#Thread about HK prosecution's opening statement on the #StandNews "conspiracy to publish seditious publications" case.
In the 53-page document, the prosecutor wrote 3 times that the seditious intent in the articles were "self-evident" 不言而喻/不宣而告.
In the 53-page document, the prosecutor wrote 3 times that the seditious intent in the articles were "self-evident" 不言而喻/不宣而告.
The prosecution said the crux of their case is not about the defendants, namely Best Pencil Ltd, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam "taking actual actions in accordance with their unlawful agreement", but that they "had reached an unlawful agreement to publish seditious publications"
As said on the first day, the prosecution said they do not have to prove the seditious intent in the defendants; they only have to prove that the defendants were aware of the seditious intent in the articles.
As done in other sedition/incitement cases, the prosecutor first set the stage by alleging #StandNews as "not just an online news outlet, but instead a political platform" citing #StandNews manifesto to "defend democracy, human rights, freedom, rule of law and justice".
To further strengthen their allegation, the prosecutor cited soaring of public subscriptions of #StandNews in 2019 during the anti-extradition law protests, and remarks of Patrick Lam (D3) at a media summit in Dec 2019, when he said #StandNews wanted to...
"bring everyone closer to facts, to have better understanding of the movement, or better understanding of what people participating in the movement were thinking, so that we could have a better common ground for discussions and evaluations, even..to participate."
The prosecution's opening statements have also laid out in written words the authorities' understanding of some highly controversial events in HK in recent years, including the 2019 protests, the pro-dem primaries, the 12 fugitives and the #NSL.
The prosecutors invited the court to adopt these judicial notices (in pic) as a "background" to understand the 17 articles they singled out from #StandNews' publications. They stressed those articles "must be understood against such a background". (xlated by me） 
The prosecutors also categorized the 17 articles according to different social events they believed the articles were related to, and provided their interpretations of the articles' meanings and intentions. The link between the articles and the events were built via a policewoman
The prosecutors said the 17 articles "were apparently deliberately published in an coordinated timing with those anti-government events so to add fuel to the flames and reinforce some anti-government initiatives... D1 to D3 must have the knowledge of their seditious intent".
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