Two former senior editors of Hong Kong's pro-democracy Stand News were charged with conspiring to publish seditious materials and denied bail by a court on Thursday, following a police raid on their office that prompted its closure.

About 200 officers raided the non-profit online publication's office, froze its assets and arrested seven current and former senior editors and former board members on Wednesday, including Cantopop star and Canadian citizen Denise Ho.

Ho was released on bail Thursday morning after 36 hours of detainment.

National Security Police filed one count each of conspiracy to publish a seditious publication against Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, former editors at Stand News. Police also said they would prosecute the company for sedition, according to a charge sheet.

The cases were brought to West Kowloon court on Thursday, police said in a statement. Lam was not present in court because he was in the hospital. Both were denied bail.

Erosion of press freedoms

Media advocacy groups and some Western governments criticized the raid and arrests as a sign of further erosion of press freedoms since China imposed a sweeping national security law in the former British colony last year.

Magistrate Peter Law in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court denied bail applications for Chung, the former Stand News chief editor, and Lam, the acting chief editor. Hong Kong laws restrict media coverage of bail hearings.

Along with Ho, three other former members of the Stand News board — former democratic legislator and lawyer Margaret Ng, Chow Tat-chi and Christine Fang — were released on police bail pending further investigations. They had not been charged yet.

Police said all four are due to report to police in late March.

Ng told reporters as she left the police station that, "continuing to care for each other is very important."

Ho left without comment.

Also arrested on Wednesday was Chung's wife, Chan Pui-man. Formerly a senior editor with the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, she was already being held in prison on different charges and was re-arrested there.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise that wide-ranging individual rights, including a free press, would be protected.

But pro-democracy activists and rights groups say freedoms have been eroded, in particular since China imposed the new national security law after months of at times violent pro-democracy protests.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada was deeply concerned about the arrests.

Former federal justice minister and human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler said Canada has a responsibility to take a stand as the leader of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations earlier this year, and as one of the founding countries of the Media Freedom Coalition.

"What we're seeing is a frontal assault not only on media freedom, not only on the safety and security of journalists, not only on the democracy movement — but on democracy itself in Hong Kong," Cotler said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Hong Kong authorities to release the detainees.

Hong Kong leader defends raid

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defended the raid on Stand News amid a wider crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous city, telling reporters that "inciting other people ... could not be condoned under the guise of news reporting."

In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry's Hong Kong office said support for press freedom was being used as an excuse to disrupt stability in the city.

"Those who engage in activities that endanger national security … under the cover of journalism are the black sheep tarnishing the press freedom and will be held accountable," it said.

Stand News was set up in 2014 as a non-profit organization, and until this week was the most prominent remaining independent pro-democracy publication in Hong Kong after a national security investigation this year led to the closure of jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai's Apple Daily newspaper.

Stand News shut down hours after the raid and all of its employees were dismissed. Its website was not accessible on Thursday and its London bureau chief, Yeung Tin-shui, said on Facebook his office had also closed.

The seven arrests on Wednesday fell under a crime ordinance that dates from Hong Kong's days as a British colony before 1997, when it was returned to China with a promise from Beijing that it would keep Western-style freedoms for 50 years.

If convicted, they could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $800 Cdn).

With files from Thomson Reuters

Canadian Cantopop star Denise Ho sacrificed a lucrative career in China to speak out for Hong Kong
James Griffiths

Hong Kong activist and music star Denise Ho bows to well wishers as she is released from Western Police Station, on Dec. 30.Vincent Yu/The Associated Press
Growing up in Hong Kong and Montreal, it was always the latter city Denise Ho associated with politics, with people standing up for what they believed. Watching the 1995 Quebec independence referendum, she would reflect later, lit a political flame within her, though one that would take years to reach full force.

On Wednesday, Ms. Ho was one of seven people arrested in relation to the independent media outlet Stand News. She is accused of sedition, and could face years in prison if convicted. The pop star and three other former members of the Stand News editorial board were released Thursday on bail pending further investigations. All four are due to report to police in late March.

