Hong Kong court upholds veteran journalist’s conviction

An award-winning Hong Kong journalist lost her appeal Monday against her conviction over making false statements in obtaining information for her investigation of a violent attack during widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Bao Choy was found guilty in April 2021 of deceiving the government by getting vehicle ownership records for journalistic purposes after she had declared in her online application that she would use the information for “other traffic and transport related issues.”
She was trying to track down perpetrators of a mob attack on protesters and commuters inside a train station for her documentary for public broadcaster RTHK.
That ruling sparked outrage among local media professionals over the city’s shrinking press freedoms. Choy — who was fined 6,000 Hong Kong Dollars ($765) for two counts of making false statements — called it “a very dark day for all journalists in Hong Kong.”
High Court Justice Alex Lee upheld the verdict in a written judgment, saying there are only three options available in the application form for conducting such searches: transport or traffic-related matters, legal matters, or vehicle purchases or sales. Journalism is not an option.