2009 Chapter Updates
Chapter 1 Overview and Freedom of Expression
19 November 2009 The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission releases its annual report to the US Congress on China. In its section on Hong Kong, it concludes that the “Chinese central government in Beijing has continued to expand its influence over the government and economy of Hong Kong.” The report cites that Beijing has moved “decisively” in several areas to exert increased influence, including strengthening its official liaison office in Hong Kong to the point of attempting to influence day-to-day affairs in Hong Kong and taking an active role to limit demonstrations in Hong Kong.
For the section on Hong Kong, read here.
For the HKSAR Government response to the report, read here.
22 October 2009 “HK rises in press freedom index…” South China Morning Post. (Summary: Hong Kong’s standing as a bastion of the free press in the Asia-Pacific region has risen. Reporters Without Borders rated Hong Kong as 48th of 175 countries and territories in its annual Press Freedom Index, a three-slot improvement over 2008, which placed it 4th in the region, behind New Zealand (tied for 13), Australia (16) and Japan (17). Vincent Brossel, who oversees the group’s Asia desk, said violence against journalists was “almost zero” in Hong Kong, direct censorship did not exist and there was no censorship of the Internet. He said some respondents had mentioned a perception of self-censorship because some media owners had business interests on the mainland.)
22 October 2009 “”Press freedom motion fails,” RTHK
The Legislative Council failed to pass a motion on press freedom in response to the manhandling of Hong Kong journalists reporting on the mainland.
5 July 2009 Hong Kong Journalists Assocation releases its 2009 annual report, “Macau takes the lead: Dangers for freedom of expression in Hong Kong.” HKJA says that it believes freedom of expression has declined in Hong Kong.
4 June 2009 “Lee denies blacklist barring dissidents,” RTHK
1 May 2009 “New Study: Global Press Freedom Declines in Every Region for First Time; Hong Kong loses Free Status”.
“Hong Kong’s status declined to Partly Free to reflect the growing influence of Beijing over media and free expression in the territory. Of particular concern were the appointment of 10 owners of Hong Kong media outlets to a mainland Chinese advisory body, increased restrictions on film releases in the period surrounding the Olympics, and reports that critics of Beijing encountered growing difficulty in gaining access to Hong Kong media platforms.” Overview essay here, see page 5.
Chapter 2 The Legal System
18 November 2009 “2012 elections consultation paper unveiled,” HKSAR Government
5 November 2009 “Class action law suits proposed,” RTHK
Consultation paper on class actions published by Law Reform Commission.
12 October 2009 “Hong Kong accused of jailing Chinese dissident,” The Standard
25 September 2009 “Ruling sets stage for New World Legco questions,” The Standard (In a landmark judicial review ruling, the Court of First Instance upheld the independence of the legislature, saying the courts could not easily interfere in internal workings of the Legislative Council. The ruling means reluctant executives for New World Development will need to appear before a Legco subcommittee investigating dealings with their company by former housing chief Leung Chin-man.)
22 September 2009 “Judicial pay freeze approved,” HKSAR Government (For the first time, judicial service pay adjustment is handled by a new mechanism outside of civil service, in part, to ensure judicial independence.)
15 January 2009 “Election consultation to be deferred,” Chief Executive, Hong Kong SAR government
Chapter 3 Defamation
16 October 2009. Court of First Instance ruled that Internet service providers (ISPs) were only publishers when they became aware of the defamatory content of any posting and chose not to remove it from their servers. Until then, they played no more than a passive role in facilitating postings on the Internet. They were not knowingly involved in the process of publication and had no opportunity to prevent publication. The court rejected an application by the plaintiff-newspapers for interim injunctions to restrain the defendant-Internet website operators from publishing alleged defamatory statements on their forums.
Oriental Press Group v. Fevawork Solutions Ltd.
16 October 2009 “King of Tutors sues makers of ‘Trick or Cheat’ for defamation,” South China Morning Post
(Summary: Economics teacher Kevin Ko — dubbed the King of Tutors — has sued over a film in which a character he says is modeled on him is depicted as having sex with an exam official to get tips about questions in a coming paper. Ko says that moviegoers would associate the character — named Seven Ko and wearing similar trademark black-rimmed glasses — in the movie, “Trick or Cheat,” to him. Ko, who says he has spent about HK$1.5 million in advertising in 2009, is a founder of Ever Learning, a private tutoring center in Hong Kong.
