Hong Kong anti-government journalist Jimmy Lai [AFP=Yonhap News]

Despite Jimmy Lai, a prominent anti-government journalist in Hong Kong, being sentenced to a record 20 years in prison for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law, Hong Kong journalistic organizations remain silent.

With major media outlets in Hong Kong issuing editorials welcoming the verdict, assessments are emerging that a de facto 'death sentence' has been passed on Hong Kong's press freedom and democracy.

According to the British daily The Guardian on the 9th (local time), the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong (FCC) have not released any statements regarding the verdict.

While these two organizations have released investigative reports in recent years detailing the significant deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong due to the National Security Law, and have spoken out when executives of pro-democracy media outlets were arrested and convicted on sedition charges, they have remained silent this time.

Selina Cheng, chairwoman of the HKJA, told The Guardian, "I cannot freely express my thoughts on the verdict." The FCC also stated that it had nothing to comment on the sentencing.

The Guardian reported that the HKJA has previously been targeted by the Hong Kong government and state-controlled media for reasons such as "glorifying" Lai.

The HKJA also revealed last year that Hong Kong authorities were conducting unfair tax investigations targeting the association, independent media, journalists, and their families.

The Hong Kong Federation of Journalists (HKFJ), an organization supported by the Chinese government, as well as the Hong Kong News Executives' Association (HKNEA) and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA), also did not issue statements regarding Lai's verdict.

Ronson Chan, former chairman of the HKJA, stated, "Whether these five media organizations support or regret the verdict in the Jimmy Lai case, their lack of response is abnormal," adding, "This is a manipulation by the authorities to separate the issue of press freedom from the sentence."

In Hong Kong, not only pro-Beijing media but also outlets considered reputable have published editorials supporting the verdict.

Ming Pao, a representative reputable newspaper, argued in an editorial on the 10th, the day after the verdict, that it "sets an important precedent that serious punishment is unavoidable for colluding with external forces, serving as a watershed moment for national security." It further stated, "Freedom of the press is not absolute; it has ethical and legal boundaries, and collusion with foreign powers cannot be easily excused as freedom of the press."

The South China Morning Post (SCMP), an English-language outlet owned by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, also stated in an editorial on the 10th titled 'Jimmy Lai trial shows Hong Kong's rule of law still stands' that "Lai sought to stir up chaos with the aim of subverting the Chinese government, which threatened national security. The damage he caused to Hong Kong was severe, and a deterrent sentence was required."

 Citizens line up to buy the last issue of Apple Daily, which ceased publication on June 24, 2021, under pressure from Hong Kong authorities. [AP=Yonhap News]

The pro-Beijing media outlet HK01 assessed that the verdict "heralded the end of a period of political turmoil," while Ta Kung Pao stated, "The anti-China and pro-chaos forces represented by Jimmy Lai will be forever nailed to the pillar of historical shame."

Regarding this situation, Alexandra Bielakowska, manager for Asia at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), stated that since the enactment of the National Security Law in 2020, media organizations and journalists in Hong Kong have faced unprecedented pressure from the authorities, adding, "There is no longer any space for critical voices in Hong Kong."

Barry, director of the Asia-Pacific program at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international press freedom advocacy group, also said, "Five years after China implemented the National Security Law, Hong Kong's once vibrant free press has become a ghost."

Nathan Law, a democracy activist and key figure in Hong Kong's "Umbrella Revolution" in 2014, who is currently in exile in the UK, lamented in an op-ed for The Guardian that "Hong Kong's democracy is dead" with this verdict.

He stated, "(Hong Kong and the Chinese government) have succeeded in silencing critics, their sole objective. Civil society and the media, which should monitor individual rights and government overreach, are unable to voice criticism and remain silent."

Since the Hong Kong National Security Law, which allows for maximum life imprisonment for four crimes—secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces—came into effect in June 2020, several pro-democracy media outlets, starting with Apple Daily founded by Jimmy Lai, have been forced to close due to pressure from authorities. Numerous journalists have also been indicted on charges of sedition or violating the National Security Law.

Hong Kong's ranking has also plummeted in the World Press Freedom Index, published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Hong Kong fell from 18th place out of 180 countries in 2002 to 148th in 2022. Last year, it was ranked 140th.

HONGKONG-ECONOMY/PROPERTY FILE PHOTO: A general view of Two International Finance Centre (IFC), HSBC headquarters and Bank of China in Hong Kong, China July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo