High Court writs claim students and online reporters were turned away from the press zone when votes were counted in Legco by-election
CHRIS LAU AND NIKKI SUN
UPDATED : Friday, 27 May, 2016, 9:00pm
Chinese University’s online student publication, Varsity. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A university student editor has started legal action against the government’s media managing arm for barring online reporters from press conferences.
Teenie Ho Kar-hei, a third-year student and chief editor of Chinese University’s English magazineVarsity, filed a High Court writ on Friday seeking a judicial review against the head of the Information Services Department, whose director is Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.
Ho and Baptist University student Xu Fangwen, who lodged a separate case at the same time, are also challenging the department’s reluctance to allow student reporters of university publications to attend official events, from press conferences to consultation sessions.
Patrick Nip, head of the Information Services Department, is the subject of the writ. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
The trigger appears to have been the Legislative Council by-election for the New Territories East constituency on February 28. Students and online reporters were turned away from the press zone where votes were counted, the writs claimed.
A week ago the Legislative Council announced it would hand out media passes to all journalists, print and online media alike.
“I did it to protect journalists’ right to report and press freedom,” said Ho, who also lodged the case on behalf of her university's Chinese-language magazine, U-Beat.
Ho asked the court to declare the department’s policies on student and online media unconstitutional and contrary to the Basic Law and the city’s Bill of Rights, on the grounds that they were arbitrary and disproportionate.
We fully support her decision to use legal means to fight for the right to report
SHAM YEE-LAN, HONG KONG JOURNALISTS’ ASSOCIATION CHAIRWOMAN
Online news portal Inmediahk Network is listed in Ho’s case as an interested party, as both the portal and Ho urged the court to quash the department’s policies.
Xu, deputy chief editor of San Po Yan, Baptist University’s Chinese-language publication, said the department’s effort to turn away his reporters from the press zone on the by-election night was unconstitutional.
According to Ho’s writ, student reporters were ejected when entering the press zone, despite her university’s magazines being registered publications under law.
Upon a complaint by the publications in May, the department replied that their reporters were students, “not professional journalists”.
Hong Kong Journalists’ Association chairwoman Sham Yee-lan said it was rooting for Ho and was ready to offer help if necessary. “We fully support her decision to use legal means to fight for the right to report.”
She said the government policy “lagged behind the times” and needed a through review.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1956780/hong-kong-student-editor-fights-government-ban-online
