#Censorship #PressFreedom
Hong Kong Public Broadcaster cuts pro-democracy representation in Advisory Panel overseeing programme quality
A Hong Kong public broadcaster, Radio & Television Hong Kong (#RTHK), announced on May 10 that it is set to streamline its consultation framework.
Under the new framework, the advisory panel on programme standards that comprised several members of pro-democracy parties have ceased operation since April 2022. However, panellists from the pro-establishment camp can be retained.
Although Tik Chi-yuen, a member of the Advisory Panel, told the reporters that he was surprised by the RTHK's action, he defended it and said that it doesn't mean RTHK is not listening to public opinion.
Another member Fung Ying-him, a representative of Our Hong Kong Foundation supporting the new framework, said such an arrangement was "fine", as the Advisory Panel did not have an active role, but only met once a year.
Source: Inmediahk, #May12
https://bit.ly/3sviEny
#TikChiYuen #FungYingHim
Hong Kong Public Broadcaster cuts pro-democracy representation in Advisory Panel overseeing programme quality
A Hong Kong public broadcaster, Radio & Television Hong Kong (#RTHK), announced on May 10 that it is set to streamline its consultation framework.
Under the new framework, the advisory panel on programme standards that comprised several members of pro-democracy parties have ceased operation since April 2022. However, panellists from the pro-establishment camp can be retained.
Although Tik Chi-yuen, a member of the Advisory Panel, told the reporters that he was surprised by the RTHK's action, he defended it and said that it doesn't mean RTHK is not listening to public opinion.
Another member Fung Ying-him, a representative of Our Hong Kong Foundation supporting the new framework, said such an arrangement was "fine", as the Advisory Panel did not have an active role, but only met once a year.
Source: Inmediahk, #May12
https://bit.ly/3sviEny
#TikChiYuen #FungYingHim
#Censorship #Education
Authorities Remove Teaching Materials on Human Rights and Protesting in Hong Kong
The Education Bureau (#EDB) in Hong Kong has been promoting values education in recent years, and it is rating the "National identity" and "law-abiding" as one of the most important values.
It is also found that some learning and teaching resources under the "Human Rights Education" category have been chopped with the latest website update, including group projects to collect press clippings for demonstrations, studying "why protesters have their demands", etc.
As the 33rd anniversary of the June Fourth Incident approaches, the timing of this update becomes sensitive, though the Education Bureau said yesterday that the recent update "has nothing to do with the June Fourth Incident, so there's no need to make unnecessary speculations".
In the Education Bureau's original framework, students are expected to "respect human rights". These wordings were removed in the pilot version of the "Values Education Curriculum Framework" launched last year.
In addition, the recommendation to students to "cherish freedom and respect the freedom of others" through the #RTHK programme "City Forum" was also removed.
A primary school principal, who did not wish to be named, said she felt helpless about the change in the teaching resources. She said that despite the clear new content, some of the removed items should be available for teaching, but becoming a grey area after the #NationalSecurityLaw came into effect. She worried that teaching such materials might touch on sensitive topics and lead to "consequences".
"For example, teachers should have taught the June 4 incident on June 4, but now they feel that they could no longer teach it under the National Security Law. There's a lot of pressure on the schools and the teachers, that we don't know if anyone would complain about what we teach to the authority," she said.
Source: Mingpao #Jun04
#NSL #Education #June4
https://bit.ly/3yiZ0yo
Authorities Remove Teaching Materials on Human Rights and Protesting in Hong Kong
The Education Bureau (#EDB) in Hong Kong has been promoting values education in recent years, and it is rating the "National identity" and "law-abiding" as one of the most important values.
It is also found that some learning and teaching resources under the "Human Rights Education" category have been chopped with the latest website update, including group projects to collect press clippings for demonstrations, studying "why protesters have their demands", etc.
As the 33rd anniversary of the June Fourth Incident approaches, the timing of this update becomes sensitive, though the Education Bureau said yesterday that the recent update "has nothing to do with the June Fourth Incident, so there's no need to make unnecessary speculations".
In the Education Bureau's original framework, students are expected to "respect human rights". These wordings were removed in the pilot version of the "Values Education Curriculum Framework" launched last year.
In addition, the recommendation to students to "cherish freedom and respect the freedom of others" through the #RTHK programme "City Forum" was also removed.
A primary school principal, who did not wish to be named, said she felt helpless about the change in the teaching resources. She said that despite the clear new content, some of the removed items should be available for teaching, but becoming a grey area after the #NationalSecurityLaw came into effect. She worried that teaching such materials might touch on sensitive topics and lead to "consequences".
