Taipei, October 7, 2022 – In response to news reports that a court in Hong Kong on Friday sentenced radio journalist Edmund Wan Yiu-sing to 32 months in prison for sedition and money laundering, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement expressing condemnation:
“Today’s sentencing of radio host Edmund Wan Yiu-sing to 32 months in prison shows Hong Kong authorities’ relentless efforts to silence political criticism by journalists,” said Iris Hsu, CPJ’s China representative. “The government should stop using the colonial-era sedition law and apparent retaliatory charges of financial crimes against the press.”
Wan, an internet radio host who broadcasts under the name “Giggs,” hosted shows for the independent station D100 that report and comment on political issues in mainland China and Hong Kong. Wan also called for donations to support Hong Kongers who have left Hong Kong to study in Taiwan on his website and social media, according to news reports.
According to a press summary published by the Hong Kong Judiciary, Wan pleaded guilty on September 1 to one count of sedition and three counts of money laundering, and the confiscation of HK$4.87 million (US$620,386), under a plea agreement. In return, six other similar charges were left on file and cannot be brought against Wan without the court’s permission.
According to CPJ research, Wan has been held behind bars for 20 months since his arrest in February 2021.
CPJ’s December 1, 2021, prison census found that China remained the world’s worst jailer of journalists for the third year in a row. It was the first time that journalists in Hong Kong appeared on CPJ’s census.