Hong Kong’s Top Court Overturns Journalist’s Conviction

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Hong Kong’s Top Court Overturns Journalist’s Conviction
Bao Choy Asks: How Can the Damage to Press Freedom in the City Be Rectified?

Source: The Collective HK; #Jun06


Hong Kong’s Top Court Overturns Journalist’s Conviction
Bao Choy Asks: How Can the Damage to Press Freedom in the City Be Rectified?

In an extended 30-month ordeal that encompassed her arrest, a significant legal setback, and persistent appeals that reached the Court of Final Appeal, Bao Choy Yu-ling, the former producer of Hong Kong Radio Television (#RTHK) program "Hong Kong Connection," finally achieved a momentous victory in the highly contentious "license plate search case" on June 5.

During the production of the episode "7.21: Who Owns The Truth?", Choy's team used the government's vehicle registry to look up cars used by the violent mob who indiscriminately attacked train passengers and civilians in Yuen Long on July 21, 2019.  They discovers that some of the cars belonged to village representatives and pro-government leaders in the Yuen Long area. The documentary has since won journalism awards, though the government-owned RTHK had refused to acknowledge them.

Instead, in 2021, the government persecuted Choy's team based on their use of the vehicle registry, until the Court of Final Appeal handed down its decision this week in Choy's favor.

In response to the verdict, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka-chiu, bitterly asserted on June 6 that the government will improve the procedures and guidelines for license plate searches, underscoring that the court's ruling demonstrates the fairness and impartiality of Hong Kong's judicial system.

In rebuttal, Bao Choy questioned, "I wonder how many 'defendants' have the time and resources to advocate for the supposed fairness and impartiality mentioned by the Chief Executive?"

She conveyed that throughout the course of the case, journalists faced "intimidation" during their license plate searches, leaving the question of how the inflicted damage can be rectified.

Source: The Collective HK; #Jun06
http://bitly.ws/Ho7u

See also:

Hong Kong Connection - 7.21: Who Owns the Truth - video translated by Real Hong Kong News


“7.21: Who Owns the Truth" wins #PressFreedomAward, but rejected by RTHK; producers accept award on behalf of production team


Hong Kong Journalist Stands Trial Over Use of Online License Plate Search


#BaoChoy #JusticeDelayed #PressFreedom