"For example, teachers should have taught the June 4 incident on June 4, but now they feel that they could no longer teach it under the National Security Law. There's a lot of pressure on the schools and the teachers, that we don't know if anyone would complain about what we teach to the authority," she said.
Source: Mingpao #Jun04
#NSL #Education #June4
https://bit.ly/3yiZ0yo
明報新聞網 - 每日明報 daily news
教局人權教材刪「為何示威」研習題 指刪過時資料屬恒常工作 校長憂變敏感難再教 - 20220604 - 港聞
【明報專訊】教育局近年力推價值觀教育，「國民身分認同」、「守法」均納入十大價值觀。本報發現，載列於教育局價值觀教育網頁下的「人權教育」學與教資源，本月完成更新，部分內容遭刪走，包括請學生分組蒐集請願示威新聞剪報的活動建議、研習「為何集會人士有訴求」等多條題目。臨近六四事件33周年，局方昨表示近日更新「與『六四事件』毫無關係，毋須作不必要的臆測」。
Famed Hong Kong Author Ni Kuang Passed Away at 87; Novel Warned of Doom if Hong Kong Lost Its Freedom
Hong Kong author Ni Kuang passed away at home on July 3, 2022 at 87 years of age. A prolific Chinese-language novelist and screenwriter, he was the author of numerous celebrated science fiction novels, including the long-running Wisely series and Dr. Yuen series.
His death was widely mourned by Hong Kong's netizens as well as fellow writers. Author Sai Shing Sun, who is a friend of Ni and had long considered him to be his godbrother, posted on Facebook: "Big Brother Ni had left this afternoon." Columnist and writer Chip Tsao posted a photo of him and Ni together, and remembered him as "the most clear-minded individual in the Chinese-speaking world these past 70 years".
Ni appeared on an #RTHK talk show three years ago, where he and veteran lawyer Paul Shieh discussed his novel "Chasing the Dragon" (追龍). The story revolved around a great city in the east, and it was prophesied that it would lose its great qualities, and the city would thus perish.
An excerpt from "Chasing the Dragon" reads:
"To destroy a great city, the cause doesn't have to be a natural catastrophe; it could also be a man-made disaster. And it is not necessarily a war; but a few words of a few people, the foolish and ignorant acts of a few people - it is enough make a great city completely die. You don't have to destroy its buildings. You don't have to kill a single inhabitant. You can even make it appear the same as before on the outside. You only need to make its great qualities disappear, and city would then perish and die."
Ni, who fled China after the Communist Party came to power, said on the program that the novel was a political allegory for Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong was liberated, just like Shanghai was liberated, by the Communists. They came to power with their own principles. People talk about 'One Country Two Systems' this and that, and I only laughed at them for being so easily duped. They asked me why; I said I don't even believe that One Country Two Systems exists. What do you mean it's damaged? The question is moot.
"Communists do whatever they want. Communists promised One Country Two Systems; since when were Communists trustworthy? They never followed through a single promise all these years."
If Hong Kong were to lose its freedom, he said on the 2019 show, then Hong Kong's great quality would be destroyed. "[They would] be unreasonable, and restrict people's freedoms ... mainly the freedom of speech. It's the mother of all freedoms. Without freedom of speech, you have no other freedoms."
source: In-MediaHK.net #Jul4
https://bit.ly/3a9pWHA
#NiKuang #HongKongLiterature #FreedomOfSpeech #OneCountryTwoSystems #CCP
Hong Kong author Ni Kuang passed away at home on July 3, 2022 at 87 years of age. A prolific Chinese-language novelist and screenwriter, he was the author of numerous celebrated science fiction novels, including the long-running Wisely series and Dr. Yuen series.
His death was widely mourned by Hong Kong's netizens as well as fellow writers. Author Sai Shing Sun, who is a friend of Ni and had long considered him to be his godbrother, posted on Facebook: "Big Brother Ni had left this afternoon." Columnist and writer Chip Tsao posted a photo of him and Ni together, and remembered him as "the most clear-minded individual in the Chinese-speaking world these past 70 years".
Ni appeared on an #RTHK talk show three years ago, where he and veteran lawyer Paul Shieh discussed his novel "Chasing the Dragon" (追龍). The story revolved around a great city in the east, and it was prophesied that it would lose its great qualities, and the city would thus perish.
An excerpt from "Chasing the Dragon" reads:
"To destroy a great city, the cause doesn't have to be a natural catastrophe; it could also be a man-made disaster. And it is not necessarily a war; but a few words of a few people, the foolish and ignorant acts of a few people - it is enough make a great city completely die. You don't have to destroy its buildings. You don't have to kill a single inhabitant. You can even make it appear the same as before on the outside. You only need to make its great qualities disappear, and city would then perish and die."