Chapter 4 Court Reporting and Contempt of Court
24 November 2009 “Activists fined and ordered to pay costs,” RTHK. (A High Court judge has ordered Citizens’ Radio activists to pay a total of HK$60,000 each toward the government’s legal costs and in fines for contempt of court. The broadcasters have already been fined in criminal proceedings (See Chapter 12 below).
Chapter 5 Access to Information
11 May 2009 “Government says it keeps no record of immunity cases,” South China Morning Post (Summary: In the wake of the government’s grant of diplomatic immunity earlier this year to the wife of Zimbabwe president Mugabe for allegedly attacking a news photographer, SCMP filed an application through the Code on Access to Information, requesting information on other cases involving diplomatic immunity. Specifically, SCMP asked for information on the number of people eligible for diplomatic immunity, the number of times such immunity had been invoked and by which consulates, the nature of each suspected offense and the total number or value of outstanding fines. The Chief Secretary’s office, which controls both the protocol division and the government’s records service, said: “We do not have a list of persons who enjoy diplomatic immunity in the HKSAR. We also do not maintain any register of the immunity cases we have come across.”
22 April 2009 “Government rules out wider watchdog roles,” South China Morning Post (Summary: The HKSAR government has rejected suggestions that it enact legislation for freedom of information or to legally protect whistleblowers who expose offical wrongdoing. The government submitted its views in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council’s administration of justice panel. Retiring Ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen ying recently accused the government of being more interested in “putting out fires” than in proper policy planning and had spoken out on problems regarding public access to government information. The government rejected the need for freedom of information law, saying the current administrative code of access was sufficient. “(T)here is no plan to enact freedom of information legislation in Hong Kong.”)
HKSAR government’s position paper to Legco, 20 April 2009
27 February 2009 “Be open with public, demands watchdog,” The Standard (Allegations that government officials are ignorant of or are misusing the Code on Access to Information have sparked a probe into its effectiveness by the Ombudsman, Alice Tai Yuen-ying. Tai says the code is the principal protection against the improper withholding of government information and recent complaints point to the need for an investigation.)
Government says it will cooperate with Ombudsman’s probe
Chapter 6 Privacy
12 November 2009 “Privacy probes spark calls for snooping laws,” The Standard (Summary: Privacy watchdogs are investigating three complaints about the unauthorized use of hidden video cameras and telephone bugging devices. But the probes into snooping are shrouded in mystery because beyond saying the complaints came from a hospital and two offices, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data declined to give details.)
6 November 2009 “Probe into journo data leak,” The Standard (The Privacy Commission has vowed to look into the internet leak of reporters’ personal data from Democratic files. The Party has already apologized to the 82 reporters involved and said it is investigating whether the leak was due to an internal error or hacking by an outside party. The list contained data of reporters from 40 media organizations and included 75 mobile phone numbers and 59 email addresses.)
28 August 2009 HKSAR Government announced review of Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance with release of Consultation Document, inviting public views until Nov. 30. 2009.
6 March 2009 Privacy Commissioner investigates Police data leakage incident, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, HKSAR
12 February 2009 “ICAC interception irregularities under Legco fire,” The Standard
February2009 Annual Report 2007 to Chief Executive by the Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance
Chapter 7 Official Secrets and Sedition
31 October 2009 “Rowse gets civil service letters before tell-all book,” South China Morning Post
(Summary: Former investment promotion chief Mike Rowse has received letters from the Civil Service Bureau on the eve of the publication of his tell-all book about the Harbourfest saga. Rowse said he had sought the bureau’s advice in May about how to comply with civil services regulations and rules about official secrets. However, this month, the bureau sent additional correspondence, Rowse said.
A Civil Service Bureau spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases but told SCMP, “A person who commits an offence under the Official Secrets Ordinance is liable, on conviction, to a fine and/or imprisonment.” The law covers, among other things, the unauthorized disclosure and damaging use of official information.
