[1/2] Former acting chief editor of Stand News Patrick Lam leaves the court after release on bail over his charge of conspiring to publish "Seditious Publications" in Hong Kong, China November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong Court on Thursday rejected an application to terminate a sedition trial against now-defunct online media outlet Stand News, a case that could see two former top editors jailed if convicted. Former editors Chung Pui-kuen, 53, and Patrick Lam, 35, and the outlet's parent company, Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, have been charged with conspiracy to publish seditious material related to news articles and commentaries between July 2020 and December last year. Hong Kong's government has said press freedom is enshrined in the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Reporting by Jessie Pang and Darerca Siu; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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