across the US system. After that, Chan meets Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi and State Department officials involved in drafting reports under the Hong Kong Policy Act. At that closed-door meeting, the judgment notes Pompeo’s senior adviser Miles Yu (Yu Maochun) is also present — later sanctioned by Beijing as a major traitor to China.
Two months later, it’s Martin Lee’s turn to carry the baton — and he runs straight to the same power center. He leads a pan-democrat delegation to Washington to attend a seminar hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) — dubbed here the “second CIA” — and to appear at a hearing held by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) on Hong Kong issues.
The climax is a face-to-face with Pompeo — the “hawk among hawks.” Lee gets an audience with then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, described as Pompeo’s first meeting with Hong Kong opposition figures after taking office — a signal that the US already treats Lee as a useful chess piece.
Two months, two heavyweights
Here’s the uncomfortable contrast: Chan and Lee get into Washington’s inner rooms fast — and ahead of Lai. Within two months, they separately meet two US heavyweights and discuss next steps, about two months earlier than Jimmy Lai. Not long after, the anti-extradition riots erupt in full, making it hard to deny they play significant roles in that upheaval.
During the unrest, the links extend to key operatives on the ground. They maintain close ties with several major figures, including Andy Chan Tsz-wah and Tony Chung (Lee Yue-hin). In testimony, Lee Yue-hin discloses he meets Anson Chan three times, and in one meeting they even discuss a “grand plan” for anti-extradition actions — with Chan asking whether the movement has an “end game,” and if so, how to reach it, effectively demanding a “roadmap.”
And the networking goes beyond talk — it becomes introductions across foreign channels. Chan brings Lee Yue-hin to the British Consul General’s residence in Hong Kong and introduces him to Consul General Andrew Heyn, described as evidence she actively acts as a go-between linking key unrest operatives with the UK and US governments.
Martin Lee plays a similar connector role, too. In July 2019, he invites Andy Chan — leader of the “Glory to Hong Kong” team — to a dinner and introduces him to Jimmy Lai. After that, Andy Chan becomes a key operative for Lai’s “international front,” often using Martin Lee as the channel to stay in contact with Lai.
A WhatsApp “war room”
Then it gets even more operational — literally a chat-group command setup. Martin Lee, Jimmy Lai and James Cunningham set up a WhatsApp group that functions as an “operations command centre,” shaping strategy as circumstances shift — and underscoring, that Lee sits at the core of both the local and international fronts.
By June 2020, the mood tightens as Beijing moves to enact the Hong Kong National Security Law — and they sense the risk. At the last moment before the law takes effect, Chan and Lee “turn the wheel” and hurry to announce they are stepping back: Chan claims she will no longer touch politics, while Lee distances himself from “Hong Kong independence” and “radicalism,” and quits Lai’s group, temporarily avoiding the legal net.
Now they go quiet — and that silence becomes part of the story. After Lai’s conviction, the two “comrades-in-arms” say nothing and effectively vanish from view. But those shocking old accounts don’t simply disappear, and whether — and when — they might be “settled” remains unknown.