Ni, who fled China after the Communist Party came to power, said on the program that the novel was a political allegory for Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong was liberated, just like Shanghai was liberated, by the Communists. They came to power with their own principles. People talk about 'One Country Two Systems' this and that, and I only laughed at them for being so easily duped. They asked me why; I said I don't even believe that One Country Two Systems exists. What do you mean it's damaged? The question is moot.
"Communists do whatever they want. Communists promised One Country Two Systems; since when were Communists trustworthy? They never followed through a single promise all these years."
If Hong Kong were to lose its freedom, he said on the 2019 show, then Hong Kong's great quality would be destroyed. "[They would] be unreasonable, and restrict people's freedoms ... mainly the freedom of speech. It's the mother of all freedoms. Without freedom of speech, you have no other freedoms."
source: In-MediaHK.net #Jul4
https://bit.ly/3a9pWHA
#NiKuang #HongKongLiterature #FreedomOfSpeech #OneCountryTwoSystems #CCP
A year being in the US before returning, Bao Choy: Do my best to HK with my strength
Bao Choy, the director of TV programme Hong Kong Connection at RTHK, was told that she made false statement on Vehicle Registration in one of the episodes. She was convicted at a magistrate's court last year and was charged HKD6000.
Bao Choy applied for an appeal to the High Court. She indicated after the trial that searching for Vehicle Registration involves public right to know; but followed by her accusation, many news agencies no longer allow their journalist to search in the registration list. She hoped to do her best for the freedom of the press.
Choy received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University last year and had studied for a year from last August. It is to investigate the independence, the future development and the survival of news agency.
She recently returned to Hong Kong. She answered, "Hong Kong is my home, where I love. I hope to do something for Hong Kong with my reachable power" when she was asked for the reason of returning.
She will wait for the judge to decide her case with peace in mind while she is not suitable to comment. "To do what I can do." The appeal not only is for her individual case but also involves public right to know, to let the court decide whether the registration aligns with Hong Kong legal spirit.
She believes the original judge has an extremely narrow interpretation to the law. The registration record has been very useful and valuable to the public interest for the past decades, including high officials getting vehicles before taking over the seat.
From her knowledge, the majority of the news agencies has stopped their journalists from searching the registration, having a negative impact to the industries. She hopes she can do something for the freedom of press with the case.
Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
#BaoChoy #ChoyYukLing #RTHK #HongKongConnection #FreedomofPress #PublicRighttoKnow #July21WhohastheTruth
Bao Choy, the director of TV programme Hong Kong Connection at RTHK, was told that she made false statement on Vehicle Registration in one of the episodes. She was convicted at a magistrate's court last year and was charged HKD6000.
Bao Choy applied for an appeal to the High Court. She indicated after the trial that searching for Vehicle Registration involves public right to know; but followed by her accusation, many news agencies no longer allow their journalist to search in the registration list. She hoped to do her best for the freedom of the press.
Choy received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University last year and had studied for a year from last August. It is to investigate the independence, the future development and the survival of news agency.
She recently returned to Hong Kong. She answered, "Hong Kong is my home, where I love. I hope to do something for Hong Kong with my reachable power" when she was asked for the reason of returning.
She will wait for the judge to decide her case with peace in mind while she is not suitable to comment. "To do what I can do." The appeal not only is for her individual case but also involves public right to know, to let the court decide whether the registration aligns with Hong Kong legal spirit.
She believes the original judge has an extremely narrow interpretation to the law. The registration record has been very useful and valuable to the public interest for the past decades, including high officials getting vehicles before taking over the seat.
From her knowledge, the majority of the news agencies has stopped their journalists from searching the registration, having a negative impact to the industries. She hopes she can do something for the freedom of press with the case.
Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
#BaoChoy #ChoyYukLing #RTHK #HongKongConnection #FreedomofPress #PublicRighttoKnow #July21WhohastheTruth
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
https://youtu.be/4rImPpE3p2U
“7.21: Who Owns the Truth" wins #PressFreedomAward, but rejected by RTHK; producers accept award on behalf of production team
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/29773
Hong Kong Journalist Stands Trial Over Use of Online License Plate Search
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/29285
#BaoChoy #JusticeDelayed #PressFreedom
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
https://youtu.be/4rImPpE3p2U
“7.21: Who Owns the Truth" wins #PressFreedomAward, but rejected by RTHK; producers accept award on behalf of production team
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/29773
Hong Kong Journalist Stands Trial Over Use of Online License Plate Search
https://publielectoral.lat/guardiansofhongkong/29285
#BaoChoy #JusticeDelayed #PressFreedom