Bao Choy was found guilty and fined in 2021 for her investigative journalism on the crackdown on pro-democracy supporters
Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy stands outside Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal after winning her appeal against her conviction for making false statements to obtain vehicle records, on June 5, 2023. (Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP)
Hong Kong journalist, Bao Choy, has won an appeal against her conviction in the territory's Court of Final Appeal on charges of making false statements to access vehicle records related to the 2019 anti-extradition protests.
Bao Choy was acquitted of all charges on June 5 after five judges ruled unanimously in favor of her appeal and ordered that her conviction be quashed, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported.
Choy said the judgment highlighted the relevance of press freedom in the China-ruled territory and added that she was “happy” about the outcome.
“It [the judgment] states very clearly that there is no reason to start from a starting point that bona fide journalism should be excluded from the phrase ‘other matters related to traffic and transportation’,” Choy said.
She also added that the judgment “also states the importance of the constitutionally protected freedom of the press and of speech, and I think that is the biggest significance of today’s ruling.”
Choy, a former freelance producer at public broadcaster, RTHK, was found guilty in 2021 of making false statements to obtain vehicle records for a documentary she was producing on the 2019 Yuen Long mob attack. She was also fined HK$6,000 (US$765).
The attacks at the Yuen Long MRT station took place on July 21, 2019, around a month into the protests and unrest that summer over a controversial extradition bill.
Reportedly, dozens of men wearing white shirts with alleged triad affiliations indiscriminately assaulted commuters, journalists and protesters returning from a demonstration.
The incident was pivotal to the worsening relations between the public and the police, wherein the latter were accused of ignoring emergency calls to the scene.
Choy came under the radar after she tried to access details of a vehicle suspected of transporting assailants and weapons to Yuen Long MRT station from the public database.
She had chosen “other traffic and transport-related matters” in her application which the police considered a false statement about her research.
The court in its ruling said Choy’s selection was an honest mistake and that she was merely exercising her rights.
“The fact that the appellant was exercising her freedom of speech and of the press in connection with investigating the events of 21 July 2019 should be taken into consideration in considering the alleged offense of making a false statement in a material particular,” the judgment said.
“A journalist in [Choy’s] position faced with the online application form and its drop-down menu could well be honestly mistaken in thinking it included activity as one ‘relating to traffic and transport matters’,” the ruling said.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Journalists Association said in a statement that it welcomed the ruling while pointing out the difficult situation the press industry faces in the region.
“It is ridiculous that journalists were being arrested, charged and even convicted for seeking the truth,” the statement said, adding that “even though Bao Choy won her appeal, the case is sufficient to reflect the difficult situation that the industry is in.”
The group while praising Choy’s persistence in appealing her case urged the Hong Kong authorities “to respect the work of journalists to ensure that the public’s right to know and press freedom are protected.”
Press freedom in Hong Kong dropped drastically after Beijing imposed the draconian national security law in June 2020 to crush dissent and a strong pro-democracy movement that began in 2019.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Hong Kong 140th among 180 countries and territories in 2022. It was placed 18th in 2002 when the ranking was first introduced.
Small media outlets have emerged after the closure of two major pro-democracy news outlets Apple Daily and Stand News and others in 2021, after their newsrooms were raided and staff arrested under national security and sedition charges.
Choy has co-founded The Collective an online newsgroup that produces in-depth reports on social issues and politics while relying on donations from democracy supporters.
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