The arrest was a development Ms. Ho had long seen coming, since she sacrificed a lucrative career in mainland China to speak out for democracy in Hong Kong. “Right now, I am facing threats from the communist government, pro-Beijing supporters, and could face arrest and prosecution at any time,” she said in 2019. This only became more likely a year later, when Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong, one that has powered a sweeping crackdown on civil society, leaving Ms. Ho one of the few prominent activists not yet in prison.

Born in Hong Kong in 1977, Ms. Ho’s family moved to Canada when she was 11, soon becoming citizens. Eight years later, she moved back, entering a singing competition that was to launch her music career. She was a mentee of Cantopop superstar Anita Mui, who helped her get a record deal and employed Ms. Ho as a backup signer.

In 1997, Hong Kong was handed over from British to Chinese rule. At the time, she had not intention of rocking the boat, nor was she overly concerned: China was opening up to the world, and being part of the same country gave artists like Ms. Ho access to the biggest audience on earth.

Even as things began to shift in Hong Kong, as it became clear the grand promises of autonomy and freedom Beijing made in the run-up to handover were not being honoured, Ms. Ho held her tongue. Active in promoting LGBT rights, making history as one of the first Hong Kong celebrities to come out, she avoided topics that could see her blacklisted in China. “As a celebrity, I was told to stay neutral and not get involved in politics,” Ms. Ho said later.

All that changed with 87 rounds of tear gas in 2014. When police fired on student pro-democracy protesters, it sparked the Umbrella Movement, bringing hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers to the streets, Ms. Ho among them. She became one of the movement’s most prominent figures, arrested at a protest camp in December of that year.

Her involvement in the protests ended any chance of work in China. Denounced by state media, brands dropped her, and Ms. Ho swapped awards shows and TV appearances for a tiny studio in Wong Chuk Hang, on the south side of Hong Kong Island, where she began rebuilding her career, this time as a fully independent artist.

Ms. Ho continued her activism through 2019, when Hong Kong again exploded with anti-government protests that were met by an even heavier police response than five years earlier. In July of that year, Ms. Ho appeared at the United Nations, where she was repeatedly interrupted by Chinese delegates during a speech to the Human Rights Council.

“The [1993] Vienna Declaration guarantees democracy and human rights,” Ms. Ho said. “Yet in Hong Kong today, these are under serious attack.”

Months later, she testified before a U.S. Congressional hearing alongside Joshua Wong, the former Umbrella Movement leader turned politician, in support of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA), a law passed in late 2019 that obliged Washington to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights abuses in the territory.

The sanctions outraged Beijing. Ms. Ho was denounced by Chinese state media as a “secessionist” and “radical anti-government figure.” Following the passage of the national security law in mid-2020, others who had called for international sanctions were accused of committing the new crime of “collusion with foreign forces,” and many fled into exile. Mr. Wong and nearly every other remaining opposition politician found themselves jailed for “subversion” over a primary vote held to pick candidates for upcoming legislative elections.

Throughout 2021, the authorities circled closer and closer to Ms. Ho. A concert she had arranged was cancelled at the last minute on public security grounds, and local media reported she was being investigated by the police. A fund set up to cover protesters’ legal bills, in which she was a trustee, was one of dozens of civil society groups unable to continue operating under the national security law. Ms. Ho also stepped down as a director of Stand News, along with other board members associated with the pro-democracy movement.

Ultimately, this was not enough. On Wednesday, more than 200 police officers raided Stand’s offices along with the homes of Ms. Ho and other former directors. She was one of seven arrested for “conspiracy to publish a seditious publication.” Ms. Ho could be jailed for up to two years if found guilty, and may face further charges under the security law.

In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said it was “deeply concerned by the arrests … including Canadian citizen and activist Denise Ho.”

Politicians across the spectrum have spoken out in support of Ms. Ho. Conservative MP Garnett Genuis called for a “swift and emphatic response” from Ottawa. Green Party interim leader Amita Kuttner said she was “alarmed” by Ms. Ho’s arrest, while Hong Kong-born NDP lawmaker Jenny Kwan said the city “has turned into a police state,” adding “Canada needs to work urgently with ally countries to address this grave situation.”

On Facebook, Ms. Ho’s assistant posted a characteristically upbeat message from her: “Friends, please don’t worry.”