Choy Yuk-ling’s convictions of “knowingly making a false statement” were overturned at the Court of Final Appeal. Bao was convicted under the Road Traffic Ordinance (“RTO”) on the basis of statements made while conducting a search of the government’s vehicle registry. The searches she conducted were for a documentary on gang attacks which took place on Yuen Long on 21 July 2019. The police were widely condemned as having failed to prevent or intervene during those attacks.

Although Choy was convicted by the magistrate and the High Court dismissed her appeal, her persistence ultimately paid off. The Court of Final Appeal held that there was no reason that bona fide investigative journalism (in relation to a possible connection between the registered owner of a vehicle and its use in connection with a crime) should be excluded from the statement of purpose of “other traffic and transport related matters”.

Even so, the victory is cold comfort given the coordinated and sustained attacks on Hong Kong’s press freedom, which has fallen sharply since the imposition of the NSL and is now ranked 140 out of 180 in the world. Furthermore, the fact that Choy was prosecuted in the first place is highly indicative of police retaliation: searches of public registries have long been conducted by investigative journalists; Choy was subject to a high-profile arrest when the matter could have been dealt with by sending a summons by post; and the government and police have been trying to change the narrative regarding the gang attack. 

(This story originally appeared in the May-June 2023 edition of our newsletter).