BREAKING: Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy wins top court appeal over use of vehicle records for protest documentary
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy has won her appeal at the city’s top court against her conviction linked to checking vehicle registration records for a documentary about the Yuen Long attacks in 2019.
The former freelance RTHK producer was found guilty in 2021 of making false statements to obtain vehicle records for a documentary she was producing for the public broadcaster. She was fined HK$6,000.
The journalist’s case centres around Choy’s use of a public database to review records of vehicles suspected of transporting assailants and weapons to the site of the attack in Yuen Long. In her application to access the records, Choy selected “other traffic and transport related matters” in a dropdown menu that asked her intention for obtaining the information.
During her Court of Final Appeal hearing last month, the court discussed what “traffic and transport matters” entailed.
Chan argued that Choy’s use of the database fell within the scope of “other traffic and transport related matters” as she was looking into the vehicle allegedly used to carry weapons.
Government prosecutor Derek Lau argued that investigations did not fall into such matters, and that the activity needed to have an “inherent nature that relates to traffic or transport.”
After the government prosecutor finished making his arguments, Chan said the prosecution had raised points including some related to personal data and privacy, but did not mention press freedom.
The barrister said press freedom was guaranteed in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights, and “needs to be taken into account” in the case.
The July 21, 2019 attacks at Yuen Long MTR station took place around a month into the protests and unrests that summer over a controversial extradition bill.
That night, dozens of white-shirted men reportedly with triad affiliations indiscriminately assault commuters, journalists, and protesters returning from a demonstration. The incident marked a turning point for worsening relations between the public and the police, who were accused of ignoring emergency calls to the scene.
Press freedom under the spotlight
Choy’s May appeal – which coincided with World Press Freedom Day – was her last attempt to challenge the conviction. She lost her appeal at a lower court last November.
Press freedom in Hong Kong has come under the spotlight since Beijing passed a national security law in June 2020 in response to large-scale protests and unrest that began in the summer of 2019.
In 2021, two major news outlets Apple Daily and Stand News – both known for their pro-democracy stance – closed down after their newsrooms were raided and staff arrested under national security and sedition charges.
The government, however, has said that press freedom is “respected and protected.”
The city ranked 140th among 180 regions in the international media watchdog’ Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom ranking. When the ranking was first compiled in 2002, Hong Kong was 18th.
In the wake of the newsroom closures, small media outlets have emerged to fill the gap, including one co-founded by Choy. Called The Collective, the online outfit is reliant on readers’ donations and produces in-depth reports on social issues and politics.
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