Harbourfest was a series of concerts in 2003 to help revive the economy after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Rowse was then the head of InvestHK, the government’s investment promotion arm that oversaw the concerts. In 2005, a civil service disciplinary panel fined Rowse HK$156,000 and reprimanded him for his role in the concerts, which were poorly attended and received negative publicity, but his case was later overturned in court.
4 June 2009 “Zhao book editor hails role of city’s protesters; Demonstrations against Article 23 helped preserve freedom, man behind memoirs says,” South China Morning Post
(Hongkongers’ objection to Article 23 of the Basic Law helped preserve the freedom to publish, and contributed to the release of ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang’s memoirs in the city, one of the book’s editors said. Bao Pu, editor of Prisoner of the State and publisher of the Chinese edition in Hong Kong, attributed his ability to publish the memoirs to the hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people who marched on July 1, 2003 to protest proposed national security laws that would have included a ban against leaking state secrets.)
26 February 2009 “Post photographer barred from Macau a second time,” South China Morning Post (An SCMP photographer was barred from entering Macau again, the second time in a week. Felix Wong Chi-keung set off to Macau to cover progress on Article 23 legislation for a security law, as well as the trial of a former transport secretary.)
19 February 2009 “Macau denies entry to Post photographer,” South China Morning Post (A South China Morning Post photographer was barred from entering Macau, apparently the first time Macau has barred a Hong Kong journalist, according to SCMP. Felix Wong Chi-keung had been granted a permit by thea Macau government to cover the fraud trial of former government official Ao Man-long, but Wong was turned away from entering the city. Macau officials say it was a matter of internal security)
Reporters Without Borders demand explanation for photographer’s ban from entering Macau.
January 2009 Amnesty International sends Open Letter to Macau Chief Executive objecting to draft law of Article 23 national security legislation and provides English translation of the bill.
Chapter 8 Other Restrictions on Newsgathering and Reporting
12 February 2009 “Court of Appeal overturns convictions of high-profile barrister,” South China Morning Post (Summary: The Court of Appeal overturned convictions against Kevin Egan, the high-profile criminal barrister and former government prosecutor, in connection with a witness tampering case. In 2006, Egan was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his attempts to reveal the name of a potential witness testifying in a bribery trial to a South China Morning Post reporter, in breach of Hong Kong’s witness protection laws. )
Chapter 9 Reporting on the Mainland
19 November 2009 U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission released its annual report to the U.S. Congress on China. For the section on “Freedom of Expression in China,” read here.
31 October 2009 “Uighur journalist detained,” RTHK
14 September 2009 “Journos protest over beatings,” The Standard
11 September 2009 “China downplays beating of journalists,” RTHK
10 September 2009 “Pressed on all fronts: Leading figures from across the political spectrum have united in outrage over the beating of three Hong Kong journalists by police on the mainland,” The Standard
9 September 2009 “CE relays journalists’ views to the Mainland,” HKSAR Government website
9 September 2009 “HK journalists accused of incitement“, RTHK
8 September 2009, “Media anger at police abuses,” The Standard (About 40 Hong Kong journalists protested outside the Central Government Liaison Office over the beating and arrest of fellow reporters covering the arrest in Urumqi.
7 September 2009 “Five more journalists detained,” The Standard
5 September 2009 “‘ HK reporters v. ‘Shameless’ Xinjiang Government Officials,” EastSouthWestNorth (Summary of HK coverage)
5 September 2009 Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China condemns beating of Hong Kong journalists in Urumqi.
4 September 2009 “TVB protest over arrest of reporters,” RTHK
24 July 2009 Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (Revised Draft 2009), Full text and explanation (English translation provided by Human Rights in China). Summary of proposed changes here.
22 June 2009 “China to amend state secrets law, avoid Internet leaks,” Xinhua
4 June 2009 “Journalists banned from Tiananmen,” BBC
3 June 2009 “Websites blocked in anniversary run-up,” RTHK (Chinese authorities have blocked access to a number of websites ahead of the 20th anniversary of the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Censors have also blacked out foreign media references to the Beijing protests. Reports of website blocks include for Twitter, YouTube, Bing, Flickr and WordPress.”)
