Top Asian News 2:49 a.m. GMT

Hong Kong court to sentence 2 former Stand News editors in landmark sedition case

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court is set to sentence two journalists Thursday in a landmark sedition case that is widely seen as an indicator of media freedom in a city once known as a beacon of press freedom in Asia. Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were the first journalists convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The now-shuttered news outlet was one of last in Hong Kong that dared to criticize authorities as Beijing imposed a crackdown on dissidents following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.