Hong Kong journalist acquitted of criminal charges in rare media freedom victory

Award-winning reporter Bao Choi was found guilty of defrauding the government in 2021. But on Monday, the judge ruled in favor of the journalist, overturning her conviction and overturning her sentence.

An award-winning Hong Kong journalist on Monday won an appeal overturning her conviction for working on her investigative documentary in a rare ruling defending media freedom in the territory.

In April 2021, Bao Choi was found guilty of defrauding the government by obtaining vehicle ownership records for journalistic purposes after she stated in an online statement that she would use the information for “other traffic-related matters”. and transport.”

An investigative journalist tried to track down those responsible for a mob attack on protesters and passengers at a train station during massive anti-government protests in 2019 for her documentary.

At the time, Choi was fined HK$6,000 (€714) on two counts of perjury. The ruling sparked outrage among local journalists over the reduction in media freedom in the city, which Choi herself described as “very bleak”. day” for Hong Kong journalists.

But on Monday, the judges of the city’s higher court unanimously ruled in writing in favor of the journalist, overturning the guilty verdict and overturning the verdict.

She said she hoped the result would be encouraging news for all the reporters who are still hard at work in the city.

Choi’s short story titled “7.21 Who Owns the Truth” won the Chinese Language Documentary Award at the 2021 Human Rights Press Awards.

The jury called it “a classic investigative report” that sought out “the smallest clues, interrogating the powerful without fear or favor.”

In the crackdown on dissent that followed the 2019 protests, two high-profile outlets – Apple Daily and Stand News – were forced to shut down and some of their top executives were put on trial.