Two Hong Kong journalists have been sentenced to prison by a court in Shenzhen for illegal trade of newspapers after publishing gossip on Chinese political leaders.
Publisher Wang Jianming, 60, and 41-year-old editor Guo Zhongxiao were sentenced to five years and three months and two years and three months respectively for New-Way Monthly and Multiple Face magazine.
Though the charges did not explicitly mention the gossip articles, in which Chinese political leaders were discussed in a curious manner, lawyers suspect they were the cause as to why the pair were arrested and silenced.
Beijing is said to fear that Hong Kong's free society can pollute the Chinese society. China has always kept a tight reign on media by taking strict action against protesting journalists, bloggers and activists, as well as monitoring websites.
The Court of Shenzhen accused the duo of illegally selling thousands of copies of the newspapers without mentioning the amount profited. However, the journalists claimed that the papers were only published in Hong Kong, though around eight copies were disseminated among friends and acquaintances in China.
Wang and Guo's defense lawyers also claimed the pair earned less than 66 thousand Hong Kong dollars, which is less than half of the minimum amount required in China to be deemed "illegal trade."
Since both of the accused were arrested in the 2014, Guo is set to be freed soon as he has served most of his sentence. The newspapers they used to work with are closed now.
This incident has severely impacted the Association of Hong Kong Reporters, bringing a new low to the freedom of press in the territory. Not long ago, five book publishers from Hong Kong were detained in China for being critical and publishing satire about the Chinese leaders.