2 June 2009 “China blocks Twitter, Flickr and Hotmail ahead of Tiananmen anniversary,” The Guardian
2 June 2009 “All references to Tiananmen Square massacre closely censored for 20 years,” Reporters Without Borders
June 2009 “Tiananmen briefing: Gate to press freedom closed in 1989,” Committee to Protect Journalists
25 May 2009 “New head of Hong Kong liaison office named,” RTHK
13 May 2009 “Sichuan authorities arrest local writer, harass foreign journalists reporting on earthquake anniversary,” Reporters Without Borders
12 May 2009 “Foreign reporters prevented from working in Sichuan a year after earthquake,” Reporters Without Borders
7 May 2009 “China hits at foreign quake zone media,” Financial Times (Summary: A Chinese propaganda dept. official in Sichuan denied reports of journalists being harassed or detained in recent weeks in the buildup to the 1st anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake, which killed almost 90,000 people, including many school children. The official accused foreign journalists of traveling to Sichuan to incite insurrection against the government. In an online video report, Financial Times reporter Jamil Anderlini is shown being attacked while in Sichuan quake zone trying to interview a mother of one of the deceased school children.
2 May 2009 “China’s Commercialization of Censorship,” Far Eastern Economic Review (“Chinese authorities continue to be among the world’s most oppressive when it comes to press freedom. What may come as a surprise, however, is the growing commercialization of censorship in the country, where the Chinese Communist Party is creating a 21st century media model that relies on the market to muzzle free expression.”)
April 2009 “China releases first Human Rights Action plan,” Associated Press
2 April 2009 “Freedom House dismayed by new Chinese Internet regulations.”
30 March 2009 “Freedom of the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media,” a special report by the Freedom House. Status of China
March 2009 “China: new press card could be way to sideline outspoken journalists,” Reporters Without Borders
13 February 2009 “China to introduce journalist ‘black list’”, Reuters. (China’s news censors will create a new “black list” to force out reporters found breaking rules, according to new proposed regulations for Chinese journalists.)
February 2009 Committee to Protect Journalists releases ”Attacks on the Press in 2008,” an annual report on press freedom. Included were reports on China and China’s impact on Southeast Asia
11 February 2009 “Gao plays down new journalists rules,” RTHK (Gao Siren, director of the Central Government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, defends new rules which require Hong Kong and Macau journalists to get official approval before carrying out mainland assignments.)
6 February 2009 “Rules for HK, Macau Journalists announced,” Xinhua
“New China rules for HK journalists,” RTHK (China has announced new rules for Hong Kong and Macau journalists. Under the regulations issued by Beijing, reporters from Hong Kong and Macau can travel to China for interviews only with prior consent, and would have to inform authorities before each trip
“Return to outdated rules for Hong Kong and Macau journalists,” Reporters Without Borders
2 February 2009 “Activist faces state security charges,” RTHK
11 January 2009 “China closes 91 websites in online crackdown,” Reuters
Chapter 10 Copyright
11 November 2009 “Copyright protection proposals refined,” HKSAR government. The HKSAR government submitted a paper to the Legislative Council Panel on Commerce and Industry with its latest proposals for digital copyright reform. The government stated that it plans to table a bill with Legco in the second half of 2010.
2 June 2009 “Chinese-language newspaper sues former reporter over photo,” South China Morning Post (Summary: Oriental Daily News sued a former reporter who leaked a photograph to other media. A District Court judge found that the reporter was the source of the leak in 2005 and granted court orders to prohibit him from further distributing the photograph and to require him to hand over any infringing copies. The newspaper had already settled claims of copyright infringement with other media, which had published the photograph taken by the reporter of a family arriving by ambulance at a hospital after eating suspected poisoned scallops.
28 April 2008 “Man arrested for film piracy,” HKSAR government (Customs officers have arrested a man, 38, for using a BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing program to distribute two films on an Internet discussion forum. The case was detected when officers were monitoring illegal file sharing activities on the Internet. Officers tracked down the man’s location with the service provider’s support. A computer and other equipment were seized in his home. Copyright Ordinance infringers face up to 4 years in jail and a fine of up to HK$50,000.)
Chapter 11 Print and Online Regulation and Self-Regulation
–Obscenity
8 September 2009 “Bruno advert too cheeky for MTR stations,” South China Morning Post (A film poster advertising the controversial “Bruno” movie was rejected for display in MTR stations, despite approval by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority. )
13 July 2009, HKSAR government presented updated background brief and paper on issues relating to public consultation for review of Control of Indecency and Obscenity Ordinance to Legco Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting
11 May 2009, ” ‘Killer’ on loose as techie jailed for Edison pics,” The Standard (The computer technician who copied sexually explicit photos from actor-singer Edison Chen’s laptop was sentenced to 8 months and 15 days in jail but the person who posted them on the internet — who netizens nicknamed the ‘Killer’ –remains at large.”)
11 May 2009 “Eight months jail for technician over Chen sex photos,” The Standard
9 May 2009 “75pc of public want tougher Web censorship,” South China Morning Post (Summary: A survey of the review of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance shows the general public is more in favor of regulating cyberspace than the internet community, according to a government release. More than 75 percent of the 1,531 interviewees aged 15 or above think government regulation of obscence and indecent articles online should be “stricter than it is now.” The poll was conducted by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Programme under the commission of the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority.)
Executive summary of Report on 2009 Public Opinion Survey on the Review of COIAO. Full report here.
5 May 2009 “Former editor jailed for actress photo,” RTHK (The Court of Appeal has jailed a former chief editor of Eastweek magazine for five months for publishing the semi-nude photo of a kidnapped actress. Mong Hong-ming received a six-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty in December 2008 to publishing an obscene article. But the Court of Appeal ruled that the magistrate had been misled during mitigation.)
24 February 2009 “Edison Chen tells of internet sex photos shock,” The Standard. (Entertainer Edison Chen testified in a Canadian courtroom against the person accused of illegally accessing his private computer containing intimate photos of the entertainer with other Hong Kong celebrities.)
3 February 2009 “Court gives reasons for ruling on sex website,” South China Morning Post (Summary: Operating a website that advertises paid sex is not the online equivalent of being a pimp, the Court of Appeal ruled in cutting the 18-month sentence of a man who ran a popular online sex guide.
2 February 2009 “18,800 obscene articles submissions received,” HKSAR Government
13 January 2009 Judiciary’s response to the review of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance
Chapter 12 Broadcast Media Regulation
14 December 2009 “Pan-democrats fined for radio broadcasts,” RTHK
9 November 2009 “Citizens Radio activists fined,” RTHK. (Summary: Six Citizens’ Radio activists, including Legislative Councillor Leung Kwok-hung, have been fined between HK$3,000-HK$12,000 after being found guilty in Eastern Court of broadcasting without a license in 2006. The six had claimed the law governing radio broadcasting licensing infringed freedom of expression. Leung is quoted saying the defendants would refuse to pay the fines and were prepared to go to jail.)
23 October 2009 “Citizens’ radio band ordered to stand trial,” The Standard
22 October 2009, “Citizens’ Radio activists lose challenge,” RTHK.
19 October 2009 “Telecom licensing regime streamlined,” HKSAR government
5 October 2009 “RTHK consultation kicks off,” HKSAR Government launches two-month public consultation on how Radio Television Hong Kong should operate as a public broadcaster.
Consultation document here.
23 September 2009, “Hong Kong: More scrutiny for public broadcaster,” New York Times
22 September 2009
“RTHK to remain a government department,” RTHK
“RTHK to be public service broadcaster,” HKSAR Government
“The news from RTHK: Station stays tuned,” The Standard
19 September 2009 “Citizens Radio bid to stop trial fails,” RTHK
31 March 2009 “Watchdog criticises broadcaster,” South China Morning Post (The Broadcasting Authority has advised Commercial Radio to make sure it complies with a code of practice designed to protect people’s reputations, following complaints that a radio host used crude and vulgar language. The 124 complaints surrounded radio programme On a Clear Day, in which host Vincent Wong used “vulgar and abusive language” against a government information officer when discussing the felling of an old flame tree in Tai O by contractors for the Lands Department.)
21 January 2009 “Judges rule out rebel radio bid for top court,” The Standard
Court ruling here.
7 January 2009 “Citizens’ Radio to take case to Court of Final Appeal,” RTHK
